Prayer Requests
Pastor Aaron Surgery
Todd Love Recovery
Tamara Slack Recovery
Kennesaw Christmas Parade Preaching
Doomsday Outreach (December 17th!)
Christmas Concerts (James, Hannah, Bethany, Etc.)
Text – Zechariah 10
Zechariah 10 is a NEAT chapter, it tells us all sorts of great things about God, that he is the God of nature, he is the God who strengthens armies in righteousness, he is the God from whom all good things flow, he is the God who will win a complete victory at the end of time, and he is the Good Shepherd. The first thing I want to look at though, which is certainly not the main thrust of Zechariah’s message, but which is hugely important for your life is a tangential lesson from verse 1.
Zechariah 10:1 Ask rain from the LORD in the season of the spring rain, from the LORD who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field.
I love every Bible verse, but recently this has become my favorite, because it rocked my world. Look at it, when are we supposed to ask for rain from God? In the season of rain. Now, God is able to do things outside of the order in which he has decided to work, he can send rain in the middle of a desert in the dry season if he wants to, but he has structured the world in a way which we can trust and rely on a system of reliability. This is a miracle in itself,
Matthew 5:45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
It is a miracle every time it rains, even when we’re expecting rain, this is a blessing from God. It reminded me of another verse which is really taking us on a rabbit trail, but I think it’s totally worth reading,
Hebrews 3:12-13 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
There is a season given to us for every thing we do. As long as we live in a sinful world we must be killing sin, seeking righteousness, trusting Christ, and watching our brothers and sisters to ensure they are doing the same. Someday I’d like to do a study of Ecclesiastes 3 which talks a lot more about this. But the true reason I wanted to look at this is to exhort you all towards a season which comes all too early in most people’s lives, the season of dating and marriage. At 12, 13, 14 you shouldn’t be seeking boyfriends and girlfriends; someone to love, to kiss, to be for all intents and purposes married to, because at your age you are a ways off from expressing your love in the proper marriage covenant. We ought to pray for godly husbands and wives, yes, but in the season that this is appropriate, not a moment before.
Proverbs 6:27-28 Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?
So please at least think on this topic, that we may have perfectly right desires which are made wrong by the timing. While this isn’t remotely Zechariah’s point here, I would like to encourage you as you pray to consider if your prayer is keeping with the will of God. Can God do miracles outside of his normal timing? Absolutely, that’s one of the ways we really recognize it’s a miracle. For example, when Lazarus died, his sister knew he would be resurrected on the final day when everyone is resurrected, the righteous to eternal life and the wicked to eternal death, but Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” And he raised Lazarus and showed that he is the Sovereign of history and nature; he is not subjected to history nor nature.
Song of Solomon 2:7 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you, by the gazelles and the wild does of the field: do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time.
So all that to say, there is a time and a season for everything under heaven. I adjure you not to awaken love before its season, that you would date only for the purpose of marriage, and count every act of love as sacred within that covenant, everything from holding hands to kissing to adequately covering yourself from everyone but your future spouse. I know I speak about this fairly often, and as soon as you get the message, then I’ll talk about it less frequently.
So let’s get to Zechariah, today we’re going to look at some wicked leaders, some false shepherds, and we’ll look at our true Shepherd, who is Christ. Chapter 10 and 11 of Zechariah are one complete thought, but they teach different lessons. Really quick though, we need to know from Zechariah 11 that the so-called shepherds of Israel were only in their positions for the money, they would sell their sheep for slaughter if it meant turning a profit.
We see this rampant in Christianity today, people so greedy that they go so far as to tell their audiences to send in their last bit of money so that they can show God how strong their faith really is, when in reality the leaders really only want a new jet-airplane or house. One of the craziest things I run into is false-teachers who use the very passage against them for their gain. For example, 1 Corinthians 14 is totally against speaking in gibberish, but gibberish speakers quote it frequently to justify themselves in their deep things of Satan. Here in Zechariah it speaks of the "latter rain" and some false teachers have used this passage and others like it to say there was a first "rain" of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, then a drought, and that they are now receiving the second "rain" of the Holy Spirit today. This is utterly untrue because the Holy Spirit was promised to be with us always. These will tell you basically anything in order to get your money. This is forever one of my greatest blessings to be unpaid because it utterly removes this temptation from my life.
Zechariah 10:1-11:3 Ask rain from the LORD in the season of the spring rain, from the LORD who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field. For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. "My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like his majestic steed in battle. From him shall come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler— all of them together. They shall be like mighty men in battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets; they shall fight because the LORD is with them, and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. "I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them. Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior, and their hearts shall be glad as with wine. Their children shall see it and be glad; their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. "I will whistle for them and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as they were before. Though I scattered them among the nations, yet in far countries they shall remember me, and with their children they shall live and return. I will bring them home from the land of Egypt, and gather them from Assyria, and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon, till there is no room for them. He shall pass through the sea of troubles and strike down the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up. The pride of Assyria shall be laid low, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart. I will make them strong in the LORD, and they shall walk in his name," declares the LORD. Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars! Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, for the glorious trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the thick forest has been felled! The sound of the wail of the shepherds, for their glory is ruined! The sound of the roar of the lions, for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
We see first and foremost that God is the true God, the God of nature, the God of providence, the sustaining God. We ought to frequently realize that. We may say, “This morning the sun rose because the sun always rises.” Well really if it weren’t for God’s holding the universe together the sun wouldn’t rise. Centrifugal force would cause it to go zinging out into space and we’d never see it again.
There are many substitutes for God, but only one true God. Check out verse 2,
v.2 For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation.
Household gods are personal little figurines or methods of receiving supernatural revelation. These can be as simple as statues or as complex as astrology and horoscopes, or as seemingly innocent as a television. Zechariah didn’t have a television, but this very easily can fit into the place of a household god for us, as The View or Glee or Oprah or Glenn Beck try to form our theology into something that is radically different from true theology.
The false prophets make up revelation and present a god who really is of no account and isn’t able to save. This god won’t send people to Hell, but only because he can’t because he doesn’t exist, and he can’t save anyone for the same reason. Let me give you a controversial example, recently with all of the homosexual suicides several politically and financially successful homosexuals put out public statements that life for homosexuals is getting better and therefore troubled homosexuals should hold on. This seems like consolation, until we look at the fact that it is still a horrendous sin against humanity and God and that it is judged both temporally and eternally as hugely unhealthy for a person’s body and soul. True consolation is found in reconciliation to God, sanctification in the Spirit, and total forgiveness and freedom in Christ.
Another example is the empty pursuit of happiness and patriotic duty which we are constantly bombarded with. This is a false consolation, empty of truth and empty of temporal and eternal benefits. I watch it and am extremely angry, and find great consolation in the fact that so is God. We’ll see how he offers true consolation in a few verses, but first,
v.2-3 Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. "My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
Even though Israel truly did have people acting as pastors (rabbis) and leaders, this verse says they wander and are damaged just as though they had no shepherds. Beloved, there are so many churches in our area that have youth pastors who are none more than adolescent boys who have no desire nor ability to lead their students into truth. There are churches all over the nation that have men overseeing them who care more for their own personal reputation than the spiritual health of their flock. In this passage God still refers to them as shepherds, but Jesus gives us a much more descriptive title for them in John 10.
John 10:12-13 The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. This happens because he is a hired man and doesn't care about the sheep.
Hirelings are men who look after the flock, but only as much as they can benefit from it. The moment danger approaches they take off leaving the flock to be decimated by enemies. There is an even worse shepherd which we’ll look at in Zechariah 11, who is a wolf in sheep’s clothing (and sometimes in shepherd’s clothing (see 2 Peter 2)).
Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
I love it that God’s anger is fierce against such men, knowing that I can leave all vengeance up to him and that he is the Sovereign of History who is demonstrating why his Son is the true Shepherd of the sheep, who does care about the sheep, the one who strengthens and equips his flock for the ministry. This is setting up an absolutely fantastic gospel presentation in chapter 13, one which it is so tempting for me to reveal now, but which I will wait a few weeks to show you!
v.4 From him shall come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler—all of them together.
For time’s sake let me just tell you that these are the four major things which Israel needed to be a great nation, they needed a firm foundation, a secure support, mighty weapons, and brave men to act justly and courageously for them. We see that all of these come straight from Christ, apart from him we can do nothing. This is why we sing the song, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow…” If it’s good and a blessing, it’s from God.
v.5-7 They shall be like mighty men in battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets; they shall fight because the LORD is with them, and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. "I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them. Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior, and their hearts shall be glad as with wine. Their children shall see it and be glad; their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD.
They shall be like great warriors, this is believers in Christ who aren’t out to kill people, but to convert them. If we have a firm foundation in Christ, a hope which secures us against every wind of doctrine, the sword of the Spirit which is the Bible, then we will be equipped and led by God to be great spiritual warriors, destroying every argument and persuading people to trust in Christ and Christ alone.
Now at this point it is tempting to follow a heresy that God saved us because he saw great potential in us, but verse 6 destroys that, stating that God raised us up and equipped us only on his compassion, not because of anything we had done or would do, but that both our salvation and subsequent works are his works in us. One of my new favorite verses is at the end of Colossians 1.
Colossians 1:28-29 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Whose energy? His. Who is working? He is. And we rejoice in this, emboldened, filled not with wine, but with the Holy Spirit. Now it gets extra beautiful, telling us that we have no fear of bad shepherds destroying our eternities if we are in Christ, for we have a much better shepherd,
v.8 "I will whistle for them and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as they were before.”
This whistle is a call to the sheep, it’s either a whistle you make with your lips, or with a reed flute, or a specific vocal call. However it is, the sheep know this call and come. It’s amazing that even as dumb as a sheep is, it is able to know the specific call, even the voice, of its shepherd. However Christ will call, we will hear his voice,
John 10:3-5 The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."
Christ calls for us, and we go to him and follow him. We see that he has redeemed us, from what we will see in chapter 11, but ultimately it is from sin and the very teeth of the world which desired to devour us. Christ will not lose a single one of his sheep.
v.9-12 Though I scattered them among the nations, yet in far countries they shall remember me, and with their children they shall live and return. I will bring them home from the land of Egypt, and gather them from Assyria, and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon, till there is no room for them. He shall pass through the sea of troubles and strike down the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up. The pride of Assyria shall be laid low, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart. I will make them strong in the LORD, and they shall walk in his name," declares the LORD.
This passage is beautifully poetic, but not especially clear on when nor how it is to be fulfilled. We see that God’s people will be so many as there will not be found room for them just in Israel. This has certainly come true in these days, that every Christian in the world would not fit in Israel, so we are in far off countries remembering God and bearing witness to his truth.
We have the language of him passing through the sea. This is certainly reminiscent of Moses parting the Red Sea, a type for walking through death to life, and possibly we can see here that Christ is prophesied living and dying and living again. The language of striking down the waves of the sea is neat because in Heaven the sea will be smooth as glass, because all strife will have ceased, and there we see in verse 12 that Christ does this by cutting off the wickedness and rule of Israel’s enemies.
Finally, let’s read the first three verses of chapter 11 which will further expand on Christ putting an end to all boasting that is not in him,
v.1-3 Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars! Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, for the glorious trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the thick forest has been felled! The sound of the wail of the shepherds, for their glory is ruined! The sound of the roar of the lions, for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
We end with what we started with, that the false shepherds are punished and so they wail. Their riches gained through mistreating the flock of God are made nothing. These hirelings flee when danger approaches the flock, they seek only monetary gain. These sins against God’s sheep will be avenged.
So your application, trust wholly in Jesus Christ as your true Shepherd, make sure your leaders and pastors are following him and leading you in his ways, as you grow into leadership positions yourself, be willing to die for your flock, place them at far more value than yourself, refuse to let even a single one be devoured by the world while you still have breath in your lungs. Remember that this is how you were redeemed by your Shepherd, though he was God in every way, he counted you as more valuable than himself and laid down his life for your sake, and if he is willing to die for you, know that he will also equip you to walk in the power of his resurrection.
