Break with a sermon pt. 4

John 6:35

“I am the bread of life.”

Introduction (This stuff only makes sense in the context of the church)

Mention Stacy

Mention self

Borrowed many ideas from Tim Keller

Holiday meals

1. Everyone is hungry…therefore everyone eats

Now what do I mean by this? Well this is an odd way of saying something that we all know, everyone is living for something. Everyone has something that makes their life worth living. It helps them get out of bed in the morning. It helps them rest at ease at night.

Our hearts are made to be attached to something. The heart is not a vacuum; it must rest its affections somewhere. They just don’t exist by themselves.

Or as I put it, everyone is hungry and therefore everyone eats.

The best example I can think of for this idea is of man desperate girl. We all know these girls; they need a man in their life. Usually what happens is that they attach themselves to one loser to another. Their current boyfriend is in jail; their next one will be a drug dealer. Inevitably what usually ends up happening to these girls is attach themselves to one man who uses, abuses, and mistreats in so many ways. Then they move to another guy who does the exact same thing. It is very easy for us on the outside to say, why don’t you just dump the guy? He is a loser, you are paying all his bills, get out of there. But what they are doing is reflecting something true of all of us. The heart must always be attached to something. That is why they replace their current loser with another loser. It must always be attached to something.

Here is another example. I really like the show biggest loser. The genius of what the trainers do in that show is this: in order to change these people’s lives, they don’t just tell them to stop eating fattening food. They realize that their hearts are attached to the food. Instead they point their heart to healthy living. It is not just enough to say stop doing this bad thing. Instead the bad must be replaced with something good.

This leads me to my next point. Everyone is eating but…

2. Most people are eating the wrong food.

It is very easy for us to spot the people who are living blatantly for bad things. Even the message of the world this time of year is that living for money is ultimately unsatisfying. I was watching the Madagascar Christmas special the other day. At the end, one of the little guys learned that it is better to give than to receive. Even the world knows that living for yourself and monetary gain is ultimately an unsatisfying pursuit.

Or in the case of a man who is always cheating on his wife. He is trying to fill that hunger that emptiness with romance, love, or just sex.

But the Bible takes it a step further. This is what this passage speaks towards. In this passage, the people were searching after political power (6:15). Political power is not a bad thing. Kings are not necessarily bad things. But they were trying to find all their value in life in it. This is bad thing. The Biblical principle behind this is that if you live for anything but God, you are living for the wrong thing.

The danger for most people is not living for bad things. I don’t know if most of us will have the temptation to live for drugs. But the temptation for us is to live for good things that aren’t God.

Or in the case of the suburban man, he tries to fill that hunger with his family or his job. Not bad things, but unsatisfying if made central.

What does this look like? If everything is going ok at work, they have value in life. As long as their family is happy, life has value. As long as they are giving to the poor, then everything is ok, and life has value.

First, it is ultimately unfulfilling, unsatisfying for your hunger to feed yourself with anything other than God. It destroys the soul. “The best temporal blessings do not save us from death – wealth, friends, family, food, a good job. These things cannot even save themselves from death.”

This world can never satisfy the longings of the human soul. Ill. In Greek mythology, King Tantalus was punished in the underworld by being chained in a lake. Its waters reached to his chin but receded whenever he bent down to satisfy his burning thirst. Over his head were branches laden with choice fruit, but they immediately withdrew whenever he reached upward to satisfy his hunger. A symbol of utter frustration, his name is immortalized in the English word "tantalize." So, too, seeking to know God, or to satisfy the human soul apart from Christ is utterly futile.

Second the Bible takes it a step further. Not only are these things unsatisfying practically, but this is idolatry and offensive to God.

Sin isn’t only doing bad things, it is more fundamentally making good things into ultimate things. Sin is building your life and meaning on anything, even a very good thing, more than on God. Whatever we build our life on will drive us and enslave us. Sin is primarily idolatry.
Tim Keller

How can this look practically? People fill their lives with all sorts of good things, but make them ultimate things. They turn things like their family or their career or even good works into an ultimate thing. That is sin.

John 6:26-27, 49. When the people asked for temporal gifts, this is Jesus’ response. You are filling yourself with the wrong things.

How do you know what you are living for? Are you living for God, or have you tried to satisfy your hunger with something less.

The way to test this is by asking yourself, what is my worst nightmare? What if you lost it, you would lose all joy and value in life?

For instance, if something is good and you lose it, you will be sad, it will definitely affect you. We have had many people lose their jobs over the past year or so. If it is just a good thing, it will make you sad. But if it is you hunger’s satisfaction, you will be devastated. It will be hard for you to get out of bed, because how will you know that you are alright except if you excel at your job?

Most people are eating the wrong food. This food first unsatisfying, and second offensive to God.

And this leads us to the final point, here is where the good news lies.

3. Jesus is the bread of life

In light of what we have been talking about and what we have been feeling as human beings since the beginning, Jesus comes along and makes huge claims, not just here, but remember he also said similar things to the Samaritan woman.

What does he offer?

Read John 6:32-40

1) He offers life to all (6:33)

2) He offers to satisfy and sustain life (6:35)

3) He offers to receive all (6:37)

4) He offers authority and truth (6:38)

5) He offers security (6:39)

6) He offers eternal life (6:40)

Is this not great news? Is this not good news to hear? After hearing how everything else will fail or leave you, Jesus stands up and says I am the bread of life. All other bread is stale compared to me.

What are the objections?

But there are a few objections in the crowd, just as there are more than a few objections today.

I remember the other day at Starbucks; I was reading my Bible during my break. One of our regulars came up to me and asked me what I was reading. I showed him and I even got him to read a few verses. I told him how exciting and interesting it was. His response was that the Bible was fine, but he had other things to read. In part, what I think he was saying was, this is not as important as you want me to believe it is.

Jesus’ audience responds the same way. John 6:41-2

Jesus responds with the same thing he said earlier. All this other bread, it cannot satisfy or sustain you. I am the bread of life.

All other objections we can think of today, Christianity is a failed system, but you don’t know how the church has hurt me, there is not really a God, I don’t have time: Jesus’ response is enough, I am the bread of life. Here I am, believe in me, have faith in me. That is his offer.

Conclude

Everyone out there is filling themselves with something. They are living for something and trying to find satisfaction with some bread. Some choose family, others career, and still others money. All of these will not satisfy.

I want to conclude today by reading a hymn I found and then a Bible verse that stands as an offer to all of us.

Bread of life

Bread of heaven, on thee we feed,

For thy Flesh is meat indeed;

Ever may our souls be fed,

With this true and living Bread;

Day by Day with strength supplied,

Through the life of him who died.

Vine of heaven, thy Blood supplies

This blest cup of sacrifice;

Lord thy wounds our healing give,

To thy cross we look and live:

Jesus, may we ever be

Grafted, rooted, built in thee.

Isaiah 55:1-2

12/13

While religious affections must be a part of true religion they are by no means saving grace.  The affections of our hearts towards God should not be condemned or ignored, for they are a great part of Christianity.  They should not be lifted above everything else.  We are not saved by how joyous our heart is.  You are not a Christian because you sing loud in church.

