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Father Abraham – Sermon Manuscript

-One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is getting all the Christmas cards.

-We don’t do it because my wife doesn’t believe in them, she just likes looking at them and seeing all the people we know (is it a Midwest thing?)

-We got what I’m guessing will be our last one this past week from a family friend of my parents, with kids my age (best friend from when we lived in ND), and it was amazing looking at all the grandkids and easily being able to tell which of the kids they belonged to! Many of you have commented to me that you can very easily tell who my kids are and that they’re siblings!

-But the reality is the similarities don’t just stop at the physical because the habits and patterns of my kids are also a reflection of me and Cara, and my kids regularly do things that I hear and think “I remember this one!”

-And as you get older, you start to realize just how many of your reactions are the exact same as your parents! And if you were to talk to your parents you’d hear similar stories! One of the most helpful things you can do is sit down and trace out your family lineage to start to see some patterns develop (just like every time you go to the Dr and they ask your entire family medical history)

-For those of us who are in Christ, we have our biological family, but we also have a spiritual family that we’re a part of, and just as it is helpful to trace your biological family history to learn more about yourself, it’s vital to trace your spiritual family history to learn more about yourself (and God)! One author I’ve read has said “Jesus may be in your heart, but grandpa’s still in your bones!” So let’s read about our spiritual family:

-READ/PRAY

-Why study Abraham right now? (because it’s in the Bible!) Because Abraham is the origination of the story of God’s people. 

-One of the keys I hope you take away from this sermon series is that God is always at work, even while we wait. Nothing is wasted, nothing is careless or pointless in God’s plans. As we read the biblical stories (like Abraham), we learn that God uses incredibly broken people to accomplish His purposes. We see things we should copy and things we should never do!

-Each year I pick a new word that I focus on for ministry that year, and my word for this year is “slowness” which I think is modeled in Abraham’s life. He was 100 before he had his child that was promised to him. Imagine waiting all those years! And a podcast I listened to this week was saying that the promise came when he was 75, meaning he waited 25 years! Our world today pushes and trains us to expect everything IMMEDIATELY! In the technology class, we heard an author say that technology has trained us to want things easier and everywhere-er, but God’s plans don’t always go along with easier and everywhere-er, do they? How often do you find yourself getting frustrated that your growth is taken longer than you wanted? Or that your prayers aren’t being answered as quickly as you expected? Abraham will teach us the way God works in people’s lives isn’t according to our timeline.

-This will be a bit of a different series, compared to what we’ve done over the past year! How should we read and interpret a story about someone (narrative), and how do move from faithful interpretation to faithful application in our lives?

-First, we should read this as history. I believe what the Bible records is true: real events that took place in time and space. We can become so accustomed to these stories that they lose their humanity and become almost like fairy tales for us. Abraham lived and walked on earth! He had hopes, dreams, desires and he was called out by God to start a new line to bring about redemption.

-Second, we should be reading this story as Christians, which means looking for hints of Jesus in them. Walking on the road to Emmaus. All Scripture points us to Jesus: either in preparation of or looking back to. Paul tells us all the promises of God are yes (fulfilled) in Jesus, so we respond “amen.” The other piece of reading it as Christians is what Paul writes in:

–Gal. 3:7-9: what we see here is anyone who puts their faith in Jesus is now a part of Abraham’s family, so when we read the story of Abraham, we’re getting a picture of our spiritual family history, and one of the realities I want you to walk away with is no matter how broken your biological family history is, God’s family history has the potential to redeem and restore whatever has been broken.

-I preached through Genesis 1-11 in the Fall of 2021, so if you want to go back and listen to those you can for more detail, but we’re going to take today to situate ourselves in this book with an overview of the first 11 chapters. 

  1. In The Beginning…

-Many of you may have this memorized: in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Another way of translating the Hebrew here is: WHEN God began to create, which changes the focus of this a little bit. The focus of Genesis 1 isn’t how, it’s a who and a why. 

-Who creates? God does, He speaks and it appears, creation bends to His will. This is contrary to all the other religions of the day when Moses was writing this. The fact that the stars are a throwaway line in the midst of everything else is significant, because in the other religions the stars are gods! But this God is unique because He creates the stars with a passing word. Don’t miss that the focus is God.

-The second piece is why? For things to be very good, for creation to be in relationship with God, out of His love and plan comes this creation to acts as God’s ambassadors on earth, and there’s order to the creation where 3 days build out the areas, and the corresponding 3 days fill those areas. What we get at the end of Genesis 1 is this beautiful declaration from God:

-Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it. Adam and Eve are given a job: to work to extend the borders of the orchard of Eden until it eventually fills the entire earth! In order to do that, they’re going to need more people (multiply). God has given them everything they need! Think of this in terms of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: God has given them air, food, water, shelter, there’s nothing to harm them so they have safety, He is in relationship with them (Gen. 3 talks about God walking in the garden at night), self-esteem because they are naked and unashamed, where Maslow gets it wrong is that the top is worship, it doesn’t come from within us, it comes from outside us, from God. God provides all these things for Adam and Eve, and where God intends it for good, humans use it for evil.

-God’s intent: People, place, possession (land, seed, blessing)

-What we’re going to see is the initial shrinking of this blessing, to the eventual fulfilling of this blessing in the new heavens and earth (Revelation). Humans are created to be like God, spreading His rule across the world.

-But God’s intent goes askew in Gen. 3. The 1 rule God gave was to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which they do when tempted by Satan. But the fallout from it isn’t what you would expect, instead of being cursed, the serpent is cursed, and the ground is cursed, and God continues caring for His creation. A key to understanding the rest of the OT story is the enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the women (children of God vs. the children of man) Remember we’re looking for glimpses of the gospel message being preached here: think of these wounds – how bad is a heel wound? What about a head wound? But think about what we saw in Revelation last year – how is Satan described there? A dragon, a huge serpent, and can trace that theme throughout the rest of the Bible: are you a descendent of the serpent or a descendent of Adam, the son of God?

-This section ends with banishment from the garden, which is a gift, because if they had remained in there and eaten the tree of life they would have stayed in their state of rebellion, but God cared about them enough to send them away “east of Eden” to provide an ultimate way for them to approach Him. 

-And the story just keeps getting worse. After sin breaks their relationship with God, then we see the way sin breaks the relationship between humans, and Cain kills his brother Abel. And it continues spiraling out of control until Gen. 6:5 says “every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time.” Wow! What a fall from the state of perfection that it was before! 

-Then we get the account of Noah, where God determines He needs to wipe out every creature because of their wickedness. Noah and his family are the only ones who survive, on a floating zoo, as the world breaks down around them, and the description God gives to the flood through Moses is as if the world is being de-created. The waters that were separated come together, the lands that were parceled out are covered, and the creatures are destroyed, except for the ones called out and protected by God. And Gen. 8 begins saying “God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water began to subside.” Which should make us think of the very beginning where the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Moses is telling us this flood is a major reset, where God is starting fresh with a new people in a new place to have possessions and blessings from God.

-And once again, we have an epic fail. Noah plants a vineyard and gets drunk. Once again, the fruit of the vine leads God’s chosen one into sin, just like Noah’s first father had done.

-God’s good plan each time seems to be spoiled! And then Noah’s descendants decide that they want to try to become like God, just like Adam and Eve did, so they build a tower that you’ve often heard referred to as Babel, but it’s the same word for Babylon later in the Bible, and if you were here last year for our Revelation series, that word should also have special meaning for you! Think back to what we saw of God’s commission to Adam and Eve: fill the earth and subdue it, spread out so God’s kingdom covers the world like the water covers the sea, and what do the people want to do? NOT scatter. Throughout the Bible, Babylon (the city of man) stands in for all those who are opposed to God’s ways and instead pursue idolatry. So right at the beginning we see the ways humans continue running further and further away from God, and in the Babel story there’s no one who’s righteous, up until this point the story had been tracing 2 lines, this is almost as if everyone forgets about God. And in His mercy, He confuses their language so they can’t continue building against Him.

-There’s another theme that emerges in throughout these opening chapters of Genesis:

  • The Family Records of

-While God’s plan is the entire world being blessed by serving and ruling with Him, that plan needs willing and obedient partners, so some of what we see taking plan in Genesis is tracing the seed of the woman down through generations, and each time the reader should be thinking “Is this the one?” 

-Each primary section of Genesis has this phrase “the records of,” translation of the same Hebrew word, signifies the way the storyline is being traced forward, almost like a fast forward button, then it pauses on one person in the story to focus on them.

-But what’s important to note is the way God continues propagating the human race: through children. So the seed of the woman is continuing to spread down through the centuries, you can trace the way the family line goes. One thing to note is these kinds of lists aren’t the same way we do genealogies today, so some generations can be skipped to make a point (Adam to Noah is 10 generations, Noah to Abram is 10 generations, intentionally connecting the 2 lists) I say that because throughout the Bible the generation lists aren’t exactly the same, and there’s a reason for that! Doesn’t mean the Bible is wrong, but it isn’t trying to answer the same questions we’re asking in the 21st century!

  • Abram

-Now we can finally get to today’s text about Abram! But I wanted you to have all that history, because we’ll see some of the same patterns emerge in Abram/Abraham’s life (spoiler alert, there’s a name change coming!)

-What’s unique here is this seed of the woman is specifically called out from all the families of the earth. Even as sin continued corrupting, God was preserving a remnant for Himself, even people who weren’t faithfully following after Him, which is a reminder for us that grace, God’s gift, isn’t something any of us can earn. Look at what we read in Joshua 24

-So God takes an idol worshipper, and begins stirring in his heart to move, there’s some debate about where Ur was, but here’s the general trajectory of their journey.

-One thing to note is that the ANE was a BRUTAL place! Violent, depraved, dangerous, everything including your survival depended on the tribe you were in. Didn’t have police, national guard, laws to follow, it was survival of the fittest (or most connected). To leave your clan meant almost certain death. So Tarah setting out from his family connections meant something significant was going on. That’s the first piece to note – God works even in people that aren’t following after Him!

-The second piece to note is what does the text say about Abram’s wife? Unable to conceive. What had we just read about the seed of the woman? It means that you need kids to continue the line! So what is God doing here focusing on a barren woman? Much less a barren woman, living in an idolatrous place, worshipping idols instead of the one true God?

-Friends: the primary point from today’s passage is nothing and no one is outside the reach of God. God picks a seemingly insignificant man in a seemingly insignificant place and accomplishes His perfect plans with this guy and his barren wife. 

-This is a small picture of someone else who is born to a barren woman (a virgin) who also accomplished God’s plan. The mother is an insignificant woman in an incredibly insignificant place who God uses to accomplish His perfect plans. This also tells us that if you’re still breathing, God’s still not done with you or anyone you know! Continue trusting God, continue walking with Him, and trust that His plan is better than anything you could come up with anyway (which we’ll see throughout Abraham’s life!) This is going to be a wonderful series learning about and from one of the great patriarchs of our spiritual family, with gospel glimpses of a perfect patriarch to come and set the brokenness right.

