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Revelation 12:1-6 – Sermon Manuscript

-Have you ever read a story or watched a movie that doesn’t really make sense until you get to the end?

-Mysteries do this really well – all these little hints throughout the story until it brings all of them together in 1 cohesive unit at the end. Knives Out, Glass Onion

-Agatha Christie books/movies do this really well. If you know what you’re looking for the as the story unfolds you can see these events taking place, but if you don’t know the ending you’ll be pretty confused by some of what’s going on.

-God does that with the Bible in what is known as progressive revelation His story progressively unfolds, you see little hints and threads of His bigger plan throughout the book, but you need to read all the way to the end to find out how all those little pieces fit together.

-We’re going to be looking today at the work of the dragon in a specific moment leading up to the Palm Sunday story, and see that what Jesus has done is created a way for us to become wise and whole people, if we trust Him, obey Him, and live the way He’s designed us to. 

READ/PRAY

  1. A Woman, a Dragon, and a Child (Revelation 12)

-All sorts of different mythical stories in the 1st century where gods and goddesses fought against dragons (Egypt, Ugarit, Mesopotamia, Greece, Roman)

-Not saying any of those are true, but God often speaks to His people in ways they can understand. He’s trying to communicate things that are incommunicable at all times. If you’ve ever seen an adult hold a baby you’ve seen this! 

-“A great sign”

-Not seen by anyone else, this is just revealed to John.

-Connects back to Isa. 7:14 “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.”

-Unfortunately, God isn’t the only one who gives these signs, as we’ll see in just a couple verses.

-“A women”

-Who is this woman? Mary seems to fit here, but we need to take the bigger context, so look down at vs. 17 – most commentators believe this is signifying God’s people, who had been waiting for generations for the Messiah to come

-God’s people as His bride appears throughout Scripture (Isa. 54:5, Hosea, 

Rev. 19:7-9, 21:9)

-“Clothed with the sun, moon under her feet, crown of twelve stars”

-Beautiful and exalted with the brightest star we can see! This woman is astoundingly beautiful! She takes on some of the characteristics used to describe God: Psalm 104:2 “He wraps himself in light as if it were a robe” This woman is closely connected to God, but it also connects us to a story all the way back in:

–Gen. 37:9 – story of Joseph, who eventually did have this take place for Him. But Joseph isn’t the main point of the story, because Jesus is the even better Joseph who allows us to be saved from the famine of sin and death! Getting a little ahead of myself though.

-“She was pregnant”

-Theme throughout OT of Israel suffering labor pains while waiting for the arrival of the Messiah Mic. 4:10 “Writhe and cry out, Daughter Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you will leave the city and camp in the open fields. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued; there the Lord will redeem you from the grasp of your enemies!” Everything leading up to Jesus’ arrival could be said to be the pain of childbirth, longing for the arrival of the King. But the woman’s not alone.

-“Another sign: great fiery red dragon”

-seven heads, ten horns, a crown on each head. At first glance this is supposed to be absolutely terrifying! Think of a 7 headed dragon, 3 heads have 2 horns coming out and the rest have 1 horn (horns signify strength, think like a Rhino). Every head has a crown on it. Unfortunately for this dragon (and unknown to Him), his role is to be the butt of God’s master plan. He has literally been created for destruction. While at first glance it looks like the left 2 heads, in reality he’s more like the dragon on the right. 

–Dan. 7:7, 24 – dragon manifests himself in and through human rulers and authorities. Blomberg “Since Satan is not omniscient, and since only God knows the timing of the end, the devil must have an “antichrist” ready in every era, lest that turn out to be the time God has appointed for the consummation of all things.”

-The fact that this dragon has crowns on his head shows that he’s trying to imitate Jesus. When we get to this section again in June, we’ll see that this is the first of the unholy trinity. Satan tries to mimic and destroy God’s perfect plan, but he falls short each and every time. 

-But this story is really a tale as old as time. Think back to the beginning of the Bible: Gen. 3:15 the serpent themes throughout Scripture: Pharoah’s headdress, fiery serpents being sent upon Israel (Num. 21), Goliath’s armor. 

-Are you a part of the army of the serpent or the serpent slayer? There’s a wonderful little book on this titled ‘The Serpent and the Serpent Slayer’ that traces many of these themes throughout the Bible, if you’re interested let me know!

-The violence of the dragon: “tail swept”

-Some say this is the fall of Satan with his fallen angels, Others appeal to Dan. 8:10 calls Israel the stars: which would mean this is the dragon’s hostility toward the people of God. I could be convinced of either option, but the point is the dragon is opposed to the work of God.

-Stood in front of the woman while she’s giving birth.

-Is there ever a time that a woman is more vulnerable than during delivery? I haven’t ever experienced the labor pains myself, but I’ve seen it a number of times now and am very grateful that my wife won’t ever need to experience that again! It takes literally everything out of a woman! 

And then in the midst of that pain and struggle, this dragon positions himself to help deliver the baby straight into his belly! This is grotesque, but a true description of Satan’s goal.

-But also think of what happens when Jesus is born: Matt. 2 – Herod kills all babies, just a Pharoah worked to kill all the Israelite babies in Exodus. The serpent hates people, who are created in the image of God, he is opposed to them from birth to death, Literally the opposite of God.

-I thought this was such a cool point from Micah’s last class on Bible interpretation: a correct interpretation of the text will lead to human flourishing. That is God’s intent for His creation! Becoming everything He’s created us to be, worshipping Him with all we have. Not following the way of the dragon.

-The woman gave birth to a Son (notice the capital letter and the description of this son)

–Psalm 2:9 – this is all about the ways the dragon looks to usurp God’s authority, the ways he uses nations and kings to do his bidding and fight against the chosen one, but nothing he can do will thwart God’s plan. What looks like certain destruction for the Son (giving birth into the open throat of the dragon) becomes the means by which the dragon is defeated.

-John then skips over every other event in Jesus’ life (we’ll see him talk about those next week in Rev. 5) and goes straight to his ascension. 

-“The woman fled into the wilderness”

-“The wilderness represents life in the present age” Tom Schreiner

–Hos. 2:14 wilderness is a theme in the history of God’s people: leaving Egypt (God’s provision), Jesus’ ministry. So even as the dragon is waging war against God and His people, God will protect and preserve a faithful people who will serve God instead of the dragon.

-But what does that look like, practically, for life today? How do ensure we’re following the Lamb instead of the dragon? Let’s look at a story from John that sets the stage for the triumphal entry. 

  • A Dragon, a Disciple, and a Messiah (John 12)

–John 13:2

-Some context: Lazarus had just been raised from the dead, Jesus’ notoriety was rising and Lazarus kept spreading the news about what Jesus had done to him. 

-Seems that Lazarus and his sisters were good friends of Jesus. 

-Also coming to the end of Jesus’ ministry & life. This serves as the beginning of the end, is a day before Palm Sunday and leads into the triumphal entry. But as we read it, I want us to notice a couple throwaway comments that John says to give us some background about Judas. 

READ

-All throughout the Gospels the reader is forced to deal with the question: “how do YOU respond to Jesus?” That’s part of the reason they’re so powerful, they draw you into the story and force you to respond.

-Read a story this week of someone who gave a NT to an unbeliever who had  no history with the Bible. He said the stories at the beginning were super repetitive, the middle made no sense, but he really like the science fiction at the end. Yes it is repetitive, but they each have a different goal.

-Lazarus is eating with everyone, Martha is serving everyone, and in comes Mary! How grateful do you think this family would have been? Lazarus had died, had been raised back to life, how would you respond? Wouldn’t some kind of priceless gift have been appropriate?

-“A pound of perfume” a Roman pound is like 12 oz so think a soda can size that gets dumped over Jesus. 

-The best of the best, this isn’t a knock-off, hasn’t been watered down, this is the perfect specimen of perfume, worth a year’s wages. This could have been a family heirloom that had been passed down for generations. Wealth is viewed differently in different times of history, we tend to think only about money, but there wasn’t a common currency or global trade market to track, so items were used as a retirement account.

-This perfume would have followed Jesus everywhere he went for days. Think about that – as Jesus was led to his death this smell would have been accompanying Him, reminding Him of this night of joyful celebration with His closest friends.

-Then who does the focus turn to? Judas, the betrayer. 

-John gives us some back story here about Judas’ character. 

-I’m guessing you, like me, have had this exact conversation before. Anytime you spend money, someone’s going to ask you if you considered the poor children in Africa. Yes, I have no way of getting to them, I do support children all over the globe, and I still needed a car to get around, house to live in, etc. That was a much more effective argument when I was 16 years old!

-Look at vs. 6: Judas stole from the funds. Funds received from people supporting Jesus and His ministry. Have you ever considered how few people in the Bible would pass a background check to serve at church? David was an adulterer murderer, Moses was a stuttering murderer, Peter was an impulsive and seemingly angry man, Judas was a thief liar and betrayer, Paul was a master at finding Christians and killing them. Would any of you trust your kids to those men? No! Apart from Jesus at work in them. Jesus would have known exactly what Judas was doing, He would have known the ulterior motives Judas had for being in charge of the money-bag, but he allowed Judas that opportunity.

-Jesus gives us the freedom and opportunity to choose. Ultimately He knows what we’ll choose, but He will still allow us to be tested to learn that He’s the only thing we need. Yet just like Judas, we so often miss it. We give into the temptation, we refuse to stand strong, we don’t acknowledge that Jesus is all we need.

-Jesus’ response has a tendency to be very misunderstood. 

-Doesn’t mean don’t care about the poor because they’ll always be poor, nor does it contradict Jesus’ other teachings about always looking to care for the poor and marginalized, but just as He tells us that our love for our family must seem to be like hate compared to our love for Him, so our devotion to Him must take precedent even over and above acts of compassion. 

-“Acts of devotion and acts of compassion for the poor are not mutually exclusive.” (Colin Kruse)

-I think this is what James means when he talks about faith without works being dead. Our worship must lead to a transformed life, otherwise our worship is pointless. 

-I was listening to a podcast this week: “The reason is that when you dive deep into biblical wisdom…you start to see the reality that according to the Bible, wisdom is about becoming a certain kind of person, not necessarily knowing what sort of rules to follow. So there’s, there’s always this inward direction with wisdom, wisdom is always kind of pushing toward the heart. And it’s always trying to create certain kinds of people.”

-What we see when we look at these 2 passages is the temptation to become a certain kind of person: one that follows the way of the dragon, or one that follows in the way of the Lamb. One leads to life, and one leads to death. One leads to joyful celebration, and one leads to sorrowful mourning. And every one of us has a choice as to which of these 2 characters we’re going to follow and emulate. 

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by mikethestrand on March 24, 2024  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Sermon
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Posted by mikethestrand on March 24, 2024

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2024/03/24/revelation-121-6-sermon-manuscript/