Look at the Galatians.  At one point, they had high esteem for Paul and his message about Jesus.  They rejoiced in it.  Gal. 4:14-15.  But he still said of them, Gal. 4:11.

Or look at the affections of the Israel after the Red Sea episode.  They sang out for joy after their deliverance.  Exodus 14:30-31, Ex. 15:1.  How quickly though they turned from joy to grumbling.  These same people hardened their hearts and fell in the desert.  

But the most striking example is in the life of Jesus.  On one day they cut off branches, shouted Hosanna, and laid their clothes in from of him.  Their affections were high.  But how many of those people later turned away and hid, or cried out crucify him?  The affections for him fell when he no longer road on an ass, but was a marked man by Rome and the Pharisees.

All of this nature is quelled and dead, when this Jesus stands bound, with a mock robe and a crown of thorns, to be derided, spit upon, scourged, condemned and executed. Indeed, there was a great and loud outcry concerning him among the multitude then, as well as before; but of a very different kind: it is not then, Hosanna, hosanna, but Crucify, crucify. (Edwards Religious Affections Part 2).


So our affections must be a part of our religion.  But they by no means save us.  Rather they should be a reflection of our salvation. 

12/8

Here are a few quotes from Edwards Religious Affections to round off the first part of the book:

as may have a great tendency to stir up the passions of weak and ignorant persons, and yet have no great tendency to benefit their souls: for though they may have a tendency to excite affections, they may have little or none to excite gracious affections, or any affections tending to grace.


If true religion lies much in the affections, hence we may learn, what great cause we have to be ashamed and confounded before God, that we are no more affected with the great things of religion. It appears from what has been said, that this arises from our having so little true religion.


But is there anything which Christians can find in heaven or earth, so worthy to be the objects of their admiration and love, their earnest and longing desires, their hope, and their rejoicing, and their fervent zeal, as those things that are held forth to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ?

There also the hateful nature of our sins is manifested in the most affecting manner possible: as we see the dreadful effects of them, in that our Redeemer, who undertook to answer for us, suffered for them. And there we have the most affecting manifestation of God's hatred of sin, and his wrath and justice in punishing it; as we see his justice in the strictness and inflexibleness of it; and his wrath in its terribleness, in so dreadfully punishing our sins, in one who was infinitely dear to him, and loving to us.

12/7

But here comes the balance of everything.  Having only religious affections is just as dangerous as having no religious affections.  

While Jonathan Edwards writes about this back in the 1700's, I think it has become a more divisive and more prominent problem in our day.  The reason is that we have the charismatic movement today.



Here is the problem.  Many in the charismatic movement have much religious affections.  They are excited about God.  They want to see him working.  They know he is powerful.  Those outside the movement though hear some of the things some charismatics teach (see how careful I was) and hear blatant heresy and lies from Satan.  

A perfect case study is the "outpouring" of God's Spirit last year in Lakeland, Fl.  This revival started small and they grew bigger and bigger.  Eventually it was filling up the Lakeland Civic Center and then moved out to the airport.  They claimed miracles and healings.  However it came to an abrupt halt when the leader was caught in adultery.  Now I don't know the man's heart.  But this caused so much work that he had done to fall apart. 



People outside the charismatic movement see this and misuse of Scripture and deny religious affections in general. However this is moving from one extreme, Christianity is all affections and excitement, to the other, Christianity has no affections or excitement.  This is the problem of being off balance, you fall over.  


"There are false affections, and there are true. A man's having much affection, does not prove that he has any true religion: but if he has no affection it proves that he has no true religion. The right way, is not to reject all affections, nor to approve all; but to distinguish between affections, approving some, and rejecting others; separating between the wheat and the chaff, the gold and the dross, the precious and the vile." (Edwards Religious Affections Part 1) 


We have to be careful.  When we see the most excited man for Christ, he might just be excited for Christ, or he might be a wolf in sheep's clothing ready to carry some away. 

12/6

"But yet it is evident, that religion consists so much in affection, as that without holy affection there is no true religion" (Jonathan Edwards Religious Affections Part 1).


So we continue with talking about affections. Again the point I am aiming at here is that true Christianity is not just knowing stuff. It is not just doing good works. It is not just in our minds, nor in our hands. But it is also in our hearts. Where does our affection lie? And this is important because our heart is the fountain of our beliefs and actions. So we continue


The Bible presents a clear picture of a heart that has no affection for God whatsoever. This is a heart that leads to disobedient acts and an unbelieving mind. It is the hard heart. Here are a few passages to consider.


Ole' Pharaoh would not listen to God. Why? Exodus 7:1-3, Exodus 7:13-14.


Israel in the desert disobeyed God because of their hardened hearts, which led to unbelief. Psalm 95:7-11


In this passage, the Pharisees 1) refused a healing of an injured man, 2) refused to believe Jesus as the Messiah, and 3) worked to kill Jesus all because of their hardened hearts. Mark 3:5


And in Paul's missionary work, some in the synagogue refused to believe in Jesus as the Messiah because of their hard hearts. Acts 19:9


Now we can see that a hard heart leads to 1) unbelief and 2) disobedience.

The opposite of a heart of stone is a heart of flesh and a humble heart. Ezekiel 11:18-19. It is a gift from God. He changes our hearts from stone to flesh. This moves our affections and causes obedience.


2 Kings 22:19. It causes us to repent of our wrong ways and turn to God, asking for his grace and mercy.


This idea should change our perspective. We need to watch our hearts. Are softening or hardening towards God?


Also, this really changes how we preach. And it should affect how we pray for non-Christians. It shows why some people do not come to Christ. We are not just in the business of reaching people's minds, but we also aim at the heart. The heart is the fountain of belief and unbelief, faithfulness and faithlessness. Aim at the heart.

Finally, watch your heart. You are the only one who knows it. Proverbs 28:14

12/3

Not only does the Bible calls us to affections, but our religious actions do as well.

For instance prayer.  When we ask God for things in prayer (hopefully that is not the only time we pray), he already knows what we need and how he will answer the prayer (Matthew 6:7-8).  But prayer and asking for God to work in our lives prepares our hearts for how he will answer.  When we pray our affections turn to God.  When he answers our prayers, our affections turn to God.  If we ask nothing of him, it is not as if he stops caring for us, but it may be that we have stopped caring for him.  

Or when we sing praises to God.  Yes, it does bring him honor and I bet it brings him joy.  But it also calls our hearts to find love, joy, and fulfillment in him.  I find myself sometimes singing familiar words, but my affections for God being renewed.  

Finally, preaching, in part, revives and renews man's affections for God.  Preaching does not just rise to the mind, cause us to scratch our chins, and say well that was a provoking thought.  No, also burrows down deep into our hearts.  Long after anyone else remembers the sermon, you still remember that line that stirs at your heart.  Preaching does not necessarily have to be new information.  It just has to go to our hearts and renew our affections for God (2 Peter 1:11-12).  Good preaching hits the heart as much as the mind (maybe even moreso).  

