Give Thanks Unto the Lord - Verse 5 of 8

Give Thanks unto the Lord

Tune: Schumann, S.M.

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Verse 5 of 8

We live to please our God

And serve Him more and more,

In quiet lives of holiness

For Him whom we adore.

2 Chronicles 13

The story of Abijah, the son of Rehoboam and the grandson of Solomon, is told much more briefly in 1 Kings 15 than in 2 Chronicles 13. There we found out that Abijah “walked in all the sins that his father did before him.” Here he is presented in contrast to Jeroboam, the king of Israel to the north. Compared to Jeroboam, Abijah was righteous.

The best details of Abijah's three-year reign came forth in the midst of great strife between north and south. When Judah in the south was vastly outnumbered by an invading army from Israel in the north, Abijah took the northern tribes to task for their rebellion against the line of David and the Law of the Lord.

Things were far from perfect during the years of Abijah, but the Chronicler had a point to make in this retelling of history. Open idolatry and the abandonment of the worship system of the Old Covenant by Israel had only led to the judgment of God. Even when they outnumbered their brothers to the south by a substantial margin, God brought thousands to their graves in a stunning defeat.

All seemed lost for Abijah and Judah for a moment. Even as he was delivering a faithful oration against idolatry and lawlessness, the northern king, Jeroboam, had sent soldiers around to his rear flank in order to surround him with an ambush. Yet the Lord was able to deliver Abijah from the hands of his enemies that day.

Abijah called on the armies of the northern kingdom to end their attack and return to their territory. He believed that an assault against Judah and Judah's king was a hopeless attack against God. “O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.” The Chronicler agreed with this point. Israel was defeated and the reason was plainly given. “God gave them into their hand.... Thus the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers.” God was on Judah's side.

The point for the Chronicler's generation as they returned from the exile in Babylon was plain. They needed to rely on the Lord their God, even when it might seem that all hope was lost. This is also true for the New Testament church under the Lordship of Christ. We have a Resurrection King. The battle that we fight may be different in many ways from the troubles faced by Judah in the days of Abijah. But the warfare against the church in every generation is very real. We seek to see the victory of the love of the cross throughout the earth. Our trust is in the Lord. He will win the battle.

2 Chronicles 12

During the first three years of the reign of King Rehoboam the king and the people were somewhat faithful. After that they gave up on the Law of God. Two years later the Lord sent the Egyptians and their allies from northern Africa against the people of Judah.

God sent His prophet to the king so that His people would know that He was disciplining them for turning away from Him. The Lord expected the people that were called by His Name to humble themselves, return to Him, and then He would help them. The king did turn to God and Jerusalem was saved for a time, but the nation had to live under the control of the Egyptian empire.

When the king and the people humbled themselves and turned to the Lord, He heard from heaven and helped them, just as He had promised. There remained a measure of discipline from God. Judah would still serve the king of Egypt and much of the wealth would go to that foreign power. Meanwhile the Lord continued to hear the pleas of Rehoboam and some of the conditions in Judah improved.

All in all, the word “evil” was associated with the seventeen years of Rehoboam's reign. The son of Solomon died and was buried. His son, Abijah, took his place.

In a very short time Judah had fallen into the condition of a subjugated nation. Though some times of improvement would come, the high point for God's nation on earth was part of their past.

The reign of Rehoboam was instructive for future generations. Other kings in the line of David would do well to listen to the voice of the God of Israel. The king and the people made a great mistake when they turned against God's Law. Yet even in Judah's weakest years, God had not entirely forsaken them.

We can accept the discipline of the Lord if we know that He is our Father and that He disciplines those He loves. If the Lord knows how to sustain His people even through the years of a king who He counts as evil, He must have some ultimate plan that more than justifies His patience with us. God intends to save us completely. Surely a better day is coming for all who call upon the Name of the Lord because of what Jesus has done for us.

2 Chronicles 11

Solomon's son, Rehoboam, wanted to fight against the rebellious tribes that would not submit to his authority. God said no. “This thing is from Me.” God had determined that the days of a united Israel and Judah were over. There was no point in sending fighting men out against their brothers from the other tribes. The Lord was working out His own will.

Rehoboam did build up fortress cities to protect Judah from any invaders who might be tempted to attack. The people that came down to Judah from the north did not travel south in order to make trouble for Rehoboam, but to join him as those who wished to remain loyal to the Lord and to the line of David. Many Levites who had lived among the northern tribes made the choice to live in Judah. Their presence there strengthened the king and provided greater stability in the kingdom, at least for a few years. Meanwhile, against the Law of Moses, the northern tribes turned to non-Levites to act as their religious leaders.

Rehoboam made wise plans for the future by choosing a successor, his son Abijah, and providing for his other descendants. This was something he could do. But who can really secure the kingdom beyond the years of his own life? It is enough to try to make a difference during the years that we live. Who can do more than that?