Revelation 3:1-22 – Sermon Manuscript

-New classes starting NEXT WEEK at 9AM:
-“Strange New World” how did we get to the point in a generation where the statement “I am a woman trapped in a man’s body” not only makes sense, but has become the norm
-EFCA Denials and Affirmations: social justice, woke, CRT, Christian nationalists, transgenderism, gender roles in the church, annihilationism.
READ/PRAY
1) Sardis: Wake Up! (1-6)
-About the city: one of the most glorious cities in Asia, but it was well past its heyday.
-Almost an impregnable military stronghold. Sheer cliffs on 3 sides, steep approach on the 3rd side.
-Fell in 546 BC because some men climbed up the “unscalable” cliff and just opened the gates to the enemy. “Capturing Sardis” became common language to describe achieving something impossible. Happened again in 214 BC! Another guy climbed up the cliff and opened the gates!
-17 AD a terrible earthquake devastated the town, rebuilt by Rome, who then used the face of the emperor on their currency.
-Special interest in death and immortality, focus on the fertility cycle and bringing life out of death.
-One of the largest Jewish synagogues every excavated was found here, room for over 1,000 people.
-Jesus is the one who has authority and power in heaven, not the strong Jewish community (hold on to that idea, it comes up again at the end)
-Reputation for: literally “name is alive” How would you feel if Jesus’ commendation toward you is: you have a good name. But your name doesn’t match up to reality
-I think this a theme throughout Scripture! Think of the Apostle Peter (Rocky!) yet he might be the most insecure and weak of the twelve apostles because he repeatedly caves in to peer pressure. See Jesus takes what looks useless to us and turns it into something useful. Paul describes the gospel message as a stumbling block to the Jews, and foolishness to the Greeks. Yet that’s what we believe!
-How can this church turn it around?
-Be alert! Wake up! Just like the city left their backside unguarded, stop sleeping and start shoring up the weaknesses in their lives.
-Strengthen what remains: 2 Tim. 1:6 “fan into flame” think during the summer when you have a bonfire. If you don’t tend to it, it will slowly burn out. Then you’d need to blow on the smolder, throw some grass on it. Similarly, if there are good things happening, and God is working in some small area, feed it! They’re not dead yet!
-Remember what they have received and heard: think back to the truths of the gospel message they believed in. Don’t stray too far from that simple message that Jesus Christ died for you! Hold to that and live a life of repentance.
-If the church doesn’t stay awake, judgment is coming. No one knows when that day is, but judgment is guaranteed. Think of 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.”
-The whole church isn’t on the verge of dying: there’s a faithful remnant who are continuing to serve the Lord. Do you have the conviction to be that kind of person?
-What promise does Jesus give to the conquerors here?
-Dressed in white clothes: mark of purity, completeness
-Never erase: “At some point “the curse of the Minim” was added to the 18 Benedictions prayed daily by Jews in the ancient world. “The curse of the Minim” reads, “May the Nazarenes and the Minim suddenly perish, and may they be blotted out of the book of Life and not enrolled along with the righteous.” (Jim Hamilton). This Jewish commitment Jesus says has it backwards! And if Jesus writes them down, nothing can erase them. Matt 10:32-33 Whoever denies Jesus before others will be denied by Him.
2) Philadelphia: Love Jesus First! (7-13)
-The city: called “The gateway to the east” Volcanic soil fertile and ideal for grapes. (city of brotherly love, just like the one in Pennsylvania)
-Youngest city, founded sometime after 189 BC. Biggest issue: prone to earthquakes. Many people lived outside of the city because of that. Walls of the city were constantly cracked, building were built assuming they would fall. The pillars used would show signs of deterioration. While we don’t have any pillars left from the original, this is what they would have looked like (from archway of the church of St. John the Theologian in Philadelphia)
-After a big earthquake in 17 AD, taxes were removed for 5 years, in response the city renamed itself “Neocaesarea” and then also added the name “Flavia” in response to the imperial dynasty.
-Primary allegiance was to Dionysus, the god of wine.
-While Philadelphia was big and impressive, the church there was the opposite.
-Jesus is holy and true: don’t give in to the worldly standards or expectations, and don’t put your hope in the wrong places.
-Key of David: allusion to Isa. 22:22 “I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one can close; what he closes, no one can open.” Entrance into God’s presence. The Jews had kicked the church out, but Jesus won’t.
-No negative word said about this church. They’ve remained faithful and haven’t denied Jesus’ name.
-Similar phrasing from Smyrna, but Jesus promises to be with His people in the midst of the hour of testing.
-“Earth dwellers” (CSB-“those who live on the earth) always refers to unbelievers throughout Revelation
-Remain faithful to Jesus, don’t deny, even unto death.
-Conquerors receive:
-Pillar in the temple: unlike the pillars that were prone to earthquakes, this pillar can’t be knocked over!
-Remember how many times the name of this city was changed? If Jesus writes His name it will never change, and they’ll be a part of a new city: New Jerusalem. Ties to the book of life where the names reside.
3) Laodicea: Let Jesus In! (14-22)
-This city: 2 major trade routes through here, a hub of trade and communications in the province. Allied closely to Rome, administrative and judicial center for the area. Eventually became the banking center adding wealth. Became the home to a textile industry known for producing raven-black wool. And a famous school of medicine that created “Phrygian powder” and eye salve.
-Also prone to earthquakes, destroyed in 60 AD, but refused help from Rome. The citizens paid to rebuild.
-No water supply, piped in via an aqueduct.
-Amen, faithful and true, OG:
-Col. 1:18 “He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.”
-Not that Jesus is a created being, but think of what we learn about Jesus in John 1:3 “All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.”
-Works are neither hot nor cold. I remember being told that God wishes they were either spiritually on fire for him, or cold enough to be done with them, but that’s not the point he’s making.
-Just as He’s done other places, and for the same reason I will use illustrations from movies or events taking place around us to help us understand the text, Jesus here is saying that He wishes the people were hot and healing like the waters at Hierapolis (city 6 miles away), or cold and refreshing like the waters at Colossae (10 miles away), but lukewarm (like the water than came through the aqueducts) which was repulsive. Additionally, the water would pick up minerals as it was transported, so by the time it got to the city it was repulsive, literally vomit inducing!
-So because they are neither bringing the healing power of the gospel to bear in their conversations, or refreshing others with the message of the gospel Jesus is going to vomit them out. Be done with them! It’s because of how they define themselves:
-They think they’re wealthy, and they are! But only on earth.
-Remember, one of the purposes of Revelation is to help us change our glasses, or the way we see and interpret events that are taking place around us. Jesus’ goal with these letters is to give these churches a glimpse of what’s happening spiritually. So because of the immense wealth of this city, this church has started to imbibe that same thinking and think they need nothing. But spiritually, they are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. What an indictment!
-Jesus goes on to give them some advice: buy true gold (spiritually), white clothes (contrasted with the black wool or purple cloth that was a marker of wealth), and spiritual ointment to have their eyes opened to the spiritual world instead of only focusing on the physical/material world.
-This is similar to a story in Acts 8 – Simon the Sorcerer thinking material wealth gives you access to God’s kingdom. He actually asks the apostles to give him the ability to lay hands on people and give them the Holy Spirit! Peter responds “May your silver be destroyed with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, your heart’s intent may be forgiven.”
-Despite having all the material wealth they could need, spiritually both Simon and the church at Laodicea are spiritual bankrupt. The only way to get true and lasting riches is to repent of putting your hope and trust in God’s good gifts, and instead put your hope and trust and confidence in Him.
-We then come to one of the most quoted verses from Revelation that has been used in more evangelistic messages than I can keep track of! But it misses the point of what Jesus is saying here.
-Is this letter written to a person or a church? A church! Instead of Jesus standing at the door of someone’s heart, it’s painting a picture of being too wealthy and independent to admit their need for Jesus. It’s a terrifying indictment of a church! This is another way of saying this church has stopped functioning as a church and instead has become a social club.
-But this also paints a picture of an historical reality that the people would have understood. At this point in history, most cities in this area were so safe and secure that they never closed their gates. But that wasn’t the case in Laodicea. They wanted to protect and preserve all the wealth and prestige they’d accumulated so every night they’d close their gates. In fact, when the city was rebuilt, the gates had placards on them noting who paid for it. So the church would have had that image in mind when Jesus is condemning them in this way. Jesus had been shut out of the church the same way the city shuts people out of their gates. They think they have arrived and need no help, even from Jesus!
-If the church finally acknowledges their need of Jesus, and let Him back in (to where He belongs), He will come and eat with them. This is a way of signifying restoration of relationship. Eating together was the sign of close connection and relationship building. (think of the accusations of Jesus who ate with sinners) Jesus wants to be in close relationship with His church, but the church can become so independent that we’ve inadvertently thrown Him out and closed the door.
-The final call to the church is to sit in proper judgment. Don’t assume that because of material wealth that you have spiritual blessings! Jesus is the one who sits on the throne of judgment, and He invites His followers to sit with Him IF they remain faithful to Him
-What about us? Where are we at today? If we were to be given a letter from Jesus, where would we be commended, and where would we stand condemned? In 2014, an author and researcher named Thom Rainer wrote a book titled “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” that had some incredibly helpful information on it! And then he followed it up with “Anatomy of a Revived Church” in 2022. Look at the chapter titles of his first book:
-Let’s think about some of these: “the past is the hero.” Anyone ever heard someone say “we’ve never done it that way before!” That’s a good description of this issue. And because I’d rather talk about issues than dance around them, this has been an issue in our history! We have a tendency to look back on 04-10 as the “glory days” when our halls were filled, when attendance was up, but what we forget it he turmoil that was taking place behind the scenes. The past tends to be viewed through rose colored glasses, but God’s still at work here today! And we know from Revelation that the best is always in the future!
-“The budget moved inwardly.” As of today, 13% of our annual budget is given toward outside ministries, missionaries, or organizations. From a crisis pregnancy center to campus ministries to missionaries in China, our dollars aren’t just being focused on ourselves.
-“The Great Commission Becomes” the great commission is Jesus’ command in Matt. 28 “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.” We can summarize that as Make & mature disciples of Jesus. If discipleship isn’t taking place (either new conversions or people growing more like Jesus), then we stop being a church on mission with what Jesus has called us to do and be. Going means going into even our local community, our neighborhoods with the gospel message. (“from the edge of the parking lot to the end of the world”) It means we have to live different from the same worldly pursuits our neighbors are living out.
-“The preference-driven church” As soon as someone starts defining the church based on their preferences we’re going to die. Period. Unless we are willing to die to our preferences we have not hope of being a healthy church. As soon as you find yourself says “I don’t like __” realizing this is what’s happening in your heart. Whether it be the music, the class topics, the LG materials, the kid’s ministry, or even the preaching. When you start viewing the church through what you get instead of what you give you setting the church up to fail.
-“The church rarely prayed together” I read an article a few months ago that was titled “32 Random Thoughts About the Local Church” One of them says “Few people want to be part of a church that doesn’t pray, but few people want to attend a prayer meeting. You should ponder this conundrum.” Do you spend time in prayer for our church, or time praying with other members of the church? One of the commitments I’ve made since coming here is trying to end as many meetings as I can praying. Not every time, but a majority of the meetings I have I try to close in prayer. If we’re not praying, we’re not growing.
-There’s more that could be said, and I’m not trying to say this book is the same as the Bible, it’s not, but it gives us some time to pause and reflect on where we are as a church. Are we too complacent about what’s going on around us to be effective in witnessing to those around us? Are we too blind to the spiritual realities we’re facing because we’re too obsessed with earthly riches?
-Yes, these letters are to churches, but churches are comprised of individuals. So every single one of us needs to ensure that we’re keeping Jesus as the center and focus of everything we do, so that we as a church can move toward that same goal.

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by mikethestrand on March 10, 2024  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Life, Sermon
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Posted by mikethestrand on March 10, 2024

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2024/03/10/revelation-31-22-sermon-manuscript/

Revelation 2:1-11 – Sermon Manuscript

-Letters have become incredibly special today! I remember back when texts were the most significant thing you could get. Those things cost 5 cents each! I also remember when getting a phone call was the most significant thing! Back when you had to call a friend and awkwardly talk to their parents for a few minutes before you could ask to talk to your friend. Now, most people I know are annoyed when you get a phone call, texting is ubiquitous, and letters are incredible special and dear to your heart. Except for the ones from Anderson windows that look special and handwritten, until you open them up and find out it’s an advertisement.

-How would you feel if you got a letter from Jesus? Would you be excited or nervous? 

-It’s at times difficult for us to remember that these letters are written to real people who lived in a real place, who had real lives, and needed comfort and correction from the Lord, just like we do today. What’s even crazier is we do have a number of letters written to us: 66 of them – we call it the Bible! Each time we open it God Himself is speaking to us – which means there will be times where we challenged, and times where we’re comforted. That’s true of any and every relationship! 

READ/PRAY

-First thing to note is the similarities between all these letters.

-Chart

-7 churches, address to angel, connection back to Christ, encouragement, correction with a call to repent (of 5 of them, the 2 that don’t have that call are the least impressive and most impoverished), listen, and finally a promise on how to overcome. Keep that in mind as we walk through these churches over the next few weeks!

-Churches tend to reflect or adopt both the positives and negatives of the cities and cultures they’re in, same today. 

-You may have heard the story of asking a fish what it’s like to live in water, and the reply is “what’s water?” It’s similar for us growing up – we assume so many things but until we run into someone who lives differently than us we tend to not get challenged on those assumptions. (Thank you, the food was very good, may I please be excused)

-If you say “church isn’t like it was when I was growing up” this is part of the reason why. Acts 17:26 We all have appointed times. I’ve talked to retired pastors who have shared they’re glad they’re not ministering today because it’s much more difficult. That’s ok! They don’t need to! God called them to a specific time and season, just as He’s called me to a specific time and season, and I’m very hopeful about the future of the church! 

-As we walk through the letters to these churches, there are things that will apply to us, things that will apply to other churches, and things that applied to the churches that were written to. Written first and foremost to these churches, but have application for the church throughout all of human history.

  1. Ephesus (1-7)

-Ephesus was a major port city. 3rd largest city in the Roman empire. Roads traveling from here to all of Asia (hence why Acts can describe Paul as preaching the word to “all of Asia”)

-Major commercial port that required constant dredging to prevent the harbor from becoming completely silted over and inaccessible by boat.

-Because of the commerce, also home to 1 of the 7 wonders of the ancient world: temple to the god Artemis, 4x larger than the Parthenon in Greece. Artemis was the god of fertility, magic, and astrology (do you think it’s a coincidence that Jesus is described as holding 7 stars). 

-Not only did they worship Artemis primarily, but significant cultural centers would also become centers of emperor worship (often referred to as “imperial cults”) Ephesus had 3 temples dedicated to 3 different emperors.

-Church was founded by Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla (Acts 18-19)

-Paul there for at least 2 years (Acts 19:10), wrote a letter to them called “Ephesians” that we studied a few years ago!

-Riot against Paul for affecting the economic base (Acts 19:23-41), but I think it’s important to note that Paul’s warning when he left was to be careful not to let people lead them astray from the true faith. (Acts 20:28-30)

  1. True Orthodoxy (1-3) “straight teaching” Right belief

-Jesus is speaking to them, remember the one we just studied last week who holds the 7 stars and walks among them.

-Jesus is there and present in the church. Not some distantly removed dictator.

-Positive: works, labor, endurance, cannot tolerate evil people.

-Eugen Peterson: untiring, unflagging, and vigilant work

-Tested “apostles” not part of the 12, can be just church messengers

  • True Orthopraxy (4-7) “straight action” right action, right practice, living

-Correction: abandoned, fled, run away from first love. 

-Far more intentional than just drifting away.

-Eugene Peterson: “abandoning their first zestful love of Christ”

-A few debates about what this love is referring to, but because we know the author of this book, I think it sheds some light on what he’s referring to. Proposals: love for Jesus/God, or love toward others.

-Think of John 3:16 “For God so loved the world” or 1 John 3:18 “Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and truth” or 1 John 4:7 “Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God” and finally 4:11“Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.”

-I think we also need to keep in mind Jesus’ words on the great commandment: Matt. 22:37-40.

-Jesus is saying it’s not enough to just have correct theology. In fact, those with the best theology are going to spend eternity in the lake of fire: James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe-and they shudder.” 

-Summary of God’s expectations for His people: love God supremely, love others sacrificially. It’s not enough to just mentally agree with some truth claims: those truth claims are meant to soak themselves deeply into your life and change the way you live, including even your emotional life.

-The way you could summarize this church is that they’ve become so committed to right beliefs that they’ve neglected to love God or other people. They’ve forgotten the great commandment.

-Think of just how many “heresy hunter” organizations exist today! A quick look at YouTube and it can quickly become overwhelming! True belief matters greatly, but so does the way we live. You can’t separate those 2 truths! And I think this is an area that we as a church need to be wary of. I’m honestly not worried about us drifting away from the truth: we have more seminary degrees in this room than some seminaries offer! What I do worry about is become so determined to hold onto the truth that we neglect Jesus’ command to love others too.

-This even affected the EFCA over the past couple years! A pastor was hired at a church in NJ who claims to be an expert in theology, and to have a prophetic gift from God, and wrote 3 books denouncing the EFCA as “woke,” Marxist, and social justice warriors. He was given multiple opportunities to repent, he was called out for a lack of charity and grace toward others, and at moments he literally lied about things people said. If you only listen to his side, it sounds like he was doing the right thing, but if you talk to those that have tried to engage with him it becomes clear that there’s no love and only wanting to care about true beliefs (according to him).

-And it’s not just him, there’s whole organizations devoted to the idea that we need to stand firm and fight for the truth, or else the world will fall down around us. Do you really thing that’s our job? Is God so dependent on us fighting for Him that if we don’t stand up His plans are going to fail? My encouragement to you is to be careful of those organizations that only want to fight. Yes, we must stand firm for the truth, but don’t forget to look for the fruit of those who are leading organizations. Hold their lives up to Gal. 5. Do you see outbursts of anger? What about dissensions – trying to divide people (even Christians!) apart? Same with factions – whose side are you on? 

-Church: don’t miss this reality! Those that want to constantly fight and divide are not a part of God’s kingdom, they are manifesting the works of the flesh. Correct theology doesn’t mean you get into heaven! Your life must bear fruit. Always remember what we want to hear Jesus say to us when we finally see Him: “Well done good and FAITHFUL servant.” All of us are going to be surprised at some area of our theology being wrong (doesn’t mean we give up on learning and studying) AW Tozer, Ravi Zacharias (watch your life and doctrine)

-I think it’s important for us to see how Jesus commands them to respond to this letter: remember, repent, and do. 

-I got coffee with someone this week and chatted about how forgetful we are, even when God does incredible things in our lives. That’s normal for humans! That’s why God constantly tells us to remember. But not just remember, go on to repent (turn around), and then live the way you should be living. It’s never too late to repent! 