So when you pray, sing, hear a sermon, or read your Bible, let these actions calls your affections back to God.  He is a great God.  He deserves and fulfills our affections. 

11/30

Jesus our Lord had deep religious affections as well. He kept them for God and man.


Let's take a look at a few.

John 2:17. The zeal for the Lord and his house consumes him. This is an emotional episode for Jesus. He cares so deeply for God, that seeing moneychangers hanging around the temple causes him to overturn tables, scream, and shout. Zeal drove him to this.

Mark 3:5. He grieved at sin hardening man's heart.

He wept, WEPT, for Jerusalem. Luke 19:41-42

His compassions for people ran deep. Matt. 15:32 (he even was worried about people fainting from hunger), Luke 7:13, Matt. 9:36, Matt. 14:14, and Mark 6:34. His compassion runs very deep.

When I was thinking about all this, I thought, didn't Jesus do great things. Look how compassionate he was to those people back then. But then I realized that we serve a Living God and a Risen Christ. His emotions still run deep. He did not just care way back when. He is alive today and he still cares for us. He is still with us. He still cares for us.

11/24

So the Bible teaches us that knowing God is part belief, but not only belief. Another part of knowing God is our affections. Do we love him. Is he the object of our mind only or of our heart as well? Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Let's consider for a moment those in the Bible who not only believe in God, but loved him with all their heart and life.

David is considered a man after God's own heart. God chose him to be king over all of Israel. He had a lot of responsibilities. Not only that, but during his life he was on the run. He fought against the Philistines, he fought for the Philistines. Saul tried to kill him, Saul's son tried to kill him. His own son Absalom attempted to usurp his throne. The grass did not grow under his feet too long before he had to run again. But in all this, David's affections were turned towards the Lord. Look to the Psalms

Psalm 9:1-4. Psalm 14:1. Psalm 16:1-2. Psalm 23. This is just a taste of what is in there. David loved God with everything in him.


Paul the Apostle. He was beaten up, arrested, and jailed on how many account, the Lord only knows. He traveled across eastern Europe preaching the gospel. But look where his affections lie.

2 Corinthians 5:12,14-15. The love of Christ controls us. And because he loves God with all his heart, he loves and cares for God's people as well. 2 Corinthians 2:4. And Paul is not just affectionate towards those he knows, his friends. He loves the new people in his life, 1 Thessalonians 2:8.

If you read through all of Paul's letters, you see that all his emotions and affections are tied to 1) God and 2) the church.

Paul's religion consisted of many affections and emotions.


We will rest on these two examples.

11/22

As I am reading through this next section (Edwards is writing about the holy affection of love), it occurs to me that in our culture we have diluted the word. We use it so often that it loses some of its power and meaning. You can flip on the TV and hear the Beatles' All You Need is Love being used to sell Blackberry Phones. The water has become diluted and muddy for us. Or you can watch the political minefields and see one group on one side yelling that they are truly compassion and loving, while the other side is yelling the same thing. So love is a loaded term for us. But that does not mean we abandon the thought altogether. No we must learn more about it, so we can act genuinely loving in our life and see the pretenders as pretenders.

Let's look at one love myth that is prominent in our culture, then what Jesus and Paul say about love, and finally how love relates to all the previous emotions we looked at.

First, the lie of our culture is All you need is love.
It is popular out there to take love and try and divorce it from any belief system. The idea is that if you are kind and good and nice towards everyone then you are good before God. Any belief system about Jesus or Allah or anyone that opposes the good feelings is unloving and destructive. This is a basic flower child belief. It is a can't we all just get along kind of feeling. The problem with this is love works within belief systems, not apart from them. Love never exists outside belief systems, because humans do not exist outside belief systems.

The best example I have is in how to raise a child. If you believe that love is being nice to everyone and never being mean, then when you raise you child, you will not discipline them. Discipline is considered mean in your belief system. Therefore, the way you love your child is to let them do whatever they want and never correct or discipline them.

Or if you believe that love can consist of disciplining and correcting your child, then when you are "mean" to them in discipline, you are actually loving them. We love our child and therefore hate when he acts wrong. Love comes in the form of many different actions.

It seems like everyone is sellin' love these days. You have to ask, "what kind of love are they sellin'?"

Again the main point is love always, always exists in belief systems, not apart from them.


Now let's see what Paul and Jesus have to say about Love.

Matthew 22:34-40. Jesus here quotes from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18.
Romans 13:8-10. Paul again points back to the Law of Moses to understand love.

So what do we know now. Paul and Jesus agree, love is the chief heartbeat for what proper actions are. God directs us to the heart feeling of love to be the first of all our actions. And these actions fall into a belief system. And remember love and these other affections are outgrowths from our faith in what Jesus has done on the cross to allow us to be forgiven and live.

I want to conclude with a quote from Edwards because I think he concludes his section very well. He shows us how love can and should relate to all our other emotions and affections.

"From hence it clearly and certainly appears, that great part of true religion consists in the affections. For love is not only one of the affections, but it is the first and chief of the affections, and the fountain of all the affections. From love arises hatred of those things which are contrary to what we love, or which oppose and thwart us in those things that we delight in: and from the various exercises of love and hatred, according to the circumstances of the objects of these affections, as present or absent, certain or uncertain, probable or improbable, arise all those other affections of desire, hope, fear, joy, grief, gratitude, anger, &c. From a vigorous, affectionate, and fervent love to God, will necessarily arise other religious affections; hence will arise an intense hatred and abhorrence of sin, fear of sin, and a dread of God's displeasure, gratitude to God for his goodness, complacence and joy in God, when God is graciously and sensibly present, and grief when he is absent, and a joyful hope when a future enjoyment of God is expected, and fervent zeal for the glory of God. And in like manner, from a fervent love to men, will arise all other virtuous affections towards men." (Edwards Religious Affections Part 1).

11/20

The next attribute we have as true Christians is zeal, excitement. This like all the other characteristics grows from our affections.

If your affections dwell on fantasy football, then you will have zeal and excitement for it. If they dwell on shopping or getting a good deal, then you will be rolling out of bed at 2 am and fighting the crowds a week from today.

If your affections focus and remain on God you will have zeal for 2 things.

First, you will have zeal for doing good. Titus 2:11-14. In this passage, God's grace has appeared. As a result (not a consequence), we flee ungodliness and move towards godliness. And Jesus' people are characterized as having zeal for good works. We know this and most people outside the church understand this about us. We as a people should move towards social justices (see IJM). This is a good thing and what many people forget is that it has been a part of Christianity since the beginning. Christians have always sought good works with zeal (or at least should have). I was reading about some early Christians and their involvement with fighting plagues. While others were sending the sick away during plagues, Christians nursed the sick. Some caught the different illness and joined the dead. Others just helped the sick. Either way, while others ran, Christians had a zeal for good works.

Second, you will have zeal for Jesus. Revelation 3:15-20. Here we find Jesus going for a drink. But the water is not cold, which is refreshing, and it is not hot, which is soothing. Instead it is room temperature and tastes like feet. What else can he do but spit it up. Christians without any zeal are about to be spit up. In this passage, the people put their affections on earthly and material things. They were wealthy. They were wearing designer togas. But Jesus only sees them as poor and naked. Their affections and their zeal rest only on things here. Jesus says instead let them rest on me, I offer so much more.