Only someone who can say with credibility, “I am the Resurrection,” can solve the problems of this world. Good intentions are not enough. We need a man who knows the will of our Father and is able to bring it about. We need someone who can do more than defend against invaders. We need someone who can defeat death and evil for us.

We have such a King in Jesus. All those who are faithful to God need to rally around this one King. He will secure for us an everlasting heritage. He has the power and love necessary to build an eternal kingdom. Since He lives forever, we have been granted a life beyond sin and death that will never end.

Is there any good reason to walk away from Jesus?

October 27, 2013 Evening:

Title: Playing Unbelief

Old Testament Passage: Psalm 40:1-4 – I waited patiently for the Lord

Gospel Passage: Mark 14:1-2 – They were seeking to arrest Him by stealth

Sermon Text: Hebrews 3:12-19 – Unbelief in the wilderness generation

Sermon Point: Follow Jesus in His faith.
[12] Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. [13] 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 possibility that even those who truly profess faith in Christ can have an evil, unbelieving heart. That is shocking. This does not mean that God has utterly abandoned them or that they will never recover and be found to persevere. It does mean that that they can fall away from vital fellowship with the living God.

We don't have to put up with this. As long as it is still called “today,” we can exhort our own souls and exhort one another. The Lord may use that exhortation to break through the hardened wall of sin. Sin deceives us. The truth will set us free.

[14] For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

When we wander from the Lord, we need to find Him again. We need to find our original confidence in Christ and in what He has done for us. When we recover that confidence, let's hold on to it firmly until the end of our lives or even to the end of this present age.

Why would anyone ever walk away from their original confidence in Christ? People may not appreciate the constraints that come in a life of surrender to Christ. They may become wearied in the struggle to obey. They might also be discouraged in their souls by heartbreaking disappointments. In all of these sad situations, running away from Jesus will not be a wise pathway.

[15] As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
[16] For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? [17] And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? [18] And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? [19] So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

To illustrate this point, consider the wilderness generation. They did not appreciate the constraints inherent in following a pillar of cloud and fire in the wilderness. They became weary of the journey and found obedience to the Lord an unwanted struggle. They saw loved ones and friends die as a result of their disobedience and it was more than they felt that they could bear. They were toying with death.

So they hardened their hearts, refused to hear God's voice, and rebelled against their only hope. This pathway led to death. God would not let them enter His land of rest because of their unbelief. But now Jesus has faced down constraints, weariness, and disappointment for us, and has won for us a permanent peace and rest. His victory enlivens us in our journey toward heaven. We can follow Him in His faith.

Give Thanks Unto the Lord - Verse 4 of 8

Give Thanks unto the Lord

Tune: Schumann, S.M.

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Verse 4 of 8

May we abound in love

With all who know the Lord,

And standing fast in Jesus Christ

Abide in His good Word.

2 Chronicles 10

Solomon was dead, and his son Rehoboam had taken his place as king. Jeroboam, the future king of the northern part of Israel, appealed to Rehoboam for relief from the heavy burdens that Solomon had placed on the people. What would the new king's response be to those who asked him to lighten their load?

The advice of the king's more mature counselors was that Rehoboam should show mercy and kindness to the nation and win their loyalty at this time of transition. But the younger men who had grown up with the king urged him to refuse the people's request and to show the nation a sign of his strength.

Rehoboam's acceptance of this foolish counsel was more than the ignorance of youth. The Chronicler tells us that this was a turn of affairs from the Lord and the fulfillment of an earlier prophetic word that God had given to His people.

Though the rest of the story is not told in this chapter, the Lord had determined to tear away ten tribes from Solomon. These northern Israelites would be under Jeroboam. The days of a united Israel and Judah under the reign of a son of David would be over until the coming of the Messiah.

Even when Jesus, the long expected Son of David, came to His own people, they would not receive Him. When His apostles were sent out to show from the Hebrew Scriptures that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and die and then to enter into His glory, many people had a violent reaction against both that message and any messenger from the Resurrection King. Many Jews found it especially troubling that this new message of Christ and the cross was being embraced by non-Jews. They would not receive their Messiah. But to all who would receive Him, who believed in His Name, He gave the right to be called children of God.

These new children of God were not all physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Through the preaching of the good news of Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles found new life in the eternal Son of David, and a new kingdom was being established that would reach the entire world.

2 Chronicles 9

Solomon was the great son of David. This was not what he said about himself. It was the conclusion of others who came from afar in order to verify the reports that they had heard about this man. One such observer was the queen of Sheba. She came to test him and she went away impressed with his wisdom and with his glorious life. She spoke of the king's greatness and honored him with many gifts.