-If they don’t go back to their first love, Jesus says he will remove their lampstand. That means they would no longer be a church. Sure they can continue meeting, continue trying to achieve certain aims, but Jesus no longer views them as a true church. If we have all the right theology, but have not love, we stop functioning as a true church. This threat fits in with the concern of the city. Remember the constant dredging they did to remove silt from the harbor? There was this constant fear that the city would stop being a city because they were completely dependent on the harbor for their economic growth. Similarly, the church needs to fear no longer being a church unless they “dredge” up the sin in their lives and deal with it.

-I don’t have time to dig into the Nicolaitans, they’ll come up next week!

-Last thing we see is that this message is far broader than just this church. ANYONE who has ears. 

-“To be an “overcomer” in the eschatological war demands a day-by-day walk with God and dependence on his strength.” (Osborne)

-Conquering comes about by the sword of the Spirit, not the sword of power and influence

-Intentional contrast between God’s provision and Artemis’ provision

  • Smyrna (8-11)

-Smyrna had a history of dying and being brought back to life. It’s also the only city that still exists today as Izmir, Turkey. 

-Another harbor city (about 35 miles N of Ephesus) Claim to fame was the birthplace of the poet Homer

-Another prominent location with temples to various gods and emperors. Had an acropolis that was referred to as “the crown of Smyrna”

-The local currency had written on it “First of Asia in beauty and size.”

-Had a large and influential Jewish population who had access to economic and cultural power in the city. The Christians at Smyrna then faced oppression from both Jews and Romans in the city. Left out economically, banned from shopping in the marketplaces, yet 1 of only 2 churches that don’t receive any rebuke from Jesus. 

  1. True Riches (8-9)

-While Smyrna thought they were the first in priority, Jesus is the true First AND the Last. Just like the city had died and come back to life, Jesus shows His true divinity by rising from the dead (and holding the keys to death and Hades in His hands)

-Jesus sees what’s going on. He sees the way they are afflicted and the material poverty that they face, but that’s not the reality spiritually. 

-Even if the church faces being social outcasts, and lacks material means, Jesus is still among them. Do we need to change some of what we view as a successful church? 3Bs: buildings, budgets, butts, ABCs: adults, buildings, cash. What if the most wealthy churches are actually impoverished spiritually? 

-Jesus says he knows exactly what’s going on: slander from Jews, affliction from Romans, and the church feels oppression from both sides.

-This isn’t an antisemitic statement. Jesus was a Jew. Early disciples were Jews. But He is saying something new/unique is now taking place. 

-When confronted by Jewish leaders, Jesus says this: John 8:44

-Because Jesus has come, suddenly genealogy doesn’t matter anymore! Suddenly anyone can become a follower of the 1 true God! So when Jesus goes on to talk about a synagogue of Satan, He’s saying that because they don’t believe in Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life, they’re serving their father Satan who can only lie. Let me say it again: this verse is NOT antisemitic, and using it to argue that is a gross misinterpretation. 

  • True Suffering (10-11)

-The only guarantee on this side of eternity is suffering. Jesus promises us that!

-10 days isn’t a literal amount of time, but most likely picks up on an idea from Daniel 1 where the prophets were similarly tested.

-Once again, we see suffering is coming, but if you remain faithful you’ll receive not the crown of Smyrna, but the crown of life.

-The promise to those who overcome (persevere) is the second death will never hurt you. Second death is the eternal death (that idea will come up again later)

-This promise to Smyrna would see it realized just a few decades later when their bishop was burned at the stake (and may have even been in the church when this letter was read!) 

-Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna: “Polycarp said: “Eighty-six years I have served him, and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” … The proconsul said: “I have wild beasts. I shall throw you to them, if you do not change your mind.”

But he said: “Call them. For repentance from the better to the worse is not permitted us; but it is noble to change from what is evil to what is righteous.”

And again [he said] to him, “I shall have you consumed with fire, if you despise the wild beasts, unless you change your mind.”

But Polycarp said: “The fire you threaten burns but an hour and is quenched after a little; for you do not know the fire of the coming judgment and everlasting punishment that is laid up for the ungodly. But why do you delay? Come, do what you will.”

-Are we willing to face those kinds of threats? That kind of persecution? That kind of loss of social standing if we get the crown of life? That’s the blessing that comes from Jesus if we remain faithful unto death.

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by mikethestrand on February 25, 2024  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on February 25, 2024

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Revelation 1:9-20 – Sermon Manuscript

-When you think of Jesus, what comes to mind? Is it a nativity, where he lays silently (obviously no crying he makes!)? Or as a movie states is “Look, I like the Christmas Jesus best and I’m sayin’ grace. When you say grace, you can say it to grown-up Jesus or teenage Jesus or bearded Jesus or whoever you want.” Or do you picture him with the long flowing locks like this picture that my grandma had hanging in her house? Or the Jesus from the Cru 1979 film? Or maybe the newest rendition of Jesus from The Chosen? Let me tell you, no class at seminary prepared me for the question: “Daddy, is that really Jesus?” 

-Obviously, none of these are a direct representation of Jesus, we don’t have a painting of him, and the Bible is scarce on physical descriptions of him. We know He was a man, where He was born and lived, and someday we will actually see what He looks like. And today’s text tells us what He looks like, but it’s not the way many of us would expect Him to look!

READ/PRAY

  1. John’s Commission (9-11)

-John is chosen by God, but notice how he describes himself:

-Brother: the familial attachments of the church. I don’t know about you, but I love the fact that I get brothers in the church, because I grew up with only sisters! In fact, I still keep up with my guy friends from high school because of the closeness we had, and the faith we shared. And that’s supposed to be true in the church as well. 

-One of the ideas that has just captured my imagination over the past couple years is this idea of the church being a family. The early church realized that we cannot exist as pure individuals: we need others who will encourage us when we’re down, help us when we’re weak, take care of us when we’re sick, bring diapers when we have twins. In a world where everything tries to tell us to focus on ourselves, that we are our own isolated and independent people, the church is supposed to be the place that shows that’s not true. And we see that reality all around us. Loneliness at an all-time high, trust in other people doesn’t seem to exist anymore, and into that world we’re supposed to represent a different ideal where no matter how difficult things get, you have a group of people who love you and will walk with you. And not only is this the relationship John has with other believers, he’s also:

-Partner in 3 things that are expected for anyone in Jesus:

-Affliction (tribulation). We saw last week that John was exiled because of his beliefs about Jesus. The persecution of the church was in full force during the writing of this letter, so John writes this to remind them they’re not alone. I have a friend who was just informed this past week that he was let go from his job, and I texted him and his wife after I heard that we’re with them as they navigate this! I’ve even heard life summarized as: hard, and then you die. And there’s an element of truth to that, right? Even Jesus said: John 16:33. Yes, life is hard, the question is what do you do with that fact? If you have a partner in that reality it gets a lot easier, which leads to the second piece:

-kingdom. This is one of Jesus’ favorite topics. Think of the Lord’s prayer: “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Remember, we are now a part of God’s kingdom, even though it doesn’t appear that way by what we see taking place around us. Again, part of the reason we need a partner to remind us what’s truly true! Finally:

-endurance. One of the repeated refrains throughout the NT is to endure! Remain faithful! Once again, we don’t do this alone or in isolation. I ran cross country my Sr year of high school, and one of the best ways to grow in running is to have other people pushing you on! Encouraging endurance until the end of the race. Favorite verses on this topic: Gal. 6:9-10

-Patmos (remember this map) penal colony

-Under persecution most likely for not bowing the knee to the emperor. One of the themes we’ll see throughout this book is the regular reminder to not give in to the civil religions of the world. Emperor worship, idol worship, economic worship are all rampant in the first century, and also remain rampant today. Don’t give in to their allure! 

-“In the spirit” Mentioned 4 times: here, 4:2, 17:3, 21:10 each one a precursor to the next step or revelation of John’s vision. Signifies he’s the next step in a long line of prophets. Jude 20 “But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,”

-“Lord’s Day” only time this phrase is used in the NT. Closest is “Lord’s supper” in 1 Cor. 11:20. Change in worship from before Jesus’ resurrection to after, Acts tells us the early church met “on the first day of the week” (Acts 20:7)

-One of the reasons to believe in the reality of the resurrection! Nowhere in the Bible does it show Jesus or His disciples disobeying the law. LOTS of occasions of disobeying the man-made laws, but never once disobeying God’s revealed law. So why would these law-abiding Jews change the day of their worship, unless something dramatic happened, like Jesus rising from the dead!

-Loud voice like a trumpet: Ex. 19:16 Just as God’s presence is ushered in with the sound of a ram’s horn (trumpet) in the OT, this is telling us that God is coming.

-Contrast this with the way Elijah hears God’s voice 1 Kings 19. God can speak through a still voice, or a trumpet so loud your ears ring! Just like Jesus’ first and second comings can be compared.

-Just like every other prophet chosen by God, John is given a job.

-God is going to be revealing things to John, his job is to write them down, and unlike Daniel’s vision (which John has a TON of similarities to), his job is to share it!

  • John’s Vision (12-16)

-As one does, he turns around to see who’s talking to him. First thing he notices isn’t at person, it’s seven golden lampstands.

-Once again, if our minds aren’t saturated with the words of Scripture this won’t make any sense to us! First is the immediate context: look down at vs. 20, we know these are the 7 churches that have already been talked about a couple times. Since we know this refers to the churches, that leads us to something Jesus said: Matt. 5

-But it also references back to a couple OT passages: 

-Ex. 25:31-37: the lampstand was created to light up the tabernacle. This was the place where God’s very presence dwelt. Keep that in mind, but there’s one more passage that John’s borrowing from:

-Zech. 4:2, 10: the lampstands demonstrate God’s oversight into what’s taking place. So just as in the OT God’s prophecy to Zechariah is accompanied by God’s revelation of His plan, so in Revelation, God is revealing to John His plan.

-Only after seeing the lampstands do we see who was talking, he was standing among the lampstands “one like the Son of Man.”

-Dan. 7:13-14. In the NT, often when the author wants you to think about the whole passage of Scripture, they would only quote a portion of it. People in the 1st century had FAR better memory retention than we do – their culture trained them to hear and retain things. So Jesus on the cross when he cries out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” people would have connected it to Psalm 22. Jesus only needs to quote the first verse, because everyone would know the rest of the story (it ends with the Psalmist having God’s victory) So when John refers back to the Son of Man, those hearing that would be thinking about the whole passage from Daniel.

-I got a complaint last week about not including any LOTR, so this is the perfect time for another clip! Gandalf the gray was thought to have been killed in the first book, and another wizard named Saruman the White was seen to be leading the forces of evil against the fellowship. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are looking for 2 of the hobbits who had been captured, leading them to this point.

-Robe: think of Joseph who was given a special robe from his father. Also significant in the Greek it says it goes all the way to his feet: different levels of authority had different lengths of robe. Also denotes priestly, Ex. 28:4

-Golden sash: Ex. 28:4 priestly garment, and another reminder of royalty.

-Hair: the less color the more wisdom. Opposite today! Had a chat with a friend last week about letting the gray come in, despite all the commercials telling us to use “Just for Men” and sometimes even kids commenting that “Dad, you need some of that!” Prov. 16:31 “Gray hair is a glorious crown; it is found in the ways of righteousness.” I think this also connects back to the one moment Jesus’ glorified image was seen by the disciples in the transfiguration: Mark 9:3. Jesus is seen as full of wisdom (connecting back to the Ancient of Days, or is and was and is to come), and purity.

-Fiery eyes – as eyes age they become less bright (cataracts), not so with Jesus. Also comes up again in 2:18 and 19:12 connected to judgment. Jesus’ eyes can penetrate beneath the surface and get to the heart of the matter. Like if you’ve ever been in a conversation with someone who suddenly asks the exact question you needed to hear and it feels like they were staring directly into your soul. That’s what Jesus does!

-Feet: Dan. 10:6 denotes strength and stability, as well as complete purity. If the bronze has been polished they’ve had all their impurities removed. Notice as well the description of the voice in Daniel. Now let’s go back to Rev.:

-His voice: think of a hurricane. This also connects to Ezekiel’s vision in 2 places Ezek. 1:24 where we see the angelic beings carrying the Lord, and in43:2 where we see God’s glory finally returning to Israel.

-3 final descriptions of Jesus: 

-Holding 7 stars: Commentary on NT use of the OT quote. And the fact that they’re in Jesus’ right hand signifies that He’s in control of them. Nothing happens to them apart from His guidance.

-Sword from the mouth: Jesus’ second coming brings division. Isa. 49:2 where God’s words become a sharp sword 2 Thess. 2:8 where God’s final judgment and destruction come about through His words, Matt. 10:34-35 where we see Jesus’ arrival is accompanied by a sword. You think it’s peaceful, but He came to wage war against the works of the flesh and the devil.

-Face was shining: Matt. 17:2 another reference to the transfiguration. What the disciples got to see was a little picture of the glorified Jesus. Ex. 34:29-35 This also signifies the connection to the ultimate Prophet from the OT, Moses. Anytime Moses would meet with the Lord he would end up with a glowing face (kind of like when we MN see the sun for the first time in the summer and forget to put sunscreen on, I think there’s been some summers where my face glowed in the dark!) In order to not blind the people, Moses would put a veil over his face. Where this gets amazing is what Paul says about us today in 2 Cor. 3. Just as Jesus’ face in Revelation is said to shine like the sun, that’s what our faces are supposed to do as well. Where we once had a veil covering the us, when we turn to Jesus we now are commanded to shine brightly into the darkness of the world (just like the lampstands signified at the beginning of this section)

-Revelation is a beautiful summary, cherry on top, of the whole message of Scripture encapsulated in 1 book. All these little ideas that have been alluded to before are finding their fulfilment here!

  • John’s Response (17-20)

-Since He sees Jesus, he responds like Isaiah in Isa. 6. Isaiah sees a picture of God and comes undone! He realizes He has no right to stand in before the perfect God so he says “Woe is me for I am ruined!” And how is he able to stand before God? He’s touched by an angel and all his sins are dealt with. In this case, Jesus already dealt with the sins, but He still reaches out and touches John.

-One of the most underrated aspects of Jesus’ ministry is that of touch. Something comforting and strengthening about being touched by someone else. A hug, an arm around the shoulder. Think of all the people Jesus touched, even though He didn’t need to! A leper who hadn’t been touched in years, a women who had been dealing with a bloody discharge for 12 years leaving her unclean, a blind man whose eyes hadn’t worked since birth. All touched by the Savior!

-Jesus’ touch brings comfort and strength

-Why don’t we fear? Connects to the Ancient of Days in 7:9, 13. He’s always existed, He will always exist, so because of that we can trust in His guiding of every circumstance in our lives. Jesus is different than the Ancient of Days in that He died! The different roles of the Father and the Son.

-Defeated death and Hades. What are the keys? Keys signify authority. The church is given keys by Jesus to manage church membership (Matt. 16:17-20; 18:15-20), but Jesus is given keys to manage death and Hades. Death kills the body, Hades kills the soul (the place where the dead dwell)

-John’s commission: seen, is, will take place.