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Showing posts with label Election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Election. Show all posts
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
August 22nd - Intro to Zechariah
Prayer Requests
Pastor Aaron and Summit
Three kids at Pigs and Peaches
Pastor Aaron and Summit
Three kids at Pigs and Peaches
Grant in Montgomery
Kari's friend's kidney
Jennifer - Brother
James - Grandma
Roberts/Clark - Grandma
KSU and Southern Poly Starting
Celebrate Freedom Witnessing (Sept. 4)
KSU and Southern Poly Starting
Celebrate Freedom Witnessing (Sept. 4)
Chaplain Application
Praise - Denise Johnson
Text – Zechariah 1:1-6, Isaiah 45:1-7
We're starting our journey through Zechariah today, this will take us approximately 18 weeks and it should be a great study. Zechariah is one of my favorite prophets because he speaks so often about the Messiah to come, some 500 years after he would write this book. It is said that only Isaiah has more prophecies for the Messiah.
In order to fully understand this book we need to know some history. When we read Zechariah we need to realize, and we'll probably spend a good deal of time in, that three other books are happening at basically the same time: Ezra, Nehemiah, and Haggai. Does anyone remember what Haggai's main message was? It was prophesying Christ as the Temple, and calling the people to rebuild a temple so that they could have God in their midst.
Zechariah's prophecy happened in 520 BC, this is important because Judah has just returned to Jerusalem after being in exile to Babylon. This exile to Babylon started in 605 BC when God sold them into slavery for their sins, and they started returning in 538 BC. Remember in BC we count downwards.
A hugely important event for understanding Zechariah's letter is the way that Judah came home, so let's read Isaiah 45:1-6 which deals with the return from exile.
Isaiah 45:1-7 Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: "I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.
Do you know when Isaiah was prophesying? 739-686BC. The prophecy he is making is over 100 years early of a man named Cyrus. Let's take it apart piece by piece.
v.1 Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped,
The word for anointed is Messiah, though he is not speaking of Cyrus being the ultimate Messiah, but a type for the Messiah, a conquering king. Many kings of Israel are called anointed, and so are you and I:
1 John 2:20 you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
This is neat because we had become worthless, but Christ has restored all sorts of great things to us. For example, we were not a people, but now we are God's people, we are priests offering praise, we are evangelists declaring the good news, we are apostles sent by God, we are prophets delivering the Word of God, and we are Christians anointed by God.
This king was specially chosen and equipped by God to do something, and we see that God has grasped his right hand, which means he has become puppetmaster guiding Cyrus for these purposes:
v.1-3 to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: "I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places,
When Cyrus conquered much of the known world, it was customary for cities to thrust open wide their gates in surrender and strip their kings of honor in order to give it to Cyrus. This began in 559 BC and concluded with the fall of Babylon in 539 BC. This was accomplished for a very specific purpose:
v.3-4 that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name,
Remember that Isaiah is writing this at least 100 years before Cyrus was even born, yet God calls him by name. The purpose is so that Cyrus and Israel and later the whole world would know that God is God and is in charge of the beginning to the end. He has a definite preordained plan which cannot be thwarted by men.
Ephesians 1:11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will...
v.4 I name you, though you do not know me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God...
Cyrus was a Zoroastrian, a follower of a duel-godhead which one, Ahura Mazda, was good and the other, Angra Mainyu, was evil. The truly neat thing here is that God is both saving the nation of Israel, and the man Cyrus. He is concerned both with the populous and the individual. He knew us before we were, he has a plan for us to walk, check out Jeremiah's introduction,
Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."
This is your first application, that God has a plan for you that absolutely cannot fail. Check out Ephesians 2:10, this is my favorite verse;
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Does that take the fear out of it? If God is for us, who then can stand against us? Paul said it another place just as well:
Galatians 1:10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
This Cyrus, after conquering Babylon in 539 BC, asked the Jews what they were doing in Babylon and then sent them home. Someone took to him a copy of Isaiah's prophecy and Cyrus read it and saw that his life had progressed exactly how God said it would, and he fell on his face and declared God to be Lord, and Lord God of Heaven, and the Lord God of Israel. This threefold declaration shows the fullness of his repentance.
v.5-6 I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
The sun rises in the East and sets in the West, this prophecy was only partly fulfilled in Cyrus; though he conquered a huge amount of land, this prophecy wouldn't be fully fulfilled until Christ, who is anointed beyond that of all others who are anointed. Literally the sun never sets on the kingdom of Christ. Right now it is dark somewhere in the world, but we are proclaiming his name to all peoples; when it is dark here someone in the light will be singing his praises.
v.7 I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.
This is one of my favorite verses, it has a two-fold purpose. First it is a direct polemic against the gods of Zoroastrianism, one whom is supposed to be good and the other evil, and also to remind the Jews that they were sent into exile by God and redeemed by God. God is more than capable of working evil to punish sins. Amos says that disaster cannot come without God sending it.
So that finally brings us to Zechariah 1, Israel had been warned of exile, sent into exile, and redeemed from exile, and Zechariah 1 is going to remind them that God is in total control. First we get to meet Zechariah.
Zechariah 1:1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying,
Zechariah is a really popular name in the Old Testament, there are 29 of them in the Bible. His name means "The Lord Remembers" and it points to the faithfulness of God. According to a list of priests in Nehemiah, Zechariah was one, which places him in the tribe of Levi. Zechariah's fathers name was Berechiah, which is another popular name which means "Blessed of the Lord". A Zechariah son of Berechiah was murdered in the temple in the first century, but it is almost certainly coincidence that they have the same name.
Zechariah's grandfather Iddo was also a priest, so Zechariah comes from a lineage of priests. He begins his prophetic work in October of 520 BC, which is important because two months earlier Haggai had called for the temple to be rebuilt which is now underway and the people are beginning to repent, and Zechariah is going to push them to live a life of repentance and not just a short lived change of mind. The reason Darius is in charge is a soap-opera in itself. Cyrus died in 528 and had two sons, one of the sons killed the other son secretly so he could be in charge, but an imposter claimed to be the elder brother and took the throne. Much war ensued sort of taking the pressure off of Jerusalem, and as the younger brother was dying, he confessed to his brother's murder, and an army officer named Darius went to the imposter and killed him and took the throne, and after a brief bout of fighting, was in charge of the Persian empire, which included Judea.
So all this happened the way it happened for a reason, which Zechariah is now going to tell us,
Zechariah 1:2-4 "The LORD was very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.' But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.
Zechariah's message is for the people to return to God and not be like those who rebelled. There was no lack of prophets who called the pre-exilic Jews to repent: Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Ezekiel, yet the people would not listen, so verse two says that "God was VERY angry with your fathers." We need to remember that God is totally justified in getting and staying angry, let's read one of the greatest descriptions of his anger:
Psalm 7:11-13 God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
Zechariah continues with a very stern threat to these people who have seen God's Word come true and are now offered a fresh chance to repent.
Zechariah 1:5-6 Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers?
God is making a point that his Word is eternal, and that our lives are brief. He has promised to preserve his Word even when all things pass away.
Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Here in Zechariah God is making the point that his decree is unchanging and will come to fruition. Many times God's decree is conditional, that if a person won't repent, he will sharpen his sword against them. The converse is that if they do repent, the sword won't be used on them. The pre-exilic Jews wouldn't repent so they went into exile to Babylon, even though many of them fought it, as it says in Jeremiah 29, where the ones who refused to go were killed.
One of their fathers and prophets was Daniel, he totally embodies verse 6,
Zechariah 1:6 So they repented and said, As the LORD of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.
Check out his prayer for mercy after 70 years in exile; it is full of repentance for sins, and acknowledgement that God is in fact God and is right to punish for sin;
Text – Zechariah 1:1-6, Isaiah 45:1-7
We're starting our journey through Zechariah today, this will take us approximately 18 weeks and it should be a great study. Zechariah is one of my favorite prophets because he speaks so often about the Messiah to come, some 500 years after he would write this book. It is said that only Isaiah has more prophecies for the Messiah.
In order to fully understand this book we need to know some history. When we read Zechariah we need to realize, and we'll probably spend a good deal of time in, that three other books are happening at basically the same time: Ezra, Nehemiah, and Haggai. Does anyone remember what Haggai's main message was? It was prophesying Christ as the Temple, and calling the people to rebuild a temple so that they could have God in their midst.
Zechariah's prophecy happened in 520 BC, this is important because Judah has just returned to Jerusalem after being in exile to Babylon. This exile to Babylon started in 605 BC when God sold them into slavery for their sins, and they started returning in 538 BC. Remember in BC we count downwards.
A hugely important event for understanding Zechariah's letter is the way that Judah came home, so let's read Isaiah 45:1-6 which deals with the return from exile.
Isaiah 45:1-7 Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: "I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.
Do you know when Isaiah was prophesying? 739-686BC. The prophecy he is making is over 100 years early of a man named Cyrus. Let's take it apart piece by piece.
v.1 Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped,
The word for anointed is Messiah, though he is not speaking of Cyrus being the ultimate Messiah, but a type for the Messiah, a conquering king. Many kings of Israel are called anointed, and so are you and I:
1 John 2:20 you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
This is neat because we had become worthless, but Christ has restored all sorts of great things to us. For example, we were not a people, but now we are God's people, we are priests offering praise, we are evangelists declaring the good news, we are apostles sent by God, we are prophets delivering the Word of God, and we are Christians anointed by God.
This king was specially chosen and equipped by God to do something, and we see that God has grasped his right hand, which means he has become puppetmaster guiding Cyrus for these purposes:
v.1-3 to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: "I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places,
When Cyrus conquered much of the known world, it was customary for cities to thrust open wide their gates in surrender and strip their kings of honor in order to give it to Cyrus. This began in 559 BC and concluded with the fall of Babylon in 539 BC. This was accomplished for a very specific purpose:
v.3-4 that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name,
Remember that Isaiah is writing this at least 100 years before Cyrus was even born, yet God calls him by name. The purpose is so that Cyrus and Israel and later the whole world would know that God is God and is in charge of the beginning to the end. He has a definite preordained plan which cannot be thwarted by men.
Ephesians 1:11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will...
v.4 I name you, though you do not know me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God...
Cyrus was a Zoroastrian, a follower of a duel-godhead which one, Ahura Mazda, was good and the other, Angra Mainyu, was evil. The truly neat thing here is that God is both saving the nation of Israel, and the man Cyrus. He is concerned both with the populous and the individual. He knew us before we were, he has a plan for us to walk, check out Jeremiah's introduction,
Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."
This is your first application, that God has a plan for you that absolutely cannot fail. Check out Ephesians 2:10, this is my favorite verse;
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Does that take the fear out of it? If God is for us, who then can stand against us? Paul said it another place just as well:
Galatians 1:10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
This Cyrus, after conquering Babylon in 539 BC, asked the Jews what they were doing in Babylon and then sent them home. Someone took to him a copy of Isaiah's prophecy and Cyrus read it and saw that his life had progressed exactly how God said it would, and he fell on his face and declared God to be Lord, and Lord God of Heaven, and the Lord God of Israel. This threefold declaration shows the fullness of his repentance.
v.5-6 I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
The sun rises in the East and sets in the West, this prophecy was only partly fulfilled in Cyrus; though he conquered a huge amount of land, this prophecy wouldn't be fully fulfilled until Christ, who is anointed beyond that of all others who are anointed. Literally the sun never sets on the kingdom of Christ. Right now it is dark somewhere in the world, but we are proclaiming his name to all peoples; when it is dark here someone in the light will be singing his praises.
v.7 I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.
This is one of my favorite verses, it has a two-fold purpose. First it is a direct polemic against the gods of Zoroastrianism, one whom is supposed to be good and the other evil, and also to remind the Jews that they were sent into exile by God and redeemed by God. God is more than capable of working evil to punish sins. Amos says that disaster cannot come without God sending it.
So that finally brings us to Zechariah 1, Israel had been warned of exile, sent into exile, and redeemed from exile, and Zechariah 1 is going to remind them that God is in total control. First we get to meet Zechariah.
Zechariah 1:1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying,
Zechariah is a really popular name in the Old Testament, there are 29 of them in the Bible. His name means "The Lord Remembers" and it points to the faithfulness of God. According to a list of priests in Nehemiah, Zechariah was one, which places him in the tribe of Levi. Zechariah's fathers name was Berechiah, which is another popular name which means "Blessed of the Lord". A Zechariah son of Berechiah was murdered in the temple in the first century, but it is almost certainly coincidence that they have the same name.