It was the queen of Sheba's opinion that Solomon's subjects should be far from disappointed with the way that their king exercised his authority over the nation. “Happy are your wives! Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!” Furthermore, she claimed that Solomon was a credit to his God. “Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the Lord your God!” She said that God's gift of Solomon to Israel was a sign of the Lord's love for His people and His determination to bless them forever. “Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” The king received gifts from this royal emissary and he gave her gifts as she returned back to her own land.

Solomon's wealth was truly monumental. The details provided in this chapter are not only for the accountant to total up but also for the museum curator and the wildlife scientist and geologist to admire. He reigned for forty years until the day that he died.

An observer did not need faith in order to see the greatness of Solomon. Nor will faith be necessary to admire the glory of Jesus, the descendant of Solomon, when He comes again. On that day the entire earth will have to admit that one greater than Solomon has come.

It does take faith to see Jesus for who He is now. Only by faith can we see what the centurion saw when he looked at a man dying on a cross and said, “Truly this man was the Son of God.” Those who see the greatness of Jesus in His suffering and who long for His return are blessed by God.

2 Chronicles 8

The reign of Solomon was a time of great accomplishment for the king of Israel. He completed many building projects in Jerusalem and throughout the land. These endeavors required much toil by large numbers of laborers. Many of the workers were from the people groups who were the original inhabitants of the land of promise. But Solomon also needed soldiers in order to enforce the king's orders upon these subjugated men. These officers and fighting men came from the children of Israel.

One of the buildings that Solomon had constructed was a house for his wife, Pharaoh's daughter. He showed concern for ritual cleanliness by having a separate palace for his foreign wife, but why did the king have a foreign wife at all? The Chronicler makes no mention of any issue. The reader's focus is drawn to the greatness of the son of David who is able to rule over his territory with unquestioned authority. He led the nation not only in great building projects, but also in worshiping the Lord with sacrifices according to the Law of Moses and the directions of his father David.

Solomon was in charge. His great achievements may not win the admiration of our modern sensibilities. We would rather not see a king ruling over forced laborers. We are also less than impressed with a king who builds palaces for himself and for his foreign wife. What are we to gain from seeing the glories of this strong man?

Whether we like it or not, the Son of God is an absolute monarch. When He comes again to reign in glory, He will not come in weakness. He told His disciples of His great heavenly building projects: “I go to prepare a place for you.” We needed a strong Savior to defeat evil for us. He has purchased us with His blood. His strength has secured for us a kingdom of righteousness and peace.

Time to Listen. Time to Believe.

October 20, 2013 Evening:

Title: The Danger of A Hard Heart

Old Testament Passage: Psalm 95:1-7 – First half of Psalm 95

Gospel Passage: Mark 13:37 – Staying awake (again)

Sermon Text: Hebrews 3:7-11 – Quote of the rest of Psalm 95

Sermon Point: Worship the Lord in faith

[7] Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,

When we gather together to hear from God, we expect to receive His message for us. This is what the Holy Spirit has for us. We want to hear God's voice.

[8] do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, [9] where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.

But there is the danger that we simply close off our souls to the voice of God. We can harden our hearts as ancient Israel did in the wilderness. The Lord told them to go into the land, but they gave in to fear and imagined that their enemies were more real than God.

They were called to worship the Lord in faith, to trust Him in all His commands, and to follow Him. But they hardened their hearts against His Word and rebelled. They faced the day of testing in the wilderness and they failed.

Instead of submitting to God in His testing of them, they placed themselves above God and His Word, and they put Him to the test. They saw His work for forty years, and they forgot the fundamental truth that the Lord is God. An entire generation died in the wilderness.

[10] Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’ [11] As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’”This generation provoked God with their rebellion. They incurred His displeasure. They did not enter His rest—that is, the Promised Land. Even Moses was not allowed to enter.

The New Testament followers of Jesus Christ will also face tests, just as our Lord was tested. Our hope is built on this fact: Jesus passed the test of God on our behalf. This hope in God was also the hope of Moses and any true Israelite who has ever been saved by the grace of God.

But God still tests His elect children, just as He tested His chosen nation. We are called to hear His voice and obey in faith.

If we are going to obey the Lord, we need to be willing to change. We cannot approach His Word with the arrogance of those who are beyond learning. What did the Lord teach you this morning? What does He have for you today?

Ask Him to teach you. Listen to His Word. Worship the Lord in faith.

Presbytery Meeting - End of Acts

Ruts of Righteousness

(Acts 28:23-31, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, October 19, 2013)

[23] When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. [24] And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved.

This great book began with apostolic confusion concerning the mission of the kingdom. Would the work of the risen Christ be an immediate resurrection version of Old Israel? The apostles still did not understand. But Jesus did understand. Their kingdom vision was too small. The new resurrection world would first come through witnesses who would go to the ends of the earth.