Affections and zeal are closely related. As Christians let us turn our zeal towards good works and towards Jesus. He is the one who has given us grace and provided forgiveness through the cross.

11/19

This next part perplexes and confuses me. Edwards writes about compassion, mercy, and generosity. And again these characteristics of a true Christian grow out from our justification (God forgiving us). These things do not cause us to receive salvation. As I heard it said, our sanctification does not cause our justification, but grows out from it.

First he connects all three as a common sisterhood of attributes. I will write want I know and understand, but I must confess that I have a lot to learn.

First, let's get an idea of what mercy is not. Mercy is not justice. In fact they are opposites. Justice is getting what you deserve. If my pay rate is $6.00 an hour and I work 3 hours, then it is just that I get $18.00. Justice is a good thing. If I only get $12, then injustice has occurred. However, if I work 3 hours and my boss gives me $1,000, then mercy, generosity, and compassion has occurred.

Second, what then is mercy? I would say that it is not getting what you deserve, but for your favor.

Third, how are mercy and generosity related? Mercy can take the form of generosity. Generosity is typically (but not necessarily) associated with money.

So this is the picture I have in my mind of mercy. Let's look at some of the Bible verses:

Psalm 37:21-22. Wicked people are cheap and cheats. But the righteous are generous (again a form of mercy). Psalm 37:26.

Matthew 5:7. And look here this is interesting. It is possible to be giving, but not generous. Matthew 23:23.

Hosea 6:6, which is quoted many times in the New Testament. In fact, Jesus quoted it several times. In Matthew 9:13, he says it to the Pharisees when they ask him why he would have dinner with the scum of the earth. And he quotes it at the Pharisees again in Matthew 12:7, when the call Jesus' disciples out for breaking the Sabbath traditions.

We need to be fond of mercy and make it part of our lives because 1) Mercy is the foundation of our salvation and 2) it is an attribute of God that we copy. God was merciful to us by defeating the devil, forgiving us, and freeing us from the bondage of sin. We do not do anything to deserve it. Jesus did not die because we were so lovable. It is God's mercy that he went to the cross. Not only that but he is merciful by providing us with food (in abundance) and with it the sun and rain.

Check out Matthew 18:15-35 to get a clear understanding of Jesus' teaching on the necessity of mercy.

11/18

I have found this devotional reading to be helpful. I tend to find belief (thinking) to be easy but the internal reactions (feelings) to be harder. So this is perfect for me because it is challenging me in areas that I need help.

In Matthew 5:3-4, Jesus restates something that is found throughout God's word: God is near those who are sorrowful. We last looked at joy, but on the opposite side of the same coin fits sorrow as one of our religious affections. Sorrow is in the heart of every true Christian.

Let's look at more Bible verses:

Psalm 34:16-17, here we see that the Lord is near those who are low and he saves them. So this adds some light to what Jesus said, because it is God who comforts those who mourn.

Isaiah 61:1-2, if these words sound familiar that is because Jesus quoted them in Luke 4:16-21. In Luke, Jesus applies them to himself basically as his inaugural address. He uses these words to start off his ministry.

Psalm 51:16-17, the Psalmist contrasts here what pleases God. God does not delight in mere temple sacrifice. Religious actions without a religious heart mean nothing to him. Prayer without a prayerful heart means nothing. Singing for the sake of singing means nothing. But a broken and humble spirit he will not despise. Take a glance at the title of this Psalm. David wrote this at one of the lowest points of his life. He was repenting and sorrowful over his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah.

Isaiah 57:15, God is said to dwell in two places here: He is above the heavens controlling and running the universe. He is the mighty King over all kings. Everything bows to him. But also he is with him who is low in spirit. He is with them to revive them. Wow! Isaiah 66:1-2 reinforces this point. Wow!


Why is sorrow, humility, and lowliness such an exalted attribute?

Part of many of our evil actions is arrogance. We do not want to obey and then we puff up and decide to follow our own way.

It is interesting, Sorrow is not opposed to joy in the Bible. Instead sorrow and joy are both good characteristics. No, sorrow is opposed to pride and arrogance.

The sorrowful understand their lot: they need God, they gladly obey. He is their only source of life and grace, where else can we turn. If you do not see yourself as a brokenhearted captive, a prisoner, mourning and in need of God's favor then he cannot help you.

11/16

Jonathan Edwards in Religious Affections has been showing that Christianity is not just about knowing the right teachings or as he might say true orthodoxy. It is not just about believing the right things (although that is part of it). But true Christianity is also having the right emotions or religious affections. The Bible has a lot to say about how we live our lives in response to God, emotionally, spiritually, mindfully.

The next attribute he talks about is joy (which ironically is followed by sorrow).

The Bible commands those who follow God to be joyful. It is a good thing it says it so much because this is one of the harder things for us to keep. It is so much easier to complain, worry, whine, and fret. But let's see what the Bible can teach us about holy joy.

First lets see what is says about when we should rejoice. Philippians 4:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:16.
In both these verses we are told to rejoice always. Now the problem is that at some point in our lives if we live long enough we are going to get knocked down or kicked in the teeth.

Notice though in both verses, we are not told to rejoice in the good time. Nor are we told to rejoice in the blessings of God. In fact we are told to rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in who he is. Rejoice that there is a just, wise, Fatherly God who cares.

So if we are rejoicing in who God is, then it makes sense that we can be joyful always because even though our circumstances might change from good to bad or bad to good in a heartbeat, he never changes. He is always a holy, gracious God.

Let's look at a few more verses. Jesus teaches us that we can rejoice in persecution. Matthew 5:11-12.

We can rejoice despite evil and evildoers. Psalm 37:1-4. All the evil will fade away. Delight in what God delights in, this will help you to be joyful always. Rejoice in the person of God, not just in his blessings or your good circumstances.

Now the question I have, how do we rejoice?

Psalm 33:1-3. With lyre, melodies, 10 stringed guitars (harps), make us a song, sing an old one, play skillfully, and sing it loud. Turn your heart to God and shout for joy. He is good. Jesus is risen! Death your time will only last a little longer! Evil is on its way out! He is good and He is risen! Shout it.

And Psalm 149:1-4. Not only sing it, but dance it. Boogie down with tambourine and guitar. The Lord takes pleasure in his people! He clothes us with salvation!

Finally, all this may come easier to some than to others. But it is a part of true religion/true Christianity. If this is difficult for you remember that joy fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:21). Ask God to help you have a joyful heart and see his Spirit work in you. Prayer is a tool that will never go to waste. Call out to him and see your heart change.

Check out this joyful video. The fall of Satan! A Mighty Fortress is Our God!

11/15

Edwards next deals with desire as a necessary part of true Christianity. The desire for God must be our first desire.

I realized as I was reading the verses he laid out for this section that many have contemporary songs written about them. Here are the examples.