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by mikethestrand on February 2, 2025  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, History, Life, Sermon
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Posted by mikethestrand on February 2, 2025

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2025/02/02/father-abraham-sermon-manuscript/

Luke 1:26-56 – Sermon Manuscript

-Christmas songs tend to make me laugh. As I was growing up my favorite was ‘Joy to the World’ which I found out wasn’t written as a Christmas song! Based on Psalm 98, focused more on Jesus’ second coming than His first.

-As I’ve been in ministry myself for a number of years now, my favorite has become ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ because it gets to the primary focus of the Christmas season: “O come let us adore Him!”

-But now we’ve also got more contemporary Christmas songs, like “You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch” or “All I want for Christmas is you.”

-There are 3 songs that make me at least chuckle, if not LOL every year: Little Drummer Boy. After having kids, I don’t think any mother after giving birth would nod to a little drummer boy once the baby is asleep. First, who wants a snare being hit next to a sleeping infant, but secondly have you ever heard a little kid play drums? There is nothing calming or quiet about it!

-Which gets me to my second one: Silent Night. Has anyone ever heard of a silent baby? They’re only quiet when they sleep, but on top of that, the delivery is the opposite of calm and bright. Someday I’ll do a Christmas series ruining Christmas songs for you.

-The last song that makes me laugh is ‘Mary, did you know?’ which is the inspiration for this sermon series, mostly because I see this meme float around every Christmas. Written in 1984 as a poem for a church Christmas musical, it eventually came together as the song we know today in 1991, but it asks a series of questions of Mary, like “did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters, has come to make you new” and the reason I think it’s funny is because Mary is explicitly told the answer to all these questions in today’s text! No, she didn’t know every little detail about Jesus’ future life, but she did know the primary direction His life was going to take!

-Please stand with me, as we read Luke 1 and hear exactly what Mary knew.

PRAY

-I’ve shared this before, but the other thing I think of each Christmas is Bilbo Baggins, who is described in LOTR as “the most unlikely creature imaginable” to find the ring, similarly, Mary is the most unlikely creature imaginable to be chosen as the mother of God’s Son.

  1. The Most Unlikely Creature Imaginable (26-38)

-A couple things I want you to keep in the back of your mind for every Christmas season: 

-First is that we’re coming off 400 years of silence

-Second is we’re dealing with real people who had full lives, emotions, hopes and dreams just like we do. It can be easy for us to separate these stories from reality because it’s just words on a page.

-Finally, don’t forget how incredible this is! I at times feel like the Grinch this time of year: I have to go back and preach the same texts I’ve done numerous years in a row, I’ve heard this same story every Christmas as far back as I can remember, it’s way too easy to just slip into sentimentality and gloss over just how significant the incarnation is. God literally took on flesh, the Creator became creature, the author of history entered history. What human would come up with a story like that to provide salvation to the world? 

-Friends, we’ve seen this over and over this past year as we’ve walked through Revelation, God is in control, His plans can’t be stopped, His ways are right and good, but it is going to run in conflict with the way the world trains us to think and live. His ways are better, but we are tempted to live by the ways of the world. Christmas is our annual reminder to not become seduced by the dragon, but to live in the way of the sacrificial Lamb, who came not in power or influence, but came in obscurity, with nothing, to a poor family living in a tiny community.

-6th month refers to Elizabeth, wife of Zechariah who was a priest. An angel had just appeared to him to tell him that in their advanced age, they would have a child (we’ll see them again in the next section), but just as God has a history of redeeming childless wombs, here we see Him doing it again.

-I don’t know if you’ve ever considered this, but the story of Jesus is littered with barren wombs until God intervenes. I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to take that idea to mean that you can tell which side God is on by the way someone cares for infants and children. God loves when families grown, and Satan hates it. There’s a reason God has to overcome so many childless women.

-Nazareth: tiny, backwoods town. Didn’t have any extrabiblical accounts of it until the 1960s, so insignificant that no other historical accounts thought it worthy of a mention. There’s a reason Nathaniel says “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” John 1:46.

-Surprisingly little is said about her – we know her name, that she was engaged, and that’s about it.

-Notice that there’s nothing in Mary that makes her worthy of being favored. She didn’t achieve this by doing something special or by being born in the right family or living an exemplary life, what’s most significant about Mary is that she obeyed God’s commands. That’s it. She did what’s possible for all of us to do: hear God’s Word and respond in obedience. 

-Friends, you can find favor with God! The key to understand what’s happening here is God speaks, and Mary responds with obedience. This is a picture of what salvation looks like. God speaks through His people, and through His Word, and ultimately through His Spirit as the dead are brought to life. When that happens, suddenly we have favor with God! 

-Obedience doesn’t mean Mary has no questions, she knows where babies come from! And she’s never had the opportunity to create a baby.

-But what we view as impossible is nothing to God. The word “overshadow” here is used often in the OT to talk about God’s presence descending on a place. There were times where Moses couldn’t enter the tabernacle because the cloud that signified God’s presence “overshadowed” the tabernacle. This isn’t (as some have argued) the Holy Spirit taking on flesh to have intercourse with Mary, this is a unique creation. Just as God had opened the womb of so many of Israel’s ancestors, what’s going 1 step further and creating new life in a womb?

-Because of this unique conception, He will be called “the holy one” and the Son of God. This was considered fairly normal at the time.

-All Jews thought of themselves as God’s children. In fact, even the name that this child was given was one of the most common names in the 1st century: Yehoshua (Joshua) Iyasous (Greek) meaning “God saves.” Once again, this is demonstrating the ways God chooses to work in the world is through what we would see as weakness. A normal child with the most common name, born to a poor woman in a tiny town that no one cared about.

-However, this child is unique among all humans because He has no earthly Father, just a heavenly Father.

-This also shows us the way salvation comes about in all our lives. What could you do to save yourself? Nothing! What could you add to merit God’s salvation? Zippo! But what’s impossible with us is nothing to God.

-See most of us are similar to Jesus. Not worth much based on what the world values. Not smart based on worldly standards. Yet God still chooses those exact people to bring them into His family because nothing is impossible with God.

-Connects to a story Jesus tells about how difficult it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven, his disciples say then heaven must be impossible, Jesus replies “with God ALL things are possible.” Think of the hymn ‘Rock of Ages’ “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling.” We trust that Jesus is who He said He is and we are saved.

-This brings us to the next section of this text.

  • The Second Most Unlikely Creature Imaginable (39-45)

-Mary hurries south to see Elizabeth. Remember the angel had told her that her relative was pregnant, even in her old age, so I think Mary rushes there to see if Elizabeth is truly pregnant, or if the angel was pulling a fast one on her.

-Hurry is a bit of a relative term, couldn’t drive, people would generally walk everywhere, so Mary would have to travel somewhere between 3-4 days (80-100 miles)

-I read onetime that God’s speed is 3 mph, that’s how fast Jesus walked, and some estimates say He spent as much as ¾ of his ministry walking, to Jerusalem, back to Capernaum, back to Jerusalem, and we get frustrated when 70 mph isn’t fast enough!

-Already we see the way people should respond to the arrival of Jesus: John in the womb leaps for joy, and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit.

-Blesses Mary (again, not for anything she’s done, because Mary is obedient) We see that explicitly: (45) she who has believed what the Lord has spoken. That’s the way God works: He speaks, we should respond. But how often do we not respond? How frequently are our hearts too hard to fully obey God? Mark Twain quote. 

-The Bible’s purpose isn’t just to comfort us (although at times it does that) in many cases the Bible’s purpose is to make us UNcomfortable because it asks something from us. Think of Rom. 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” All. That includes me! That tells me I’m a sinner, I have fallen short, thankfully it doesn’t stop there because it goes on to say “and are justified by his grace as a gift” That means there’s hope, and that I need to live differently.

  • Respond with Praise (46-56)

-Magnifies: to make greater. The blessing given to Mary is an opportunity for her to continue praising God.

-If you think about it, that’s a great way to summarize the point of worship: to make greater. But it’s not make yourself greater, it’s acknowledging that Jesus is the greater one, that He’s the only one who deserves being made greater. Greater than what? Everything. The whole book of Hebrews is a long explanation of how Jesus is better than everything that came before in God’s plan. He’s better than the sacrificial system, better than any priest, better than Moses, better than the angels, He’s better than everything, and because of that we must respond with worship.

-But why is she looking to make God greater? Because He looked with favor on her humble/poor condition. She recognizes that in God’s view she has nothing.

-This is an example for how we should approach God, humbly and not entitled.

-Kent Hughes.

-Friends, do you approach Christmas as the poor and humble or as proud and self-sufficient? Be honest. Each year we have times and seasons to take time to reflect on certain things, Christmas is our annual reminder that Jesus came for the poor, humble, and lowly, that’s inherent to the gospel message. This is why Jesus said it’s so hard for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God, it requires admitting that you can’t do it on your own. 

-Not only can you not be saved on your own, you can’t continue growing as a Christian on your own: 

-From generation to generation – this has been God’s plan all along.

-What God does when He saves us is adopt us into a new family. This new family provides as place for you to truly be yourself, a place to find belonging and direction to your entire life. I don’t want to stretch this imagery too far, but the fact that we’re adopted means it at times is going to feel unnatural to us, just like someone who’s adopted is going to at times struggle to figure out their new family rhythms and routines. I don’t know about you, but I often struggle at holidays because my routines are thrown off! God is trying to teach us a new way of living in His family, which is different from the way the world teaches us to live.

-This new way of living is shown through God’s mighty deeds, and as we saw throughout Revelation, it’s the opposite of the way we expect the world to work:

-scattered the proud: those who think they’re self-sufficient, that they’re able to do whatever they want in their own power and strength, like the tower of Babel

-toppled the mighty: who can stand against God? No one! Trust in Him!

-Satisfied the hungry: God provides the solution to the deepest longings of your heart, only when you trust in Him can you be completely satisfied

-Kept His word: God has made promises and delivered on every single one of them. Trust in Him because His ways are good and true. If God has said He’ll do something it’s guaranteed to happen.

-Just like Mary, we are the most unlikely people imaginable to be chosen by God to be his children, if we trust in what He’s said. 

-That doesn’t mean life will be easy, or that you’ll always trust and obey God perfectly. I remember growing up reading the Bible stories and thinking to myself “If I experienced these kinds of things I would NEVER have questions or doubts in my faith.” But friends, everyone has questions and doubts at some point in their life, even Mary. 

-In Mark’s Gospel, we read that early in his ministry, as His fame was spreading, news reached His family, and here’s what they thought. But surely not Mary, right? She had this amazing visit from an angel, you’d think that everyday she’d be reminded to keep faith because Jesus was right there in front of her! Her miracle child! But just a few verses later, Mark says who was there. His mother and his brothers. See, even a visit from an angel eventually wears off. This is why the “camp high” needs to be connected to the truth. Emotions fade, experiences get less potent, but God’s Word remains the same.