Zechariah's grandfather Iddo was also a priest, so Zechariah comes from a lineage of priests. He begins his prophetic work in October of 520 BC, which is important because two months earlier Haggai had called for the temple to be rebuilt which is now underway and the people are beginning to repent, and Zechariah is going to push them to live a life of repentance and not just a short lived change of mind. The reason Darius is in charge is a soap-opera in itself. Cyrus died in 528 and had two sons, one of the sons killed the other son secretly so he could be in charge, but an imposter claimed to be the elder brother and took the throne. Much war ensued sort of taking the pressure off of Jerusalem, and as the younger brother was dying, he confessed to his brother's murder, and an army officer named Darius went to the imposter and killed him and took the throne, and after a brief bout of fighting, was in charge of the Persian empire, which included Judea.
So all this happened the way it happened for a reason, which Zechariah is now going to tell us,
Zechariah 1:2-4 "The LORD was very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.' But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.
Zechariah's message is for the people to return to God and not be like those who rebelled. There was no lack of prophets who called the pre-exilic Jews to repent: Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Ezekiel, yet the people would not listen, so verse two says that "God was VERY angry with your fathers." We need to remember that God is totally justified in getting and staying angry, let's read one of the greatest descriptions of his anger:
Psalm 7:11-13 God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
Zechariah continues with a very stern threat to these people who have seen God's Word come true and are now offered a fresh chance to repent.
Zechariah 1:5-6 Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers?
God is making a point that his Word is eternal, and that our lives are brief. He has promised to preserve his Word even when all things pass away.
Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Here in Zechariah God is making the point that his decree is unchanging and will come to fruition. Many times God's decree is conditional, that if a person won't repent, he will sharpen his sword against them. The converse is that if they do repent, the sword won't be used on them. The pre-exilic Jews wouldn't repent so they went into exile to Babylon, even though many of them fought it, as it says in Jeremiah 29, where the ones who refused to go were killed.
One of their fathers and prophets was Daniel, he totally embodies verse 6,
Zechariah 1:6 So they repented and said, As the LORD of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.
Check out his prayer for mercy after 70 years in exile; it is full of repentance for sins, and acknowledgement that God is in fact God and is right to punish for sin;
Daniel 9:3-19 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. To us, O LORD, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the LORD our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. Therefore the LORD has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice. And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly. "O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name."
Here's the neat part is that what God is calling for the people of Zechariah's day is what Daniel did, which ultimately was the event God was orchestrating to end the exile. All of this would be fresh in the minds of the Israelites.
So that is our introduction to Zechariah. He was one of the last prophets before God ceased revelation in 400 BC, and his book is going to show us that God has been working since the beginning and is working now, that he has a plan, that the Messiah was expected before he came, and fulfilled impossibly precise expectations.
Our application is that we see God is working for a very specific purpose, to call his people to repentance and see them walk in the works which he has prepared for us before time began. We see that God is able to use both believers and unbelievers to accomplish his purposes. Christ said if believers don't praise God that the rocks would then cry out. Similarly the high priest when Christ was crucified was still prophesying truth even though he was totally an enemy of God. We see that God's Word is eternal and it will come true, so it is in our best interest to submit to it now.
John 11:49-52 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish." He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
Just as Cyrus was a type for Messiah and many kingdoms surrendered to him, so must we surrender to the Messiah Jesus. Just as Cyrus bowed to God and confessed him as Lord, so must we now. We will bow willingly, or we will bow forcefully on the final day, because every knee will bow and every tongue confess Jesus as Lord to the glory of God the Father.
So that is our introduction to Zechariah. He was one of the last prophets before God ceased revelation in 400 BC, and his book is going to show us that God has been working since the beginning and is working now, that he has a plan, that the Messiah was expected before he came, and fulfilled impossibly precise expectations.
Our application is that we see God is working for a very specific purpose, to call his people to repentance and see them walk in the works which he has prepared for us before time began. We see that God is able to use both believers and unbelievers to accomplish his purposes. Christ said if believers don't praise God that the rocks would then cry out. Similarly the high priest when Christ was crucified was still prophesying truth even though he was totally an enemy of God. We see that God's Word is eternal and it will come true, so it is in our best interest to submit to it now.
John 11:49-52 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish." He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
Just as Cyrus was a type for Messiah and many kingdoms surrendered to him, so must we surrender to the Messiah Jesus. Just as Cyrus bowed to God and confessed him as Lord, so must we now. We will bow willingly, or we will bow forcefully on the final day, because every knee will bow and every tongue confess Jesus as Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
June 27th - Surety of Victory
Prayer Requests
Dan, Dave, and Channing Preaching
Text – 2 Peter 3:1-15
I had planned to spend some more time in Second Peter 2, but I think for the most part we’ve covered the important parts of that chapter, and I know how tedious it can get when the teacher teaches on the same topic multiple weeks in a row, so we’ll just do a quick review and move onto the fun part, which is in chapter 3.
If there is one thing I dislike most about our modern Bible it is the chapter and verse break-ups, this is especially evident today as we look at one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible. As I researched this passage I couldn’t find a single person who looked at the thought of Second Peter 3, but only people that looked at single verses, which is utterly dumb.
It is important that we see Second Peter as one book and not as three chapters or sixty-one verses, because if there is any book in the New Testament that is so pointed at where it is going, it is Second Peter. Another book like it is Romans, which really is masterfully written to give you an exceptional theological lesson in chapters 1-11, then gives you a perfect application in chapters 12-16. First Corinthians is also a good example, that we see how utterly wrecked that church is in chapters 1-14, that they’re having sexual immorality problems, money problems, communion parties, cliques are forming, people are speaking in gibberish, everybody talks at once in the church services, and marriages are falling apart, and it all comes to a head in chapter 15 to show that the reason for all of the other problems was a denial of the resurrection of both Christ from the dead, and the believer after death.
Second Peter has a gorgeous progression to make four major points really well so that they are memorable for you. Does anyone remember what those four points are? How to know you’re a Christian, how to grow in knowledge by reading your Bible, the danger of listening to men instead of the Bible, and Christ’s return and the sureness of his victory.
We’re going to see that in Christ’s return is also a definite proof that God will save his saints, just as we saw last week that though God crushed Sodom and Gomorrah he saved Lot. One thing I forgot to mention last week requires approaching that topic again. First, when Sodom and Gomorrah are mentioned in books other than Genesis, what are they normally used to demonstrate? God’s ability to make a complete end, even extinction, of the wicked. But which was the sin that the Bible says they were partaking in which showed their complete depravity? Homosexuality. After praying about last week’s lesson I really think it’s important that I share one last point which we missed last week.
Romans 1:27 the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
I have to share that the life expectancy of a homosexual man is two-decades less than the life-expectancy of a heterosexual man. There is both a temporal and eternal penalty for this sin, there are many diseases and infections which are only spread through promiscuity, especially within the homosexual lifestyle. I want to make sure you see that this is not just a sin which God picked out at random to pick on, but there are many reasons for it. Who could possibly dislike the guys on Will & Grace? They seem so nice, and definitely have a lot of love, but we need to remember the dangers of this sin and realize that it is really a horrible sin against God and humanity, and we must not give approval to those who practice it.
But just as we saw that God was willing to spare Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of the righteous, so are we going to see today that God has a patience which has a purpose, and unfortunately one which many mistake for inaction or nonexistence.
2 Peter 3:1-15 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation…
In verse 1, Peter affirms that this is the second letter he has written, which is the first letter he wrote? First Peter…that’s a crazy coincidence that his first letter is called the first and his second letter is called the second! Does anybody know which is the third letter he wrote? I believe quite surely that he cowrote Hebrews with Paul, with Luke as the amanuensis. Which Gospel did Peter heavily influence? Definitely Mark and probably Luke as well.
The important part here is that Peter is pointing us back to his first letter, do you remember what the major theme is in First Peter? It’s the resurrection; added into that is a surety of Judgment Day, that this life is not all there is, but that we live a life of godliness looking forward to eternity.
1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Peter reminds us in verse 1 that he is speaking to believers, by using the term, “beloved”, which references Christ’s beloved and the brotherly bond within the church. This is hugely important as we look through his passage that it is to believers.
In the last days scoffers will arise, and the reason they will scoff is in verse 3 for their sinful desires. Let’s let Paul tell us which these desires are:
2 Timothy 3:1-5 Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
v.3 They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation."
This is what is known as “uniformitarianism” or the belief that God does not intercede or cause massive changes to the world, that natural processes have been going on since the beginning, which here clearly references the future religion of Darwinism with the idea of the Big Bang. Paul gives a similar warning about avoid science falsely so called. In order to believe in uniformitarianism a person has to deny the Flood, which is exactly what Peter is going to say they will do.
v.4-7 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
Peter’s favorite Old Testament event, without a doubt, is Noah’s flood. He references it three times making three major points with it. Here he is comparing the effective end of that world to the total end of this world, and the fact that the unbelievers will overlook that fact. Do you know how long Noah was building the ark? 120 years, it was over a century between when God said he would deluge the earth and when he actually did, and during that time no doubt Noah was ridiculed and God was blasphemed. I wonder if they had celebrations every year to make fun of Noah’s boat that he wasn’t using because there was no flood. But they mistook God’s patience for inaction.
v.8-9 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
God is willing to wait, he is outside of time, he has a plan and a purpose to accomplish before he will pour out his wrath. His patience is amazing and meant to lead us to repentance.
Romans 2:4-5 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
God is waiting for something very specific to happen before Christ returns to judge the world and for the whole world to be burned up in wrath. Before we look at what that is, let’s look at what God was waiting for before he deluged the world in Noah’s day. When we look at the genealogies in Genesis 4 and 5 we something interesting, that Cain’s genealogy is quite wicked, and Seth’s is quite godly. Cain killed his brother, then went out from God’s presence, Lamech was the first one to say, “If one wife is good, then two wives must be extra good.” On the other side we have Seth who led his family to follow God, he had a grandson named Enoch who walked so closely with God that he never died, Enoch had a son named Methusaleh, and Methusaleh had a grandson whose name was Noah who God found favor with. Without a doubt this is my favorite verse in the Bible, it doesn’t add much to our lesson today but I really want to read it:
Genesis 6:5,8 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
What is special about Methusaleh? He’s the oldest man who ever lived, how old did he live to? 969. What is special about when he died? It’s when the flood started. The Bible isn’t clear to exactly when the flood started, only an approximate time, but I wouldn’t be surprised that when Methusaleh breathed his last, the first raindrop fell. The Methodist church believes Methusaleh died in the flood, but it’s hugely important for Peter’s lesson that we see that he died and then the flood.
So what was God waiting for to send the flood? The last righteous man on earth besides Noah to die. So now what is God waiting for to send Christ back to earth? The last of his elect to become a saint, to reach repentance. What would have happened if Christ had returned fifteen years ago? None of you would have even existed, let alone reached repentance! God knows exactly how many will believe and Christ will come back at the exact moment that the last of his saints reaches repentance.
He doesn’t want all people to reach repentance and he certainly is willing that some perish, because many do perish, and what God wills will come to fruition, else he wouldn’t be sovereign and omnipotent.
Romans 9:22-23 God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory…
v.10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
So we see a world prepared for destruction, when with a tremendously loud sound the sky will roll back, Christ will be seen, and he will wage war on his enemies. Let’s read my all time favorite verse:
Revelation 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
At that precise moment we will have his heavenly host of angels gather his saints from all corners of the globe and save them from the destruction to come, at which time it is described that Christ will trample out the winepress of his enemies and he will be covered head to toe in the blood of those who stand against him.