First an oldie but a goodie. I learned this one at camp.
Psalm 42:1-2
Here is the song

We sang this at our wedding
Psalm 63:1-2
Here is the link (with Spanish subtitles!)

Psalm 84:1-2
Here is the link

I couldn't remember the song to this one, but someone out there might know
Psalm 73:25

Here is one I thought of
Isaiah 55:1-2 and Rev. 21-22
This is a great song

We have so many good songs out today that cry out in our desire for God. Let us not stop crying out to him in desire. Let us add to this other songs and other affections. I was just really happy when I was reading these verses. I thought, this is something the present church does well.

11/13

What is our proper response to sin? A part of true Christianity and true Christians is a proper response to sin. So how should we respond to it?

Let's see what the Bible puts before us.

In Psalm 97:10, it reads that those who love the Lord need to hate sin.

Again in Psalm 119:103-104, the man who finds God's ways sweet, find false ways completely bitter. They hate them.

Again in Psalm 139:20-22, man hates those who hate the Lord. He hates those who sin maliciously against God.

In Proverbs 8:12-13, says that the fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.

Finally, lest we think hatred of evil is from the mean Old Testament God and Jesus and the New Testament only Love, Romans 12:9, says first that Love must be sincere and part of this sincere love is hating what is evil.

The bible tells us that God is completely righteous. Sin stands in contrast to God's righteousness. Therefore we must abhor any sin, especially any sin within us.

We cannot dabble, play-around, or rollick in sin. It is the opposite of God. It is what he saved us from. Our proper response is hatred of sin. We cannot let it be a part of our lives. Thank the Lord that he saved us from the depths, mud, and mire of our own sin. His grace is wonderful. We hated light and loved the darkness, but he forgives us. He brings us out of sin. Thanks be to God for the grace he provides through Jesus. Damn sin. Hate it, for it is opposed our Good and Gracious God.

11/12

Hope is another sign of a true Christian (or true religion).

Hope is something that keeps all people going when they feel weak. If you are running a race, the thing that will keep you going when you get that side cramp is the hope that you will finish alive. It keeps people strong. Check out Hebrews 6:11-12.

The Bible has a lot to say about hope.

First and foremost, God tells us what not to put our hope in, (Psalm 146:3-4, Psalm 33:16-17). The first part is we ultimately do not put our hopes in man. These verses even tell us why, Man is not strong enough. The best of men fail. The best of men lie. The best of men eventually die. We cannot put all our hope and trust in them.

If any and every man is not strong enough, then who do we hope in? Read the verses that are right after the previous ones (Psalm 146:5-7, Psalm 33:18-19). God is the creator over all. He is big enough to hope in. Not only is he strong enough, but read those verses again. They tell us that he is just and gracious. He is big enough to hope in.

So the who to hope in is God not man. But what do we hope for? Here is what the Bible says, 1 Peter 1:3-5.

First God's mercy gives us the opportunity to be born again. Because Jesus did not rot in the grave, if we are in him, we will not stay in the grave either. At the end of it all, we can receive the inheritance that is "imperishable, undefiled, and unfading," waiting for you in heaven. Do we deserve this, heck no techno. But that is part of God's grace.

Take heart and take hope. Do not hope in the promises of man. The utopia's they envision will never be fully fulfilled. Man cannot bring about heaven. The justice of this earth is limited. Hope in the one true living God who will never fail, who fulfills every promise, who is big and powerful enough to accomplish his work. He will never die. Hope in Jesus who leads the way to heaven. Hope in the inheritance he provides at the end of it all. Trust in his grace for he is good.

11/11

So holy affections must be at the foundation and center of our religion or we have a shallow and worthless faith.

Next Edwards talks about what emotions should be a part of our feelings towards God. If our heart is going to cry out to him, what is the emotional response that it cries.

First, we must fear the Lord.

We fear him because he is 1) Creator of all, 2) Judge of all, 3) righteous.

1) He is the Creator over all. To be the Creator gives him authority over his creation.

2) He is also the Judge over all. He declares what is right and wrong. This comes from the fact that he has authority and right over all creation. Part of his authority is demeaning what is right or wrong.

3) He is righteous. As a judge he is righteous. Believe it or not, some people in authority misuse and abuse their power. Judges accept bribes and favor those with the most money. God cannot be bribed. He is not respecter of position or wealth. He judges and acts righteously.

Knowing this about God, our proper response is fear. We have a healthy respect for the authority over us. We respect his position and his work.

Here (briefly) is (in part) what the Bible has to say about fearing God.

Fearing God is foundational for everyone (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). This is not just for religious people or those who go to church. Fearing God and respecting his great authority is foundational for everyone on the planet. Unfortunately not everyone approaches God in fear. This gets us into trouble.

Further those who fear God as a righteous God, act morally righteous because they know God to be the judge over all. So fearing God calls people to moral living (Genesis 42:18, Exodus 1:17).

True religion and true godliness are characterized (in part) with the fear of the Lord. This is hard for us as American Christians. Authority is "the man." We don't like to listen to the man. Rules are meant to be broken and authority is out of touch to the real man's needs. Most people in authority on TV or in movies are not smart but achieved their position by sucking up to the other bosses who are also not smart. This is what we are constantly being told (if you don't believe me watch The Office).

But we cannot takes this attitude from our culture and bring it into our church. For one of the characteristics of true religious soul affection towards God is trusting in his authority and obeying him in fear.

11/10

I have begun reading Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards. Here are a few thoughts from the beginning.

Today, especially in younger Christian circles, we have been emphasizing good works, helping the poor, freeing the oppressed, being kind, so on. But we must be careful not to forget about the hearts of the matter, because "true religion in a great part consists in holy affections." I know we emphasize good works, but where is the heart.

At the beginning of his work, Edwards says that all our affections come from the soul. And one of the great differences between true religion and false religion is where the heart of our soul is, where our affections lie.

Because the Bible does not just call us to good works. Instead the way I would think of it is that works are the outgrowth of the affections of our soul. Fantasy football is huge today. One ESPN reporter said that over 27 million people play fantasy football. On average, they spend nines hours a week playing it during the football season. I would say then that the people's soul loves fantasy football, therefore their actions show it: they play it over nine hours a week on it.

It begins in the soul, what the soul loves or hates. If the soul loves something, then their actions will reflect it. So if in the church today we are merely talking about our actions, being kind, freeing the poor and so on, we are missing a big part of the equation.

Instead here is what the Bible calls us to Romans 12:11, Deuteronomy 6:4-6, Deuteronomy 10:12, Deuteronomy 30:6. Edwards puts it like this, "True religion is evermore a powerful thing; and the power of it appears, in the first place in the inward exercises of it in the heart, where is the principal and original seat of it." (Religious Affections part 1).

We can do these good works without any concern or care for God, but that is not what he calls us to. Again here is Edwards, "If we be not in good earnest in religion, and our wills and inclinations be not strongly exercised, we are nothing. The things of religion are so great, that there can be no suitableness in the exercises of our hearts, to their nature and importance, unless they be lively and powerful." And here is the Bible, 2 Timothy 3:5.