The remaining eleven men waited as they were told, but their interpretation of two psalms about Judas convinced them that they should do their part to fill out their number again with a new apostle. They cast lots to let the Lord make the choice between their nominees. As we read the rest of the book, we cannot help but feel that Matthias was only a place-holder for the Lord's choice of a final apostle—the man who by the end of the book was under house arrest in the capital city of the empire. He had once had a very narrow view of the kingdom of God, but now He understood well the worldwide mandate of the Lord.

Yet still he followed his well-established missionary pattern—to the Jews first and then to the Greeks. The final passage in Acts displayed the divided reaction that we are now very familiar with—some were convinced, but others disbelieved. He patiently demonstrated from the Hebrew Scriptures that Jesus, the Suffering Servant, would also be the victorious Messiah King. He spoke to leaders in the covenant community who had gone so far astray as to consider the followers of the gospel to be a sect that was spoken against everywhere. Yet Paul gave them the true and larger picture of the kingdom of God from the Bible that they claimed to cherish.

[25] And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
[26] “‘Go to this people, and say,
“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
[27] 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.’
[28] Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”Peter and the eleven at the beginning of Acts saw Judas in the Psalms. Paul at the end of Acts saw his hearers in Isaiah. He was doing what Isaiah had been told to do. “Go to this people.” He went and He presented them the good news. Some were convinced. The remainder received the words of warning through Isaiah—something to think about as they left the man who was pursuing the calling of Jesus as a prisoner under house arrest in Rome.

He wanted them all to hear and believe, but they would not. Still God was not finished with the people of whom the Lord had once said, “Israel is my son.” Paul attempted to make them jealous with the faith of non-Jews. As once prostitutes and tax-collectors were entering the kingdom of heaven ahead of scribes and Pharisees, now Gentiles were streaming in ahead of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. A new branch was being grafted into an old tree, and some of the natural branches were being removed for a time.

[30] He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, [31] proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.The last two verses of our text are easily overlooked, but we should consider what they say carefully. Paul lived in that place for two years. He did so at his own expense. He welcomed all who came to him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. He was a prisoner of the Roman Empire but was also a faithful ambassador for the King of kings teaching everyone about the Lord Jesus Christ. He fulfilled this sacred mission with all boldness. The Lord made a way for His ambassador to serve very effectively without hindrance. These seven or so points are each worthy of more careful consideration than I can give to them in the few minutes that we have remaining. I trust that the Holy Spirit will do a much better job applying them individually to your hearts than I could ever accomplish with very many words.

In the few moments that remain, I want to provide an overlay of Paul's ministerial experience in Rome using one of the most well worn verses in the Bible: “He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name's sake.”

The Hebrew for the word “paths” could be well translated by our word “ruts,” the kind of deep tracks that come from wagons traveling the same way for many years. Some ruts are bad. The rut of Pharisaic interpretations of the Law only led to anger, hatred, and murder. But the ruts of the true obedience of cross love are good ruts, ruts of righteousness, if we are able to embrace them in the way that Paul embraced his seemingly unfortunate situation.

When Paul was doing fund raising for “Vision Rome,” he had not planned on it ending this way. But by this time in his life he was in a good rut of knowing how to abase as well as to abound. He knew that he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him. He came to embrace Christ in all circumstances, trusting the One who did His greatest act of obedience on a cross. He was able to proclaim the Resurrection King from the one house that the Lord gave him in Rome. From that unlikely place, Jesus touched many lives through this great apostle.

If we develop the discipline of living within the right kinds of ruts, well worn ruts of righteousness, then we will find that the most surprising crosses are an open door to life for many.

Pastors and elders, embrace your calling. Love Jesus. Hear His voice in the Old and New Testaments. Be led by His Holy Spirit along good habits of the heart. Find holiness. Discover obedience. Live on grace. See the doors that the Lord is opening by His surprising providences and embrace the One who keeps you for eternal life in every place that looks like a disappointment. Then shepherd the flock that God has given you. Preach the Word. Love the weak.

For the whole church and all who would follow Jesus, follow the good example of life and service that faithful shepherds have set for us. See where they have come from and observe well their gospel ruts of righteousness, as we read of Paul in 1 Timothy, “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”

Give Thanks Unto the Lord - Verse 3 of 8

Give Thanks unto the Lord

Tune: Schumann, S.M.

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5

Verse 3 of 8

The church of our dear Lord

Empowered from on high

Shines forth the glory of our God

Reflecting heaven's joy.

2 Chronicles 7

Solomon had prayed the prayer for the dedication of the new temple. Now what would God do? Would the Lord fill this sacred space with His presence as He had filled the tabernacle in the days of Moses?