So then we are faced with what we will set our affections on, will it be things of this world, a nice house, a nice car, the body we are currently wearing? Peter tells us exactly where to set our affections.
v.11-13 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
If this world will pass away, then we ought to set our affections on the new heavens and new earth, on the Righteous and Resurrected Christ, growing in holiness and godliness and calling everyone to repentance. Here is what is neat for us that Noah couldn’t do anything about. What needed to happen for the flood to start? Noah needed the Ark, which he had, and every righteous person had to die. Methusaleh’s son, Lamech (not the same Lamech of Cain’s side) had died some five years earlier, and so only Noah and Methusaleh remained. Peter tells us not just to wait for every saint to reach repentance, but also to hasten that day, to hurry that day up. How do we do that? By preaching the gospel! If you witness to someone and they repent and they are the last saint, you could see the heavens opened! Then for all eternity you can bear the crown of calling the last saint to salvation.
v.14-15 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation…
The Father knows what he is doing, and so we continue to grow in grace, being sanctified, living as exiles in this world seeking the welfare of the city we are sojourners in, calling everyone to repentance, and we’re not mad at God for failing to send Christ back, rather we rejoice in his great patience which will result in every single one of his saints reaching repentance, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Oswald J. Smith has a fantastic quote which says, “We speak of the second coming; half the world has never heard of the first.” Robert Moffat said on his missionary journeys to India, “I have sometimes seen in the morning sun the smoke of a thousand villages where no missionary has ever been.”
And finally, this prophecy and surety of return is not given for us to stand looking towards Heaven, it is to motivate us to action. William Varner, a professor at the Seminary where I want to pursue my doctorate, put it this way, “Prophecy is not given to form a calendar, but to form a character; a character of prayerfulness, watchfulness, honesty, and holiness.”
Dan, Dave, and Channing Preaching
Tyler Preaching Wednesday
Swift Cantrel Witnessing - esp. Linda
Lucas in Indonesia
Swift Cantrel Witnessing - esp. Linda
Lucas in Indonesia
Hannah Singing
4th of July Witnessing
Text – 2 Peter 3:1-15
I had planned to spend some more time in Second Peter 2, but I think for the most part we’ve covered the important parts of that chapter, and I know how tedious it can get when the teacher teaches on the same topic multiple weeks in a row, so we’ll just do a quick review and move onto the fun part, which is in chapter 3.
If there is one thing I dislike most about our modern Bible it is the chapter and verse break-ups, this is especially evident today as we look at one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible. As I researched this passage I couldn’t find a single person who looked at the thought of Second Peter 3, but only people that looked at single verses, which is utterly dumb.
It is important that we see Second Peter as one book and not as three chapters or sixty-one verses, because if there is any book in the New Testament that is so pointed at where it is going, it is Second Peter. Another book like it is Romans, which really is masterfully written to give you an exceptional theological lesson in chapters 1-11, then gives you a perfect application in chapters 12-16. First Corinthians is also a good example, that we see how utterly wrecked that church is in chapters 1-14, that they’re having sexual immorality problems, money problems, communion parties, cliques are forming, people are speaking in gibberish, everybody talks at once in the church services, and marriages are falling apart, and it all comes to a head in chapter 15 to show that the reason for all of the other problems was a denial of the resurrection of both Christ from the dead, and the believer after death.
Second Peter has a gorgeous progression to make four major points really well so that they are memorable for you. Does anyone remember what those four points are? How to know you’re a Christian, how to grow in knowledge by reading your Bible, the danger of listening to men instead of the Bible, and Christ’s return and the sureness of his victory.
We’re going to see that in Christ’s return is also a definite proof that God will save his saints, just as we saw last week that though God crushed Sodom and Gomorrah he saved Lot. One thing I forgot to mention last week requires approaching that topic again. First, when Sodom and Gomorrah are mentioned in books other than Genesis, what are they normally used to demonstrate? God’s ability to make a complete end, even extinction, of the wicked. But which was the sin that the Bible says they were partaking in which showed their complete depravity? Homosexuality. After praying about last week’s lesson I really think it’s important that I share one last point which we missed last week.
Romans 1:27 the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
I have to share that the life expectancy of a homosexual man is two-decades less than the life-expectancy of a heterosexual man. There is both a temporal and eternal penalty for this sin, there are many diseases and infections which are only spread through promiscuity, especially within the homosexual lifestyle. I want to make sure you see that this is not just a sin which God picked out at random to pick on, but there are many reasons for it. Who could possibly dislike the guys on Will & Grace? They seem so nice, and definitely have a lot of love, but we need to remember the dangers of this sin and realize that it is really a horrible sin against God and humanity, and we must not give approval to those who practice it.
But just as we saw that God was willing to spare Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of the righteous, so are we going to see today that God has a patience which has a purpose, and unfortunately one which many mistake for inaction or nonexistence.
2 Peter 3:1-15 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation…
In verse 1, Peter affirms that this is the second letter he has written, which is the first letter he wrote? First Peter…that’s a crazy coincidence that his first letter is called the first and his second letter is called the second! Does anybody know which is the third letter he wrote? I believe quite surely that he cowrote Hebrews with Paul, with Luke as the amanuensis. Which Gospel did Peter heavily influence? Definitely Mark and probably Luke as well.
The important part here is that Peter is pointing us back to his first letter, do you remember what the major theme is in First Peter? It’s the resurrection; added into that is a surety of Judgment Day, that this life is not all there is, but that we live a life of godliness looking forward to eternity.
1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Peter reminds us in verse 1 that he is speaking to believers, by using the term, “beloved”, which references Christ’s beloved and the brotherly bond within the church. This is hugely important as we look through his passage that it is to believers.
In the last days scoffers will arise, and the reason they will scoff is in verse 3 for their sinful desires. Let’s let Paul tell us which these desires are:
2 Timothy 3:1-5 Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
v.3 They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation."
This is what is known as “uniformitarianism” or the belief that God does not intercede or cause massive changes to the world, that natural processes have been going on since the beginning, which here clearly references the future religion of Darwinism with the idea of the Big Bang. Paul gives a similar warning about avoid science falsely so called. In order to believe in uniformitarianism a person has to deny the Flood, which is exactly what Peter is going to say they will do.
v.4-7 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
Peter’s favorite Old Testament event, without a doubt, is Noah’s flood. He references it three times making three major points with it. Here he is comparing the effective end of that world to the total end of this world, and the fact that the unbelievers will overlook that fact. Do you know how long Noah was building the ark? 120 years, it was over a century between when God said he would deluge the earth and when he actually did, and during that time no doubt Noah was ridiculed and God was blasphemed. I wonder if they had celebrations every year to make fun of Noah’s boat that he wasn’t using because there was no flood. But they mistook God’s patience for inaction.
v.8-9 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
God is willing to wait, he is outside of time, he has a plan and a purpose to accomplish before he will pour out his wrath. His patience is amazing and meant to lead us to repentance.
Romans 2:4-5 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
God is waiting for something very specific to happen before Christ returns to judge the world and for the whole world to be burned up in wrath. Before we look at what that is, let’s look at what God was waiting for before he deluged the world in Noah’s day. When we look at the genealogies in Genesis 4 and 5 we something interesting, that Cain’s genealogy is quite wicked, and Seth’s is quite godly. Cain killed his brother, then went out from God’s presence, Lamech was the first one to say, “If one wife is good, then two wives must be extra good.” On the other side we have Seth who led his family to follow God, he had a grandson named Enoch who walked so closely with God that he never died, Enoch had a son named Methusaleh, and Methusaleh had a grandson whose name was Noah who God found favor with. Without a doubt this is my favorite verse in the Bible, it doesn’t add much to our lesson today but I really want to read it:
Genesis 6:5,8 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
What is special about Methusaleh? He’s the oldest man who ever lived, how old did he live to? 969. What is special about when he died? It’s when the flood started. The Bible isn’t clear to exactly when the flood started, only an approximate time, but I wouldn’t be surprised that when Methusaleh breathed his last, the first raindrop fell. The Methodist church believes Methusaleh died in the flood, but it’s hugely important for Peter’s lesson that we see that he died and then the flood.
So what was God waiting for to send the flood? The last righteous man on earth besides Noah to die. So now what is God waiting for to send Christ back to earth? The last of his elect to become a saint, to reach repentance. What would have happened if Christ had returned fifteen years ago? None of you would have even existed, let alone reached repentance! God knows exactly how many will believe and Christ will come back at the exact moment that the last of his saints reaches repentance.
He doesn’t want all people to reach repentance and he certainly is willing that some perish, because many do perish, and what God wills will come to fruition, else he wouldn’t be sovereign and omnipotent.
Romans 9:22-23 God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory…
v.10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
So we see a world prepared for destruction, when with a tremendously loud sound the sky will roll back, Christ will be seen, and he will wage war on his enemies. Let’s read my all time favorite verse:
Revelation 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
At that precise moment we will have his heavenly host of angels gather his saints from all corners of the globe and save them from the destruction to come, at which time it is described that Christ will trample out the winepress of his enemies and he will be covered head to toe in the blood of those who stand against him.
So then we are faced with what we will set our affections on, will it be things of this world, a nice house, a nice car, the body we are currently wearing? Peter tells us exactly where to set our affections.
v.11-13 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
If this world will pass away, then we ought to set our affections on the new heavens and new earth, on the Righteous and Resurrected Christ, growing in holiness and godliness and calling everyone to repentance. Here is what is neat for us that Noah couldn’t do anything about. What needed to happen for the flood to start? Noah needed the Ark, which he had, and every righteous person had to die. Methusaleh’s son, Lamech (not the same Lamech of Cain’s side) had died some five years earlier, and so only Noah and Methusaleh remained. Peter tells us not just to wait for every saint to reach repentance, but also to hasten that day, to hurry that day up. How do we do that? By preaching the gospel! If you witness to someone and they repent and they are the last saint, you could see the heavens opened! Then for all eternity you can bear the crown of calling the last saint to salvation.
v.14-15 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation…
The Father knows what he is doing, and so we continue to grow in grace, being sanctified, living as exiles in this world seeking the welfare of the city we are sojourners in, calling everyone to repentance, and we’re not mad at God for failing to send Christ back, rather we rejoice in his great patience which will result in every single one of his saints reaching repentance, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Oswald J. Smith has a fantastic quote which says, “We speak of the second coming; half the world has never heard of the first.” Robert Moffat said on his missionary journeys to India, “I have sometimes seen in the morning sun the smoke of a thousand villages where no missionary has ever been.”
And finally, this prophecy and surety of return is not given for us to stand looking towards Heaven, it is to motivate us to action. William Varner, a professor at the Seminary where I want to pursue my doctorate, put it this way, “Prophecy is not given to form a calendar, but to form a character; a character of prayerfulness, watchfulness, honesty, and holiness.”
Sunday, May 16, 2010
May 16th - Fruit of Repentance
Prayer Requests
Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Jamie Preaching 8:30am
Lucas Preaching 9:45am
John-Michael Preaching 11:10am
Lucas Preaching 9:45am
John-Michael Preaching 11:10am
Randy and Michelle Foster/Adopting Baby Caden and Caden's Health
Dave and Brooke
Ben and Holly
Canyon Preaching at Durham Friday
Text – 2 Peter 1:1-11
Did everyone have a chance to read First Peter 1-5 after last week? (If yes, then continue, if no then read 1 Peter 1-5)
As we look at Second Peter there are many many things which are to be seen that are totally glorious which I may not be able to transmit properly or even prove to you in a short time, but which I hope you see now or come to see in the future. This passage today may be one that grows in you over a long time until it makes total sense, but in we’re fortunate than it will be apparent today what Peter is calling us to, because this passage could and should totally rock your worldview.
It took a long time for this passage to make sense to Peter, as we watch his spiritual growth from when we first meet him in AD27 through his conversion in AD30, to his death in AD67 sometime after the writing of this letter. Coupled with this is his reconciliation and friendship with Paul. Twenty years before this Paul and Peter had some friction between each other,
Galatians 2:11-14 But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?"
But now in Rome, Peter writes in this Epistle that Paul’s writing is scripture, and in verse 2 I think you can even say that Peter quotes Paul’s letter to Titus as scripture. It is clear through many evidences that Paul and Peter were fellowshipping together in Rome and I’m quite certain that they wrote Hebrews together. Their reconciliation is beautiful and Peter’s call for doctrinal purity now in this letter is a wonderful fruit of a life lived for God.
We look at three letters; Second Timothy, Hebrews, and Second Peter, as capstone projects. These letters are the last things written by two condemned men, desiring to communicate their last points to a church which is going to be deprived of its greatest minds, and they want to leave something sure, the written Word of God. (2 Peter 1:15) Many people become philosophical and purposeful when they realize they are going to die, and both Paul and Peter knew that under madman Nero that they were not long for this world, and they write their last thoughts…their direct and no-frills writing is glorious.