So here is the question I have for us today, what stirs your spirit? Is it God? Is it fantasy football? What excites you the most?

And though true grace has various degrees, and there are some that are but babes in Christ, in whom the exercise of the inclination and will, towards divine and heavenly things, is comparatively weak; yet everyone that has the power of godliness in his heart, has his inclinations and heart exercised towards God and divine things, with such strength and vigor that these holy exercises do prevail in him above all carnal or natural affections, and are effectual to overcome them: for every true disciple of Christ “loves him above father or mother, wife and children, brethren and sisters, houses and lands: yea, than his own life." From hence it follows, that wherever true religion is, there are vigorous exercises of the inclination and will towards divine objects: but by what was said before, the vigorous, lively, and sensible exercises of the will, are no other than the affections of the soul. (Religious Affections part 1)

So we all stand here asking ourselves, what excites me? How is my prayer life? Do I read God's word daily? Do I love God with all my heart, soul, and everything in me?

I hope this has challenged you as much as me. Moreso, I hope we all turn our soul's affections towards the one who created us, redeemed us, forgave us, and loves us.

My Utmost on a Sunday Morning

Here is the link for today's My Utmost. It would be helpful to read this first.

We do not always know/understand how God is working in the world. The churches I usually go to, we tend to emphasize our action. Asking questions like, how are we bringing about the kingdom of God into this world? I know in more reformed churches (Presbyterian, some Baptist) they will emphasize God's part in changing the world. They will ask, where is God working and changing the world?

I know the biblical view is a balance of both, but this devotional for the day helped me to balance back to how God is working in the world.

When you think about it, God's plan of redemption did not come about in the way we would have accomplished it. If it was up to me, right after Adam sinned, I would have either scrapped the whole creation thing, or immediately sent Jesus to redeem the world (my impatient side comes out quickly). But God waited many many years before he sent his Son. Meanwhile people kept sinning and the world seemed to get worse.

Check out Galatians 4:3-7, part of it reads, "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons"

God is powerful and working in this world. Verses like this remind me that the world is not mine to save (it is initially God's work). But he does call us to action. It is only in his call that we act, it is his will not ours that needs to be done.

So we being a part of the work of God can say, " Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son...He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, "Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine." If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?" (My Utmost 11/1)

My Utmost 10/30

Here is the Utmost for 10/30

In the past few posts I have been interacting with these devotionals because I have found them spiritually helpful. I hope to pass them on for however sees this.

I have really struggled with the question: when is it faith and when is it stepping out on stupidity/arrogance/etc.? When is it faith to do an action that seems against common sense and when is it just acting out? I am not sure there is a clear cut answer, or one any more clear than it is faith when it is the will of God.

What I do know though is that we must grow in faith in Jesus. It is easy for me to think of Christianity as "knowing stuff," or "educating myself." But faith in Jesus is not mere knowledge. Knowledge is a part of faith, but not its totality or end. For too long I have thought that being a Christian meant learning things. But again that is not the goal of faith. The goal of our faith must be depth of love for Jesus. It must be trust in him. And we must understand that Jesus speaks through his word (in the Bible), but also continues to guide us (through his Spirit) today.

We cannot split these two. We cannot just become Christian scholars, thinking our faith leads to intelligence only. And we cannot become Christian spiritualists, thinking our faith grows only through action but none through study of the Word. This is a hard balance for me.

Keep in mind that our faith's foundation and goal is in Jesus, who speaks through the Bible and through the Spirit. (Balance, Balance, Balance).

Utmost 10/27

Check out My Utmost for His Highest for today.

I like this devotional because it is altogether ironic and true. Those who find themselves in Christian leadership (pastors, youth ministers, elders, missionaries) can find themselves very far from Jesus.

It is so easy to get consumed with the idea that, "I am a leader for Christ," that you altogether for Christ and just think, "I am a LEADER."

We must not forget who he is (our leader, savior, all in all, first and last) so that we become arrogant and rely on our own wits and strength. If you are a Christian leader, be careful not to forget about your relationship with Jesus. Pray without ceasing. Remember who he is. Lead by following him.

Utmost 10/26

I read My Utmost for His Highest for 10/26

I have been reading a biography on George Whitefield recently. For those who don't know, he was an evangelistic preacher in the 1700's who traveled throughout England and the 13 colonies and was a part of what would later be known as "The Great Awakening." The message he carried with him was the importance of the New Birth and joining one's heart with the Lord. He always emphasized loving the Lord more than all else.

He was a man who did great work and who saw the importance of keeping God's purposes first. Even though at times he was tempted to focus on peripheral things, he always focused on what he believed to be his calling, preaching Grace to sinners.

Today we are focusing on good things. There are groups like International Justice Mission and others that help the oppressed in this world. But these groups must be outgrowths of the Gospel message, not replacements of it. As Christians our central and foundational thoughts must always come back to the Gospel message (Colossians 1:21-23).

Let us not forget. If start putting the cart before the horse, we might wind up running straight into a ditch.

Break with a sermon pt. 3

Text: Mark 10:17-27

Theme: We approach God in poverty and he makes us rich

Subject: Salvation Overview (beginning and end)

Title: Rags to Riches

INTRO

Salvation is something all men desire. Everywhere, everyman has this inner sense for well-being and wholeness, which means we all feel a sense of incompleteness. We all desire to be connected to something that seems distant, to be filled as opposed to the emptiness inside, to know something bigger than ourselves and connect with it.

How many of you remember the day you were saved? The day you were baptized into Christ, forgiven of your sins?

Today’s account that we will read is about a man seeking salvation.

READ MARK 10:17-27

This account is like a what-not-to-do story. We cannot be too hard on the guy, it says Jesus loved him. And how many of you responded correctly the first time you heard the gospel? Me neither. But let’s see what we can learn something about salvation from this account.

1) When we approach God for salvation, we must approach him in poverty

Now I am not necessarily talking about how much is in your bank account. In fact, there are some verses that talk about how God blesses people with wealth (Proverbs 10:22), and Abraham was one of the wealthiest men in the OT.

Also we can see that some of the greediest people are those who do not have much. It reminds me of the story of a poor farmer. This poor ole boy who lived in a shack on a dirt farm was approached one day by a real estate developer. He said, son I am going to give you the opportunity of a lifetime. Tomorrow from sunrise to sunset, whatever land your feet touch, I will give to you. So the next day when the sun rose, our poor dirt farmer started walking. The only catch is that you have to be back here at your house before the sun sets. He kept going along as far as he could. He mind was racing with what he could do with all the land he would soon own. He concentrated on this so much that he didn’t notice that the sun had moved from in front of him to above him. In fact, he didn’t even notice when the sun was behind his head. Finally he looked up and saw the sun was much closer to the horizon than he wanted. So he started walking fast back towards his shack. And the sun kept moving. He became worried, so he started running back. He didn’t think he could make it, so he stared sprinting back towards his house. As the last rays of the sun hit above the horizon, he ran up to his shack and collapsed before the real estate agent. He died of exhaustion and he died of greed. It doesn’t take a lot of money to be greedy for us humans.