-As we enter this Christmas season and look at these 4 characters of Christmas together, I’d like you to think back to why you are a Christian, and if you’re not a Christian, what’s holding you back? Questions and doubts are normal for Christians and non-Christians. If Mary, the mother of Jesus, can have doubts, so can you. But don’t just leave them there. Explore them, doubt your doubts! One of the best things about Christianity is the wealth of knowledge to draw from in studying and researching. 

-But do something. One of our mottos here is 1 step closer: what step are you going to take this Christmas season to grow closer to Jesus? Read a new devotional, read a book on the incarnation (Athanasius, written in the early 300s), read a reflect on Matt. 1-2 or Luke 1-2. 

-Or maybe you need help doubting your doubts. Reach out to me, I’m guessing I have a book or resource on whatever question you’re facing, because Christians have been wrestling with this faith for centuries.

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by mikethestrand on December 1, 2024  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, History, Life, Sermon
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Posted by mikethestrand on December 1, 2024

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2024/12/01/luke-126-56-sermon-manuscript/

Sermon Manuscript – Geneva Reflection

-Isaac Newton: “If I have seen further it is by standing on shoulders of giants.”

-I love studying history (almost majored in archaeology in college), and getting to walk in the places that have impacted me was one of the most impactful moments I’ve ever had. It’s a reminder that this isn’t all there is, we have ended up here for a purpose and there are reasons behind what we as the church do today. It is chronological snobbery to pretend that we have all the answers, that we are self-contained, that we are completely independent.

-Purpose of this trip: learn more about the historical developments of the pastor and the church, go for a LONG walk (113 miles), and grow closer to these other pastors. Additionally, 1 of the pastors has been a friend for a while, so we added some extra time on the front and back ends (with the support of our wives) to do some of our own exploration.

-Backwards church history tour: stopped in Dublin and explored the city. I’ve shared before the way Arthur Guinness used the proceeds from his beer to bring Sunday school to Dublin, did a ton for worker’s rights and care for his employees, used brewing of beer as a way to glorify God. Descendent today is Os Guinness. Lesson: part of the reason we need to build institutions and organizations is because they will outlast us – will our institution (church) be a force for good or bad in the world? We tend to think too immediately and need to do better to think generationally. 

-Flew to London: British Museum – they claimed the spoils of the world, so it’s only fair that they let the world come and see them. If you’re able, it’s free! The Rosetta Stone: opened the world to interpreting ancient languages. Contained an edict in 3 different languages. Statues from the Parthenon, statues that Paul would have walked by on his second missionary journey. My friend and I talked about when we get to heaven chatting with Paul about his perspective on the statues! But when he saw them, they were painted! And then we turned another corner and found this. Remnants from the Assyrian empire! Friends, this was a brutal, brutal period. Doors, reliefs on the doors depicted their victories in war. Killing children, impaling on stakes. From there we went to tour Westminster Abbey. They don’t make churches like that anymore! Operating since 1066. Unbelievably ornate. But what stood out to me was the mixing of politics and religion. Here is the coronation chair, for anointing the next ruler of the nation in this chapel. Right next to Westminster is Parliament, where the governmental decisions are made. But I think you also see it in the people that are buried there. Christendom has given way to “influence” in many minds of Westerners. How else could Hawking, an atheist, be buried in a church? Our last visit was to Metropolitan Tabernacle (proof I was there), and here’s the back of that beautiful façade. Protestant influence is so different from RCC or Anglican. It’s just a building! We can meet anywhere! What’s fascinating to me is there’s a theology behind that. On our hike if we came across a RCC we would peek in, and every time the doors were open, because for them there are sacred spaces that people may need. For Protestants the building is secondary, so it doesn’t need to be open for God’s people to meet. We’re in God’s presence whether we’re gathered or scattered. 

-Train to Oxford, one of the oldest universities in the world, and probably my favorite town that we visited. Both Lewis & Tolkien taught at Oxford (you knew I’d have a LOTR connection in here somewhere!) and we stopped by the pub their writers group (Inklings) would frequent, as well as walking the path they would often take together (Addison’s Walk), a walking path next to Magdalen College, where Lewis taught. While not as big or impressive as London, I enjoyed Oxford much more, and was reminded of the need to be connected to God’s natural creation. Walks like this are hard to find in the US, and I think contributes to the sense that we can exist apart from God. If we don’t see His rule in the rest of creation, why would we see His rule in our lives? I pulled up a Mere Christianity recording as we were walking this path and thanked God for Lewis’ influence in my life (some weird theology, but I’m still profoundly thankful for him).

-Train to Edinburgh: John Knox and Scottish Presbyterianism at St. Giles (1124). What I didn’t realize is this was also the birthplace of Harry Potter! Edinburgh was VERY different from any of the other places we went. They’re not sure what to do with their Christian heritage. Heard a tour group say the best thing to do to Knox is to stomp on his grave as you walk over. Where the other places still acknowledge their Christian influence, Edinburgh celebrated humanist philosophers, actually a number of philosophers who influenced America’s founding. It was also a very dark city, buildings not cleaned as well, foreboding architecture, it felt like a picture of a country where the Christian influence has been all but snuffed out. We attended a church of maybe 100 people downtown, a tiny percentage of the population, and when we exited we walked through a group of tourists taking pictures of the building. Are we ensuring our faith isn’t dying? Are we passing on our faith to our children, and our children’s children so that the church continues to flourish? 

-Fly to Geneva where we had an extra day before meeting up with everyone else and got an official tour from a native Genevan. The next day, we got a tour from a Calvin scholar, as well as a couple lectures from him. Calvin’s house, St. Pierre, Geneva from the tower, mosaic ruins from an early church. Reformation museum: The sermons of Luther from 1523, a Bible from 1562, Protestant propaganda where the Bible is heavier than all the works of the RCC, finally I was relieved to see that not even the great John Calvin could keep his students engaged all the time, here’s some doodles from the margins of his students’ notebooks! So if you need to doodle, feel free, you won’t hurt my feelings. One of the things that stood out to me about Geneva was the reality that in many ways it’s a post-Christian nation. There’s a Reformation wall, but it doesn’t talk about the theological distinctions of the Reformation, it talks about the political distinctions which led to Geneva being a democracy, and it made me wonder if what we’ve been trained in is political engagement but not Christian witness.

-Then we hiked the Tour du Mont Blanc (the tour of the white mountain) which passes through France, Italy, and Switzerland, covered 113 miles, about 10 miles a day. Each night someone would lead a discussion on an aspect of pastoral ministry (mine was counseling, which Cara laughed at when she heard), but each night was a new aspect of pastoral ministry that we discussed and shared and prayed about together. It was incredibly helpful to have men who are laboring together discuss these important things: prayer, administration, personal discipleship, physical health, delegation, worship, equipping the saints, evangelism, church discipline. Not all easy topics, but necessary. 

-Then, because 113 miles wasn’t enough, we ended flying to Rome (toured the Colosseum and Vatican and did MORE walking). This blew my mind! All the biblical or Christian events that have taken place here. Think of how impressive this city would have been before it was ruins! And Paul says it doesn’t matter. Here I am standing where the emperor would have stood looking down on his kingdom, thinking he’s a god. If you’ve watched the new trailer for Gladiator they’ve got a scene that shows this view in it. And I walked by the emperor’s tomb. He’s still there. But do you know who’s not in his tomb anymore? Jesus. Paul was taken to Rome, he saw this in all its’ glory and he says all of this is dung compared the riches of the glory of Jesus. None of this matters! 

-One of my favorite pieces I got to see was this arch, finished in AD 72. The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.

-To end on a lighter note: as we toured the Vatican we ended in St. Peter’s Square, which is probably what it would have been like to tour the Roman ruins when they were still up. But what stood out to me was the fact that it’s sponsored by Samsung!

1. John Calvin 

“History is theology’s laboratory, in which it can assess the ideas that it espouses or considers espousing” (Erickson, Christian Theology, 28).

-Initially dad wanted him to work in the church, then had a change of heart and wanted him to pursue law. He pursued that, but had a friend who become convinced of the Protestant ideas, which Calvin joined in. He had to flee the place where he was getting his education and began applying what he’d learned in law to theology. 

-Humanism: not the way we would think about it, going back to the original sources, original languages, church fathers.

-3 years later writes his first edition of the Institutes (only 250 pages) and plans to become an academician, serving in obscurity for the rest of his life, but his travel plans led him to Geneva. Calvin was a Frenchman, who ended up as a refugee. William Farel finds out Calvin is in town and sets out to convince him to remain in Geneva and serve as a pastor. Calvin refuses, so Farel calls down a curse on him if he continues on: Calvin caves in and spends the rest of his ministry (minus a couple years) serving as a pastor in Geneva.

-Sought to bring Reform to every part of life, using the standard of Scripture for everything. There wasn’t the same unity between RCC and government, nor the complete separation we have today: the church worked with the local government to deal with sin. I know we can hardly fathom that today, but this idea was revolutionary at the time.

-How did Calvin structure the church?

-Services everyday of the week, with everyone in the community expected to attend at least 1 service. But there were also churches all over: 3 in Geneva, as well as smaller churches in the surrounding communities. This required pastors to serve in! But the Reformation was still in its’ infancy stage, so he needed to train them, leading to him building a college for pastors (drawings).

-What shocked me was how similar Calvin viewed the pastoral office then to what we do today: primarily centered around the word, praying for the congregation, visiting the congregation. He changed the liturgy (service order) to better teach people the truths of the Bible, he created a catechism so people would know how to explain what the Bible teaches. But Calvin essentially reformed the pastoral office (with help/influence from Martin Bucer, then passed to Theodore Beza)

-What was fascinating to me was he created 4 offices: elders, deacons, pastors, and doctors (teachers) of the church. We’ve somewhat morphed that into separating the doctors from the church and placing them in the academy (Seminary), but the seminaries were meant to be the place where pastors are trained.

-Friends, God’s plan for all of human history is traced back much before our present day, much before Calvin’s day, God’s plan begins in eternity past. But now we’re in our era of human history – how are we going to preserve the faith that has been passed down to us? We have a job to do: we need to love the church, we need to help people take 1 step closer to Jesus in every area of life. God can use us just like he used Calvin or Luther, Lewis or Newton! 

2. Stretching

-There are all sorts of spiritual allusions to hiking, and we talked about many of them while our bodies felt like they were falling apart. From hoping that we could be like Christian in Pilgrims Progress to have our loads released, to just taking 1 step at a time, to the need for continual persevering. But a trip like this is absolutely exhausting! 20 lbs on your back doesn’t feel like a lot until you’re going up and down 8000’ a day!

-One of my friends asked on the trail: what adversity have you faced on the trail, and how has God met you in that adversity? 