2 Peter 1:13-14 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.
2 Timothy 4:6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
Your first application before we even read any of our passage in Second Peter is to always ensure your writing is worthy of being your last. If I died tomorrow would I be embarrassed that this manuscript was my last? No, because I know that I am terminal with less than 100 years to live and that everything must be done towards a purpose and done towards the glory of Christ, and so this manuscript is written to the best of my abilities. Second Peter is similarly written for such a purpose.
Not that any scripture is any more inspired than another, but some scripture is more applicable and easier to understand and more pressing than others. For example, a study of Enoch is less important than a study of Jesus Christ, but a study of Enoch is useful. Likewise, you wouldn’t teach a dying man about stewardship or chiastic structures. You want your last words to be forceful and applicable to all. Peter gives us four major themes that are forceful and applicable to all, these are what he determines as the most important things for the church to know, these are:
1. How to know you’re a Christian
2. The inspiration of the Bible
3. The dangers of false-teachers
4. The immanent return of Jesus Christ and the surety of judgment
So today we’re going to look at how you know you’re a Christian.
2 Peter 1:1-11 Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
So verse 1, which sets a foundation for the rest of the book, is speaking to those who have received faith. This is an important verse concerning where our faith comes from; does it come from our heads or our hearts or from our little toe? No, it says it is external from us, this is a running theme in the Bible (cf. Eph 2:8-9),
Dave and Brooke
Ben and Holly
Canyon Preaching at Durham Friday
Text – 2 Peter 1:1-11
Did everyone have a chance to read First Peter 1-5 after last week? (If yes, then continue, if no then read 1 Peter 1-5)
As we look at Second Peter there are many many things which are to be seen that are totally glorious which I may not be able to transmit properly or even prove to you in a short time, but which I hope you see now or come to see in the future. This passage today may be one that grows in you over a long time until it makes total sense, but in we’re fortunate than it will be apparent today what Peter is calling us to, because this passage could and should totally rock your worldview.
It took a long time for this passage to make sense to Peter, as we watch his spiritual growth from when we first meet him in AD27 through his conversion in AD30, to his death in AD67 sometime after the writing of this letter. Coupled with this is his reconciliation and friendship with Paul. Twenty years before this Paul and Peter had some friction between each other,
Galatians 2:11-14 But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?"
But now in Rome, Peter writes in this Epistle that Paul’s writing is scripture, and in verse 2 I think you can even say that Peter quotes Paul’s letter to Titus as scripture. It is clear through many evidences that Paul and Peter were fellowshipping together in Rome and I’m quite certain that they wrote Hebrews together. Their reconciliation is beautiful and Peter’s call for doctrinal purity now in this letter is a wonderful fruit of a life lived for God.
We look at three letters; Second Timothy, Hebrews, and Second Peter, as capstone projects. These letters are the last things written by two condemned men, desiring to communicate their last points to a church which is going to be deprived of its greatest minds, and they want to leave something sure, the written Word of God. (2 Peter 1:15) Many people become philosophical and purposeful when they realize they are going to die, and both Paul and Peter knew that under madman Nero that they were not long for this world, and they write their last thoughts…their direct and no-frills writing is glorious.
2 Peter 1:13-14 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.
2 Timothy 4:6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
Your first application before we even read any of our passage in Second Peter is to always ensure your writing is worthy of being your last. If I died tomorrow would I be embarrassed that this manuscript was my last? No, because I know that I am terminal with less than 100 years to live and that everything must be done towards a purpose and done towards the glory of Christ, and so this manuscript is written to the best of my abilities. Second Peter is similarly written for such a purpose.
Not that any scripture is any more inspired than another, but some scripture is more applicable and easier to understand and more pressing than others. For example, a study of Enoch is less important than a study of Jesus Christ, but a study of Enoch is useful. Likewise, you wouldn’t teach a dying man about stewardship or chiastic structures. You want your last words to be forceful and applicable to all. Peter gives us four major themes that are forceful and applicable to all, these are what he determines as the most important things for the church to know, these are:
1. How to know you’re a Christian
2. The inspiration of the Bible
3. The dangers of false-teachers
4. The immanent return of Jesus Christ and the surety of judgment
So today we’re going to look at how you know you’re a Christian.
2 Peter 1:1-11 Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
So verse 1, which sets a foundation for the rest of the book, is speaking to those who have received faith. This is an important verse concerning where our faith comes from; does it come from our heads or our hearts or from our little toe? No, it says it is external from us, this is a running theme in the Bible (cf. Eph 2:8-9),
Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Our faith is a gift from God, and through this faith we enter into a right relationship with God through the grace of Jesus Christ. Through this grace we have such awesome promise as to be gifted by God to be like God. This is quite a neat fact of history, that Adam and Eve wanted to be like God but took the sinful route and fell far from God,
Genesis 3:5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
But through Christ’s righteousness and his merits we will indeed become like God and partake in his divine nature;
1 John 3:2-3 we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
I want to read verses 3-4 again so you see just how amazing this gift and these promises are;
vv.3-4 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
Adam and Eve sought to be like God by diving into sin, but the way we’ve entered into divine nature is by escaping sinful desire, by repenting, but trusting in Christ and being saved by grace through faith. It is not Peter’s intent, but it is worth mentioning, that what was gained by Christ’s work on the cross and his Resurrection far exceeds what was lost. There is a new song that says, “I want to be in Eden…” and this song, by Phil Wickham, totally misses the glory of New Jerusalem and the great and precious promises.
Part of the reason that what we have now is better is because we now have a knowledge of good and evil, we know why God is good and why sin is wicked. Adam and Eve could not have possibly imagined how much damage their disobedience could have caused, but we do, and so in eternity we will flee from sin in every manifestation, and what better time to start doing so than now? The only difference is that in Heaven we will be incapable of sinning.
Can any of you name the Solas of the Reformation? We don’t have a lot of time to spend on them, but let’s go over them quickly, there are six, albeit most people only name five.
Sola Gratia – Grace Alone
Sola Fide – Faith Alone
Solus Christus – Christ Alone
Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone
Soli Deo Gloria – The Glory of God Alone
Sola Sacerdos – One Priesthood of Believers
What it means, in a nutshell, is that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone known by scripture alone for the glory of God alone resulting in one priesthood of believers. The reason I bring this up is so we can look at Sola Fide, Faith Alone, because we are justified, saved by grace, by faith alone. But it is important to remember that while we’re saved by faith alone, the faith that saves is not alone. And that is what Peter is going to say in verses 5-7
vv.5-7 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
Virtue – A firmness to do what is right; a resolve to follow Christ no matter the cost.
Knowledge – Literally science; knowing both God’s written and general revelation.
Self-Control – Putting knowledge into action.
Steadfastness – Patience/Abiding in the preceding things.
Godliness – Worship and outward giving.
Brotherly Affection (Philadelphia) – Loving inside of the church through action and emotion.
Love (Agape) – Loving outside of the church through action.
Imagine for just a second that we’re all on a baseball team. While I used to be good at baseball, but pretend now I’m not any good; I constantly strike out, I can’t catch, I can’t pitch, and generally I’m just a bad baseball player. Now imagine momentarily that it is possible for the spirit of Babe Ruth to be imputed to me: so that happens and I come running to the field and say, “Hey! The spirit of Babe Ruth is in me! Let’s play baseball!” But when we play, I still strike out, when I do hit the ball it doesn’t make it out of the infield. My first pitch hits the batter in the helmet…does it sound like the spirit of Babe Ruth is in me? Not really.
So now turn it to the real thing, Peter is saying we’re partakers of the Divine Nature, we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us. We should then be abundantly radiating his attributes; virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly love, and charity. And in all of these, we should be hitting home runs; check verses 8 and 9.
vv.8-9 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
If these are yours, then you have evidence of a fruitful life in Christ, but if you don’t, then Peter says you are blind. The end of verse 9 is hard to be totally sure of what it means reading it by itself, but when we look at the context of verse 10 in a second we’ll see that a person who doesn’t have fruit with his faith actually hasn’t been cleansed from former sins and is still dead in his sins and trespasses. The best interpretation I read was that this person probably claimed to be saved but since his faith was alone it was a dead faith and not one capable of saving.
James 2:17-19 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
This is why it’s important to read things in context because if we just read verse 9 we could get all confused, but in verse 10 Peter tells us exactly what he means;
v.10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
We make our calling and election, aka our salvation, sure by looking at our fruit, seeing if it is present and good, and we know that then we have the Holy Spirit in us and working through us. If we have these, we will never fall from grace, and the outcome of our faith is verse 11;
v.11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Through the merits of Christ and the justification, sanctification, and glorification of the Holy Spirit, we will enter into the kingdom of Christ.
So beloved, test yourself to see if you are in the faith, does your faith come with love joy peace patience kindness goodness gentleness faithfulness and self-control? Are you bearing fruit keeping with repentance? Are you trusting in Christ and Christ alone? Is your faith alone or is it accompanied by these qualities.
If it is not attended with these qualities, then beloved I implore you to seek Christ until he saves you and your life bears fruit, that you are sure the Holy Spirit is working in you, because beloved you don’t want to be so near-sighted that you are blind and fall.
Genesis 3:5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
But through Christ’s righteousness and his merits we will indeed become like God and partake in his divine nature;
1 John 3:2-3 we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
I want to read verses 3-4 again so you see just how amazing this gift and these promises are;
vv.3-4 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
Adam and Eve sought to be like God by diving into sin, but the way we’ve entered into divine nature is by escaping sinful desire, by repenting, but trusting in Christ and being saved by grace through faith. It is not Peter’s intent, but it is worth mentioning, that what was gained by Christ’s work on the cross and his Resurrection far exceeds what was lost. There is a new song that says, “I want to be in Eden…” and this song, by Phil Wickham, totally misses the glory of New Jerusalem and the great and precious promises.
Part of the reason that what we have now is better is because we now have a knowledge of good and evil, we know why God is good and why sin is wicked. Adam and Eve could not have possibly imagined how much damage their disobedience could have caused, but we do, and so in eternity we will flee from sin in every manifestation, and what better time to start doing so than now? The only difference is that in Heaven we will be incapable of sinning.
Can any of you name the Solas of the Reformation? We don’t have a lot of time to spend on them, but let’s go over them quickly, there are six, albeit most people only name five.
Sola Gratia – Grace Alone
Sola Fide – Faith Alone
Solus Christus – Christ Alone
Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone
Soli Deo Gloria – The Glory of God Alone
Sola Sacerdos – One Priesthood of Believers
What it means, in a nutshell, is that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone known by scripture alone for the glory of God alone resulting in one priesthood of believers. The reason I bring this up is so we can look at Sola Fide, Faith Alone, because we are justified, saved by grace, by faith alone. But it is important to remember that while we’re saved by faith alone, the faith that saves is not alone. And that is what Peter is going to say in verses 5-7
vv.5-7 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
Virtue – A firmness to do what is right; a resolve to follow Christ no matter the cost.
Knowledge – Literally science; knowing both God’s written and general revelation.
Self-Control – Putting knowledge into action.
Steadfastness – Patience/Abiding in the preceding things.
Godliness – Worship and outward giving.
Brotherly Affection (Philadelphia) – Loving inside of the church through action and emotion.
Love (Agape) – Loving outside of the church through action.
Imagine for just a second that we’re all on a baseball team. While I used to be good at baseball, but pretend now I’m not any good; I constantly strike out, I can’t catch, I can’t pitch, and generally I’m just a bad baseball player. Now imagine momentarily that it is possible for the spirit of Babe Ruth to be imputed to me: so that happens and I come running to the field and say, “Hey! The spirit of Babe Ruth is in me! Let’s play baseball!” But when we play, I still strike out, when I do hit the ball it doesn’t make it out of the infield. My first pitch hits the batter in the helmet…does it sound like the spirit of Babe Ruth is in me? Not really.
So now turn it to the real thing, Peter is saying we’re partakers of the Divine Nature, we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us. We should then be abundantly radiating his attributes; virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly love, and charity. And in all of these, we should be hitting home runs; check verses 8 and 9.
vv.8-9 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
If these are yours, then you have evidence of a fruitful life in Christ, but if you don’t, then Peter says you are blind. The end of verse 9 is hard to be totally sure of what it means reading it by itself, but when we look at the context of verse 10 in a second we’ll see that a person who doesn’t have fruit with his faith actually hasn’t been cleansed from former sins and is still dead in his sins and trespasses. The best interpretation I read was that this person probably claimed to be saved but since his faith was alone it was a dead faith and not one capable of saving.