And when I read this account, there seem to be two things going on with this young man. First he loved his money more than he wanted to follow Christ. He approached Jesus rich in money. Think about it. READ MARK 10:21. This is not a unique command of Jesus. When he walked beside the lake, he told Peter and Andrew to follow him. He said the same thing to John and James. They all dropped everything they had to follow him. Levi the tax collector walked away from his booth in the middle of the day. All these men were willing to sacrifice everything to follow Jesus. But this man’s property held him back. He is more loyal to his money than to the man who could give him life.

The other thing that seems to be going on is that he approached Jesus rich in good works. READ MARK 10:17-20. What must I do…When he counted off the commands to the young man, he response was, oh yes I do all that just fine. He claims he is blameless in the eyes of the law.

But this is not how we can approach God for salvation. We must approach him poor in spirit. We must be willing to give up everything for him, and we must know that we cannot save our selves by how good we are. If you look a few verses up, in Mark 10:14-15, this is a picture of total dependence. Or think about Luke 18, the Pharisee stood at the Temple and thanked God that he was not like other men, who are sinners, and then talked about how good he was. But the tax collector beat his chest and said, Lord forgive me a sinner. One man walked away forgiven and justified and it was not the Pharisee. Or remember in Luke 7, a sinful woman poured an entire jar of perfume on Jesus. She wept on his feet, dried them with her hair, and then kissed them.

This is how we must approach Jesus for salvation. We must throw off any hindrance, and know that our sins weigh us down and we need the forgiveness he provides.

2) When we approach him in poverty, he makes us rich.

Everyone loves a good rags to riches story. Did anyone see the movie Slum Dog Millionaire? It is about a little boy growing up in India without any family. He then goes on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? He has his chance to change his life from living on the streets to providing for himself. That is also the story of our life. We approach God with nothing to give and willing to give up everything; and the beautiful thing is he makes us rich. READ MARK 10:29-31.

Jesus says that those who follow him receive wealth in this age and the age to come. How does God bless us in this age? First he says, that we might lose family, friends, wealth, jobs, when we become a Christian, but we receive back READ MARK 10:30. We join God’s worldwide family. We join God’s people who are now our brothers, mothers, and sisters. They open up their homes to us. They love us. We have a common bond. And this bond stretches from nation to nation all across the world. The sun is always shining on one of God’s people and they are your brothers and sisters. I do not know if you have had the blessing of being put up by a fellow Christian while you were traveling, but it is always a great experience for me. People opened up their doors, let me sleep on their bed, and fed me because they understood that we were family in Christ.

He makes us rich, not only in this age, but in the age to come. READ MARK 10:30. Have you ever read some of the descriptions of heaven in the Bible? READ REVELATION 21:19-21. Do you see the greatness and riches that are to come? He is preparing that.

CONCLUSION

You have to ask yourself, you are almost screaming at the text, young man, don’t you know that if you only let go you can receive so much more. Don’t you know it is at your fingertips and you are walking away? Jesus didn’t walk away. You are walking away. But then we look at ourselves. We get so caught up in this world. We let things hinder us from following Jesus. Or we approach him thinking we can do it on our own. And we have to say don’t you know. It is all right in front of you. Give up, throw off whatever hinders you. Ask for forgiveness of sins, not advice on how to be better. And we know all this and sometimes it is still tempting to walk away.

Remember this, Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. When you approach him, approach him poor and see what he has in store.

Sermon Break pt. 2 (Mark 8:27ff)

One time when I was on vacation, a man stopped me. He was one of those street artists. He began talking to me and drawing my picture. I didn’t want to be rude so I let him continue to draw and chatted with him. He seemed like a pleasant man. When he finished he showed me the picture of myself. It was pretty ridiculous how much it didn’t look like me. He basically drew a picture of Tom Cruise and handed it to me. I think he wanted me to be so amazed at how good I looked that I would give him all me money without thinking twice. He said I owed him $30. He became fairly angry at me when I told him I only had $1. I offered it to him and thanked him for the picture. He gave me a disgusted look and told me to keep it.

There are many pictures of Jesus out there. Some seem fairly accurate. I remember growing up, on my Bible I had a picture of a pleasant and warm looking man who was being really nice to kids. That seems fairly like a fairly accurate portrait of Jesus. Others are pretty far off. I suppose it is because many people have so many different views and beliefs about him. But if Jesus just had one chance to paint his own portrait what would it look like? What would he include? What would he want to us to see in him? I want to ask 2 questions today. I hope to answer one. The first I just asked. The second is: does your picture of Jesus match his self portrait?

In this story that we will be looking at today (Mark 8:27ff), we find Jesus and his disciples on a vacation. Jesus decided it was time to get away from it all and refocus on some key things in life. They were leaving northern Galilee and traveling NE. Jesus begins this reflective time by asking, Who do people say that I am? We find our first option here.

1) Jesus the Teacher (Mark 8:28)

He is a good teacher. All you have to do is open to Matthew 5-7 and see what a brilliant and moral teacher Jesus is. He teaches us to love our neighbors. He even goes as far to say to love our enemies and pray for those who hurt us. He teaches us not to judge others, lest we ourselves be judged. Jesus teaches about compassion and love, all these things that all men need to listen to and follow.

While this is good and Jesus is in fact a great teacher, if he only had one chance to paint himself, it would not be of him as a teacher.

Why not? 2 Reasons. Jesus is more than just a teacher. He knows this about himself. And he knows one pretty important thing about us. If Jesus just taught us morals to live by, we would all become legalist Pharisees pretty quick. There is an old story of a preacher and his bike. The preacher lived about 2 miles from the church and one Sunday morning he couldn’t get his car started. So he got out his bike and road to church. When he got there, the leaders noticed and started whispering to each other. After the worship service they called a meeting and asked the preacher why he did work on the Lord’s Day. Didn’t he know they frowned upon that? He explained that his car broke down and had to ride his bike to get to the service. One elder spoke up and asked, “Did you enjoy it?” They preacher said of course not. So they decided it was alright. This seems silly, but we would do this in a heartbeat, especially if Jesus just came to teach us had to be better and more moral.

So we move on.

2) Jesus the King (Christ) (Mark 8:29-30)

Jews at this time were expecting the Christ, the Messiah prophesied about long ago. Part of the Messiah’s job was to be king, not over just Judah, not over just all of Israel, but over the entire world. Look at Psalm 2.

But if he had one opportunity, He wouldn’t paint himself as a king.

Why not? 2 Reasons. First Jesus is more than a king. He is the ruler over the entire universe, but that is not all he is. But there is something about mere authority that distances us from them. Aesop’s fables, a Lion ruled over all the beasts of the field and forest. He was a good king, gentle and kind. He called a proclamation together and drew up conditions for a universal league. The wolf would sit next to the lamb, the panther next to the sheep, and the dog next to the rabbit. The rabbit replied to the league by exclaiming, “Oh how I have longed to see the day when the weak would sit next to the strong in harmony.” After he said this, the rabbit ran for his life. Kings make the policies, but they don’t live in our lives. Jesus knows that if he was just a king to us, we would probably come on Sunday mornings pay homage to him, tip our hats his way and by Sunday after noon we forget his name. How many of you receive phone calls from the President of the US? How about your Congressional Representative? State Representative? There is something about mere authority that separates us from those in charge. If this was the portrait Jesus chose, he would be distant to us.