-Answers were all over the place, my friend who asked that question had his rain jacket stolen from the place we had stayed the night before, I had a moment where I felt like my body was giving up and didn’t think I’d be able to make it. Another friend had a similar experience. But we’re all going to reach those times and moments in our lives where we are pushed absolutely beyond our comfort zones, where we feel like we won’t be able to go any further: how do you respond? Do you ask for help? Do you cry out to God? Do you throw a fit and demand things change? It’s amazing to me the mental spiraling you can do when you’re exhausted, not sleeping well, and being forced to walk 10 miles through mountains! I asked a couple guys to pray for me and got some much needed encouragement to persevere!

-The other key is to remember to receive and ask for help: we tend to try to do everything by ourselves. We’re independent people after all, aren’t we? We look up to the “self-made” person. What we often fail to realize is just how dependent we really are. 

-Our bodies, our vocations, the air we breathe. Even a trip like this was dependent on everyone putting training before the trip, being willing to carry their equipment on the trip, we relied on a Dr. who was able to guide us through any medical issues, we relied on the plans of a group to ensure we followed the right trails, and at times we relied on each other to share food and water! 

-There is something amazing about doing physical activity in creation. Ps. 121:1 “I life my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” 

-Impressive mountain, beautiful views, variety of people plants and animals. 6 countries visited, each with its unique culture, food, geography, and the Lord God made them all! It made me incredibly excited for all those things to be redeemed and renewed when Jesus returns and has the rulers of these places bring their riches into the new kingdom.

3. Fellowship

-Friends, life is hard, but one of the ways life becomes more manageable is by sharing life with others. Just as I couldn’t have done this hike alone, and would have definitely given up without others pushing me on, I can’t do my daily life alone and need others who can push me on to remain faithful.

-Not just that, but there were incredible conversations had on the trail. You know when you get together with likeminded people and can let all the fake fall off and allow conversations to get to a deeper level so much quicker? That’s what happened on the trip.

-DS said You guys have had years of time together that can’t be duplicated in any other setting. I made new friends on this trip that could be men that I serve alongside for the rest of my life! We’ve already got a text thread going continuing to share memories and thoughts (as well as weight gained or lost).

-I share that to encourage you: surround yourself with people who will push you toward holiness. Hold tightly to them and allow yourself to be open and honest with them, and I would hope and pray they can come from the church.

-camaraderie: Psalm 133:1 “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!” There are some great EFCA Pastors in MN who I consider it a privilege to serve with! We are not the only church (praise God), we’re not even the only healthy church!

-Similar goals in ministry (contextualized), similar convictions, similar training, and a similar desire: to see Jesus glorified and His church built up. 

-I’ve shared before that it seems like God is doing something amazing in our area of the EFCA, one friend said he thinks we’re living in “the good old days” right now. I sure hope not! I hope this is just the beginning of those days as we see more people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus and see people strengthened to live more holy and faithful lives for the good of God and others.

-can’t survive the Christian life alone. If you’ve been trying to clean your life up or fight your sin by yourself you’ll never find victory. God has called us into a new family 1 Pet. 2:9 “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.” We are all together those things! We need each other, we rely on each other, and we can’t exist by ourselves, and the best part is we don’t! God has brought us into a global family called the church where God continues working today. So church, keep persevering today! Keep encouraging others, and keep serving God with joy!

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by mikethestrand on July 14, 2024  •  Permalink
Posted in Blog, History, Life

Posted by mikethestrand on July 14, 2024

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2024/07/14/sermon-manuscript-geneva-reflection/

Revelation 11:1-4 – Sermon Manuscript

-A defining story of your life, or your family’s life?

-some of my most fond memories from growing up involved my parents taking too long to go home after church. Playing football, running through the dirt paved parking lot, trying not to get into trouble. First time parents warned you we’d be leaving in 5 minutes meant we had AT LEAST 30 min. My parents locked the doors of the church when they got married!

-We all have these family stories that we can use to communicate something about ourselves. The Bible does something similar, and it’s important for us to understand the Bible’s defining stories if we want to understand the significance of God’s message, given to John, passed down to us today. The defining story for God’s people is the Exodus: God’s deliverance out of slavery into a season of exile.

READ/PRAY

-Not sure about you, but I think this might be one of the most difficult passages in the Bible to interpret correctly! Full of OT allusions, mention of specific times and days. I’m going to give an overview of the whole chapter, and then we’ll walk through it over the next 2 weeks, just so there’s no surprises. I say most of this with a grain of salt, and I reserve the right to change my opinion on this in the future! But as I’m working through this letter and trying to study this section this week I think this is the best way to interpret the text.

-This is a call to the church to continue witnessing to the truths of the gospel despite increasing persecution.

-John is told to measure the temple and count the worshippers. This is referring to God’s people today, not a physical temple that will someday be built. 

-The 2 witnesses are similarly referring to the church (again, wait until I build my case for that!)

-The numbers are a way of pointing back to Jesus, but through a prophesy in Daniel. Their story also parallels an upcoming story in Rev. 12-13 about the beast persecuting God’s people. Their death and resurrection points to God’s provision of His people throughout history and validation of their witnessing to the truths of Jesus as the Savior and King.

-Finally, the last trumpet takes us all the way to the end, where God’s kingdom has come and His will is being done on earth just like it is in heaven. That’s where we’ll be going over these next 2 weeks, now let’s talk about how I got there!

  1. Measuring the Temple (1-2)

-John is given a commission, connected back to his role from last week to “prophesy again.” 

-Connected to Zech. 2, Ezek. 40-42. John is the next in line! 

-Notice “was given” this is all from God, God’s work, and God’s plan

-The idea of measuring is connected to counting. Think of Jesus who said God counts even the hairs on our heads (which is easier for some people than others!) It’s a way of signifying that God knows each and every person who belongs to Him. No one can take them away, no one will be lost, He will keep track of them all and preserve them all.

-Before we go on, I want to ask you a question about that: if John were asked to go and count His people today, would you be included in that number, or would you be left outside and be trampled? If you want to ensure you’re a part of God’s people, if you want be counted in the temple, then you need to confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, and believe that He was raised from the dead. If you do, you’ll move from death to life, from outside the temple to inside the temple, and God will welcome you in with open arms.

-A few options about this temple:

-A physical temple that’s rebuilt, a heavenly temple, or the temple that we today refer to as the church. I don’t think it’s a physical temple because of the way this book uses symbols and imagery throughout to communicate a bigger spiritual reality. Similarly, I don’t see how it could be a heavenly temple because I’m not sure how “the nations” could trample any part of it then. 

-I also think there’s an assortment of other NT passages that tip the scale in the direction of the church, here’s a few. 

-All of these are referring to the church. Similarly, when we trace the idea of the temple (or tabernacle) throughout the Bible, it signifies God’s dwelling place with His people, not necessarily just a building. It’s meant to be a new Eden because of the way sin broke the relationship between God and His people. When Jesus comes, the Bible says God tabernacled among us (God moved into the neighborhood), and then Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises, so there’s no more need for priests or sacrifices or a temple, they’re pointing to Jesus who now fills his people with the Spirit, making them a new temple. 

-The last piece that tilts the scales for me in this direction is the ending of this letter, Rev. 21:22 says God’s eternal plan is no temple. This is like Eden where God’s plan was to be in perfect relationship with his creation, no separation, no divide, but sin broke that. That’s what’s signified by the lack of a physical temple, we don’t need that anymore, Jesus has provided a way to approach God that’s superior in every way (again, read the book of Hebrews).

-Why is there an area excluded? 

-“Court of the Gentiles” or “court of the women” most likely the first as it had been given over to the nations already.

-If the temple is the church (as I’ve argued) this could either refer to persecution of a segment of the church, or is a way of signifying that not everyone is a part of God’s people. I lean slightly toward the latter as I think it makes better sense of the comment “outside the temple.” The only way to avoid being trampled is by becoming a part of the temple, or the church. 

-We’ll get to the holy city a little more when we get to vs. 8, but really briefly notice that it’s referred to by 5 names. Holy city, great city, Sodom, Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. Can’t be all of those at the same time, and 1 of them is a country! Once again, John is using a well-known idea to signify something bigger: there will always be rulers, nations, and civilizations opposed to the work of God. Once again we see that there’s no middle ground: you’re either for God or against Him.

-We now get to a hugely debated section that is very difficult to understand and needs to be nuanced incredible carefully: how do we interpret the 42 months? One of my primary arguments through this series has been we struggle to understand this text (Revelation) because our minds aren’t saturated enough by the whole text. The 1st century reader would have devoted themselves to the Bible, many of them had memorized large sections of it, if not the whole thing. Our minds today are too cluttered by useless trivia (or movie quotes for me) to memorize large portions of God’s Word, much less go on to meditate on those Words and then apply them to our daily lives. If our identity starts to become defined by anything other than God’s Word we’re in trouble! 

-This text kicked my butt this week! I’ve shared before that my Hebrew prof. in seminary: wrestle with the text. I did a LOT of wrestling this week! Because there’s so much background to this text, I also divided this sermon into 2 weeks, so consider this part 1. Also, fair warning, you’re going to need to put your thinking caps on! There’s a mountain of other texts being referenced here that we’re going to need to wrestle through together today to understand John’s message.

First, remember numbers in Revelation are symbols not statistics, the numbers are standing in for something important. We’ve talked about these before, so 7 (and it’s multiples) refers to: perfection or completeness. 10 (and it’s multiples) refers to fullness. 4 refers to the whole creation/earth. 12 (and it’s multiples) is God’s people. But then we start adding in halves, or lesser numbers. So if you remember back a few weeks ago to the overview: 666 is signifying that Satan and his unholy trinity false short in every case (fail, fail, fail). With 42 months:

-It’s another way of saying 3.5 years. If you look at vs. 3, you’ll see 1,260 days, which also happens to be 42 months. Vs. 9, 11: 3.5 days. Maybe these are all referring to the same period of time?

-To understand this reference, we need to go back to a prophecy in Daniel 9, which itself is a meditation on God’s Word from Jer. 25, which itself is using language from Lev. 25. Do you see why this book can be so hard to understand and interpret correctly? Are you ready to wrestle through this text with me?

-First, Daniel introduces this section to us by saying he was reflecting on Jeremiah, and notice what he’s wearing, because that will come up again. This tells us that Daniel is meditating on a specific passage in Jeremiah, something to do with 70 years. 

-Jeremiah is God’s plan for getting the people out of Babylon. They’d been carried off into exile as a penalty for their sin, but there was an end point to that exile. God will bring His people back and redeem them.

-Those 70 years are the season of exile, where Israel is under the Babylonian captivity. As Daniel starts doing the math, he realizes that 70 years is close to coming up! So he begins by confessing his and the nation’s sins and asking God to listen and respond. God does by sending the angel Gabriel to visit him and tell him what’s going to happen. Before we get there, 1 very important note: Israel wasn’t in exile for 70 years, it was more like 60. So if that number is a symbol (like in Revelation) we should also expect the rest of the numbers to be symbols.