James 2:17-19 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
This is why it’s important to read things in context because if we just read verse 9 we could get all confused, but in verse 10 Peter tells us exactly what he means;
v.10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
We make our calling and election, aka our salvation, sure by looking at our fruit, seeing if it is present and good, and we know that then we have the Holy Spirit in us and working through us. If we have these, we will never fall from grace, and the outcome of our faith is verse 11;
v.11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Through the merits of Christ and the justification, sanctification, and glorification of the Holy Spirit, we will enter into the kingdom of Christ.
So beloved, test yourself to see if you are in the faith, does your faith come with love joy peace patience kindness goodness gentleness faithfulness and self-control? Are you bearing fruit keeping with repentance? Are you trusting in Christ and Christ alone? Is your faith alone or is it accompanied by these qualities.
If it is not attended with these qualities, then beloved I implore you to seek Christ until he saves you and your life bears fruit, that you are sure the Holy Spirit is working in you, because beloved you don’t want to be so near-sighted that you are blind and fall.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
August 30th - An Imperishable Faith
Prayer Requests
Again, talking about the perishing of gold is Peter introducing a subject he is going to talk more about later in 2 Peter 3. Our faith is imperishable because it is from God, it is his gift to us, yet we need to have it tested, run through the fire, so that the impurities burn off and we have a pure faith. This is done partly on earth, but when we get to Heaven, our faith will be totally pure.
What happens to your gold when you die? You leave it behind.
What happens to your faith when you die? You take it with you, it ensures your salvation and your inheritance in Heaven.
Have you ever heard the quote, “You want to have your cake and eat it too.”? It’s kind of confusing, but when you understand it, it’s cool. It pretty much means I want to have a piece of cake, but I also want to eat that cake, but then I wouldn’t have cake, because it’d be eaten, but if I had cake, then I wouldn’t eat it…understand?
Gold is the same way. You can’t have your gold and give it away too. You can do one or the other.
Mr. White's Baby's Health
Sydney's Cancer
FCA at Durham
Pastor Aaron Preaching - Romans 9
Summit in General
Dave in Wisconsin Preaching
Preaching KSU
Deeper Conference
Sloan’s Home Church in Virginia
Summit in General
Dave in Wisconsin Preaching
Preaching KSU
Deeper Conference
Sloan’s Home Church in Virginia
Christians in Gorja and Punjab, Pakistan
Text – 1 Peter 1:3-9
So, some review. Who wrote First Peter? Peter.
What is another name for this Epistle? Epistle to the Pontians.
Who is its intended audience? Christian exiles from Israel living in rich and poor locations doing all sorts of different work; in effect, everybody.
Who was responsible for these people becoming Christians? Peter and his brother Andrew.
Not that it’s theologically important, but who was the faster runner, John or Peter? John.
We’re going to look at some chemistry today, in order to try to show you how great our saving faith is. Gold right now is going for about $950 an ounce, that is a very little bit of gold for a whole lot of money.
Gold is used for all sorts of things; jewelry, electronics, dentistry, medicine (arthritis), aerospace (heat reflecting), atomic energy (radiation reflecting) and it used to be the standard of monetary value, albeit we’ve gone way past that in our inflation.
Gold is awesome, it is easy to mould and/or cast into what you need it to be, it is very malleable/ductile in that regard. Its ductility refers to the ability to stretch it out without breaking. A single ounce of gold can be drawn into a wire 60 miles long. Gold is the third best conductor of electricity after silver and copper. We use gold in electronics because it doesn’t corrode like silver and copper.
Its malleability refers to how you can squish it. Gold is so malleable that you can squish it so thin that you can see through it and barely even know it is there. F-16’s have gold in their canopies to protect pilots against nuclear attack, likewise, astronauts have gold in their face shields to protect against the heat of outer-space.
Gold is worth a lot of money, because it is very useful. It will never be useless while this earth is still around, and if you buy gold today, it will be exactly the same when you die.
We don’t know how long it takes gold to wear out, or how it wears out; throughout history a lot of people have thought maybe it would last forever. The Blanchard gold company has this on their website:
“Gold does not perish, tarnish or corrode, nor does gold have quality grades. Gold mined thousands of years ago is no different from gold mined today.” (http://www.blanchardonline.com/beru/why_own_gold.php)
The reason that people think gold lasts forever is because it doesn’t corrode in the air or in water, even sea water. Golden chariot wheels from Pharoah’s army, when they were drowned in the Red Sea over 3,000 years ago, are still hanging out on the bottom of the ocean. (http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/c/chariot-wheels.htm) An interesting fact about sea water is that it contains huge amounts of gold and would be very valuable if we could figure out a way to get it out that didn’t cost more than the gold we get out of it. But if we found a cheap and easy way to do it, then it would drive the price of gold down because everybody would do it.
Gold is measured in Karats, which comes from the Carob seed which used to be used to measure things. Gold is called things like “14Karat” or “18Karat”, what this means is the purity of the Gold, the higher the number the better, up to 24. The reason is because the Karat is the percentage of gold in the alloy out of 24, for example, 22Karat gold would be 22 parts gold and 2 parts something else, maybe copper or silver. 24Karat would be pure gold, 8Karat would be a little gold. If you had 22Karat gold and the other 2 parts were lead, you could refine the gold in fire and the lead would burn off and you’d get 24Karat gold.
If you were going to invest in one thing on earth, gold would be a good thing to invest in. But when you die, what would happen to it?
Psalm 49:10 For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others.
We’re going to look at something today which you can hold onto when you die, no matter how much of it you give away. So, let’s see why this matters to Peter’s Epistle.
1 Peter 1:3-9 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
So let’s look at its parts.
v. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Peter doesn’t play around with the Free-Will debate…he doesn’t believe in it. He starts out by praising God for causing us to be born again in order to display his great mercy. In our being born-again we have a hope now which is found in Jesus Christ dying for our sins and being raised for our justification, or in order to declare that our fine is paid and we are declared innocent and blameless in the sight of God.
Peter introduces a lot of things in these verses which he talks about a lot more later in the letter, like the being born-again, we’ll revisit that soon.
Here is what we’ve been born-again too:
v. 4-5 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Our inheritance, as children of God, is Heaven, which we have inherited with Jesus Christ, albeit we don’t have the perfect version yet. We have a hope of these things, and an assurance because God’s power has ensured it. In the last time we will see sin eradicated and we will have Heaven in its imperishable, undefileable, unfading glory, and in it we will see the perfection of God’s creative ability and power. His saving ability will also be perfectly demonstrated.
v. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
Our hope is for Heaven, and we rejoice that we have been reconciled to God and are being sanctified by the Spirit, even though we are temporarily stuck on earth going through various trials. For the people that Peter is writing to, this could be all sorts of things, starting in Cappadocia where some believers were driven deep into hidden caves where they lived most of their life underground. In Asia Christians were subjected not to painful persecution, but were tempted in all sorts of way with idols, sexual immorality, and legalistic religions. A little later and Christians would be losing their heads in Rome and other places.
These trials truly are various. Today you have a pretty small chance of being burned at the stake, but you have a huge chance of someone propositioning you with some sexual or drug sin. John Piper recently made an incredible point that none of us has any power in of ourselves to face these temptations. We were talking about various great Christians who were martyred for their faith, and we made the point that we should at least consider how we would react in those circumstances.
For example, William Tyndale was a great Bible translator and preacher. The Roman Catholic Church threw him in prison and then decided to burn him at the stake. He was preaching the whole way to the stake and as they tied him to the stake. The Catholics who were officiating were so afraid that he would convert people that they had Tyndale strangled to death. He actually died of strangulation while tied to a stake to be burned. Then afterwards the Catholic Church burned his body.
Beloved, I don’t know if I have the courage or ability to withstand that; actually, I know I don’t. But I do know that in that hour the strength and grace would be given to me by God.
The same with trials we will face that are not life and death, God will give us strength and grace to overcome them if we will fight against sin.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
But why are we put through these trials? Let’s look at verse 7.
v. 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Remember if you have 22Karats of gold and 2 parts lead, how do you get the lead out and the gold pure? You fire it and the dross and impurities burn off. Our faith is the same, with one major difference. Our faith will never go away, it is imperishable. Now here is something awesome about the Bible.
Many people throughout history, and even today, think that gold is imperishable, that it will last forever. The Hindu’s say of their god Brahman, “Just as gold remains even when the ornaments are melted…it remains immortal.” They thought that two things were imperishable, their god and gold. But today we know that gold can perish, if you pour various acids on it, it stops being gold and becomes something else. We don’t know how long it lasts if you don’t pour acid on it, but undoubtedly it’s a long time. Various manmade golds can stop being gold in as little as three days.
Text – 1 Peter 1:3-9
So, some review. Who wrote First Peter? Peter.
What is another name for this Epistle? Epistle to the Pontians.
Who is its intended audience? Christian exiles from Israel living in rich and poor locations doing all sorts of different work; in effect, everybody.
Who was responsible for these people becoming Christians? Peter and his brother Andrew.
Not that it’s theologically important, but who was the faster runner, John or Peter? John.
We’re going to look at some chemistry today, in order to try to show you how great our saving faith is. Gold right now is going for about $950 an ounce, that is a very little bit of gold for a whole lot of money.
Gold is used for all sorts of things; jewelry, electronics, dentistry, medicine (arthritis), aerospace (heat reflecting), atomic energy (radiation reflecting) and it used to be the standard of monetary value, albeit we’ve gone way past that in our inflation.
Gold is awesome, it is easy to mould and/or cast into what you need it to be, it is very malleable/ductile in that regard. Its ductility refers to the ability to stretch it out without breaking. A single ounce of gold can be drawn into a wire 60 miles long. Gold is the third best conductor of electricity after silver and copper. We use gold in electronics because it doesn’t corrode like silver and copper.
Its malleability refers to how you can squish it. Gold is so malleable that you can squish it so thin that you can see through it and barely even know it is there. F-16’s have gold in their canopies to protect pilots against nuclear attack, likewise, astronauts have gold in their face shields to protect against the heat of outer-space.
Gold is worth a lot of money, because it is very useful. It will never be useless while this earth is still around, and if you buy gold today, it will be exactly the same when you die.
We don’t know how long it takes gold to wear out, or how it wears out; throughout history a lot of people have thought maybe it would last forever. The Blanchard gold company has this on their website:
“Gold does not perish, tarnish or corrode, nor does gold have quality grades. Gold mined thousands of years ago is no different from gold mined today.” (http://www.blanchardonline.com/beru/why_own_gold.php)
The reason that people think gold lasts forever is because it doesn’t corrode in the air or in water, even sea water. Golden chariot wheels from Pharoah’s army, when they were drowned in the Red Sea over 3,000 years ago, are still hanging out on the bottom of the ocean. (http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/c/chariot-wheels.htm) An interesting fact about sea water is that it contains huge amounts of gold and would be very valuable if we could figure out a way to get it out that didn’t cost more than the gold we get out of it. But if we found a cheap and easy way to do it, then it would drive the price of gold down because everybody would do it.
Gold is measured in Karats, which comes from the Carob seed which used to be used to measure things. Gold is called things like “14Karat” or “18Karat”, what this means is the purity of the Gold, the higher the number the better, up to 24. The reason is because the Karat is the percentage of gold in the alloy out of 24, for example, 22Karat gold would be 22 parts gold and 2 parts something else, maybe copper or silver. 24Karat would be pure gold, 8Karat would be a little gold. If you had 22Karat gold and the other 2 parts were lead, you could refine the gold in fire and the lead would burn off and you’d get 24Karat gold.
If you were going to invest in one thing on earth, gold would be a good thing to invest in. But when you die, what would happen to it?
Psalm 49:10 For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others.
We’re going to look at something today which you can hold onto when you die, no matter how much of it you give away. So, let’s see why this matters to Peter’s Epistle.