“As soon as Solomon had finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven,” and consumed the sacrifice that was ready to be offered. And then “the glory of the Lord” came down from heaven on the temple, and the people fell on their faces and worshiped the Lord.

They celebrated together for seven days. The king led God's people in offering up massive numbers of sacrificial animals to the Lord and in rejoicing before God together as His nation. When all the work of dedication was completed, the people returned to their homes “joyful and glad of heart.” God had blessed His people with great prosperity.

The Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and spoke to the king. God had heard Solomon's prayer at the dedication of this holy place. The temple in Jerusalem would be the place where all Israel could gather together to call upon the Name of the Lord.

But there was a problem. God would hear the people and God would bless the king if they would repent and obey. What would happen if they ignored the Lord and His Word? They would be cast off.

Our New Testament Temple is built on the firm foundation of the righteousness and blood of Jesus, the final and perfectly acceptable sacrifice who has made peace for us with God. Nonetheless, the Lord still cares about obedience. If we ignore His Word He may remove His lampstand from us for a season. We don't want that. We want to be the light of the world, as Christ has said we are.

What can we do if we have wandered far from the Lord's ways and do not know the way back to the heavenly Jerusalem? God's Word to Solomon is still powerful: “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” May the Lord hear our cry, heal His church of all her iniquities, and send help from heaven for the towns and nations where we dwell as we wait for the gift from heaven of a new land of perfect righteousness.

2 Chronicles 6

We are so easily overwhelmed. Where can we find peace in a frantic world? How can we experience rest in our souls? Solomon knew that only God could meet Israel's deepest needs. When the time came to dedicate the temple in Jerusalem he led the nation in turning toward God.

The king spoke to His Lord in the presence of the assembly. He thanked God for His faithfulness to His promises to David, Solomon's father. The son of David had built a house for God. By the time that the Chronicler recorded the king's prayers, the king had been dead for centuries and the temple that he built had been destroyed by the Babylonians. Yet God would be true to His Word. This has been the hope of the faithful ever since man began to call upon the Name of the Lord. God will keep His promises.

Most of the king's words before God that day were a plea for help for those who would turn toward that temple and call out to God in the day of trouble. Solomon's confidence was that God would hear when sinners asked Him for forgiveness. The Lord would help when the enemies of Israel had defeated God's people. He would forgive them and bring them back into the land. If they were destitute and hungry, God would provide. Even foreigners would be heard by the God of Israel when they turned toward this holy place.

We do not look to the temple in Jerusalem for help today. We look above to the Lord Jesus who has saved us. We trust that God cares about our troubles. He calls us to turn to Him in faith, acknowledge Him as first in our lives, and obey Him in all that He commands. Like Solomon, we are weak. We cannot build a house that could contain all of what God is. Yet now Christ has come as our King and our Temple. He is the House of God for His children.

The sons of Israel returning to Babylon may have wondered whether there would ever again be a righteous son of David to serve as king over God's people. We need not have that same concern. Jesus lives. He reigns over us. We can cry out to God in heaven in our greatest distress. We can call upon His Name. He will hear. He will help.

Matt Oquist's Word of Encouragment to Tom Powell on the Occasion of His Ordination

Ordination Charge for Tom Powell 2013-10-12

Matt Oquist

Colossians 2:6-7

1. Tom, you have asked me to charge you today with your duties as a pastor.

2. After prayer and thought, I've decided to look with you at Colossians 2:6-7 to ground

and unify your charge.

Colossians 2:6-7: \Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,

rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding

in thanksgiving."

Let us pray: Lord, we thank you for yourWord, and we ask now that you would illumine

our hearts and minds that we may understand it, for your glory and our edi cation. Amen.

1. Tom: I called you last weekend to ask, and you described to me how you received

Christ late in high school. You knelt and prayed: \If you're real, God, make yourself

real to me."

2. What a wonderful prayer.

3. It was a humble prayer. It presumed that you didn't have all the answers, and it

submitted you to Christ's terms. You didn't pray \If you're real, give me a certain

feeling," or \If you're real, show me this or that miracle." You prayed that God would

make himself known to you in whatever way he might see t.

4. It was an expectant prayer. You expected that if God is real, he must be able to make

himself known to you, and that he must love you enough to do so.

5. Paul reminds the Colossians not to lose their hold on Christ as they had received him,

and I encourage you to do the same in your own case.

1

6. Keeping hold of your humility, and your expectation that God will lovingly work, what

next?

1 Walk in Christ.

1. Walking in Christ is more than merely asking yourself Charles Sheldon's question:

\What Would Jesus Do?"

2. It's not a bad question, but it's an insu cient question, because not a single thing we

do will be pleasing to God until we're as concerned about being in Christ as we are

about doing what he would do.

3. I'll put the contrast this way: Paul does not say that you should walk like Christ would

walk, he says you should walk in Christ.