-We begin with “70 7s (translated as weeks)” Anyone remember the significance of 7? Completion, perfection. This means Gabriel is picking up the language from Jer. 25 but using weeks as a stand in for years. Look at the 6 things promised from God, specifically 2-4, stop sin, atone for iniquity, everlasting righteousness. God is saying He will take care of the sin Daniel had just been confessing. Who do you think that’s talking about? Sunday school answer: Jesus! Just wait, it gets even better!

-Gabriel then he goes on to break those years down, starting with 7 weeks. This gets us back to Lev. 25 on the sabbatical year and Jubilee (7 7s). Israel was supposed to practice the year of Jubilee every 50 years. Those who had sold property would have it reverted back to the original family, anyone that had sold themselves into slavery would be freed, it was a reset so that no one would be getting rich off the rest of the people and helped them place their ultimate trust and allegiance in God. It was a celebratory year! What’s fascinating is we have no account of Israel ever actually practicing a year of Jubilee. They became complacent and were too enticed by the world and riches instead of continually trusting in God’s provision for them. 

-The 7 7s would have started with a decree from Cyrus in 538 BC, meaning the completion should have been 489, but nothing happened then! So Gabriel begins by what would have been seen as a cycle to get to Jubilee, or a great reset. Therefore, this most likely refers to the time period between the edict and either the rebuilding of the temple or the wall (515 or 444, 23 or 94 years).

-Then Gabriel goes another 62 weeks, which would be referring the time period between the rebuilding of the temple/Jerusalem to the arrival of the Anointed One (Jesus) Math isn’t my strong suit, but my calculator said 434 years after this is getting close to Jesus’ arrival, but not exactly. There is 1 person who has added all these together (490 years) to argue that it gets to 33/34 AD, the exact day when Jesus died, but I would argue that for some imprecision in their dating because there’s MAJOR debate about which decree is referred to, and Gabriel intentionally breaks up these 70 weeks. 

-Plaza and moat: completely rebuilt, and difficult times facing various atrocities and even more persecution from the Romans.

-Finally, we get to the end. These are 2 verses referring to the same thing, first half about the sacrificial work of the Anointed One, the second half referring to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. A better translation of “have nothing” is “but not for himself,” meaning this “cut off” is for someone else.

-Then we see this strong covenant with many, but in the middle of this week (which would be how many days? 3.5) Jesus’ death means there’s no longer a need for sacrifices and offerings. So we’re still in the time period of these 70 weeks, because the second half of the week is the rest of the time before Jesus comes back a second time. 

-But what this refers to is the fact that we now look forward to living in the year of the ultimate Jubilee. If 7 7s (weeks) in Leviticus brought about Jubilee, then 70 7s would be the ultimate Jubilee! I read a quote that I thought summarized this well: 

-Jesus’ death on behalf of others provides the means for living in this new time of Jubilee. Sin is dealt with, Jesus has made a sacrifice once and for all, and now we get to live with the Holy Spirit in us, making us as new temple! Isn’t God’s story good? All that background to help us understand that when John talks about 42, he’s referring back to this promise from Daniel, reminding God’s people in the 1stcentury that God is still in control! 

-So to summarize: 42 = 3.5 years, or the time period in before we get to the ultimate Jubilee of God dwelling with His people forever. In between Christ’s first and second comings is an incomplete time because things aren’t as they will finally be forever. Half of perfection, meaning it’s not God’s final word on the subject. God will use however much time He needs to bring about His perfect plan.

-Another way of thinking about this connects to the exile idea I mentioned earlier. 7 would be the perfect and completed plan of God, but until that day we’ll be living in 3.5, not God’s final plan. God cares much more about our spiritual exile then our physical exile, so much so that he’s ok leaving us as exiles for thousands of years.

  • Measuring 2 Witnesses (3-4)

-This section will be a little easier, and take less time because I’ll pick it up again next week. The question is: who are these 2 witnesses? Why do they have authority, and what’s the significance of the days?

-I would argue this is referring to the church. Why? Look at the description of them in vs. 4. Olive trees and lampstands. What is that? Can anyone think of a passage in Revelation where we’ve seen lampstands before? First few chapters, ironically enough, does anyone remember how many churches had no critiques from the Lord? 2.

-This is picking up a prophesy from Zech. 4: Olive trees and lampstands. Later on, the olive trees are identified as 2 anointed ones, a king and a priest. By calling these 2 witnesses by this identification, John is saying the church will be a kingdom of priests – a theme throughout the Bible, but mentioned in reference to the church in Rev. 1:5-6 “To him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by his blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father.”

-But why 2? Throughout the Bible, the minimum required number of witnesses for it be true was 2. It’s a way of validating the truth of their message.

-The final reason I think this refers to the church is the overall structure of the book. One of the predominant ways Jewish authors wrote was through chiasms. A chiasm is named after the Greek letter chi (looks like an X), a way of emphasizing the middle point, then the outer parts connect/mirror each other. Here’s the chiasm for the entire book of Revelation, emphasizing Jesus being Lord, and responding to that reality in worship.

-So just as the church will face opposition from Satan in the next couple chapters, the church will face opposition from Satan in this section, do you see how they pick up similar themes? But the middle remains the same: worshipping God because we’re now a part of HIS kingdom, instead of the kingdom of Satan.

-So what do we do with this? How should we respond to this reality?

-Worship. Do you worship and praise God because He is in control and has a perfect plan for all human history? This is why, even when life is really hard, Paul can say “Rejoice always.” This is why Christians can be faithful to love and serve God when it looks foolish, when worldly rulers and powers are bearing down because this passage reminds us we live in the 3.5, not the 7. 

-And because we live in the 3.5, we are supposed to be prophesying, declaring God’s Word to believers and unbelievers. It’s God’s Word that saves people, and it’s God Word that sanctifies people (makes holy). 

-I’m currently taking a class on pastoral ministry during the Reformation “The Christian life is a pilgrimage with a banquet spread in the wilderness for weary travelers.” Friends, if you are a part of God’s family, we have all the riches we need to grow more into what God has created us to be, and that allows us to prophesy faithfully to each other and the world.

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by mikethestrand on May 19, 2024  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Church, History, Life, Sermon, Theology
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 19, 2024

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2024/05/19/revelation-111-4-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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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/

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/

Mark 15:21-47 – Sermon Manuscript

-The whole story Mark has been telling has been building to this passage. 

-Just like any good story, we’ve had the good guys, the bad guys, the conflict, there will be resolution. What’s crazy is this story just happens to be true!

-C.S. Lewis “I have been reading poems, romances, vision-literature, legends, myths all my life. I know what they are like. I know that not one of them is like this. Of this text there are only two possible views. Either this is reportage—though it may no doubt contain errors—pretty close up to the facts. Or else, some unknown writer in the second century, without known predecessors or successors, suddenly anticipated the whole technique of modern, novelistic, realistic narrative. If it is untrue, it must be narrative of that kind. The reader who doesn’t see this has simply not learned to read…”

-There are only 2 responses to this event: defiance or discipleship.

READ/PRAY (pg. 497)

  1. Derision Against Jesus (21-32)

-The mockery of Jesus continues. Criminals were expected to carry their cross to their crucifixion site, another form of torture and derision.

-Why was Simon forced to carry the cross? Remember what Jesus had just endured: brutal beating that had killed men before.

-Coming to Jerusalem for the Passover. Not many people are listed by name in Mark’s Gospel, most likely Alexander and Rufus were known to the 1st Cent. Church. Rom. 16:13 lists Rufus among the members of the church in Rome. (another reason to think Mark wrote this to Roman Christians)

-The names in this Gospel are not accidental or incidental. They give historic accuracy to this story and they share the people who were involved.

-Simon serves as the first disciple. Remember what Jesus said back in Mark 8.

-We don’t often think about discipleship being a death. Death to self, death to sin, death to the world, death to our old way of living. We tend to view it as adding something on, but Jesus won’t let us add him to anything. Either we get Jesus alone, or we don’t get Him at all.

–Podcast on spiritual disciplines/practices as a way of finding yourself. How’s living by worldly standards working out for you? Anxiety on the rise, deaths of despair on the rise. Life expectancy had been rising for a hundred years, started declining the past few. Jesus tells us the only way to find your life (answer all the deepest longings of your heart) you need to lose your life. Let go of trying to control everything, let go of trying to work harder, work hard at trying to achieve your salvation: you can’t. There’s nothing you can add or take away from your salvation.

-Reflecting the past month on the reality that God loves me. We all say we know that, but I don’t think we actually live like that. Every night of the week I sing with my kids “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so,” but that truth hasn’t permeated through my thick skull or into my heart. I view myself as far too independent. Sure, Jesus needed to die to save me, but once I’m saved it’s up to me! What a joke! Unless the I’m “keeping in step with the Spirit” everything I’m doing is useless. 

-Finally, notice vs. 38. What have we seen of Jesus’ followers so far in the midst of Jesus’ trial? Where are they? They all ran away! Mark ran away naked! Peter followed at a distance, but then got scared by a little girl and he became a crybaby. Do you think Jesus was talking about the 12 here? 

-Brought him outside the city (Golgotha)

-Crucifixion served as a public spectacle. Right along the main road into Jerusalem (think of it taking place by the interstate). Again, the details Mark gives are to demonstrate the historical reality of these events. Lists the exact place where the Son of God was taken to die.

-Offered a sweet wine to dull the senses, potentially make the situation easier, and elongate the act.

-Accounts of people drinking enough to get a good buzz so the pain is more tolerable, similar to us using Tylenol when we get a headache, but He’s going to face something much more painful!

-4 words that speak volumes: “and they crucified him.”

-Isn’t it amazing that this act only gets 4 words. In typical Markan brevity, he just throws it out there and continues on. This doesn’t mean this event is unimportant, but there’s much more to it than just the crucifixion.

-After Jesus was hung on His cross, the soldiers split the spoils among themselves (just as after a war) Once again, this was a typical event for the Romans.

-Took place at the third hour (9 AM)

-Charges filed were meant to be a deterrent to those who witnessed it. Remember, this was a public event. People were supposed to see the punishment doled out to those who opposed Rome.

-Jesus wasn’t alone in receiving this capital punishment, this crucifixion was likely already scheduled. Not a stretch to think these 2 men were affiliated with Barabbas, who we learned about last week. 

-Intentional wording here “one on his right and one on his left.” Back in Mark 10:37 James and John had asked Jesus to join with Him in glory sitting in those exact places. Do you think they had flashbacks after they heard what had happened?

-Often we’re in a similar position to them, we want the part after the suffering, but we’re unwilling to walk through the suffering. The J-curve – only get exaltation with humiliation. 

-As if this wasn’t humiliating enough, because it was the main road during one of the busiest times of the year, people were walking by and getting their shots in.

-People are asking for the evidence in the wrong order, and they don’t know what they’re asking. The reason Jesus is on that cross is because sin MUST be dealt with. The only way any of those people can be saved is by Jesus staying on the cross, if he doesn’t stay there there’s nothing to believe in.

-And the chief priests join in! They think they’ve finally dealt with their Jesus problem.

-Do you think any of them were in Mark 12:1-11 the parable of the tenants?