1 Peter 1:3-9 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
So let’s look at its parts.
v. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Peter doesn’t play around with the Free-Will debate…he doesn’t believe in it. He starts out by praising God for causing us to be born again in order to display his great mercy. In our being born-again we have a hope now which is found in Jesus Christ dying for our sins and being raised for our justification, or in order to declare that our fine is paid and we are declared innocent and blameless in the sight of God.
Peter introduces a lot of things in these verses which he talks about a lot more later in the letter, like the being born-again, we’ll revisit that soon.
Here is what we’ve been born-again too:
v. 4-5 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Our inheritance, as children of God, is Heaven, which we have inherited with Jesus Christ, albeit we don’t have the perfect version yet. We have a hope of these things, and an assurance because God’s power has ensured it. In the last time we will see sin eradicated and we will have Heaven in its imperishable, undefileable, unfading glory, and in it we will see the perfection of God’s creative ability and power. His saving ability will also be perfectly demonstrated.
v. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
Our hope is for Heaven, and we rejoice that we have been reconciled to God and are being sanctified by the Spirit, even though we are temporarily stuck on earth going through various trials. For the people that Peter is writing to, this could be all sorts of things, starting in Cappadocia where some believers were driven deep into hidden caves where they lived most of their life underground. In Asia Christians were subjected not to painful persecution, but were tempted in all sorts of way with idols, sexual immorality, and legalistic religions. A little later and Christians would be losing their heads in Rome and other places.
These trials truly are various. Today you have a pretty small chance of being burned at the stake, but you have a huge chance of someone propositioning you with some sexual or drug sin. John Piper recently made an incredible point that none of us has any power in of ourselves to face these temptations. We were talking about various great Christians who were martyred for their faith, and we made the point that we should at least consider how we would react in those circumstances.
For example, William Tyndale was a great Bible translator and preacher. The Roman Catholic Church threw him in prison and then decided to burn him at the stake. He was preaching the whole way to the stake and as they tied him to the stake. The Catholics who were officiating were so afraid that he would convert people that they had Tyndale strangled to death. He actually died of strangulation while tied to a stake to be burned. Then afterwards the Catholic Church burned his body.
Beloved, I don’t know if I have the courage or ability to withstand that; actually, I know I don’t. But I do know that in that hour the strength and grace would be given to me by God.
The same with trials we will face that are not life and death, God will give us strength and grace to overcome them if we will fight against sin.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
But why are we put through these trials? Let’s look at verse 7.
v. 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Remember if you have 22Karats of gold and 2 parts lead, how do you get the lead out and the gold pure? You fire it and the dross and impurities burn off. Our faith is the same, with one major difference. Our faith will never go away, it is imperishable. Now here is something awesome about the Bible.
Many people throughout history, and even today, think that gold is imperishable, that it will last forever. The Hindu’s say of their god Brahman, “Just as gold remains even when the ornaments are melted…it remains immortal.” They thought that two things were imperishable, their god and gold. But today we know that gold can perish, if you pour various acids on it, it stops being gold and becomes something else. We don’t know how long it lasts if you don’t pour acid on it, but undoubtedly it’s a long time. Various manmade golds can stop being gold in as little as three days.
Before we knew how to destroy gold and that it wouldn't last forever, various commentators sidestepped the issue and said that gold can be lost, or stolen, or corrupted and that's what Peter was talking about. But today we know that gold, although it will last a ridiculously long time, will not last forever. The Bible has known this from the beginning, afterall, gold was created by God.
Haggai 2:8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of Hosts.
God knows its temporary, but sometimes we forget and think it's the end all and be all of our existence.
James 5:3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.
Our wealth will perish, and if we love it more than God, we will perish with it.
Again, talking about the perishing of gold is Peter introducing a subject he is going to talk more about later in 2 Peter 3. Our faith is imperishable because it is from God, it is his gift to us, yet we need to have it tested, run through the fire, so that the impurities burn off and we have a pure faith. This is done partly on earth, but when we get to Heaven, our faith will be totally pure.
What happens to your gold when you die? You leave it behind.
What happens to your faith when you die? You take it with you, it ensures your salvation and your inheritance in Heaven.
Have you ever heard the quote, “You want to have your cake and eat it too.”? It’s kind of confusing, but when you understand it, it’s cool. It pretty much means I want to have a piece of cake, but I also want to eat that cake, but then I wouldn’t have cake, because it’d be eaten, but if I had cake, then I wouldn’t eat it…understand?
Gold is the same way. You can’t have your gold and give it away too. You can do one or the other.
Acts 3:6 Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."
But faith is boundless in how much you can give away, and the more you give away, the more you get. You can give of yourself and still have all of the blessing. And as your faith abounds, you will be able to better offer to Jesus Christ praise, honor, and glory, and so will those whom you have led to faith in Jesus Christ. Truly the faith given by Jesus Christ is so much better than gold, and not just because gold is fleeting, but because there is so much more blessing and eternality in faith than in gold.
C.S. Lewis said it best, “Whatever is not eternally useful is entirely worthless.” So set your faith on Christ, realize that worldly things are fleeting and that only what is done for Christ will last.
Finally, what do we put our faith in? Peter concludes the thought with verses 8 and 9.
v. 8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Though we have not seen Christ, we know that he is the faithful and true one, he who was dead but is yet alive, he who provided a ransom for our souls. We were once his enemies, but we have been reconciled to be his friends, and as his friends we love him. And because of every good thing that is in him and the promises he has made for us, we rejoice with a joy that is inexpressible.
So let us press forward in our faith, seeing it tested, rejoicing as we are sanctified and purified to be images of the Living Christ, preaching the gospel and faith which are capable of saving the souls of our relatives, friends, and even strangers, for everything we do that does not have a view to Christ will perish.
Finally, a poem that I think sums up this section beautifully on our faith that is worth more than gold. The author of this poem is unknown, some think it was CT Studd, which is as good a guess as any, albeit I think it predates him and I think he only turned it into a much bigger poem:
But faith is boundless in how much you can give away, and the more you give away, the more you get. You can give of yourself and still have all of the blessing. And as your faith abounds, you will be able to better offer to Jesus Christ praise, honor, and glory, and so will those whom you have led to faith in Jesus Christ. Truly the faith given by Jesus Christ is so much better than gold, and not just because gold is fleeting, but because there is so much more blessing and eternality in faith than in gold.
C.S. Lewis said it best, “Whatever is not eternally useful is entirely worthless.” So set your faith on Christ, realize that worldly things are fleeting and that only what is done for Christ will last.
Finally, what do we put our faith in? Peter concludes the thought with verses 8 and 9.
v. 8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Though we have not seen Christ, we know that he is the faithful and true one, he who was dead but is yet alive, he who provided a ransom for our souls. We were once his enemies, but we have been reconciled to be his friends, and as his friends we love him. And because of every good thing that is in him and the promises he has made for us, we rejoice with a joy that is inexpressible.
So let us press forward in our faith, seeing it tested, rejoicing as we are sanctified and purified to be images of the Living Christ, preaching the gospel and faith which are capable of saving the souls of our relatives, friends, and even strangers, for everything we do that does not have a view to Christ will perish.
Finally, a poem that I think sums up this section beautifully on our faith that is worth more than gold. The author of this poem is unknown, some think it was CT Studd, which is as good a guess as any, albeit I think it predates him and I think he only turned it into a much bigger poem:
Only one life,
‘Twill soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
‘Twill soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say,"Thy will be done";
And when at last I'll hear the call,
And when at last I'll hear the call,
I know I'll say "twas worth it all";
Only one life,
‘Twill soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
(http://www.accordingtothescriptures.org/doctrine/onlyonelife.html)
Homework
Write a least two sentences considering Christ’s question, “What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and yet lose their soul?” and how it relates to a world that is perishing.
Then consider if gaining the world is evil. Look at 1 Timothy 6:10 and write at least one sentence describing why the love of money is different than having and using money.
Finally, if the world is perishing and the love of money is the root of all sorts of wickedness, why is it so much better to set your affections on Heaven and God?
‘Twill soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
(http://www.accordingtothescriptures.org/doctrine/onlyonelife.html)
Homework
Write a least two sentences considering Christ’s question, “What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and yet lose their soul?” and how it relates to a world that is perishing.
Then consider if gaining the world is evil. Look at 1 Timothy 6:10 and write at least one sentence describing why the love of money is different than having and using money.
Finally, if the world is perishing and the love of money is the root of all sorts of wickedness, why is it so much better to set your affections on Heaven and God?
Sunday, July 26, 2009
July 26th - Reprobation
Prayer Requests
Sarah and Tyler in China
Pastor Aaron's Minor Surgery
Channing's Minor Surgery
Orissa State in India
Sarah and Tyler in China
Pastor Aaron's Minor Surgery
Channing's Minor Surgery
Orissa State in India
Emily's New Church and Parents Attending
Daniel's Work Situation
Text - 2 Thessalonians 2:11-3:5
So we're coming to the end of Second Thessalonians...I thought the first day of the new school year would be August 26th...but it turns out it's August 9th, so we're going to need to press to get finished with this book. Fortunately it's got two major points left and we have two classes left on it, so we should be fine. I think it's interesting that the end of First Thessalonians, the good church, was filled with lots and lots of minor advice, while the end of Second Thessalonians, the bad church, is concerned with two major things.
The one we're going to look at today is what's called reprobation, when God purposefully keeps someone from salvation. We're also going to look at the gospel...where our hope comes from, because remember, this church was without hope due to them thinking they had missed Heaven. And finally we'll look at what we should do about it.
Thessalonica's hopelessness isn't an isolated thought in scripture, what was Corinth's major failing and why they went so apostate? They denied the Resurrection, therefore they said, "Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." See First Corinthians 15 for a bigger exposition of that. Likewise check out this verse,
2 Timothy 2:16-18 Avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are [destroying - NIV] the faith of some.
Quick recap. Chapter 1 told us what God would do to these people who were afflicting his saints, what was it? Hell for eternity. God is not playing around.
What two things have to happen before Christ returns? A mass falling away from the faith, and the coming of the Antichrist. Why will people believe the Antichrist when he claims to be God? Signs and miracles, and because of verse 11-12.
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
This is called reprobation, when God stops saving people and is purposefully blinding their eyes from salvation. He's done it to various extents through history, but near the end he will do it at a huge scale.
The title for it, reprobation, means to throw away, reject, especially because it's found lacking, as garbage.
Romans 1:28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a reprobate mind to do what ought not to be done.
Jeremiah 6:27-30 "I have made you a tester of metals among my people, that you may know and test their ways. They are all stubbornly rebellious, going about with slanders; they are bronze and iron; all of them act corruptly. The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed by the fire; in vain the refining goes on, for the wicked are not removed. Rejected silver they are called, for the LORD has rejected them."
Let me show you that it's not new:
Exodus 10:20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.
When Israel took Canaan, all of the armies of the land came against them and were destroyed...why?
Joshua 11:20 For it was the LORD’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses.
God decided to kill Ahab, so he convened all of his angels to determine how to get Ahab to go into battle at a certain place.
1 Kings 22:19-22 And Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, saying, 'I will entice him.' And the LORD said to him, 'By what means?' And he said, 'I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he said, 'You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.'"
Finally, Jesus speaks to us about why he's doing as much.
Matthew 13:10-17 Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: "'You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.' But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Does this sound fair? Paul anticipated that question.
Romans 3:3-8 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged." But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? ( I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world? But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.
Lamentations was about such a reprobate people, and here is their answer,
Lamentation 3:39-40 Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins. Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD!
Rather we should rejoice in the patience and lovingkindness of God.
Matthew 17:17 And Jesus answered, "O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?"
God has no obligation to save anyone or enlighten anyone, he could decide to stop saving anyone if he wanted to. After all, Christ's main purpose was to show that God is both just and gracious, but only by satisfying the demands of the law himself.
This is what makes the gospel so much more glorious, that we didn't deserve salvation or communion with God, yet he has made it possible. This is the second time in two chapters that Paul goes into the gospel, I think he does it here because the Thessalonians would be freaked out that Satan is coming to claim to be God, and also wondering if they will be condemned with the reprobate.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
If there is a bigger transitioning "but" in the Bible, I haven't found it.