4. How is that possible?

2 Be rooted and built up in Christ.

1. Everyone who has ever lived has had ultimate commitments at any given time { the

thing (or things) that drives everything else.

2. Many people spend their lives chasing wealth; many will sacri ce anything for honor,

or fame, or family.

3. This fundamental life service to ultimate commitments is universal to human experi-

ence.

4. Even atheists have fundamental commitments! How many atheists are fundamentally

committed to science, the advancement of humanity (at least as they see it)?

2

5. The ultimate commitments in our lives drive everything else; everything else is less

important.

6. If everything else in our lives is driven by our ultimate commitments, then everything

in our lives is in service to those commitments.

7. And if our lives are completely in service to something, it's clear that (1) we value that

thing highly, (2) we are in its grip, and (3) we're giving ourselves wholly to it.

8. This is the nature of worship. And in case you didn't notice, even atheists do it!

9. So we're all worshipers; we're all worshiping something. The question is: what is the

object of your worship?

10. What is the ultimate reason you do each thing you do? Is your life about the loving

creator of the universe, or about yourself?

11. Our culture teaches us that there are many worthy options in competition to be at the

core of our lives: family, friends, fame, wealth, vocation, leisure, etc.

12. But if your life is ultimately organized around any one of these things, you're worshiping

that thing instead of Christ. And that is the de nition of idolatry.

13. This may seem confusing, because things such as family, wealth, and honor aren't bad

{ they are blessings from God!

14. How, then, can our pursuit of God's blessings lead us into idolatry?

15. This can happen when we confuse the nature of their goodness.

16. For example, suppose you had a family heirloom { a pocket watch. This pocket watch

was your great-great-great-grandfather's, and it's been passed down from father to son,

and your father has given it to you.

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(a) You could appreciate that watch because it's gold, and because it's old, and

because it does such a wonderful job of telling the time.

(b) But if that was your whole focus, you'd be an impoverished recipient of a valuable

heirloom.

(c) The watch points you back to your father, and your grandfather, and his father,

etc.

(d) If you neglect where the watch points, to your father, your family heritage, you're

neglecting the most important thing.

17. Tom: You prayed that God would make himself real to you. But God did more than

to make himself real to you.

18. At the time you prayed that prayer, you were an impoverished recipient of everything.

19. But as you came to know God, and as he taught you creation's true purpose { to point

to him, to show his glory { God made everything more and more real to you. You're

no longer missing the point of everything.

20. And we, every one of us, are God's creatures. First and foremost, as part of God's

creation, we must point to him.

21. As I mentioned, things like family, wealth, and honor can each be wonderful blessings

from God.

22. And when we have them and know in our hearts that they are blessings from God, not

things we deserve, but things he has given because he loves us, then our lives can be

built up with Christ as the nourishing root.

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3 Abound in thanksgiving.

1. When we know in our hearts that every good thing we've ever experienced is a gift

from our loving heavenly father, then abundant thanksgiving starts to sound possible.

2. But it's hardly automatic. We have to practice being thankful; we have to remind

ourselves that every good thing comes from God, and we can even remind God by

praying thankful prayers. He doesn't get tired of hearing those!

3. When you really start to practice that (\Lord, thank you so much for my wife. She's

really such a blessing to me." \Lord, thank you so much for my work. Help me to be a

blessing to my co-workers and community."), then over time your heart and your mind

get trained to be thankful, and you start seeing the world with thankful eyes. And, as

it turns out, once you do that, you start seeing even more things to be thankful for.

4. I'm not talking about falsely cheerful Christianity. There is also a lot of pain in the

world, and a lot of sin, and a lot of darkness.

5. But when you practice thanksgiving to God, you're able to see and confront the pain,

sin, and darkness with hope in your heart because you know { your heart sings out

within you { that God is good, and that he sent Christ, who conquered sin and death.

4 What about ministry?

1. You must preach Christ to root and build up his people.

(a) When we look out at the world, and when we look into our own hearts, if we're

honest, we know Christ is not always exalted. In fact, he's seldom exalted.

(b) This failure to worship our creator is the core of sin, and the extent of the misery

it brings is untold.

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(c) We cannot x this problem ourselves; we are not spiritual doctors who can trans-

plant our own hearts.

(d) Only Christ's death for us, and his victory over death and the grave, can su ce

to heal this sin-sick and weary world.

(e) When Christ is the rst, middle, and last thing of every part of your own life,

Tom, that's going to come out when you preach his word.

2. Show Christ to everyone.

(a) When Christ is the rst, middle, and last thing of every part of your own life,

that's going to come out in your pastoral care.

(b) Every person in this room has problems { we all struggle with our circumstances,

and we battle against sin in our hearts.