  • Declaration of Jesus (33-39)

-3 hours after He was hung on the cross (noon), a change happens in the weather as darkness descends. At 3 PM Jesus, who was silent throughout His trial suddenly cries out in agony.

-Quotes from Psalm 22, but just the first verse. We studied this Psalm this past summer! One of the most quoted Psalms in the NT. 

-Listen to some of the language from this. SLIDE 

-Do you think David may have speaking far better than he knew 1400 years before the crucifixion took place? Before crucifixion had been thought up as capital punishment by the Romans.

-Remember from last week the “divine passive.” What appears like passivity to us is God’s eternal plan being fulfilled.

-People start to question what’s happening. Many people believed Elijah would come back as a marker of the end of the world. If injustice was being done, people would cry out to Elijah to save them. The people interpret Jesus’ cry as one of these.

-Why did Jesus take the sour wine, but not the wine offered before?

-A final act of humiliation. The rod that was used to beat Him earlier was now used to quench His tongue.

-Loud cry we know from other gospels was the phrase “It is finished.”

-What is the significance of the curtain being torn “from top to bottom.”?

-Bookends to signify the end of the story, we’ve seen heaven “torn in two” once before: after Jesus’ baptism. The temple was meant to serve as a picture of heaven. Where the first time the tearing open was meant to validate Jesus, this time it’s meant to validate everyone else.

-Theme of Mark has been discipleship. The only way we can be disciples (following after Jesus) is by heaven being torn in two so we can access the perfect Father. Instead of needing to go to a place to spend time with God, we can now spend time with God anywhere in the world! We don’t need a sacrificial system, we don’t need a mediator, we don’t need curtain separating us from God’s manifest presence, He’s always with us.

-We have a marked shift of the response to Jesus from those who speak before Jesus’ death and those who speak after His death. The first person in this Gospel to finally understand who Jesus is, is a Gentile, Roman centurion. 

-This is finally good news! If even a Roman (and not just a Roman, a Roman soldier) can become a disciple, there’s hope for everyone! But it begins by recognizing that Jesus is the Son of God. That’s the first step that brings you in to a brand-new world, a brand-new way of living. It replaces all your focuses, changes all your perspectives, and brings you into a new family, marked not by worldly assumptions, but by spiritual/eternal perspectives. 

-Jesus had been trying to help His followers understand all these realities, but they kept missing it, and now they were too scared to be seen in public with Him (remember, everyone abandoned Him). But that doesn’t stop Him from continuing to save people, even one of his executioners. 

  • Depositing Jesus’ Body (40-47)

-Not all of His followers had abandoned Jesus, but this is a weird situation, especially for the 1st cent. 

-Women’s testimonies were viewed as unreliable, wouldn’t stand in a court of law. But they weren’t as scared as the men (potentially because they were women!) 

-Once again, specific names listed. People who could give eyewitness testimony to everything that happened.

-Finally, a man isn’t too scared to be identified with Jesus! Joseph of Arimathea: part of the council (Sanhedrin, ruling Jews) steps forward to help take care of the body.

-Interesting description “looking for the kingdom of God.” I think that’s a good description of what many people want, but they keep looking in the wrong places (Micah’s class) 

-I would argue that everyone you interact with is looking for the kingdom of God. I love the way Augustine said it in the 4th cent: “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God.” No one will ever be completely satisfied until they find the kingdom of God, but the only way to find that (true life) is to lose it. That’s the irony of the gospel message: the kingdom of God is accessible to everyone, but only by becoming a disciple.

-Joseph is also a “respected” member. Jesus’ message wasn’t just for the poor/marginalized, even people who were a part of Herod’s house followed Jesus!

-Sabbath was meant to be a day of rest, body couldn’t be dealt with, Joseph asked Pilate for the body. Pilate was surprised (crucifixion could take days, and death sometimes only came after becoming food for wild animals) 

-Joseph is granted his request, so he prepares the body for a quick burial with a linen cloth.

-Tombs were often more communal in the 1st cent. Room for lots of bodies. Other Gospels tell us this one hadn’t yet been used. Just as today you can buy a burial plot before you die, most likely Joseph had a tomb created for him and his family to be buried together. Looking something like THIS.

-Stone used to prevent grave robbers or wild animals

-Who was there watching where Jesus’ body was laid? Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses, that’s important for next week, so keep that in mind!

-What do we do with this embarrassment of a story? There’s a reason everyone abandoned Him – who wants to be seen losing? Jesus’ supposed insurrection was seen as a failure, little does everyone know this is just the beginning of the story.

-JRR Tolkien – Eucatastrophe: a good catastrophe. Sounds wrong, doesn’t it? How can there be a good catastrophe? That’s the way God designed the world to work. What seems wrong and broken is the only way to bring about redemption.

-This is a 2 part story, and most of us know how it ends (spoiler alert, Jesus doesn’t stay dead)

-But that’s next week (as a new song says “Friday’s Good because Sunday’s coming!) This week I want you to contemplate whether or not you’re willing to follow Jesus to death. We saw this passage earlier, but Luke and Matthew add a word to Jesus’ first command: daily.

-The only way to truly follow after Jesus is through death. But where Jesus’ death was a 1 time event, our call is a daily death. We need to wake up every single day and choose to die to our fleshly, sinful tendencies, and decide to walk in light of the empty tomb. And here’s where the “eu” (good) part comes in: we’ll suddenly find ourselves completely content! Jesus’ commands are true and life giving, the only way to truly find your life is to lose it! But by losing it you gain everything.

-Jesus says if you’re tired of trying, tired of searching, or if you’re just tired, come to Him and He will give you rest.

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by mikethestrand on November 19, 2023  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, History, Life, Sermon

Posted by mikethestrand on November 19, 2023

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2023/11/19/mark-1521-47-sermon-manuscript/

Glorifying God – Sermon Manuscript

PLEASE NOTE: these are the notes I use to preach from, if you would like to hear them in context, please watch our YouTube video.

-Johann Sabastian Bach (1685-1750) German composer 

-2 Chronicles 5:11-14, “At a reverent performance of music, God is always at hand with his gracious presence.” “The final aim and reason of all music is nothing other than (1) the glorification of God and (2) the refreshment of the spirit.” Because of that, much of his music was signed S.D.G. 

-A few years ago we celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. On Oct. 31, 1517, Luther posted his 95 thesis on the door of the Wittenburg chapel, changing the landscape of the entire Western world, and even the way we talk about God’s glory. When Luther was born there were 2 classes – sacred & secular. 

“The works of monks and priests, however holy and arduous they may be, do not differ one whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic laborer in the field or the woman going about her household tasks, but all works are measured before God by faith alone.”

Allegedly Luther stated, “The maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays—not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps but because God loves clean floors. The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.” 

-Where I would disagree with that is not that God loves good floors or good craftsmanship, but He loves things done to the best of our ability as an act of worship, glorifying Him.

-The reformers, and we today, believe what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 

-Westminster Shorter Catechism, written in 1647: What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy him forever.

-So what do we mean when we talk about the glory of God? 

-Like fitting the ocean into a kiddie pool. God’s glory is inexhaustible. That’s why he’s God and we are not! If I were to preach every Sunday for the rest of my life on the glory of God, we would only just begin to scratch the surface.

-Similar to Luther, John Calvin sought to expound only “what I esteemed to be for the glory of God,” or he lived his life “Soli Deo Gloria,” and in his Institutes, he wrote, “wherever you cast your eyes, there is no spot in the universe wherein you cannot discern at least some sparks of his glory.”

-This is Calvin’s way of saying what David wrote in Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare…” what?? The GLORY of God.

-Going back even further – the early church used God’s glory as a mark of orthodoxy creating the Gloria Patri (been reading it with a new devotional recently) – “Glory to the Father, glory be to God the Son, glory be to God the Spirit. As it was in the beginning, now and evermore shall be.”

-Look at 3 passages, with a 4th just mentioned quickly! 

READ/PRAY

  1. Strip Away Idols (Exodus 33) pg. 42

-2 book of the Bible, sin had brought all sorts of problems, God’s chosen people had been enslaved to the Egyptians until God delivered them, saving from all of Pharaoh’s armies, leading them into the desert. God manifests himself in a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by night, and the people follow. They finally reached Mt. Sinai, where God meets with Moses to give him the rules for being God’s covenant people, including the 10 commandments. As Moses was meeting with God, the people got bored, and Aaron built them a golden calf. Because God is God, he knows everything and tells Moses what his people are doing. God tells Moses to get out of the way so he can kill the entire nation and start a new nation from Moses’ lineage, and Moses intercedes for the people. That leads us to Exodus 33.

1-6

God begins by commanding his people to leave Mt. Sinai. God had promised to bring them to the Promised Land, but he would not longer be with them, and why would he no longer be with them? So he would not kill them all because of their sin. This is the God we worship, and call glorious – God kills because of sin. 

-But notice that everything He promised would still come to pass. Vs. 2. 

-How often do you see or hear of people who would be completely content with that arrangement? You get all the “stuff” but you don’t get God. 

-I think at times, our evangelism can even be geared this way, can’t it? Accept Jesus into your heart so you can go to heaven! That’s part of it, but isn’t it more/bigger than that? Almost as if we’ve forgotten about the person who created the heavens and the earth. This temptation is true of every generation, they want the benefits, they don’t want the giver of the benefits. 

-Just funny to note: stiff-necked. Think about what that means. They won’t look beyond themselves and their own ideas. 

-Moses then talks about ornaments. Have you ever noticed this and wondered what it has to do with them being sinners? 

-Egyptian culture, these ornaments, bracelets, amulets served as protection, like a good luck charm (rabbits foot, dream catcher) The Israelites are literally casting off their idols of supernatural protection. 

-You can often tell your idols by that which you most closely try to protect, and we may not realize it’s an idol until it gets pushed. Another way of saying that is: what angers you? I had a moment at a previous church where I finally got a week off, which meant I was in the booth running slides! We had a pre-recorded sermon, so I started it and ran out to visit the loo. On my way out I was accosted by someone who demanded to know why I wasn’t preaching. I was the music guy, not the preacher. After I explained why, I was told, and while I have you, no one likes your music! 

-Music in the church has a tendency to become an idol, which is so ironic to me! Anyone remember surviving the bloody battles of the “worship wars”? Don’t worry, they still crop up from time to time! 

-The reality is we are all glory-thieves. Our first parents wanted to “be like God.” Have a piece of his glory, but sin turned that wiring for giving glory to God inward.

-Think of some of the ways the Bible talks about where we should give glory:

-Psalm 115:1 – “not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory.”

-Isaiah 42:8 – “I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.”

-The best picture of idolatry in all the Bible:

-Isaiah 44:9-20 – carpenter chops down a tree, half is used for fire, half as a god.

-We don’t see people bowing down to a block of wood today, but what are some idols you see being worshipping today?

-Technology addiction – Time magazine, teenagers are becoming addicted to their cell phones, leading to depression.

-Social networking – FOMO, fear of missing out.