-John’s vision, directly applicable to the 1st century, blessing and connections for churches throughout history, and a picture of what will happen as Jesus returns

-Mystery explained: in the Bible, mystery often refers to something that wasn’t understood before, but is now revealed and has special redemptive purposes.

-Some debate around the angels. A couple options: pastors of the churches (every time angel is used in Rev. it refers to the spiritual beings), guardian angels of the churches, heavenly counterparts of the earthly reality. The last 2 seem the most likely, and ultimately doesn’t matter which it is, because they’re still subservient to Jesus. Remember, keep the angels in the background and Jesus in the foreground.

-Churches as lampstands? Jesus standing among them tells us the significance of being a part of the church. Do you want to be where Jesus is? Become a member of a local church. The church is who Jesus is given the keys of the kingdom to (Matt. 16, 18), and is the place where Jesus currently dwells.

-This week’s blessing: the risen Christ is present wherever His church is. If you’re a part of a church, you get Jesus’ comfort, His touch, and you get to participate in shining as a light into the world! 

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by mikethestrand on February 18, 2024  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Church, Sermon, Worship

Posted by mikethestrand on February 18, 2024

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2024/02/18/revelation-19-20-sermon-manuscript/

Overview of Revelation – Sermon Manuscript

Spoiler Alert: God Wins!

Revelation

-Glasses

-Why do that silly illustration? To show that we all view and interpret what takes place around us through specific filters. Ever been sharing a story with someone who remembers it completely different than you? We all wear specific glasses as we approach the text of Scripture, and our job is to work as hard as we can to take those glasses off so we can better understand the original author’s intent, as well as God’s intent through the human authors.

-And this is especially true when we come to a book like Revelation where there’s been so much debate and misunderstanding throughout history.

-Every generation since Christ ascended has become convinced Jesus would return in their lifetime. Every single one! And the 1 thing they all have in common is they’ve all been wrong! Anytime I hear someone predict the date I get a little upset because now God’s not returning on that day!

-GK Chesterton: “though St John the Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators.”

READ/PRAY (1-8)

  1. What Is Revelation?

-A letter, written by John to 7 churches. (vs. 4)

-Who was John? All sorts of debate! Some argue for a pseudonym, others argue that it was a well-known 1st century pastor, but most who uphold to a conservative evangelical belief think this was the Apostle John (“The Disciple whom Jesus loved”) who wrote the Gospel. He was well known to these churches, carried some sense of authority for them. Language used borrows heavily from Hebrew (written in Greek. Biggest reason we believe this comes from Iranaeus writing in 180 AD. Disciple of Polycarp (martyred in 156), was a friend of John. Would need some pretty conclusive contrary evidence to cast this into doubt (primarily comes from people who don’t believe the Bible to be true)

-What’s the significance of the 7 churches? From Patmos, followed a well-established mail route and roads where the letter most likely would have traveled. Each church would be responsible to read, copy, and then pass the letter along to the next church (just as Paul’s letters would have been distributed)

-Some of what makes Revelation difficult for us is it is a combination of 3 genres: apocalyptic, prophetic, epistle

-Epistle is one many of us are familiar with. It’s a letter. Paul wrote 13 of them, Peter wrote 3, John himself wrote 3 other letters reminding believers to persevere under persecution!

-Apocalyptic (The REVELATION of Jesus Christ) “entails the revelatory communication of heavenly secrets by an otherworldly being to a seer who presents the visions in a narrative framework; the visions guide the readers into a transcendent reality that takes precedence over the current situation and encourages readers to persevere in the midst of their trials. The visions reverse normal experience by making the heavenly mysteries the real world and depicting the present crisis as a temporary, illusory situation. This is achieved via God’s transforming the world for the faithful.” (Osborne, 222)

-Revealing (not trying to hide)

-Transcendent realities (what’s taking place spiritually)

-Describes those transcendent realities instead of the earthly

-Gets to God’s ultimate end.

-Prophecy: “It is impossible to distinguish ultimately between prophecy and apocalyptic, for the latter is an extension of the former.” (Osborne, 13) “Prophecy” appears 7 times in this book, but here’s a few examples that point to this explicitly being a prophecy. First note that prophecy isn’t just focused on the future. John says we’re to keep this prophecy, live it out, enact the truths revealed in it.

-Similarly to the beginning, toward the end John repeats the need to keep it, AND that this prophecy isn’t meant to be hidden away or only understood by a select few who have deciphered the “code,” but is a reminder to share these truths!

-“The prophecies predict literal events, though the descriptions do not portray the events literally.” (Blomberg, Klein, Hubbard, 443)

-Another piece that makes Revelation difficult to study is that it is stepped in OT imagery and references. But because we don’t know our Bibles they go right over our head! 

-404 verses, 518 references to earlier Scripture. “St. John has his favorite books of Scripture: Ezekiel, Daniel, Zephaniah, Zechariah, Isaiah, Exodus.”

-Because John is so steeped in his Bible, when his mind struggles to come up with the words to describe what’s being revealed to him, he relies on what he knows, and what he knows is the Bible! This is a great picture for us on how our minds should be so saturated with God’s Word that it just naturally flows out of us! It’s not a word for word reference like we’re used to in the rest of our Bibles. We need to use our “sanctified imagination” (Kevin VanHoozer) This isn’t making stuff up or claiming some new revelation from God (we’ll get to the danger in that!) this is having our minds so filled with God’s Word that it changes even the way we think. Or to refer back to the glasses, it is getting a better and better prescription until we’re able to see God’s Word and world correctly. 

-The last thing I want us to keep in mind about what Revelation is: the culmination of all of history (HIS story). My seminary professor summarized it: “God’s Plans for Cosmic History” 

-Revelation isn’t ultimately written to provide a timeline of the end times, but is written to inspire perseverance and faithfulness that even in the end times God is still sovereignly ruling on His throne!

  • Why Study Revelation?

-It’s in the Bible 

-As I’ve talked to many people in our body about studying this book there’s been a lot of nervousness and fear. Do we believe it’s God’s Word or not? We don’t get to pick and choose what’s God’s Word says! It’s our job to dig into it, to learn what it says, to get training in the correct way to interpret it and then apply it to our lives (we’ll get to that with the third point).

-“One of the great tragedies in the church in our day is how Revelation has been so narrowly and incorrectly interpreted with an obsessive focus on the future end time, with the result that we have missed the fact that it contains many profound truths and encouragements concerning Christian life and discipleship.” (Beale, 1)

-Think of what we just saw on the idea of it being a prophecy (not future oriented) there’s something we’re supposed to do with this book! It’s giving us an orientation to our lives that we’re supposed to obey.

-It stirs our hearts and imaginations in ways that prose cannot

-One of my favorite authors has become Eugene Peterson, who has an incredible way with words. He summarizes thoughts, ideas, and feelings in ways that move me. He says “I do not read Revelation to get additional information about the life of faith in Christ. I have read it all before in law and prophet, in gospel and epistle. Everything in Revelation can be found in the previous sixty-five books of the Bible. The revelation adds nothing of substance to what we already know. The truth of the gospel is already complete, revealed in Jesus Christ. There is nothing new to say on the subject. But there is a new way to say it.” “Revelation is a gift – a work of intense imagination that pulls its reader into a world of sky battles between angels and beasts, lurid punishments and glorious salvations, kaleidoscopic vision and cosmic song.” He goes on to describe John as a poet and pastor. He’s trying to train people to have their hearts stirred by the glories of the gospel. To help us keep our eyes and our gaze fixed heavenward.

-Which is another reason why we should study Revelation: it is completely Christocentric. 

-The first chapter recounts a description of the resurrected Savior that can barely be contained in words! The Son of Man, the alpha and omega, firstborn from the dead, ruler of the kings of the earth. White hair, eyes fiery, feet fine bronze, voice like cascading waters (think a hurricane instead of rippling brook). Holding 7 stars in his hand, sword coming from his mouth. Instead of stars being deities they’re mere playthings for Jesus! One of my favorite verses in the Gen. 1 vs. 16 “And the stars” There a theatrical encore, a passing note! 

-And another reason why we should study this book: Do you want to be blessed? Don’t miss this: just reading them is a blessing. Hearing them and keeping these words is a blessing. If we don’t study it we miss out on a blessing from the Lord.

-And another reason we need to study Revelation: to correct many misunderstandings: rapture (Rev. 12:5), antichrist isn’t in Revelation

-“Since Satan is not omniscient, and since only God knows the timing of the end, the devil must have an “antichrist” ready in every era, lest that turn out to be the time God has appointed for the consummation of all things.” (542)

–Left Behind isn’t an accurate account of what’s going to happen.

-There are only 2 destinies for people: one of pure bliss and happiness, the other filled with unimaginable horror. Do NOT make light of hell.

  • How Do I Study Revelation?

-VERY CAREFULLY! With humility. 

– The one thing I can claim to have some true expertise in is biblical studies. I have 2 degrees (and counting!) in biblical studies, and this series I’m spending more time and energy in preparation than most other studies.

-Define a commentary: someone who comments on a book of the Bible. Not just random people, those who have devoted their lives to the study and correct interpretation of the Bible.

-Every sermon series I’m reading anywhere from 3-5 different commentaries in preparation for my message. For revelation it’ll be more like 10-12! Here’s the list of all the commentaries I’ve already been consulting as I’ve been preparing for this series! And even though 2 of them look exactly the same, they’re not. 

-Part of the reason I do that is to do my best to understand the different interpretive options of the text we’re studying. The Bible isn’t easy to understand correctly. It’s easy to read, but that doesn’t mean we always understand it right.

-I will probably teach and say things that contradict what you have learned before. I’m ok with that! DON’T approach this as a heresy hunt! Where there’s legitimate debate, I’ll share that, but I’ll also share what I think makes sense based on the entire Bible. We can’t just rip something out of its’ context and suit it to fit our own agenda. Remember the glasses we all have! That doesn’t mean you can’t get better at understanding, but it takes time and work. 

-If you were in my class last semester, you’ve seen this, but I wanted to mention it again because it’s especially true of Revelation. We NEED biblical and historical theology. 

“Exegesis” is the word often used for careful reading. Exegesis answers the questions, What does this text actually say? and, What did the author mean by what he said? We discover this by applying sound principles of interpretation to the Bible. BT answers the question, How has God revealed his word historically and organically? HT answers the questions, How have people in the past understood the Bible? What have Christians thought about exegesis and theology? and, more specifically, How has Christian doctrine developed over the centuries, especially in response to false teachings? HT is concerned primarily with opinions in periods earlier than our own. ST answers the question, What does the whole Bible teach about certain topics? or put another way, What is true about God and his universe? PT answers the question, How should humans respond to God’s revelation?

-To get the exegesis right, he says we must apply “sound principles of interpretation to the Bible.” What are those?

-Micah’s class: what one needs to correctly interpret Scripture: “Qualifications for the Interpreter of Scripture: A Reasoned Faith in the God Who Reveals, Willingness to Obey Its Message, Willingness to Employ Appropriate Methods, Illumination of the Holy Spirit, Membership in the Church.” (Intro to Bib. Interp.)

-“The text cannot mean something that would have been completely incomprehensible to its original audience.” (Klein, Blomberg, Hubbard, 442)

“The most fundamental hermeneutical principle to follow in interpreting Revelation is to look for meanings that could have been intelligible to first-century Christians in Asia Minor, not hidden meanings decipherable only be people centuries later who think they might be living in the days immediately prior to Christ’s return.” (Blomberg)

-Need to keep in mind the genre of the text we’re reading:

-Apocalyptic literature: “Frequent features include (a) the extensive use of symbolism, often with outlandish or grotesque creatures and cosmology, much like our modern political cartoons; (b) the depiction of past, present, and/or future events of world history leading up to a decisive intervention on the part of God to right the injustices of society and to reward God’s faithful people; and (c) the assurance to those people in a setting of crisis or perceived crisis that evil would not ultimately maintain the upper hand.” (Blomberg, 512)

-How much is symbolic in Revelation? A LOT more than we realize! 

“In this light, the dictum of the popular approach to Revelation — “interpret literally unless you are forced to interpret symbolically” — should be turned on its head. Instead, the programmatic statement about the book’s precise mode of communication in 1:1 is that the warp and woof of it is symbolic, so that the preceding dictum should be reversed to say “interpret symbolically unless you are forced to interpret literally.” Better put, the reader is to expect that the main means of divine revelation in this book is symbolic.” (GK Beale)

-You may then ask, what do the signs stand for? What are they symbolizing? How are we supposed to understand what God’s messenger is talking about?

“In the case of John’s apocalypse, this background includes the Old Testament, intertestamental literature, and current or recent events in the cities of Asia Minor of John’s day. Number, though, are almost always symbolic, especially sevens and their multiples (standing for completeness or universality-based on the seven days of creation) and twelves and their multiples (standing for the twelve tribes of Israel and/or the twelve apostles-to designate God’s people as a whole).” (Blomberg, 512-3)

-Pulling in some historical theology, how has the church throughout history interpreted this book? 

-First and foremost, pretty much every generation has believed they’re living in the last days (which they are because they started the moment Jesus ascended. But generally there are 4 interpretive options.

-futurism (all future), preterism (fulfilled in AD 70) historicism (progressively fulfilled throughout church history) idealism (symbolic of the timeless struggle between God and Satan throughout the church age) eclectic redemptive-historical idealist approach

-Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond “1-All are committed to the Scripture as the ultimate authority in this discussion. 2-There has been a sense of fellowship, even in the midst of the disagreement. 3-Each view represented here foresees the eventual victory of Christ to the glory of God.” 284-5

-This isn’t a debate about inerrancy, or authority of the Bible, about God or theology proper, it’s a debate about the proper way to interpret a primarily apocalyptic text that was written 2,000 years ago! We need theological triage (remember that) in this issue! Don’t condemn someone because they differ with you, where we all agree is: Jesus is coming back, hopefully soon!

Outline: -LOTR “Things that are…”

Rev. 1:19: “What you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this.” The only question is where does the “what will take place” begin? And does it include everything in that section?  But it provides a helpful overview!

-I listened to a sermon yesterday that stood out to me on the reason we study Revelation, and it’s summarized by a story in the OT (Biblical Theology!) After 430 years in slavery, the Israelites are freed. Moses leads them to the brink of the Promised Land, and commissions 12 spies to scout the land. They go and 10 are TERRIFIED of the giants there, but 2 are determined to take it. They’re too busy looking at the giants to look to the giant slayer. Revelation commands us 70x to see or look. If we can keep our eyes on God, the enemies we face here seem to shrink in comparison, which is the point of this book. Dear friends, are you tired of feeling like the church is losing, like Christianity is failing, like there’s no hope? Stop looking at the wrong things, and cast your gaze in the right direction!