(c) You can't x our problems. Your advice isn't the ultimate answer for anyone!

(d) But God has trained you up for this day, and he's prepared you to be his minister

in this place.

(e) Continue to look to him as the ultimate satis er of all your true needs, and to his

Word as your su cient guide for faith and practice.

(f) Then when you talk with people, when you pray with them, when you just be

someone's good friend, someone's good neighbor { then you're going to exemplify

Christ's love, and God will minister through you in ways you'll never even know.

3. Love the people God has placed in your care, and let them love you and Becca back!

(a) Gal. 6:2 says \Bear one another's burdens, and so ful ll the law of Christ."

(b) Not only are you to bear burdens for others, but you must let them bear burdens

for you!

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(c) You've already described to me how a 20-minute round trip downtown can become

a 3-hour series of great conversations without even trying { what a wonderful

testimony to a truly neighborly community.

(d) Guard against being too guarded. Enjoy the joys of others, cry with them in

sorrows, and give them the gift of ministering to you and Becca in the same way.

4. But even while you're enjoying the community here, you still need to structure your

time.

(a) It will probably take a while to get into the rhythm of this ministry, but you'll

need to nd a rhythm that allows you to care properly for your relationship with

God, your relationship with Becca, your relationships within these churches and

these communities, and your ministry of the Word in these pulpits.

5. Lastly: seek advice, counsel, and fellowship.

(a) Remember that Paul's words in Colossians 2:6-7 are for the church, not just for

individuals.

(b) As a church we are to walk in Christ, together, rooted and built up in him and,

together, established in the faith.

(c) Just as it is your duty to preach the Gospel of Christ from the pulpit, you are

also in need of the Gospel yourself.

(d) Seek out fellowship with fellow-laborers, other ministers of the Gospel, who will

speak the Gospel into your life, who will walk in Christ with you, and who will

build you up in Christ to establish you in the faith.

6. Put Christ rst in your heart, and he will be glori ed in your ministry.

7. Point your heart and everything in your life toward Christ.

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8. When you do that, then God and everything he's created will be made real to you,

and through you to everyone who hears the Word of Christ from your lips, and who

sees the love of Christ lived in your life.

Let us pray: O Lord, we commit Tom, and your ministry here, to your care. Teach him

your way, O Lord, and unite his heart to fear your name, that he may teach others, and that

you would be exalted by your people. Amen.

8

No Turning Back to Moses-like Religious Systems

October 13, 2013 Evening:

Title: Consider Jesus and Moses

Old Testament Passage: Psalm 118:19-29 – The stone that the builders rejected...

Gospel Passage: Mark 13:28-31 – The fig tree

Sermon Text: Hebrews 3:1-6 – Moses the servant, Jesus the builder and son

Sermon Point: It would be a great mistake to reject Jesus based on an uninformed loyalty to Moses

[3:1] Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, [2] who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house.

Those who were impressed with the religious system of Moses may have felt a certain loyalty to this great man who was the mediator of the Old Covenant. Many Jews in the first century were actively trying to convince Christians that what was most important was their loyalty to Moses and their dedication to the religious traditions of Judaism.

No offense to Moses... but he was not the Son of God. We who have been united to Jesus share in a heavenly calling. Our confession of faith looks to Jesus, not to Moses. Jesus is our Apostle, not any earlier Hebrew prophet. Jesus is our High Priest, not Aaron or any of his descendants. God appointed Moses to a task in his place and time, and Moses was faithful, but Jesus is forever faithful in all God's house.

[3] For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. [4] (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)

God's house was no longer the tabernacle or the temple in Jerusalem. God's house was the assembly of worshipers who were calling upon His Name. It was bigger than any house that came before. Moses did not build that house and he cannot take us there. Jesus is the builder of the church, and He alone can take us to the heavenly Jerusalem.

Simply put, Jesus is God. He is the builder and owner of all things. He lives in us. Without Him, the most impressive church counts for nothing. With Him, a humble flock has everything. He has been counted worthy of far more glory than Moses.

[5] Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, [6] but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

Moses was a good servant of the Lord. His life was a testimony to the Word. Jesus is the Word, the Son of God, and the Captain of our salvation. His house is for the people who sincerely hope in His appearing and who believe that He is building His kingdom.

Jesus was the preeminent Servant of the Lord. His cross work fulfilled the Servant prophecy of Isaiah 53. Moses did not die for our sins. He could not. As great as he was, he was not even permitted to lead the people of God into Canaan. Jesus has led us into heaven. He has sent heaven into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

1. Do not prefer the liturgy and ceremonial law of Moses to the grace and presence of Jesus.
2. Do not be moved by the pressure that others may bring upon you to follow a system more like the Old Covenant than the New. Stay with Jesus. Stay with grace.