-Money? 401K your god? Maybe the security of being financial stable? 

Money isn’t evil James 4:10 “the love of money is A root of all kinds of evil.”

In fact, none of these things are completely bad! A smart phone allows my parents to see their first grandkid on a regular basis. Social networking lets me keep up with friends across the globe. The problem is when they become gods.

-What about family? Families are a gift from the Lord, but elevating them to the place of God is wrong. I think this is one that is acutely true of the church.

-Maybe image is your God? Proverbs reminds us that beauty is fleeting

–Health? 1 Tim. 4:8 “while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

–Job? What if you’re fired? Or have everything move to work from home and no one can see your accomplishments?

-What about our acts of worship? Amos 5:21-24 “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

-Old vs. New. High church vs. low church. Singing vs. not singing. The problem is looking to my own interests instead of others. Philippians 2

-The most difficult god for us to put to death is ourselves. We want the glory, we are all glory thieves. 

-We so often look to things outside of us as idols, but what about the idol of yourself? We see this when we drive, everyone who drives slower than you is an idiot, everyone that drives faster than you is a maniac. Each one of us is born into sin “by nature and by choice.” Josh Duggar. Trevin Wax: “sin is not primarily something we need to be sheltered from, but delivered from.”

-The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness, “the essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less.”

-The biggest problem since sin entered the world is us. 

All these things are gifts from God! The fact that you’re alive is a gift from God! But what things do you need to cast aside in order to better give God glory? 

7-11

-This section serves as background to the current situation. Think of it like a flashback in a movie. Moses would speak to the Lord regularly. 

Exodus 16:10, “the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud.” 

Moses and God’s unique relationship – only person called a friend of God 

“The Lord would speak with Moses”  (9)

-The glory of the Lord came down. Did you know that you can have the same privilege as Moses? Meeting with God.

12-23

-Cut back to Moses’ conversation with the Lord. 

-With Moses’ relationship with God in the background, we see why Moses is able to ask the Lord these specific questions 

-Moses tells the Lord that his presence is the only thing that makes them unique among all the people’s of the earth. Notice also how Moses is reminding God that they are HIS people, God’s, not Moses’. (vs. 13 contrast vs. 1)

-(18) Moses then asks God a huge request, he figures he’s 2 for 2, might as well go for broke – to see God’s glory. The perfect presence of God – related to his holiness. 

-Hadn’t he seen God’s glory in the cloud and the fire? Moses had seen manifestations of God’s glory, but not the whole thing. 

-People could tell when Moses was with the Lord, Ex. 34:29-35. His face was so bright he had to put a veil over his face! 

-We no longer need to look to other mediators, in order to see all of God’s glory, we need to look to Christ. 

Messianic prophecy – God’s glory would come down in Jesus Christ. 

John 1:14 – “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 17 (527)

What did Jesus do while he was on earth? He gave glory to the Father.

Jesus shared God’s glory “before the world existed.” We saw this in Genesis 1. 

What is that glory? Eternal life. To see God’s glory is to be given eternal life. 

God’s ultimate plan for his glory is our salvation.

-But salvation, as I mentioned earlier, doesn’t necessarily demand earthly benefits.

  • Suffering Leads to Glory (Romans 8) pg. 550

-Paul has been addressing the law and sin, and reminds us in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The same God that was ready to kill his people with Moses has born the penalty for our sins on his own Son.

-But our way to glory may not take the route we most often see. 16 “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” Our path to glorification may be/WILL be through suffering in this life. 

18

You know how people always say, “it’ll be worth it in the end.” I’ve seen my beautiful bride Cara give birth 3 times. Each time it is an amazing process, and I’m both glad and relieved that I will never have to go through what she did! But the end result was worth it!

-Church, we will face suffering of some sort, be it cancer, wayward children, financial difficulty, SOMETHING will happen to you. But no matter what happens, the other side of that is glory. And the glory on the other side makes everything else pale in comparison.

-We’re working on delayed gratification with our kids. Maybe you’ve heard of the experiment of the kids who were placed in front of a marshmallow, and told if they waited they’d get 2 marshmallows. It’s a marshmallow, not that tempting anyway. But God promises life WITH HIM, far eclipses any of the difficulties we’ll experience here. 

-And it’s not just us! All creation is waiting for this glory to be seen. Right now it’s like we’re looking through the veil that Moses wore, but someday everything will see God as He really is! And we’ll see each other as God originally created us to be.

-I read recently someone was asked if they’d know each other in heaven, and the reply was that will be the first time we’ll actually know each other! Without veil

-It’s with all this background and understanding (that glory comes through suffering) that this chapter includes one of the most misunderstood and misapplied verses in all the Bible:

28 “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” 

-Not for our glory or our aim, but to give glory to God.

-What about now? We’ve seen what it looks like in the OT, how it looks in Christ, and in moments of suffering, but what about daily life?

  • Let Your Glory Shine (2 Corinthians 3) pg. 562

-Paul has been saying that in this new covenant we can have hope. 

-This hope leads us to boldness. Not presumptive, trusting.

-He has the audacity to say what we have today is better than Moses! That is quite the claim! 

-The veil served 2 purposes: prevent fear for the Israelites, but also prevented them from being made more glorious (glow in the dark toys). Needed to be hid from the glory to not be consumed. 

-The veil remains unlifted for anyone who does not believe in God, and the message of His one and only Son Jesus Christ. When God’s Word is read, how do you respond? Because if you respond in faith, there’s no longer any separation. God’s glory doesn’t need to be hidden at all, we all are now called God’s friends, we all are now able to talk to God face to face.

-One note on freedom: the freedom we have in Christ now isn’t ability to live however we want. Where once we were only able to live in sin, now with Christ in us we can finally have the freedom to say no to sin. (Heb. 11:16)

-Finally, the main point (18) 

-For those in Christ, unveiled has 2 implications. We don’t need a veil (we can approach God without a barrier) and our faces should be shining! (can others tell you’re a Christian?) Family from the walk with Cara in Frederick.

-We are being transformed, slowly becoming more and more like God, this is where the image of God is so important!

-And remember, this isn’t grimace and do it in our own strength, all from the Lord.

-The Westminster Shorter Catechism said the chief end of every human is glorifying God and enjoying Him forever. Since the church is comprised of people, that must be our chief end as well! Just as it has been historically, so it will be in the future: we must seek to glorify God in everything we do and say. 

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by mikethestrand on May 8, 2022  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, History, Music, Sermon, Worship

Posted by mikethestrand on May 8, 2022

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2022/05/08/glorifying-god-sermon-manuscript/

He Is Risen Indeed! – Luke 24 Sermon Manuscript

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Have you ever wondered why we say that every Easter? Was it just something someone came up with to be clever? We find it in the Gospel of Luke! We’re going to be studying Luke 24 together this morning, open your Bibles. 

-We’re going to see as we walk through this text that the early disciples demonstrated every possible normal human response to the miracle of the resurrection. All the “new” ideas about what happened to Jesus aren’t so novel when you find out people in the 1st Century (even those who believed Him!) thought the same things!

READ/PRAY (words of our mouths and meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord our rock and our redeemer)

  1. The Women Are Reminded (1-12)

-Good Friday we ended with the Sabbath note, today picks up where we left off. Since Sabbath is Saturday, what do you think “the first day” is? Good start! Sunday. 

-First example of the validity of the resurrection. Throughout all of Jewish history, their week was centered around Sabbath, Saturday. Why do you think suddenly this group of Jews started centering their week around Sunday? Something significant must have happened on a Sunday to change the way the early disciples oriented their lives.

-Who’s this “they” look back at 23:55 “the women” before Sabbath they had done the prep work, today was the delivery.

-Common practice in the 1st Century, preparing a body for burial, which they didn’t have time to do.

-Something is wrong as they approach the tomb: front stone is rolled away, and there was no body in the tomb. Did they go to the wrong place? Look again at 23:55: “saw the tomb and how his body was laid.”

-They were perplexed. Seems like an understatement to me. If you saw a dear friend of yours beaten to a pulp, then hung on a cross by an expert executioner, had no breath or pulse, when he was taken down so you put him in a tomb, what would you expect to happen? Let me ask another way: what would you expect someone who’s dead to do? Stay dead! None of the disciples were expecting this! Think of all the spices they wasted!

-Suddenly, 2 men appear in “dazzling” clothes. 

-I think we have too many “touched by an angel” shows today, every time angels appear in the Bible people are terrified! 

-They ask one of my favorite questions in all of Scripture: why do you seek the living among the dead? Once again, seems like a weird statement! The women had just seen Jesus die. So they didn’t know they were looking for a living person, they thought they were looking in the right spot. 

-Where would you go to look for living people? Walk through the neighborhood, always people at MOA, airport, Target, LOTS of options. 

-Where would you look for a dead person? Hospital, funeral home, graveyard. Much more limited options. Based on all the information given to them, the women think they’re in the right place.

-The angels then go on to tell the women to remember what Jesus said. 

-Hindsight is 20/20, as you read through the Gospel accounts, Jesus repeatedly told his followers that he would die, but they didn’t connect the dots until later. Honestly, it would sound completely ridiculous as Jesus’ fame was growing, people were being healed, He was providing for so many people, why would he die a martyrs death? John 12:16 tells us: “His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.” They were living it, and they still had trouble remembering it!

-Jesus wasn’t the only person who claimed to be the Messiah in Israel’s history, there were even other so called Messiah’s who were killed by the Romans in the first century! Jesus’ disciples thought there was something different about Him, but apparently his death had proven their hopes wrong. Or had it? 

-Look at vs. 8. “They remembered his words.”

-If you’ve been paying attention during our 2 Peter series, you’ve heard that word repeated regularly. God knows us all, He knows just how forgetful we humans are! I joked about it during one sermon that you forget things by walking through a door (called the doorway effect, real thing!), and then Micah had to tell me to do that twice this past week!

-The angels’ reminder jogs the women’s memory, so suddenly it all comes back to them! In their excitement they go back to the rest of the disciples and report what happened. But no one else believes them!

-Look at vs. 11

-‘An idle tale’ could see this as “an old wives tale” equivalent to: if you read in the dark you’ll damage your eyes. This is one of the reasons we can believe these accounts, they contain natural human responses to what happened. If one of your friends was publicly killed, and then someone came and told you they had 2 angels appear at his grave and tell you he’s alive, how would you respond? Accuse them of making things up, and not believe it. Just like the text says!

-But something changed in the disciples, because Peter, when he wrote 2 Peter 1:16 said “We did not follow cleverly devised myths.” Luke recounts that Peter ran to the tomb to see it, and saw exactly what the women said.

  • The Two Foolish Ones (13-32)

-The next account Luke records for us is of 2 other disciples who were leaving Jerusalem.

-Yet again, we see the validity of this account because this is another normal, human response to what had happened. They saw Jesus killed, they waited for Sabbath, then they decided they needed to go back to what they were doing before they followed Jesus. And as they go on their journey, they (again, normal human response) are talking about what happened.