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by mikethestrand on February 4, 2024  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Church, History, Sermon

Posted by mikethestrand on February 4, 2024

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2024/02/04/overview-of-revelation-sermon-manuscript/

Simplicity – Sermon Manuscript

-If a fire came to your house, what would be the 1 thing you’d grab?

-It’s no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.

-I try to do incorporate 1 spiritual discipline as part of this series, last year was generosity, this year I want to take that a step further.

READ/PRAY (Matt. 6, pg. 473)

  1. EVERYTHING is Spiritual

-When I was growing up, I remember a distinct poster in our youth room of a list that had 2 columns on it. It said “If you like THIS secular band, check out THIS Christian alternative.” 

-An element to that is helpful because if you put garbage into your mind it will affect you, but another part isn’t. It was as if we could separate the secular from the sacred, and we got to stand in judgment over who was really “in.” 

-Because of that divide, there was also a tendency to separate “church stuff” from “normal stuff” There were “church clothes” and “play clothes”, “church words” and “non-church words”, certain topics you could talk about at church, and others that were taboo. We even had “sacred” callings and “secular” callings! And the most sacred/special call you could possibly have was to be a missionary to an unreached people group! I even have friends who had an argument early in their marriage about what counted as “ministry” Do you have to be paid for it, or can you have a ministry in a “secular” job?

-There’s an impulse to that I respect: honor the Lord your God, care for the people’s of the world, don’t be flippant with a call to ministry, but in looking to divide or segment our lives into “God’s” versus “mine” I worry that we’ve missed the way everything we have and everything we do is spiritual. 

–1 Cor. 10:31

-Everything we do has spiritual implications, even eating and drinking!

-Think of the Lord’s Supper – there are some that are very impactful, but most of the time it’s just a regular time. Same with eating! There are a handful of meals I could tell you about still to this day, but I can hardly tell you what I ate yesterday! And how often do we neglect to reflect on the spiritual implications of what we’re doing every day?

-Brother Lawrence, monk who lived in Paris, served as a cook: ‘We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. And it is not necessary to have great things to do. I turn my little omelette in the pan for the love of God.’

-Is it possible that the making of an omelette can be a spiritual practice that helps you take 1 step closer to Jesus? Yes! If we view it as a way to love and serve, if we remember that it’s God’s provision for us today, and especially as we eat it and nourish our bodies! 

-I think there’s been an unfortunate movement in the church for millennia at this point that say the only way to serve God is to abandon the world and everything it offers and withdraw. You see this with monasteries, when I was coming up it was with going into the inner city (Shane Claiborne, “social justice week”), or even with a book with a title like “Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream” (I really like the guy who wrote this book, but didn’t love the book)

-What if, because everything we do is spiritual, the call for Jesus in our lives is to live a simple life? Working hard at our jobs, raising kids to the best of our abilities (if God gives us children), finding ways to connect with neighbors and friends and encourage them to take 1 step closer to Jesus, and then trust that God will work in us despite not being radical? 

-There’s a quote that’s stuck with me over the past 5 or so years attributed to a Moravian missionary: “preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten.”  Would we be ok to live an ordinary life? Think of a passage like 1 Thessalonians 4 “we urge you, brothers, to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”

-Since everything is spiritual, that also means that everything we do has spiritual implications. The way we take care of our bodies, the way we spend our money, the way we spend our time, the houses we live in, the hobbies we pursue. All of it has spiritual implications. Let’s look at Matt. 6 again. We’re going to look at these verses backwards, and I think you’ll see why.

-Starting with vs. 24, which is a verse that had honestly confounded me until recently. Jesus says “You cannot serve God and money.” Where does Jesus get the idea that money and God would be on the same level?

-The word in Greek is the word “mammon” and it’s only used here and in Luke 16 where it’s translated as “unrighteous wealth” What is the difference (if there is one) between righteous and unrighteous wealth?

-If everything is spiritual, then so is money. And money has a profound effect on people, doesn’t it? It’s easy to look at someone like Scrooge, a nasty old miser who won’t even give his employees a livable wage, but what about the ways money, or “mammon” has impacted us today? There are many scholars who argue that Jesus is referring to a demon when he uses the word “mammon” Mammon is a far broader idea than just money, it includes possessions, or anything of value that someone has. What I think is fascinating about this is immediately after talking about mammon Jesus goes on to talk about anxiety.

-What if the more we have, the more anxious we become? What if there’s a connection between growth as a follower of Jesus, and a lack of desire for “stuff”?

-Let’s look back at the where Jesus begins this section:

-All of us have treasures, that’s our hearts orientation. We all have something we would make sure we grabbed if a fire broke out in our house (after we got our kids out!) But we need to remember that even the most precious things we have on earth will someday break, get sold, burn up, something will happen to them! If we’re putting all our hopes and desires on our stuff we’re going to be very disappointed! You can see this if you’ve ever bought something new that you’d been wanting for a long time (new phone, new car) you baby it for a bit, but then you revert back to the way you always use things. Or a new model is released and you end up with FOMO.

-There’s a great picture of this in Isaiah 44. What does it look like when we’re putting our treasures in the wrong place? It looks like taking a piece of wood, using half of it to cook dinner and the other half to bow down and worship and ask for it to provide the solution to all the longings of your heart.

-Jesus then goes on to talk about the desires that we have. There was a song I learned in church growing up “oh be careful little eyes what you see” I think Jesus is articulating that we need to be careful what we let into our eyes because it will affect us! 

-If we focus our eyes on the things of this world our hearts will be drawn to our “stuff” but if we focus our eyes on Jesus then we’ll be able to keep everything in proper perspective.

  • Jesus’ Call to STEWARDSHIP

-The story of the rich young man. This gives us a picture of what it looks like to place your hope in mammon. 

-A brief caveat: this is not a command for all people at all time. Jesus isn’t saying EVERYONE should sell all they have and give it to the poor, here Jesus is pointing out the specific idol of this man’s heart. Mammon, stuff, was his god! He’d placed all his hope and confidence in his things.

-People even viewed material possession as blessing from God! And they still do today! But over time it will be revealed where or what you’re putting your ultimate hope in. 

-So Jesus answers some of the questions the disciples have as they see this exchange. It is very difficult for a rich person to be saved. Not impossible, but very difficult. Why? Because you become complacent and content in yourself instead of recognizing your need for a Savior.

-This makes the disciples indignant, because they left literally everything to follow after Jesus! And Jesus goes even a step further than just material possessions, he even says they must leave family!

-This was a revolutionary concept in the 1st century. Everything was family centered. The only way anyone survived was because of and through family. Your whole identity was literally centered around the family you were in. But in God’s kingdom, even family has to be put in its’ proper place.

-As I’ve been processing through this concept over the past year, the word that has stood out to me as the way we should engage this issue is stewardship. What is a steward? Someone who cares for someone else’s stuff. It’s not ours (one of my children has become obsessed with this idea recently, so anytime someone else claims that’s theirs we are reminded “It’s the Lords!”) Yes, but….

-This connects all the way back to the garden of Eden (and politics). We’re commissioned by God to have dominion over the creation, to subdue it (extend the borders of the garden until the filled the whole earth). 

-God has given us all these good things as gifts to use as opportunities to glorify Him. God didn’t need to make food taste good! God didn’t need to make music such an enjoyable experience! God didn’t need to create color! But He did. There’s joy that comes from living, that’s the way God intended us to operate, but it only comes about by finding our ultimate joy only in Him. 

-This is what separates Christians from unbelievers. Unbelievers only have the “stuff,” that’s the best they can hope for! That’s where we need to share with them how much better those things can be when the rest of their life is in the proper order. Think of how great food is, but when food becomes the ultimate, it becomes unhealthy.

  • How do we glorify God with our “STUFF”?

-2 books that shaped my thinking this week.

-I think 1 Tim. 6 helps us to understand the goal for all of our lives. First and foremost is godliness.

-I read a book this week that summarized this idea well: “What would Jesus do if he were me? If he had my gender, my career, my income, my relationship status? If he was born the same year as me? Lived in the same city as me?” To take some of the language we use here: what is 1 step I can do today to move in that direction?

-Another way is read the fruit of the spirit “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” In our staff reviews each year, we’re asked “Are these things true of you in increasing measure?”

-The ordering of our lives matters. We first and foremost need to be pursuing godliness in everything, including our stewardship of possessions. 

-C.S. Lewis: “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” Our gaze must be heavenward if we want pursue godliness on earth. And notice why Paul says this: because our status at the end of our lives is the same as the beginning: nothing! When we get to heaven, the only thing that matters is whether you have the riches of Christ or not. 

-Second is contentment. Phil. 4 Paul tells us the way to contentment. This is one of the most abused verses in the world today! It’s not talking about scoring at touchdown or winning the national championship, he’s talking about how to be content, truly content, regardless of the circumstances of your life.

-Going back to Timothy, what is your marker of contentment? Paul seems to place the bar pretty low: food and clothing. (could add shelter to this) it almost sounds like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (if you studied that in psychology). What many people today have done is flip this on its’ head and make the foundation self-actualization instead of looking to more basic ideas. Is that the goal of everyone? No! The goal of everyone is to become like Christ! 

-Once again, this doesn’t mean that having nice “stuff” is a problem, bad, or wrong! It can become a problem if you start to look to your worth or solutions to problems in your life through your “stuff” 

-John Mark Comer “On the one hand, the world and everything in it are “very good” and meant to be enjoyed and shared with those in need. On the other hand, too much wealth is dangerous. It has the potential to turn our hearts away from God.”

-Story of John Stott, Will breaking his toy from Africa. How quickly are you able to remember it’s just “stuff”? You can’t take it with you into eternity, so how much does it matter here?

-Many of you are aware of the statistics of being wealthy – if you make more than $35K a year you’re in the top 1% of the global wealth, which means I’m guessing nearly everyone in here would be considered the 1%. Doesn’t feel that way! But it’s true. Since that is the case, we are the ones who need to heed Paul’s (and Jesus’) warnings in the Bible. So that’s where we’ll end, a couple verses later in 1 Tim. 6.

-Haughty: over-confident in yourself and your abilities. Not looking to God as the source of your wealth.

-Hopes: where are you putting your gaze? Riches come and go. I’ve lived through 2 major recessions (so far!) and I’m sure there will be plenty more to come! The almighty dollar may some day fail me, but I know who won’t! Instead, we’re commanded to:

-do good. Notice that Paul doesn’t say it’s wrong or bad or sinful to be reach, as long as it’s kept in it’s proper place, and we’re reminded that it’s a gift from God. But we can use our wealth to do good to others!

-We should also look to be rich in good works, that’s the marker of a Christian who is rich! Not hording, not continually buying, but looking to do as many good works as we can, which looks like:

-being generous and ready to share. Do you look for opportunities to bless others? Do you live like it’s better to give than to receive? Do you look for ways to pursue good works with your “stuff” or do you just view them as toys and look to get more or keep up with the people who live near you?

-Anything that we do without contemplation becomes exploitation. If we pursue simplicity as a way of life, we’ll find our hearts being changed, our lives being transformed, and our contentment in the simple gospel message growing.

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by mikethestrand on January 28, 2024  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Church, Life, Sermon

Posted by mikethestrand on January 28, 2024

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2024/01/28/simplicity-sermon-manuscript/

Politics Sermon Manuscript

Christians and Politics

-Disclaimer: I am not and will not claim to be an expert in political theory. I didn’t really want to approach this topic, but I feel like I need to. I am a pastoral theologian who sees it as my job to read, study, and pray so that I can help us as this local people think through how to live in this world God has created.

-As I’ve processed and thought through this issue I have been heavily influenced by 2 books, and a Podcast. Politics After Christendom, How the Nations Rage, Every Square Inch

-We’ve all lost friends and some have lost family to this issue. There’s been a sense of betrayal and for some of us a lot of questions and doubt because of the ways politics has been engaged in our world today. 

-For today, don’t let me be one of those friends you lose! I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: don’t jump to conclusions based on something I’m not saying as we navigate this issue. There are some areas where I’ll speak very strongly, and others less emphatically, which I think we need to do. We all have a tendency to take 1 issue as our only view and neglect other areas that we need to give special attention to

-Remember theological triage! Just as we need to give more significant attention to theological issues, we also need to give more significant attention to political issues, we need to have political triage too.

-We’re entering another Presidential election year, I think it’s important for us to think about this now so we’re not completely reactionary (which is where I think we in the church tend to be!)

-Politics has become too important in our world.

-For many people, as church engagement has waned, political engagement has taken its’ place. For many people, politics has become their religion! They give their time, money, and talents to furthering the cause of their side. They look to their elected leaders as their priests who will help them usher them into their idea of a “promised land.” There’s a language that you must adopt to be affiliated, a way of living that accompanies it, and if the election doesn’t go their way they become despondent, questioning their entire existence. That’s too far.

-At the root, this is a worship issue, as you’ll see when as we walk through today’s message. When people don’t worship God, they’ll worship anything. That’s at the root of so many of the issues in our world today! (Topic for another time!) 

-Also doing a class starting the 21st looking at a number of these issues in much more detail (using How the Nations Rage as our textbook for it), so if you want to dialogue about this issue further, that’s the class for you!

-Lots of texts, view this as more of a lecture than a sermon because I think we need a biblical foundation to build on, then the last point will get to what this means for us today. But the phrase I want you to keep in the back of your mind throughout this whole message: FAITHFUL PRESENCE

READ/PRAY 

  1. Politics is TEMPORARY

–Gen. 8:20-9:7

-God is a covenant making God, but there’s something unique about this covenant. God previously made a covenant with Adam, He’ll go on to make covenants with Abraham, Moses, David, and finally us in what’s often called the “New Covenant.” But there’s something different and unique about the Noahic covenant. It’s post-Fall, but it’s also universal in it’s scope. Every other covenant is geared toward a specific people group (holy, set apart, different from the world). Noah’s covenant doesn’t leave anyone or anything out. This is why we need to begin with this text to understand the role and purpose of government: it’s for all peoples of the earth. But there’s a couple other things that this text tells us. 

-Universal, preservative, and temporary.

-Preservative: first notice 8:21-22 – never will everything be wiped out, and the seasons will continue. Also in 9:1, 5-6 – families are commanded to multiply, and humans are to be treated honorably (death is opposed to God’s intent). God’s intent is for the preservation of His creation. Combine this with the Adamic covenant, we are commissioned by God to steward His creation, preserving it, working it, bringing food and flourishing from it.

-Finally, this is one that I hadn’t really noticed before, but this is temporary. Look at 8:22 “while the earth remains.” This world won’t remain forever. History is moving in a specific direction (which we’ll start studying next month in Revelation). This means that politics is only a temporary endeavor. It’s worth investing in, we’re actually commanded by other passages to remain engaged politically, but don’t treat politics as the ultimate solution to a broken world.

-The reason we need to remain engaged is because we are commanded to “be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth,” and if we’re going to pursue that, what do we need? Some kind of structures that will allow us to raise families. I found the language from Politics After Christendom helpful. I’m just going to mention them briefly, and then move on because if you want to engage further, come to the Equip Class! 