Tom's Ordination

Lovers of God –

In the city of Jerusalem, the nation of Israel, and to the end of the earth

(Acts 1:1-11, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, October 12, 2013)

[1:1] In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, [2] until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. [3] He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. [4] And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; [5] for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”The name Theophilus means “friend of God,” or “love of God.” Luke, who wrote the book of Acts addressed this book as well as the Gospel that bears his name either to a particular person named Theophilus or to the church as “lovers of God.” In the Gospel According to Luke he told the story of Jesus from before His conception until after His resurrection. Here in the opening of Acts we are first directed to the moment when Jesus was taken up, which we call his ascension.

Prior to His ascension He gave commands to the apostles, commands that no doubt had to do with faith, life, and especially the mission and ministry of His church. His resurrection was at the very center of what He showed them, not only in providing convincing proofs that He was alive as a resurrection man, but also in telling them about how they were to be living witnesses to His eternal reign over a coming resurrection world called here the “kingdom of God.”

The life of that kingdom was to be more than biological life. God would send His Holy Spirit in generous measure upon His disciples. It becomes evident from the conversation that followed that the further gift of the Spirit would be essential for their understanding of both the King and the kingdom that He was establishing through them.

[6] So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” [7] He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. [8] But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

They had been with Him for three years. First He was patiently and modestly displaying to them and to the world that He was the Messiah. He did this by doing the signs that the Messiah was supposed to do according to the Hebrew Bible. In Luke's first book, very early on in His ministry Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah who had said what the Christ would do when He came. The Anointed One would preach good news to the poor. He would free those who were oppressed by evil. He would bring sight to the blind. That very day in the synagogue in Nazareth Jesus said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

He then spent three years doing the signs of the resurrection kingdom until He came to a key turning point in His ministry when He asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This was true, but they did not understand what it would take for Him to come into His kingdom. He then told them explicitly at least three times, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” What they understood of this prophecy they rejected. But there was much that they did not understand about the King and His kingdom.

The disciples, now talking to Jesus after His three years with them, after His death, after His resurrection, after forty days of proof and instruction, wanted to know when the kingdom would come. In asking this question they revealed that their understanding of the kingdom was too small. They said, “Will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Jesus would not answer the “when” question, but in His response He displayed that His understanding of the kingdom was much larger than theirs. The kingdom would come through their witness, not only in the city of Jerusalem, but in the old territory of the nation of Israel (Judea in the south and Samaria in the north), and then to “the end of the earth.” This “end” referred was not the end of the age but the furthest reaches of the earth. They would be witnesses of the Resurrection King and His kingdom to every tribe, tongue, and nation.

[9] And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. [10] And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, [11] and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

The fact that this kingdom would not only be bigger than old Israel but also different from all the nations of the world was displayed in what took place next. Jesus was lifted up in a cloud of glory right in front of their eyes. He ascended into heaven, and two of heaven's righteous residents, angels appearing here as men in white robes, revealed that Jesus would return from heaven in the same way that He was just taken up into heaven, on clouds of divine glory.

The kingdom of heaven would come first through the witness of the church and then in the return of the King from heaven with the fullness of the kingdom. This is the Christian hope. It is also what the Apostle Paul called “the hope of Israel.” The content of this hope was something that the church and her apostles would need to learn more deeply even after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in the next chapter. In Acts 10 Peter would have to be taught that it was more than right for him to enter the home of a Gentile. The Spirit of the Lord of Heaven would come down upon non-Jews just as He had upon Jews in Acts 2.

Our Lord's simple plan of witness by Word and Spirit has now been taking place for many centuries. We might be tempted to think that it would be easier to believe in this plan of God if we could have lived in Israel with Jesus and the apostles. Nothing could be further from the truth. At the time of the original disciples, 11 very unlikely church leaders were gazing up into heaven wondering what they were supposed to do next. There were 120 men and women in their congregation who were told to wait until they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Their Leader was gone. They were supposed to go the end of the earth, but it would be years before they even understood that they were allowed to eat with non-Jews. Even after they finally understood that Gentiles could be Christians without first being Jews, they would engage in years of debate with other Jews who could not believe that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die.

Where are we today? Simply put, we are everywhere. We do not have the Bible translated into every tongue yet, but we have a substantial presence on every continent on the planet. We can sing “Jesus shall reign where'er the sun does its successive journeys run,” and we can see evidence with our eyes that this is happening. The Suffering Servant and his centuries of suffering witnesses have been greatly blessed. Millions already inhabit the heavenly kingdom on high with Jesus. Billions name the name of Jesus all over the globe. (e.g. Pastor Marian in Romania helping youth) Only God could have done this. It is our privilege today to see a settled minister again on the Cranberries. May you know the best Shepherd better because of Tom's labors, and may the Word and life of His love go forth through you to the very end of the earth.