-But then some other dude catches up to them and joins them on their walk. The person they were just talking about appeared (like the women were NOT expecting it) so they didn’t recognize him.

-Maybe you’ve had one of those experiences, like running into a pastor at the grocery store (I thought he lived at church?), or you run into one of your work friends at a church friend’s house and you don’t even recognize them, since your brain can’t make those 2 connections. I can’t be the only one who’s had that experience! However, in this case there’s something more going on, as the text says their “eyes were kept”

-Jesus proceeds to ask them what they’re talking about on their walk

-Yet again, another human response, they’re sad! The person they had banked their lives on, that they had become convinced was the Messiah was gone. But it’s not enough for them just to remain sad, the one disciple who’s named in this encounter sarcastically responds to him saying “Where have you been?” It’s like that old Geico commercial: “could Geico REALLY save you 15% on car insurance? What, have you been living under a rock!?” How would you feel being recorded in Scripture as the guy who was trying to make Jesus feel bad for not keeping up with the headlines? Think maybe Jesus said “I’ve been busy”

-Thankfully, (For Cleopas) Jesus plays along with them, and asks for an explanation. Cleopas answers with an explanation of everything that happened on the fateful weekend, and then lands on their response:

-Look at vs. 21 with me. “We had hoped”

-Past tense. Just as other so-called Messiahs had risen up and died, leading to the dissolution of their followers, so it looked like this Jesus was going to follow the same path. We had a good run!

-This is day 3! Didn’t have the same medical technology as us, so sometimes people would be very sick, but not dead, so day 3 made the person officially dead. Then he tells the account we just read about the women, and that Peter went to look, but they still couldn’t find Jesus, not even his body.

-This time, Jesus doesn’t hold back. “O foolish ones” This is not MN nice!

-There is no underselling or tiptoeing around these issues this time. As I was thinking about how direct Jesus was here, I thought about a friend whose way of telling me I need to lose weight is every time I see him he asks “Have you been working out?” This past week, my son was cuddling with me in bed in the morning, and his approach was to poke my stomach and say “Daddy, your tummy looks full!” Thanks bud. Calvin took the Jesus approach!

-But he goes on, not just foolish, but also “slow of heart to believe” Despite repeating Himself while He was still with them, they still forgot. And I think we often do the same thing! No matter how many times throughout the Bible God promises to be with us, to sustain us, to provide for us, we still struggle to believe Him, don’t we? Despite thousands of ways He’s provided in the past, we still forget.

-Jesus knew exactly what He came to earth to do, he uses the word “necessary” in vs. 26. God’s plans are perfect, and they’re guaranteed to come to pass!

-Jesus moves to take them on probably the most enlightening Bible study that has ever taken place. Starting with Moses (the beginning, the first 5 books), all the prophets (there’s a lot of them!) “in all the Scriptures” just throw the rest of it in there too. Must have been quite the long walk! According to a study I found, it would take the average reader 56 hours 44 minutes to read the entire OT. If you look back to vs. 13 you can see they were only traveling 7 miles, so no more than 2 hrs 20 min. Doesn’t quite add up. Slightly hyperbolic statement! Instead, He went back and pointed out the ways the Bible was pointing to Him. This is meant to change the entire way we approach the Bible! I’ve said this before, we must read the Bible Christocentrically, everything centered on Christ!

-Finally, after the greatest Bible study with the greatest Bible teacher, they arrive at Emmaus, and Jesus goes for the sneak attack: pretends he’s going to keep going, but since it’s approaching night time, they beg Him to stay with them. During their evening meal, suddenly their “eyes were opened” again, this is God’s doing, didn’t just happen, but they finally realize who they just journeyed with, and as soon as they realize it, he’s gone.

-This story of the disciples is little picture of what it means to become a Christian: initially, Jesus appears as a stranger, and then over time reveals Himself to us so that we can then look back and say “didn’t our hearts burn within us as we started learning more about who He is?”

  • Jesus Trains and Sends (33-49)

-Just as the women had to run back to the rest of the disciples to share the good news, now it’s Cleopas and the other unnamed disciple’s turn.

-Once again, hindsight is 20/20, since these disciples are now able to piece together what just happened. And despite the day being “far spent” (29) they immediately run back to Jerusalem to tell everyone else what happened.

-Then we see why we say “He is risen indeed!” every Easter. As Jesus slowly starts appearing to the disciples, there become more and more eyewitnesses to the reality of the resurrection.

-Now we’ve got 2 different groups of people who claim to have seen the risen Jesus, so they have a very normal, human response: they start talking about it! But as they’re talking (I would imagine having a very heated debate) Jesus appears with them. It doesn’t say how, just that suddenly He’s there. And look at the first word He says: peace.

-We saw something very similar at the beginning of 2 Peter: grace and peace. If you weren’t here, we have a slightly too small definition of peace when we use it today. We tend to refer to it exclusively as the absence of conflict, but when the Bible talks about peace it includes the absence of conflict, but it goes beyond that to mean everything is as it should be. Relationally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. Everything is correctly ordered exactly how God intended it to be. Paradise. 

-No coincidence that this is the first thing Jesus says to His disciples. Because of the sacrifice Jesus made (grace) there is now the possibility of peace. True, lasting peace.

-Yet again, another normal human response: they think Jesus is a ghost! Wouldn’t that make more sense than someone rising from the dead?

-And Jesus goes right there with him, but calls out their unbelief. Thus far, we’ve got a few women who have been reminded what Jesus said, Cleopas and an unnamed disciple who went on a walk with Jesus, but the rest of the group still has serious doubts. Jesus encourages them to use their senses to discern whether or not it’s really Him. He begins with what they can see. The number of people who would now be eyewitnesses is expanding dramatically. But it’s not just enough to see, they’re invited to touch Him. This isn’t an illusion, this isn’t a spirit, you can touch Him, He has a body.

-Then Luke gives us another reasonable doubt: “still disbelieved for joy.” Despite seeing and touching Him they didn’t believe it was Him since they were overly joyful. Have you ever had a dearly loved pet die on you? You spend the first couple weeks being reminded all the time, seeing the remnants of your old buddy, but each time that hope is dashed. The disciples don’t want that disappointment, so despite Jesus being there they don’t want to believe. This story is showing us such typical responses to this whole story.

-The final cherry on top is that Jesus is hungry. Do ghosts need food? CAN ghosts eat food? (Scooby Doo episode watching the food in the stomach) What else could Jesus do to prove that it’s really Him? The disciples are incredulous, untrusting even their eyes! 

-If you’ve ever been to Disneyworld you’ve probably seen people with the same experience. We got some free tickets last Fall and took our older 2 kids, the first half of the day was AWESOME, then they got tired and hot. We walked in the front gates as a parade was starting, Tinkerbelle was carried by on a float waving at everyone, I pointed her out to Calvin and his first question was: “Is she real or betend?” That’s a loaded question at Disney! But that’s the exact experience as the disciples – is this real or betend? 

-Just as the women needed to be reminded, Jesus needed to remind the rest of the disciples what he had been trying to prepare them for. Just like a parent repeatedly reminding your kids to be obedient, you can say it until you’re blue in the face, and they will look you in the eyes and be disobedient.

-Then, just as he explained the Bible to the 2 disciples on the road, he explains how they should interpret the Bible, and the mission it points them to in vs. 47. “Repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to allnations.”

-This is why Jesus came: to offer a way to have sins forgiven. But then once you have repented of your sins and put your trust in Jesus, you’re given a global job. 

-Look at vs. 48. We’re meant to be witnesses of the realities of the resurrection. Similarly to this story, one of the things we saw in 2 Peter 1 was the need to be both eye and ear witnesses. These early disciples were eyewitnesses before they became earwitnesses (hearing and believing the truth). Today, we’re primarily earwitnesses and longing for the day when our faith will become evident in what we see around us. Jesus even says those who believe without seeing will be blessed in a different way than those who believed because they saw Him (John 20:29).

-As we walked through this text, I tried to point out the places where we see very normal human responses to the story of the resurrection. Why would we believe that someone rose from the grave? It runs contradictory to everything we’ve been taught to think and operate. I think we need to remember Luke’s point in writing this letter was to create an orderly account of what happened with Jesus.

-When we read this today, it’s really easy for us to read this and forget that the early disciples weren’t expecting this. We’ve read the story so many times and can easily neglect the human, real aspect that these are true historical events. Not just a made-up story. So that leads to the question: what do you do with Jesus?

Bart Ehrman: “It is indisputable that some of the followers of Jesus came to think that he had been raised from the dead, and something had to have happened to make them think so” (How Jesus Became God, 182-83).

-If you haven’t read CS Lewis’ Mere Christianity, he postulates 3 options to respond to Jesus: liar, lunatic, Lord. 

-Liar: what kind of liar gets a following from so many people, and says things like “do onto others as you want them to do unto you” or “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”

-Lunatic: if you haven’t, go read some crazy people’s writings. David Koresh has his last letter published online! It’s nuts! And doesn’t sound remotely similar to Jesus. Additionally, the Gospels tell us His family initially accused Jesus of being crazy! But then ended up following Him and dying for Him.

-Just for fun, Bart Ehrman, who I read earlier, added that Jesus was merely a legend. Like a fish story. 

-We have more historically accurate accounts of Jesus written within decades of his life than any other person who lived during the 1st Century.

-The Gospels are proven time and time again to contain verifiable, historical data. In one verse, Luke 3:1, Luke gives us 15 different historical facts. Do you think this would be something that would be easy to fake?

-Lewis had a great quip on this idea too: “as a literary historian, I am perfectly convinced that whatever else the Gospels are they are not legends. I have read a great deal of legend and I am quite clear that they are not the same sort of thing. They are not artistic enough to be legends. From an imaginative point of view they are clumsy, they don’t work up to things properly.” (from the article“What Are We to Make of Christ?”)

-That leaves us with 1 possible, dare I say scientific, option: Jesus is who He said He was: the Christ, the Messiah, the Lord, whose arrival ushered in a new era of human history. Whose death at the hands of sinners and subsequent resurrection provide the only means of salvation because there is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved. As I was preparing this sermon this week I was once again overwhelmed with the mountain of evidence that points to the historical reliability of this Gospel account. So if you are a believer, remember that our faith isn’t some abstract concept and be encouraged to even more diligently commit to live in light of the resurrection each and every day. If you aren’t a believer, I want to ask you: why don’t you believe that Jesus is who He says He is? 

-You may have been told the way you give a talk is 3 things: tell people what you’re going to say, say what you’re going to say, then tell everyone what you just said. Jesus told everyone what he was going to do, He did it, then told everyone what He just did. Then He leaves the choice up to you: will you believe Him? Brothers and sisters, if He can rise from the dead there’s nothing that can stop Him!

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by mikethestrand on April 17, 2022  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, History, Life, Sermon, Theology, Worship

Posted by mikethestrand on April 17, 2022

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2022/04/17/he-is-risen-indeed-luke-24-sermon-manuscript/

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