-familial: procreation and raising of children

-enterprise: as procreation takes place we need ways to feed and provide for the growing population (farming, building, technology)

-judicial: ensuring justice is just and reasonable. Provides a way to settle disputes among people

-3 things we see from Genesis: 1-God’s plan post-fall is for humans to expand, filling the earth. 2- To do that means we need some system or way of working together. 3- Governments role in that is preservative in nature, and these governmental structures are only as long as this earth endures. But then what that means for us today is:

  • The CHURCH is Political (and not in the way you think!)

-In order to have politics (structure for a society) you need: laws, regulations, leadership of some sort. And what’s crazy is the church has all that! Let’s start in the OT:

-Jer. 31:31-34

-Notice the covenantal language here. God is providing a framework for His people to exist in the world, which means this is the way God wants politics to work. But this covenant is different from the covenant with Noah. Who does this apply to? “The house of Israel” aka God’s people. 

-Unlike every other nation, this time the laws won’t be on stone tablets, or long legal documents, or a constitution, or a monarchy, or tradition. This time the laws will be on our hearts, which means people’s orientation, drive, desire will be correct. It’s not that everyone will be guided by their hearts to do whatever they feel is right, but that we will always only want to do what pleases Him.

-We also see that God will be our ultimate ruler, which means there’s no need for anyone else to tell us how to live. A true theocracy where Jesus it the King!

-Lastly there’s no need for judicial courts. Since everyone is being led by the Lord, and because it’s a theocracy, sin has already been dealt with. There’s justice, but only because God has dealt with it when he took the penalty for everyone’s sin on the cross.

-This is true today! In the church. The church is meant to be a counter-kingdom to the kingdoms of this world. And Jesus gives us some pictures of what that looks like:

-Matt. 5:2-12

-Do you see Jesus tells you how to enter the everlasting kingdom of heaven: being poor in spirit – that is understanding that we aren’t self-sufficient, that we can’t save ourselves and that we need the help of someone else.

-A contrary ethic to the world. I read a blog once that flipped these around to describe the world, and unfortunately some worldly churches. If you want to see what the kingdom of earth looks like, it’s like this. 

-But if you want to be a part of the kingdom of heaven, it looks different. How do stop someone who is meek, merciful, pure in heart, and a peacemaker? You could kill them, which is what Jesus says! But these means of living are meant to describe us in EVERY situation (including political discussions). Are you meek in those talks? Are you merciful (extending charity toward others), pure in heart (assuming the best of others even when they disagree), peacemaker (instead of constantly fighting and bickering).

-Expect persecution! THIS WORLD ISN’T OUR HOME! NO NATION IS MEANT TO BE OUR HOME! We are sojourners, strangers, aliens. We also see this in the way Jesus taught us to pray:

-Matt. 6:9-13

-“Your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

-The goal is for earth to look like heaven. But it doesn’t and it won’t because earth doesn’t recognize who the true ruler is (yet!)

-The way Jesus literally commands us to pray is to begin with a recognition that this world and its’ rulers will pass away. Did you know (we’ll get to it in Revelation) the kings of the world will bring the glory they developed into heaven? Rev. 21:26 “They will bring into it the glory and honor of the nations.” How cool is that? The technological advances will be purified such that they will no longer be used as objects to sin, but ways to better and further glorify God! 

-What I want you to take away from these 2 passages is the church is meant to be a counter-kingdom to the kingdoms of this world. There are different expectations, different hopes, different leaders, and there’s an eternal direction to them. That means that instead of operating as the world tries to get us to operate, we’re now citizens of heaven! But how do we engage as we’re also still citizens of earth?

-Rom. 13:1-7

-The Bible is explicit in a couple places about the role and function of government, and it’s one that people often run to before they’ve done any of this other work to get there! AND there was a whole HOST of debates about this very text when COVID was going on!

-Begins with a reminder that every earthly ruler is ultimately accountable to God (remember, we saw the basic instructions for earthly rulers back in Gen. 9), which means the default for Christians is to look for opportunities to obey the government. Yes, there are times and places where disobedience is required (think of our brothers and sisters in N Korea, China, Iraq), but the default should be obedience. Christians should be the best citizens! This was true in the early church. Letter to Diognetus, AD 130. 

-Would this be true of you today?

-Do good and not bad, be good citizens! 

-1 Peter 2:13-17

-“Punish those who do evil and praise those who do good.” I love that description! Now I don’t have time today to get into situations where the government is praising evil and punishing those who do good, come to my class if you want to talk more about that!

-Part of the reason we’re called to be good citizens is vs. 15. Think of that letter I just read – if we’re living as God has commanded us our very lives should be the primary explanation and example for what it means to follow Jesus. Remember, if He is our Lord and King (which He is) that has implications in how we should live here and now.

-Both recognition of the legitimacy of the emperor, but he is supposed to be treated differently than God. Peter uses the same word towards the emperor as everyone else, thus affirming the sole Lordship of God and the emperor’s place in our allegiance.

  • How CHRISTIANS Should Be Political

-Church has tended to experience either persecution or power. We’ve seen this swing throughout history, and the church has struggled with both of these extremes.

-The Christian church as a political party isn’t the ideal. America is unique in that: protects from persecution, but doesn’t give the church power. 

-That means that imperfections in our society are manifested in a partisan way: everyone plays partisan games, church is tempted to the same idea and ends up fighting the same “wars.” The trend is when the church is exempt from persecution and power to become partisan, that is identified solely with one political party. Politicians LOVE this! Because it means they can claim hold to an entire demographic of people. I onetime heard someone say: politicians are going to politic, we should expect no less. 

-“Jesus is political, but He is not partisan. The kingdom of God has political implications, but it is not a political kingdom.”  Cunningham, ESI

–Jer. 29:4-7

-Seek the welfare of the city “for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” We must remain engaged as a faithful presence in the world. Jesus describes us a salt, that is a preservative. We’re looking to preserve the things of earth that are signposts of heaven. So if God calls you into politics, do so with a different approach than the world. It’s not for power, but for presence. If God calls you to just be a good citizen, be the best citizen you can be, not for power but to be a faithful presence. (the church as an embassy?)

–Matt. 22:15-22

-Christian political vision: 

-Government legislates morality. Christians aren’t the only one who push their morality, everyone does. Intersection of faith and politics is unavoidable. 

-Jews heavily tax. Rome had “head” tax (a quarter), a reminder of their oppression, on the coin “Caesar, the son of god, the great high priest.” Let Caesar have his silly little tax, politicians prey on this. Jesus has no problem operating in the political realm, but He also operates above them.

-What belongs to God? Everything! Every kingdom is subject to Him. “Give Caesar his little coin, give Rome to God.” We cannot be indifferent or apathetic. My presence belongs in the culture, because the culture belongs to God. Our ambition is a world made right. 

-What is our strategy? We have God’s image on us, so therefore we need to give ourselves to God. His people, as citizens of His kingdom, rendering their lives unto the purposes of His kingdom. Seemed completely indifferent to the politics of the day, because it wasn’t worth His time. Partisan politicians can’t solve the world’s problems!

-We build a rival kingdom! How do you stop the politics of Jesus? If it’s partisan, just vote against Him. We don’t play that game. We don’t pursue power, we don’t ask permission, we don’t care what people say, how do you stop beatitudes, sermon on the Mount, love? Jesus is impervious to worldly games of power.

–Eph. 1:19-23

-Jesus as head of the nations, but especially the church. The church is the only political institution that is going to last into eternity, and it’s the only institution that has a ruler who can’t be outvoted, who can’t be outlasted, and whose entire ethic is one of love.

-Which gets us to this last passage.

–Rev. 19:11-16

-We always have hope, not in the nation states of earth, but because of the nation state when heaven comes down to earth. When Jesus comes to right every wrong and user in His perfect rule and reign.

-We just came off a week where we reflected in Isa. 9 which prophecies that His government will never stop expanding! 

-I want my government to reflect my worldview, but the way our government is built leads to competition. How do we do politics without falling into political idolatry?

1-Though our faith is political, it is not partisan. You can hold strongly, but don’t act as if Jesus fits perfectly in either partisan camp. Both sides try to claim Him, but neither can perfectly represent Him. 

-Consistency (attack both sides equally) & Commonality (more in common with religious convictions or political convictions?)

2-Deemphasize federal politics, high concern for local politics. Life of our local community is has the most on our local lives. Treat federal more like a TV show: county before country political approach.

3-Be the change you long to see, see the limits of political sovereignty. Can’t run a church like a business, can’t run a family like a school. Can’t run the church like the state. We ask the politicians to be the change we long to see, politicians love that! We must make use of our liberties to enact positive changes in our world.

4-Be gracious in conversations with others that disagree with you who are a part of the kingdom of God. We can have disagreements (strongly!) and still be brothers and sisters in Christ. Keep things in perspective, don’t let earthly politics become your entire worldview, let everything you do be done in love (1 Cor. 16:14)

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by mikethestrand on January 7, 2024  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Church, Life, Sermon

Posted by mikethestrand on January 7, 2024

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2024/01/07/politics-sermon-manuscript/

Zechariah’s Song – Sermon Manuscript

-Short term memory loss. My son tells me I have a bad memory regularly (but not him, according to him his memory is so good his brain will tell him where things are even when he doesn’t know it)

-I remember growing up and getting so frustrated when my parents would call me be the names of one of my sisters. I’d be looking straight at them and they’d call me Elyssa. I swore I’d never do that to my kids, and here we are. I literally did it yesterday! I’ve mixed all their names up (and I hardly even have Thomas and Charlie to keep track of right now!)

-At this point I just keep telling myself that I have too many things that I’m trying to keep track of (and I keep telling my parents that they only had 3 kids to keep track of, so there was no excuse for them)

-But I think that’s a picture of the way we view our spiritual lives too. We forget which family we’re a part of, and the implications that family has in our day to day lives. We’re called to live radically different lives, but so often our lives look exactly the same as everyone else around us.

READ/PRAY

  1. An Arrival (57-66)

-Talked about them briefly last week, but need a little more information about them.

-The best credentials (the right family, Ivy League school, straight As, honest in business, trusted by everyone)

-Unfortunately, the family lineage would stop with them, apart from God’s intervention because they were “advanced in years.”

-As we read through these Christmas texts, our ears are supposed to be hearing references back to God’s work in the past. Think of another couple who had a baby even after they were “advanced in years” The father of the Israelites: Abraham. God can communicate even by events that are taking place around us, and the people who witnessed these events would even make some of those connections for us, as you’ll see when we walk through this.

-But what is the significance of God pointing us back to Abraham?

-God was about to start something brand new. Well, mostly brand new. You may have heard “history doesn’t repeat, but it does rhyme,” that’s because there’s an order and a purpose to all of history. God was at the same time fulfilling all the promises that He’d made to his people before AND undermining the way people had falsely interpreted those promises for their day.

-Today’s story also comes on the end of 400 years of silence from God. After God had sent prophets to His people regularly to tell them what they needed to know, he had stopped. Think of that: 400 years. 400 years ago Blaise Pascal was born, Pope Gregory 15th died, the settlements that will become Gloucester, MA and Dover, NH are founded, a third vessel delivers pilgrims to Plymouth Colony, and in Nov. a fire will destroy 7 of their buildings. MN wasn’t a state, houses didn’t have running water, plumbing, or electricity. USA wasn’t a nation. Democracy wasn’t common, and capitalism wasn’t a part of economics yet. And that’s how long God’s people had been waiting to hear from Him. If my prayer app doesn’t load in 4 sec. I kill it and start over!

-And I think it’s important for us to reflect on that for a minute. I don’t know anyone who’s gifted at waiting, which just goes to show how affected we are by the world around us. 400 years feels like forever, but that’s a blip in eternity. God doesn’t treat time the same way you and I do. I think of the Ents in LOTR. Merry & Pippen are captured by Treebeard who takes them to the Entmoot “It takes a long time to say anything in old Entish and we never say anything unless it’s worth taking a long time to say.” 

-Today’s text moves a story God had been telling for thousands of years 1 step forward in His unfolding plan. And just as it previously began with the arrival of a baby, this one also begins with the arrival of a baby.

  1. Rejoicing! (57-59)

-Before John even begins his public ministry, people are rejoicing about him! Just like the angel had said earlier. 

-Look back to the promise in 1:14 “many will rejoice at his birth”

-One of the aspects we need to ensure we’re doing today is celebrating with those who have been blessed by God, even if we’re still in a season of waiting. God brings us together as a group so that we can rejoice with those who are rejoicing and mourn with those who are mourning. Shared sorrow is half, shared joy is doubled. 

-As we come into the Christmas season I think it’s intentional that God included this section in here. Church, this is your family! Even if you were abandoned at birth, never adopted into a family, and still single today, you have a perfect heavenly Father who has made a new and better family and welcomed you in. But we don’t act like that very often. We’re too quick to run to the nuclear family and too quick to dismiss the Christological family (define)

-Custom of this culture, along with circumcision came the naming of the child (again, we see they were being completely upright citizens, obeying every law that God had commanded) 

-Names ran in the family, if you’ve seen Marvel (they used to be great!), Thor is always “Son of Odin” (Odinson, Johnson, etc) To carry the family name one was a great honor, and the expectation of this family! But then:

  • Confusion (60-63)

-Elizabeth refuses! Remember, Zechariah hasn’t been able to speak this whole time, but he found out some way to communicate all that had happened to his wife. 

-This is also where we see Zechariah was deaf during this whole time, they had to make signs to him instead of just asking. And why would they wonder if he just heard his wife say his name? 

-Notice he doesn’t debate or question for a second! He doesn’t even say his name WILL BE, Zechariah writes his name IS John. One of the things I didn’t mention earlier is the Zechariah questioned the angel Gabriel when he was told to prepare for the arrival of a baby. That questioning led to him being unable to speak for 9 months. 9 months of complete silence. 9 months to contemplate what happened. Now, when you compare that to the 400 silent years, 9 months is nothing, but as someone who currently can’t hear out of my right ear let me tell you, 9 months would feel like FOREVER!

  • Fulfillment (64-66)

-As soon as Zechariah writes that his name is John, he can talk again! Zechariah had learned his lesson, and wasn’t going to go 0 for 2! Whereas the first time he doubted, this time he rejoiced, believed, and praised God.

-JC Ryle, an Anglican bishop in the UK (wrote some GREAT thoughts on the Gospels) “Let us take heed that affliction does us good, as it did to Zechariah.… “Sanctified afflictions” … are “spiritual promotions.” The sorrow that humbles us, and drives us nearer to God, is a blessing, and a downright gain. No case is more hopeless than that of a man who, in time of affliction, turns his back upon God.”