Text - 2 Thessalonians 2:11-3:5
So we're coming to the end of Second Thessalonians...I thought the first day of the new school year would be August 26th...but it turns out it's August 9th, so we're going to need to press to get finished with this book. Fortunately it's got two major points left and we have two classes left on it, so we should be fine. I think it's interesting that the end of First Thessalonians, the good church, was filled with lots and lots of minor advice, while the end of Second Thessalonians, the bad church, is concerned with two major things.
The one we're going to look at today is what's called reprobation, when God purposefully keeps someone from salvation. We're also going to look at the gospel...where our hope comes from, because remember, this church was without hope due to them thinking they had missed Heaven. And finally we'll look at what we should do about it.
Thessalonica's hopelessness isn't an isolated thought in scripture, what was Corinth's major failing and why they went so apostate? They denied the Resurrection, therefore they said, "Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." See First Corinthians 15 for a bigger exposition of that. Likewise check out this verse,
2 Timothy 2:16-18 Avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are [destroying - NIV] the faith of some.
Quick recap. Chapter 1 told us what God would do to these people who were afflicting his saints, what was it? Hell for eternity. God is not playing around.
What two things have to happen before Christ returns? A mass falling away from the faith, and the coming of the Antichrist. Why will people believe the Antichrist when he claims to be God? Signs and miracles, and because of verse 11-12.
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
This is called reprobation, when God stops saving people and is purposefully blinding their eyes from salvation. He's done it to various extents through history, but near the end he will do it at a huge scale.
The title for it, reprobation, means to throw away, reject, especially because it's found lacking, as garbage.
Romans 1:28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a reprobate mind to do what ought not to be done.
Jeremiah 6:27-30 "I have made you a tester of metals among my people, that you may know and test their ways. They are all stubbornly rebellious, going about with slanders; they are bronze and iron; all of them act corruptly. The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed by the fire; in vain the refining goes on, for the wicked are not removed. Rejected silver they are called, for the LORD has rejected them."
Let me show you that it's not new:
Exodus 10:20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.
When Israel took Canaan, all of the armies of the land came against them and were destroyed...why?
Joshua 11:20 For it was the LORD’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses.
God decided to kill Ahab, so he convened all of his angels to determine how to get Ahab to go into battle at a certain place.
1 Kings 22:19-22 And Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, saying, 'I will entice him.' And the LORD said to him, 'By what means?' And he said, 'I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he said, 'You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.'"
Finally, Jesus speaks to us about why he's doing as much.
Matthew 13:10-17 Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: "'You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.' But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Does this sound fair? Paul anticipated that question.
Romans 3:3-8 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged." But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? ( I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world? But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.
Lamentations was about such a reprobate people, and here is their answer,
Lamentation 3:39-40 Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins. Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD!
Rather we should rejoice in the patience and lovingkindness of God.
Matthew 17:17 And Jesus answered, "O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?"
God has no obligation to save anyone or enlighten anyone, he could decide to stop saving anyone if he wanted to. After all, Christ's main purpose was to show that God is both just and gracious, but only by satisfying the demands of the law himself.
This is what makes the gospel so much more glorious, that we didn't deserve salvation or communion with God, yet he has made it possible. This is the second time in two chapters that Paul goes into the gospel, I think he does it here because the Thessalonians would be freaked out that Satan is coming to claim to be God, and also wondering if they will be condemned with the reprobate.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
If there is a bigger transitioning "but" in the Bible, I haven't found it.
God has chosen us as a remnant out of lost and dying world. We were once without mercy, but now we have received mercy, we were once not a people, but now we are God's people.
How does Paul know that they are chosen? Because he has seen them sanctified by the Holy Spirit, believe in the Resurrected Christ, and called by the preaching of the gospel.
What's sanctification? Being conformed, that is changed, to mirror Jesus Christ in your actions. It is to love what he loves, and hate what he hates. Who does it? The Holy Spirit.
Which truth is it that Paul says we should be believing in? That would take all day, a few: The truth is that God is God, and we're not. That Jesus Christ is God and Diana/Aphrodite/Zeus isn't. That we are incapable of saving ourselves, that there is only one Saviour, Jesus Christ. That he came once to save, he will be coming again to judge. Paul tells the church to reference the First Letter, and to remember what he had preached to them; these are the traditions of which he was speaking, the Old Testament traditions and Early Church ecclesiology. If you ever go toe to toe with a Catholic, they will certainly take you to this verse and say, "See, Paul says hold to tradition." No, he doesn't, he says, "Hold to the tradition." Big difference, hold to the Bible, and know why we do certain things the way we do them.
Story: A young man and woman get married. The wife makes a roast their first week and the husband says, “Honey, this was delicious, but why did you cut the ends off of the roast?” She answers, “I don’t know, that’s just how my mom always did it.” Curious, she calls her mom, “Mom, why do you cut the ends off of the roast?” Her mom answers, “I don’t know, that’s how my mom does it.” The newly wed calls her grandmother, “Grandma, why do we cut the ends off of the roast?” Her grandmother answers, “I don’t know, that’s the way my mom taught me.” Since the girl’s great-grandmother is still alive, she calls her up, “Great-Grandma, why did you cut the ends off of your roasts?” She answers, “Because my pan was too small.”
So, what is the tradition of this gospel? Paul doesn't explicitly say it in this letter, albeit he hints at it so thoroughly that this whole letter is saturated in the gospel. The main concept of the gospel is that Jesus Christ is alive. We see that all throughout the Epistle. What makes that marvelous is that at one point, for three whole days, he was dead. The reason he was dead was because he was executed in our place as a sin-offering to God, but he defeated death; the tomb is empty. He is living and is able to save us, and to do for us what verse 16-17 says.
Real quick, what one word summarizes the Second Thessalonians church? Hopeless.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
Hope! Through Grace! Paul is sticking close to the main theme, that even when everything looks sooooo hopeless, Jesus Christ and his Father have loved us, and given us eternal comfort and good hope through the grace of the gospel.
Paul is questioning...Why don't you have hope? You have God, you have salvation, you have an inheritance in Heaven, you have hope. Now act like it.
The last verse introduces us to chapter 3, and how we are to act. How are we supposed to grow in grace, to become better Christians, to be conformed into an image of Christ, to establish our hearts in hope and comfort?
Here is one of Christianity's greatest failings in the last century, we've ignored this verse and other verses like it. Christianity in the last century, and it's not new to this century, this is just where it has become popular, has said to draw near to God through inward focus. "God loves you and has a wonderful purpose for your life" type stupidity. They say to grow in grace through prayer, fasting, reading your Bible, going to church, going to Sunday School, retreats, claiming promises from the Bible for yourself, opposing Satan through confrontation, and thinking positive. All of these have led to growing rates of depression, divorce, and wrecked faith within the church, because there is no verse that says to be established through inward works, and all this does is foster selfishness.
v. 16-17 May the Lord Jesus Christ himself...establish your heart in every good work and word.
The way we are established and strengthened is through doing good works and using God's Word in ministry. And remember from our lesson on hope, hope in Christ and his work is the steadfast anchor of the soul; that's a pretty established unwobbling faith.
Philemon 1:6 I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.
So share your faith, find a ministry, then multiple places in scripture promise that through this outward focus for Christ, you are sure to be blessed. You will hear me quote often Acts 20:35, It is more blessed to give than to receive. It's true, do it. You don't have to teach a class, you don't have to be a pastor, you don't have to mentor someone, you don't have to preach in the open-air, but you have to be doing something with a view to eternity. The more things the better.
Did Paul take his exhortation seriously?
2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.
We need to pray for each other, and help to spread the Word, the only source of Life. We will face opposition, but God is faithful to protect us. Nothing can happen to us that he hasn't planned and can't use for good. He is protecting us from Satan, we don't need to become demon-hunters, we need to be ministers of the Word.
So, I implore you, do and continue doing the things Christ commands, and pray that the Lord will direct our hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance. For many are perishing, some are irretrievably damned, but we can preach Christ and him crucified so that his name becomes famous, so that we partake in his glory, and that he continues to save himself a remnant, for he is faithful, and mighty to save.
What's sanctification? Being conformed, that is changed, to mirror Jesus Christ in your actions. It is to love what he loves, and hate what he hates. Who does it? The Holy Spirit.
Which truth is it that Paul says we should be believing in? That would take all day, a few: The truth is that God is God, and we're not. That Jesus Christ is God and Diana/Aphrodite/Zeus isn't. That we are incapable of saving ourselves, that there is only one Saviour, Jesus Christ. That he came once to save, he will be coming again to judge. Paul tells the church to reference the First Letter, and to remember what he had preached to them; these are the traditions of which he was speaking, the Old Testament traditions and Early Church ecclesiology. If you ever go toe to toe with a Catholic, they will certainly take you to this verse and say, "See, Paul says hold to tradition." No, he doesn't, he says, "Hold to the tradition." Big difference, hold to the Bible, and know why we do certain things the way we do them.
Story: A young man and woman get married. The wife makes a roast their first week and the husband says, “Honey, this was delicious, but why did you cut the ends off of the roast?” She answers, “I don’t know, that’s just how my mom always did it.” Curious, she calls her mom, “Mom, why do you cut the ends off of the roast?” Her mom answers, “I don’t know, that’s how my mom does it.” The newly wed calls her grandmother, “Grandma, why do we cut the ends off of the roast?” Her grandmother answers, “I don’t know, that’s the way my mom taught me.” Since the girl’s great-grandmother is still alive, she calls her up, “Great-Grandma, why did you cut the ends off of your roasts?” She answers, “Because my pan was too small.”
So, what is the tradition of this gospel? Paul doesn't explicitly say it in this letter, albeit he hints at it so thoroughly that this whole letter is saturated in the gospel. The main concept of the gospel is that Jesus Christ is alive. We see that all throughout the Epistle. What makes that marvelous is that at one point, for three whole days, he was dead. The reason he was dead was because he was executed in our place as a sin-offering to God, but he defeated death; the tomb is empty. He is living and is able to save us, and to do for us what verse 16-17 says.
Real quick, what one word summarizes the Second Thessalonians church? Hopeless.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
Hope! Through Grace! Paul is sticking close to the main theme, that even when everything looks sooooo hopeless, Jesus Christ and his Father have loved us, and given us eternal comfort and good hope through the grace of the gospel.
Paul is questioning...Why don't you have hope? You have God, you have salvation, you have an inheritance in Heaven, you have hope. Now act like it.
The last verse introduces us to chapter 3, and how we are to act. How are we supposed to grow in grace, to become better Christians, to be conformed into an image of Christ, to establish our hearts in hope and comfort?
Here is one of Christianity's greatest failings in the last century, we've ignored this verse and other verses like it. Christianity in the last century, and it's not new to this century, this is just where it has become popular, has said to draw near to God through inward focus. "God loves you and has a wonderful purpose for your life" type stupidity. They say to grow in grace through prayer, fasting, reading your Bible, going to church, going to Sunday School, retreats, claiming promises from the Bible for yourself, opposing Satan through confrontation, and thinking positive. All of these have led to growing rates of depression, divorce, and wrecked faith within the church, because there is no verse that says to be established through inward works, and all this does is foster selfishness.
v. 16-17 May the Lord Jesus Christ himself...establish your heart in every good work and word.
The way we are established and strengthened is through doing good works and using God's Word in ministry. And remember from our lesson on hope, hope in Christ and his work is the steadfast anchor of the soul; that's a pretty established unwobbling faith.
Philemon 1:6 I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.
So share your faith, find a ministry, then multiple places in scripture promise that through this outward focus for Christ, you are sure to be blessed. You will hear me quote often Acts 20:35, It is more blessed to give than to receive. It's true, do it. You don't have to teach a class, you don't have to be a pastor, you don't have to mentor someone, you don't have to preach in the open-air, but you have to be doing something with a view to eternity. The more things the better.
Did Paul take his exhortation seriously?
2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.
We need to pray for each other, and help to spread the Word, the only source of Life. We will face opposition, but God is faithful to protect us. Nothing can happen to us that he hasn't planned and can't use for good. He is protecting us from Satan, we don't need to become demon-hunters, we need to be ministers of the Word.
So, I implore you, do and continue doing the things Christ commands, and pray that the Lord will direct our hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance. For many are perishing, some are irretrievably damned, but we can preach Christ and him crucified so that his name becomes famous, so that we partake in his glory, and that he continues to save himself a remnant, for he is faithful, and mighty to save.
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