3) Jesus the one who suffers, is rejected, dies, and rises again (Mark 8:31-32a)

He is Jesus’ self-portrait. Why is this central to Jesus? This is his purpose. He saw the world as a mess. All the way back in the Garden, sin is introduced. It messed everything up. And when man tried to fix it, he only dug his grave deeper and deeper. Jesus knew the only way to fix things was to take the punishment of sin upon himself.

Ryle Quote, “Why did our Lord say, “must?” Did he mean that he was unable to escape the suffering – that he must die by compulsion of a stronger power than his own? Impossible…There is a much deeper meaning in the word “must” suffer and be killed. He meant that his death and passion were necessary in order to make atonement for man’s sin. Without shedding his blood there could be no remission. Without the sacrifice of his body on the cross, there could be no satisfaction to God’s [justice]. He “must” suffer to make reconciliation for iniquity. He “must” die, because without his death as a propitiatory offering, sinners could never have life. He “must” suffer, because without his vicarious sufferings, our sins could never be taken away. In a word, he “must” be delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification.” The picture that Jesus would paint is the Suffering Servant. READ ISAIAH 53:3-6

He took God’s wrath our deserved punishment for our sins upon himself. We no longer need to worry about the price of our sin, he pain it in full and God’s wrath is turned away. How important is this to Jesus? When Peter rebuked him for saying all this, he said, “Get behind me Satan.”

So my first question was what would Jesus’ self-portrait look like, if he could only paint one picture? Here it is, the one who came suffered, was rejected, crucified, and rose again on the third day. My second question, If you were to paint a picture, and you had just one chance, what would Jesus look life? Would he be teaching, sitting on a throne, or would he be the one who suffered, died, and rose again. Make this central to who you believe he is because it is regeneration, justification, renewal, cleansing, cleaning, beginning of a new story, end of an old life, it is your first day alive, it is your birthday. It is God’s gift to us. It is our life. It is everything. It is central to who he is and must be central to who you are.

Exodus Part 2

Bible Survey

Exodus

(Remember: when you start thinking, wow Eric these charts are pretty good, you are pretty smart, I merely borrowed them, if you want to see the smart guys I borrowed them from, I will give you their names)

• Theological Themes

The first theme I want us to look at in Exodus is the character of God. God is picture as revealing himself to Moses and the people. It is not the people who are smart enough to reach up to God. It is he who reaches down to them. He is also the ever-existent on and the God of the people and of the covenant (Ex. 3:14). He is the God who frees them from bondage and slavery. He is more powerful than all the other 'gods' (Ex. 15:11-12) and over all the nations (even the greatest super-power of that time) (Ex. 15:4-6). Again God is constantly revealing himself to Moses and the people (Ex. 34:6-7).

When God acts against Egypt he is also attacking the gods of Egypt. Each plague is supposedly an attack at one of the Egyptian gods of that time, showing that the God of Israel (our God) is really the one who is over all the earth. Here is a nice table that illustrates this:

The Plagues of Egypt
Plague	Reference	Possible Egyptian Deity
Nile to Blood	Ex. 7:14-25	Khnum: guardian of the Nile Hapi: spirit of the Nile Osiris: Nile was bloodstream
Frogs	Ex. 8:1-15	Heqt: form of a frog, god of resurrection
Gnats	Ex. 8:16-19
Flies	Ex. 8:20-32
Plague on Cattle	Ex. 9:1-7	Hathor: mother-goddess; form of a cow Apis: bull of god Ptah; symbol of fertility Mnevis: sacred bull of Heliopolis
Boils	Ex. 9:8-12	Imhotep: god of medicine
Hail	Ex. 9:13-35	Nut: sky goddess Isis: goddess of life Seth: protector of crops
Locusts	Ex. 10:1-20	Isis: goddess of life Seth: protector of crops
Darkness	Ex. 10:21-29	Re, Aten, Atum, Horus: Different sun gods
Death of Firstborn	Ex. 11:1-12:36	Deity of Pharaoh: Osiris, giver of life

Another theme is Law. I think Law is a dirty word to us today. First there is the whole law vs. grace in Christianity. But there is also an anti-authoritarian view in our culture (for instance if I said "The Man" would not the first phrase that comes to your mind be "is holding me down"). But let's clear a little bit of that up with a Biblical view of the Law of Moses. If you want to see how the Jews felt about the Law read Psalm 119.

First God is a great Law-giver. He is the Creator over all and therefore has the authority to give us instructions. And the law is a good thing when used properly.

What does the Law consist of? It consisted of 1) commands. Commands reveal the perfect nature of God. They are like a mirror to his holiness (Ex. 22:21). They reflect his goodness (Ex. 22:26-27). Likewise Jesus in Matthew 5-7 gives us commands, they reveal his holiness and goodness. These are positive laws and commands. Law also consists of 2) penalties. These reveal God's hatred of sin. Because he is holy he cannot allow sin in his presence (Ex. 22:19-20). Deuteronomy 27:26 acts as a summation of this aspect of the Law.

What is the purpose of the Law of Moses? First law (in general) defines good and evil. It encourages good and discourages wrong. Likewise, the Law of Moses defines good and evil (in a more specific context) for the people of Israel. There are other uses, but this is all I am emphasizing right now.

What is the purpose for the Law to the Christian. I think we can learn a lot from the Law of Moses. We can learn about the nature of God. We can learn about the nature of his people (and we are his people now). There is a lot of good in it. However, neither the Law of Moses nor any law saves us. We can never be good enough to be right before God. If we break one law, we are then guilty as a law breaker. Being good enough is not an option. The only way we can be declared right before God is through his grace (Eph. 2:8-10). By grace through faith in Jesus. That is what clears our name.

Ole' Moses and the Law

God's presence also plays a big part in Exodus. His presence comes down at Sinai (Ex. 19:9). It accompanies the nation during the wilderness wandering times (Ex. 13:20-21). God's glory appears before Moses (Ex. 33:21-23). It rests on the Tabernacle (Ex. 40:34). In the New Testament, his Presence comes to us through Jesus (John 1:14). It is the same glory, and we see it through his Son.

• Christology

There are no prophetic sayings about the coming Christ in Exodus, but there are many types.
In Passover, Jesus is picture as the Passover lamb, who is sacrificed for our safety (John 1:29, 1 Corinthians 5:7). Heck it is even during Passover that Jesus is crucified.
Jesus is also picture as the Manna that feeds us from Heaven (John 6:32-35).
He is our High Priest who stands before God for us (Hebrews 2:17).
He is our teacher, like Moses was the great teacher for Israel (Hebrews 3:1-6).
We are baptized into him, like Israel was baptized into Moses (1 Corinthians 10:1-6).


The book of Exodus has so many teachings for us today. Open it up, read it for yourself. See what God's word teaches. Next up Leviticus!