-Think about that. Ryle calls them “sanctified afflictions,” but in God’s plan every affliction is sanctified! What this mean is: obedience during suffering will lead to lasting fruit. When the Lord allows difficulty to enter your life, how do you respond? Think of Zechariah and Elizabeth, who were “advanced in years” (they were old). How long had they been praying for a child and had the Lord continue to answer “not yet”? But do you think those decades were wasted, or was God continuing to teach them in the midst of their waiting? Same for you today! Even if the answer up until today has been “not yet” are you going to trust that God is still working in your life (spiritual promotions) or do you give up and start doubting God?

-One of the themes in this first chapter of Luke is fear. When Gabriel appears to Zechariah, he’s described as fearful. When Gabriel appears to Mary she’s described as troubled (or fearful). But now, because of God’s work in Zechariah and Elizabeth (and John), their neighbors are fearful.

-That should embolden us, friends! We don’t need to be afraid to share the gospel message with others! God’s work is what properly orders our fear. Why would we fear anyone (or anything) instead of God? We should trust that as God works in our lives, it will lead to all sorts of questions from people, which is exactly what happens here.

-They were the talk of the town! Talk about a high bar for John! Can you imagine what his life was like? “Oh yeah, little Johnnie over there, we know ALL about when you were born!”

  • The Song (67-80)

-This seems to be a flashback to vs. 64. It says there that Zechariah blessed God, most likely this is what he said to bless God.

-Often referred to as the Benedictus taken from the Latin translation, first word is Benedictus. A song! When God works among his people, they respond through singing!

  1. Salvation Has Come (68-75)

-God saves us so that we might worship. Think of Moses to Pharoah in Ex. 7:16 “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” The freedom that comes from God saving us allows us to now properly orient our lives.

-Before we are saved, our whole direction in life is toward ourselves. After we’re saved, our lives now have a different direction to them – aligned vertically first to God, and then outward as we look to bless everyone else we come into contact with.

-Zechariah’s prophesy is like a funnel – it begins broadly with all of God’s people, and then slowly narrows to 1- the child he’s holding in his arms.

-Look at where he begins: “He has visited.” The God who had been silent for 400 years hasn’t disappeared! He’s still guiding His people, and redeeming them.

-Horn is used throughout the Psalms to signify strength (think of a rhinoceros horn, should be terrifying to you!) It also means that because it’s God’s horn, it’s guaranteed to happen. We’ll come back to David in a minute.

-This has been part of God’s plan “from of old.” You think Zechariah and Elizabeth are old, that’s not even where this story begins! This story begins all the way back in Genesis 1! God’s plan that was in place before the earth was created was about to take a major step forward.

-The people who had been under persecution for centuries, mocked and belittled by the nations were about the saved. No one would be able stand against them. Just as He had been faithful to the previous generations, that mercy would continue down to His people today.

-Then Zechariah utters an important word: covenant. Now we need to talk about David! Because one of the things that’s vital for us to learn about God is that He’s a covenant making and covenant keeping God.

-God made a covenant with David, God made a covenant with Abraham, God made a covenant with Noah, God has even made a covenant with you and me. You can trace the entire storyline of the Bible through God’s covenants. But the significance is that Zechariah is saying that ALL of those covenants are coming to a head now.

-Notice as well that it’s both spiritual and physical. We’re commanded to live holy and righteous lives all our days (75), but so many of these promises are spiritual promises (salvation (69, 71), holy covenant (72))

-This new way of living means we no longer have anything to fear (74) Unlike almost everyone else in this story, now when we see God move we don’t have to be afraid because of God’s provision of the Messiah.

  • A Prophet and a Messiah (76-80)

-Then the prophecy turns to John. 

-John’s role is said to be preparation. His whole aim, goal, focus is to prepare people to meet the Lord. 

-This is meant to connect to a prophesy in Malachi 3:1. John’s job is to be the hype man! Getting every ready, smoothing out the path, so that when the main event finally comes the people are ready.

-So how is John supposed to do this? By giving people knowledge of salvation, how their sins can be forgiven.

-Where the people were expecting God’s arrival to be a great time of political upheaval, God’s actual arrival would be a spiritual upheaval. And I think we do the same thing today! We’re so focused on the physical world that we miss the deeper spiritual realities that are taking place around us every day.

-God’s mercies (new every morning) are like the sunrise. Pointing back to Malachi 4:2 “For you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.” 

-This imagery is also seen in Isaiah 9:2. Do you see how this prophesy is just dripping with OT ideas? I think part of the reason we don’t know our OT well enough is because we don’t see how it applies to us. What we need to realize is we need to understand ALL of God’s story so we can know how we can find our place in that story.

-The light is finally coming! The light of Christ shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. This light shines for eternity, and we have the responsibility to let our light shine before others so that others may see our good deeds and glorify our God who is in heaven.

-The “path of peace” is not simply the path that leads to peace but is itself a peaceful path: “Peace will characterize the walk along this road.” (ZECNT) Another way you could say this is: are you a peace-filled person? Do you bring peace into every situation you walk into? 

-A good description I’ve heard of this is the church should be filled with shock-absorbers. The world will try to rile people up, causing them to become tension filled and anxious, and as soon as they walk in the doors they’re welcomed by people of peace. Not because it comes naturally or easily, but because Christ has won our peace through His sacrifice on our behalf.

1-Think of how hard John’s call was. He wasn’t the focus, he wasn’t the main event. His job was simply to point to someone else who was coming, someone whose sandals he wasn’t even worthy to untie. Yet that’s the call for all of us, and we don’t often like to admit that! We’d rather be the hero of the story than be a background character (NPC for gamers) But we’re back at the paradox of the gospel, and John’s (and our) life goal: He must increase, but I must decrease.

2-Second thing we see: “When it is recognized that Luke identifies ‘the enemy’ as the cosmic power of evil resident and active behind all forms of opposition to God and God’s people, it is plain that Zechariah’s hope has not been dashed but clarified and, indeed, radicalized.”

-This radicalization is most visibly seen by God taking enemies and turning them into family. Before Christ saved us we were opposed to God, fighting against Him, and at that time while we were enemies with God, Jesus saved us and made us family. 

3 -Salvation isn’t for retreat, but to look for opportunities to bless others “Might serve him without fear” (74)

-God doesn’t save people and immediately call them up to heaven! He leaves us here so that we can serve Him and show the world what it looks like to live in the way of peace. 

-Think of Psalm 23 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil.” Even if we’re surrounded by enemies, even if death has overtaken us we still walk in the way of peace, bought by the sacrifice of the Prince of Peace.

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by mikethestrand on December 10, 2023  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Church, History, Sermon

Posted by mikethestrand on December 10, 2023

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2023/12/10/zechariahs-song-sermon-manuscript/

Mary’s Song – Sermon Manuscript

-I want you to think about your favorite story. My guess is it has something to do with the little guy totally winning against the big guy. 

-I think of all my favorite stories: growing up was the Hardy Boys, as Joe and Frank (as high schoolers) would solve mysteries none of the adults could figure out

-Harry Potter, the chosen child who is able to defeat Voldemort and his whole army

-Katniss Everdeen who stood up to the Capital in defiance and sparked a revolution

-And on and on the list could go! But what if all those stories were viewed as abnormal? What if that wasn’t the reality? What if every story or movie that you saw told you that whoever’s biggest always wins. So the Capital crushes Katniss, Harry is overwhelmed by Voldemort, and the Hardy Boys spend their days focusing on their studies because the adults are in fact smarter. 

-Until we got the Jesus story that was the norm. The gods ruled everything (think of the stories of Zeus or Hercules) If you wanted to be something special you had to rise to the top! The reason those other stories become so beloved is because they point us to the bigger truth of the greatest story of all time, where God came as a baby, took on flesh and moved into the neighborhood (MSG)

-There are 4 songs recorded in Luke’s Gospel that summarize Jesus’ birth. We begin this week looking at Mary’s.

READ/PRAY (pg. 499)

  1. Elizabeth Confirms (39-45)

-Some background needed:

-Luke begins this book with a dedication. He has sought to put together the story of what had happened with this Jesus guy

-The story begins with a priest named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth who were “advanced in years” and childless. In the course of Zechariah’s priestly duties, an angel appears to him and promises that after all these years they’ll have a child! His wife (obviously) gets pregnant, and then remains in isolation for 5 months. 

-In the 6th month, another angel is sent to a young girl named Mary in Nazareth, aka the sticks! Just as a child was promised to Zechariah, a child is promised to her, but this child won’t be conceived through normal means. As a witness to this, the angel tells Mary that her relative Elizabeth is pregnant!

-Mary goes to visit her “with haste”

-Why haste? Scholars aren’t sure. Some say to hide from her community, some think it is a mistranslation, other say it’s in response to God leading. I think it’s a lot more basic than that.

-If an angel came to you and told you something was going to happen in the future, then gave you a nugget of something that had already happened, wouldn’t you want to go test out what he said?

-Mary wants confirmation about what’s going to happen, if Elizabeth is REALLY pregnant, than maybe she really is going to have an immaculate conception. Now, typically that doctrine is used to refer to Mary being immaculately conceived, but that’s not what I’m talking about here! There is 1 immaculate conception, and it only happened to Jesus.

-She gets to the house and…

41 -John LEAPS in Elizabeth’s womb.

         -Shortly after Mary conceives (80-100 miles away, 3-4 day journey)

-A fetus is responding to the arrival of a zygote. What does that tell you about when a person becomes a person? 

-One of the most fascinating aspects of the biblical storyline is how it’s full of barren wombs (or wombs that should have been barren in Mary’s case!)

-Think back to the father of the nation of Israel: Abraham. Everything that I just shared about Zechariah and Elizabeth is also true of them!

-Abraham to Isaac to Jacob who had 2 wives, one of those wives was childless. 

-In Egypt, after the Israelites are enslaved what does Pharoah command the midwives to do? Kill the babies, destroy the wombs.

-Think of the story of the birth of the prophet Samuel, when his mother Hannah begged God for a baby

-Ruth, whose frail husband died, and then moved to a foreign land with her MIL with no hope of survival or prospective husbands on the horizon.

-Now, with all that in mind, think about the curse in Gen. 3. Notice the fight that begins between the serpent and the woman, and then continues between their 2 offspring. Do you think that maybe Satan knows about this curse, and then views it as his mission to attack the womb of anyone in the line of Jesus? Or do you think it’s any wonder today that Satanic attacks are demeaning and belittling to people? 

-Think of how carelessly life is tossed aside today (abortion and physician assisted suicide). We live in a culture of death, but it’s sterilized and hidden from us. Just a few years ago, after the death of Ulrich Klopfer, 2,411 fetuses were found in boxes in his garage. And he’s not the only one! How a country treats it’s most vulnerable citizens is a good marker of the health of that country (both in the womb and end of life). 

-But I also think it’s a marker of the serpent’s work anytime the womb is attacked. The technological advances we’ve had over the past 50 years are astounding! Babies can feel pain at least by 15 weeks of gestation. Women are barely showing at that point! Think of the pictures we can see of children in utero today. Unfortunately this conversation has just become a political talking point instead of a legitimate moral conversation. We must be pro-life in every aspect and implication, from conception to natural death.

-This isn’t the only time a baby in the womb is described as jumping, is way back in Gen. 25:22 “The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.””

-All the way back in the founding of the Israelite people there was tension, division, brother against brother

-Now, here for the first time someone is leaping, struggling in the womb because he can’t contain his excitement that the Messiah has finally come!

-This arrival, instead of bringing about division will bring reconciliation, unity, peace, creating a new family of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation to come together under 1 banner

-Elizabeth, just as her husband Zechariah did earlier, becomes a prophetess for the Lord.

-We often make a great deal out of Peter being the first person to recognize that Jesus is the Christ in Mark 8, but Elizabeth saw and acknowledged it even before Peter. Refers to Jesus as “my Lord” in 43

44 -John leaped for joy, unlike Jacob & Esau who leaped with contention. Yet just as with J&E, the older would serve the younger. Instead of undermining, cutting, biting, fighting, John embraces his role as one who came to prepare the way, realizing it even from the womb (where he’s filled with the HS)

-This is meant to demonstrate the way the gospel message (the Good News that Jesus’ arrival changes everything) undermines and then replaces everyone’s deepest longings and desires.

-Think of the way we’re taught from our world that bigger is always better. But is it? Let’s take a bigger house, that you then have to heat, and clean, and fill, and use. Is it really that much better? 

-Or think of any celebrity. When news leaks about their addictions or broken relationships do you really think they have life figured out? 

-I love the way Augustine talked about this in the 4th century (and people haven’t really changed at all since then). He argued that we’re far more led by our emotions than we realize (can’t claim to be purely a logical person, talk to Micah). And because of that, we all have an internal drive and desire that will never be fully met until we meet Jesus. Then once we have Jesus everything else makes sense. Our longings/desires will change, our motivations will change, and that will ultimately make a change in the way we live the rest of our lives.

-I say all that, because at Christmas time we’re celebrating what seems like a foolish thing. Have you ever compared the Christian story to the arrival of other gods? Rome was founded by Romulus, who was descended from the gods, nursed by a wolf, and then single-handedly creates the walls that form the city. If you go back further, ANE creation share all the fights the gods were having that led to the creation of the world. And in all these competitions for people’s allegiance, comes a little baby. Who in their right mind would come up with a story like this as THE solution for the problems in the world? It just doesn’t make sense! Unless it’s true.

-I share all that, because that’s exactly what Mary’s song focuses on.

  • Mary Rejoices (46-55)

-Comparison to Hannah’s praise in 1 Samuel 2

-Hannah had led a life of lack. Her husband had another wife who had multiple kids, but Hannah had none. She had begged God for years for a child, but had he hadn’t answered. Every year the family would go to the temple to sacrifice, and one year Hannah was observed by the priest who thought she was drunk (silently praying to herself) But God answered her prayers, and she had a child named Samuel.

-As we read it, pay attention to the way God works. Bows of the mighty broken, feeble are bound with strength, raises the poor so they sit with princes. Doesn’t it sound like God’s work is subverting the expectations of the world and then fulfilling them in ways no one would have expected?

  1. In God’s Blessings (46-49)

-Just as Hannah praised God for who He is, which leads to His blessings, Mary begins by recounting the ways God has blessed.

-Mary realizes she hasn’t done anything to achieve this nor is she worthy of this, no this is all because God “has looked on the humble estate of his servant.” (48) 

-How often do you take for granted all that God has done for you? Paul asks this very question in 1 Cor. 4:7 “What do you have that you did not receive?” It’s a rhetorical question: answer is NOTHING! Everything we have and are is a gift from our Father in heaven. 

-Mary realizes this is a gift from God, even though she may be socially ostracized, looked down upon by her friends and family, God is enough.

-I think it’s worth looking at vs. 48 as we think about the rest of this song. Notice that Mary says ALL generations will call her blessed.

-I listened to a podcast over the summer that talked about this fact: that we are supposed to bless Mary. Now, this isn’t supposed to be a veneration to her as RCC does, but she does give birth to the Son of God who came to earth to take away our sins. It was because Mary was willing to bear the scorn and shame of the world that we have salvation today. Do you thank God for Mary’s faithful obedience? I worded that very carefully: not thanking Mary for her obedience, thanking God for her obedience. 

-But this gift isn’t just a blessing to Mary, it’s a blessing to the whole world:

  • In God’s Mercy (50-53)

-God coming to earth is going to lead to a moral, political, and social revolution the likes of which won’t be seen again until he comes for a second time.

-First, moral 51. He has the full strength necessary, morality is defined in relation to him (holy is his name vs 49).

-This is what God has also said in 1 Peter “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5). Humility is seen as a virtue today, but it wasn’t in the 1st century. And even much “humility” today is a false façade that is still seeking the same goal as pride: recognition and affirmation of you. 

-What humility is going to look like is someone who doesn’t worry about themselves, but someone who loves God, life, and you without trying to build a brand, a following, or themselves up. 

-Second, political 52. God’s way is antithetical the world’s ways. Those who achieve power, greatness, fame and accolades on earth will be the last ones in God’s kingdom. Humiliation leads to exaltation, but can’t get exaltation without humiliation. The J curve

-Think of what a difference it would make if our political leaders followed God’s commands of serving others. 

-Third, social 53. The only way to receive from God is to come to him empty, if you come full you’ll leave with nothing. 

-Jesus tells a parable of a rich man who thought he’d made it. He built storehouses (enough to last for the rest of his life) and he said to himself that it’s time to eat, drink, and be merry! Guess what happened that night! He died. How much of his money did he take with him? Zippo! His bank account in eternity wasn’t any higher than anyone else.

-This is a large part of where the church should be such a counter-cultural community, which means at times it’s going to be very difficult. Sometimes the only thing we’ll have is the gospel message in common, but dear friends that’s enough! We may not vote the same, we may not have the same amount of money in our bank accounts, we may not have the same cultural backgrounds, but we do have something that’s better and more lasting than any of those differences: salvation in Jesus alone!

-But don’t miss that we’re not the first people Jesus has engaged in this way.

  • In God’s Promises (54-55)

-Friends, we stand on the shoulders of giants. We’re only here today because of thousands of faithful followers of Jesus who have gone before us to allow us to be here today. And sometimes it feels like we’ll never make it, but don’t forget that God NEVER forgets His promises. God’s memory is eternal, ours are tiny.

-Think of how much time had passed before Abraham’s promise was fulfilled here in Mary. Almost 2,000 years! And if the Lord should wait to return another 2,000, God still won’t forget His promises!

-What do we do with this song? I can think of 3 primary things:

-When the Lord speaks, listen and obey. Mark Twain “it’s not the things in the Bible I don’t understand that trouble me, it’s the things I do understand.” Be like Mary and just say “Yes Lord” 

-How often do you take time to praise God, giving thanks to Him for how he’s worked in your life? We, as humans, are forgetful people. We need to regularly remember/be reminded of how God has worked in all our lives.

-Lastly, don’t forget that God’s way is so often the opposite of the way we think things are/should be. No one would have ever expected God’s salvific plan to come about through these ordinary human means, which means that even you and I can be used by God to accomplish His purposes. 

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by mikethestrand on December 3, 2023  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Church, Life, Sermon, Worship

Posted by mikethestrand on December 3, 2023

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2023/12/03/marys-song-sermon-manuscript/

Mark 16:1-8 – Sermon Manuscript

The Resurrection of the Son of God

Mark 16:1-8

-We’ve become so used to bad news (almost to the point that when you hear the word “news” you don’t even need to say it’s bad). But what about those times when there’s good news? How do you respond then? 

-Think of the response after WW2, people flooding the streets. Or how people respond after a baby’s born. Or that dreaded day when someone who recently turned 16 gets their driver’s license (sometimes I wonder if it’s even safe for me to be out there)

-Today we’re going to look at how we should respond to good news, and not just good news, but the best news ever because it changes everything about our lives.

READ/PRAY

  1. Anointing the Body (1-4)

-We ended last week hearing what happened to Jesus’ body. Joseph of Arimathea was given permission to take down the body and put it in a tomb, so he did as quickly as they could before Sabbath began. 

-Whole week was centered around the practice of the Sabbath, no one did anything that day, it was illegal! That’s why Joseph was so adamant about getting Jesus’ body down before Saturday.

-Anyone remember the names of the women I told you to keep in mind for this week? No peeking! 2 Marys. Today’s text begins with 2 Marys

-Anointing the body was a typical practice in the 1st cent. You’ve probably seen what Egyptians did with bodies before, that’s where mummies came from. Jews didn’t embalm the dead like that, they allowed nature to take its’ course. The spices were used to cover the smell, and once the flesh was taken care of the bones would be placed in a box (similar to what we do with cremation today). This was a way to continue honoring those who have died.

-The women had waited as long as they needed, Sabbath is done, so they’re now able to anoint Jesus’ body. I don’t always have the best memory, but do you think they’d have forgotten where one of their best friends was buried?

-One of the evidences given against the resurrection was the disciples forgot where Jesus was buried. Do you really think in 36 hours they would have forgotten where the tomb was? 

-Not only would that have been completely narrow minded, but it would have been incredibly easy to discredit the news the disciples were sharing. On top of all that, remember what Mark told us about Joseph just a few verses ago. “A respected member of the council.” If you’ve ever driven by a graveyard and seen those giant tomb stones that stand out above the rest, that would have been like Joseph’s tomb. Prime tomb in the prime location that everyone would know about. Hard to miss!

-Very early, but still bright enough to see, on the first day of the week.

-They didn’t have access to electricity like we do, no flashlights or light switches to go out whenever they wanted. They were thinking of most things, but not everything. They didn’t think through how they would get access to Jesus’ body.

-Makes sense! If you’d hung your whole hopes on 1 person who was just killed do you think you’d be all there mentally? Even if it wasn’t your whole hopes, it’s still a big loss that throws everything else in your life off. Emotions are all over the place. Why would we expect people to act any differently?

-I don’t know if you’ve experienced this, but when people get stretched emotionally, there’s a tendency to revert back to your old self. Like this past week if you spent any time with family, you probably felt yourself reverting back to who you were in high school (whether that’s good or bad is up to you!) Similarly here, these Marys had been stretched to the breaking point, so instead of trusting in Jesus, even what He had explicitly told them, they reverted back to unbelief, almost as if they didn’t spend years with him learning from Him! 

-After all this questioning, they finally get to the tomb, and the stone in front of it had been rolled back. Then look at how Mark describes it “very large.” That would have made more sense a couple sentences ago! But anyway, they’re able to access Jesus’ body, but after they enter the tomb:

  • Alarm at the Lack of a Body (5-8)

-Remember, this is a big cave cut out of a rock, so maybe someone else had come to anoint the body as well. Joseph could have come, maybe another one of the disciples wanted to pay their respects. But instead they find: a young man dressed in a white robe. If you go to a graveyard, what do you expect to find? Hopefully no one who’s alive! 

-Throughout the Bible we see the way people react to seeing someone who’s sent from God: scared out of their minds! 

-Contrary to popular belief: angels aren’t cute little cherubs, none that we know of are named Clarence, a bell doesn’t ring when they get their wings, and trust me, you don’t want to be touched by any angels. 

-This is the time of year where we talk about angels a LOT! We don’t often pay much attention to them the rest of the year, though. Think of the way all the people during the Christmas story respond: Zechariah responds in disbelief, Mary worries something is wrong but still chooses to obey, shepherds are (in the words of Linus from Charlie Brown) “sore afraid” To see something as completely holy, unstained by sin as an angel is terrifying! And these Marys know it!  

-Thankfully, the angel tells them: Don’t worry, it’s ok! Let me tell you the gospel message: Jesus was crucified, but He rose! He’s not here! So you should go tell other people what happened.

-Think of how Mark started this book: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” And here at the end we have the angel summarizing the whole thing: you’re looking for Jesus, let’s think about what happened to Him.

-But then they are also given a job to do: telling other disciples, specifically Peter. Why do you think Peter was called out specifically by name? What sets Peter apart from everyone else? 

-Think back a few weeks ago now when Herb Bloomquist was here and preached on the trial of Jesus. Do you remember what Peter did that last night? He denied Jesus three times, and after the third time, Luke tells us Jesus looked straight at Peter, and Peter remembered what Jesus had told him just a few hours earlier. 

-This story is meant to give the rest of us hope. All of His disciples abandoned Jesus, but 2 in were worse than the others: Judas and Peter. Have you ever thought of how terrible the people Jesus chose were in following Him? Literally no one was left on the last night! They were too afraid, too worried about the worldly ways of living that they fled. This tells us that there’s hope for reconciliation and restoration even after betrayal. This tells us that anyone can be brought into God’s family.

-Why don’t they tell anyone else? The angel gave them 1 job, and Mark leaves us hanging with them refusing to obey that 1 command.

-Won’t be believed, waiting to see if they were misled, distrust of this stranger, maybe they themselves refused to believe what they saw! Before we get to the line and the note in your Bible, I think this the correct place to stop our study of Mark. Throughout this book, Mark has been trying to get us (the readers) to respond to the question: who is Jesus? This ending leaves the story unresolved, because we should ask ourselves: how should we respond to this story? What is the proper response to a man rising from the dead? We’ll get there in just a minute, but before we do I want us to think through the question:

-Why do we believe this happened?

1-No body was ever produced. This would have to be the worst hoax in history if Jesus didn’t actually rise from the dead. It wouldn’t have been hard to just pull out the body and belittle this upstart little group who claimed to worship someone who people had seen crucified during the busiest time of the year (New Years/Christmas on the interstate) But they couldn’t, and still can’t! 

2-Radical change in the disciples. They fled in fear on the last night, but just a couple months later, the same council that condemned Jesus to death holds no power over them. Why the change? Something must have confirmed what they’d been taught! Maybe seeing the resurrected Jesus?

3-Changing in day of worship. Did you notice the in vs. 2 is said “on the first day of the week.” That would be Sunday! But since Israel had been taken out of slavery they’d worshipped on Saturday. Why do you think suddenly this group of people started meeting for worship on Sunday instead of Saturday? Something significant must have happened that would make them throw out over a millennia of tradition, like maybe someone rising from the dead on that day!

4-Lastly, how would someone account for the transformation in Paul and James (Jesus’ brother). We’ve seen Jesus’ family appear a couple times in Mark, and every time they have they’ve tried to discredit Jesus. Yet in the book of Acts, the leader of the church in Jerusalem is James, Jesus half-brother. That’s the biggest reason for me! I have siblings! I don’t believe everything they tell me. James saw something in his brother that made him change his mind.

  • Excurses: Textual Variants (9-20)

-What do we do with the note in our Bibles? Is everything we just read a lie meant to trick us?

-As we continue uncovering new texts we find older and older evidence that solidify what we have in our Bibles. The Dead Sea Scrolls revolutionized biblical studies, and confirmed that the Bibles we have are correct.

-Nothing in this section is revolutionary or only found here. We have 3 other Gospels telling the same story that tell the exact same story that is contained here. But it’s most likely not written by Mark, and most likely not what God wanted us to have in Mark’s Gospel.

-The translations we have today (note: it is a translation. Jesus didn’t speak English), these translations are trying to communicate God’s words to us in a way we can understand, which is a beautiful gift. Let me tell you, Greek isn’t easy to read! Unfortunately, it’s no longer Greek to me, but it took literal years of my life in order to be able to read and understand the Bible in the original languages (I don’t know how many hours I spent trying to memorize vocab). 

-We have more translations than we know what to do with, and all of them will give us notes to help us know and understand God’s message to us today. The problem becomes when we build entire theologies out of these passages that most likely weren’t in the original book Mark wrote. Look at vs. 18. That happened to Paul, but isn’t something that should be practiced today, but some churches hold regular snake handlings to “prove” they’re Christians. Don’t build any theologies or practices from these texts! I’ll talk a little more about this in Sermon Scraps tomorrow,

-What does this mean for us today? Why does the death of a Jewish man 2,000 years ago have implications for us now? 

-As the leader goes, so goes the nation. 1 man’s sin led to death, 1 man’s death leads to life (Rom. 5:12) Think of the way we talk after a Viking’s game. WE lost last week. OUR quarterback is now mobile (sorry Cooper’s daddy). Somewhere we all view ourselves as part of a group. The question is which spiritual group are we a part of: Adam or the second Adam, Jesus? Whose family are you a part of, and which family do you demonstrate that you’re a part of in the way you live?

-I remember reading an article years ago where a dad would tell his kids every day they left for school “remember whose you are!” At one point, another parent heard them and tried to correct him “don’t you mean remember WHO you are?” Doesn’t matter who we, it matters GREATLY whose we are! If we’re a part of Jesus’ family, we’ll lack nothing.

-The way I’ve often shared this is all of life is who you know. Who you know can get you jobs, connections, vacations, money, even eternity is literally dependent on who you know. So when you see Jesus face to face, will He know you? The way we show whose family we’re in is by living a life that is true, beautiful, and good.

-How do we model lives that are true, beautiful, and good?

-Podcast this week talking about this very concept. We need to grow in hospitality. Heb. 13:2, 1 Peter 4:9, Rom. 12:13 all command us to show hospitality to others. How do we do that? 

-We need to commit to being table people (appropriate for Thanksgiving weekend!)

-Think of God’s first command to Adam & Eve (if you’ve been in Micah’s class, the Adamic covenant). They were to fill the earth and subdue it, and eat of any tree except one. The Fall comes about by eating.

-Abraham, when God comes to him in Gen. 18, prepares food to eat with God.

-Throughout the OT the way God’s people celebrate and remember God’s work in their lives is by feasting (eating)

-I went to a conference right before the twins were born walking through Exodus, fascinating story of God’s covenant with Israel in 24:22 “They [elders, Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu] beheld God, and ate and drank.” God invites His people to eat with Him.

-The Last Supper is a meal, eating with His disciples, serving as a reminder of Jesus’ death on their behalf. That practice continues down to us today: we regularly eat and drink to celebrate and remember God’s work in our lives.

-And then what does Jesus say during that last meal? Mark 14:25 “Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

-We are commanded to be hospitable throughout the Bible, I would argue the way you demonstrate you’re hospitable is by inviting people to your table. By building a bigger table, you invite people in so that they can eat and drink of the Lord’s table at church (signifying that they’re now a part of the people of Jesus), which will find its final fulfillment after Jesus returns when we will have the biggest and greatest feast you could ever dream of!

-Are you hospitable? Are you regularly inviting people to your table because Jesus has invited you to His table? Jesus even tells us to invite those who can’t repay us to our tables! Do you long for the day when you will table with the Lord in the new heavens and the new earth?

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by mikethestrand on November 26, 2023  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Church, Sermon

Posted by mikethestrand on November 26, 2023

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2023/11/26/mark-161-8-sermon-manuscript/

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