1 Corinthians 15.12-34

Title: The Focus of a Healthy Church: Our Future

Text: 1 Corinthians 15

Introduction: Ps 119.18

I found this in my clippings of illustrations. I have no idea where it came from, so I can’t cite who wrote it here…

On Tuesday, August 27, 1996, 26 years ago, yesterday, Shawn Hagwood began a journey of learning that would turn his life around. Earlier that week, 19-year-old Shawn made a cross-country trip to visit a friend in Rochester, Minnesota, a quiet, conservative community known for the famous Mayo Clinic. One night, he and his friend accompanied a group of local guys to an apartment complex inhabited mostly by Somalian residents. They were headed there with bats to settle a score with some of the residents for beating up one of their friends the night before. When they arrived at the complex, a group of guys came out to meet them with golf clubs. Things got out of control and a young Somalian kid from the apartments was seriously injured when someone in Shawn’s group swung a baseball bat. By the time the police got there, everyone involved had disappeared and the episode was classified as a racial gang crime of white guys against the ethnic residents …

Shawn was definitely part of the fight that summer night, but he never held a bat and was not the person who injured the kid. Still, when the authorities came knocking, the local guys Shawn had hung out with that night used him as an easy scapegoat, since he was from out of town. When the police brought Shawn in for questioning a few days later, it would be his last day as a free man for the next eight years …

Even though Shawn was basically on the fringe of the crime, and the only one put on trial at this time (two were brought to trial three years later and given a much lighter sentence), the jury came back with the verdict: Guilty …

Shortly after entering prison life, Shawn got his first visitor—one of the men from the jury. He thought maybe the man was there to help him get a new trial, but soon discovered he was simply there to be a friend. Though he initially put up a tough exterior, Shawn was happy to have company.

Shawn remembers, “He introduced himself as Dave Stensland, a clinical psychologist. He had driven four hours just to see me and to find out how I was doing. When he stood up to leave, I felt disappointed, but Dave promised to come again soon.”

Dave began regular monthly visits. They talked about everything from Shawn’s life goals after prison, to Dave’s evident faith in God, to how Shawn could cope with the sometimes paralyzing stresses of prison life and his bitterness over the injustice of his sentence.

For seven years, Dave visited Shawn faithfully …

By far Dave’s most important influence on Shawn was his faith. “He showed me the peace of someone who is close to God, but in everything he did and said, he was gentle. Because he shared Christ’s love with me consistently through the years, I began to open up more to the Lord.”

As Shawn studied the Bible with Dave, his life began to change. Through Dave’s example and guidance, Shawn finally found peace and purpose. He prayed to receive Jesus Christ into his life.

Question: What makes a man, like Dave, do something like that? To travel 4 hours one way, to a prison, nonetheless, and spend valuable time with a prisoner?  Could it be his faith? Could it be he lived out what he believed?

Last week we opened up to 1 Corinthians 15 and we looked at the Gospel. Paul gave a simple outline of the Gospel presentation. At first glance, chapter 15 feels out of place. It seems to be a turn in direction and not in line with where Paul’s been heading over the last 14 chapters. But don’t you believe it? He’s still answering questions and keeping the overall context of the focus of a healthy church: relationships.

There must have been a question in their letter to Paul, asking about what will happen to those who’ve already died. It seems like they understood the rapture, but that came from a living viewpoint. What about those already dead, their bodies decayed – only the bones remained. Maybe some were beginning to doubt. What will it look like? How will it occur? What will happen to my loved one who has already died?

But really, that opening introduction simply gives us the context for the whole chapter. The context is about the Resurrection Hope you and I have as believers and the charge to stand firm in the faith in light of that hope.

Let me repeat that!

The Charge (Big Idea) in Chapter 15 is to “Stand” and “Hold Fast” and “Be Steadfast, immovable” (1f; 34; 58; ill.: Master and Commander of the Far Side of the Sea) just as the faithful who’ve gone before us had done. Be strong and stand firm in the face of strong opposition just as those who have gone before us have done.

The Reasoning behind this charge: is found in the Resurrection. Without it, there is no story here!

So here is a simplified outline of what Paul says in the 1^st half of 15: The Gospel finds its foundation in the resurrection:

1. The Gospel – Everything about your current life is built upon this foundation called The Gospel. He died, He was buried, He was raised (1-4).
   1. This one element, His Resurrection, is vital to the whole story. Indeed, without it, there is no Good News. It was established and validated by many witnesses (5-11).
   2. Furthermore, this one element is foundational in the hope of those who had died and have gone before them (12-29). Without the resurrection, there are huge gaps in their or our faith (we’ll look closer at that in a moment)(12-19). The hope of the Resurrection caused those believers to remain steadfast in their faith in light of apparent persecution and death. And as a result, their witness led others to faith in Christ (20-29).
   3. Furthermore, it is also what drives us, Paul says, to continue to preach this message in light of the real danger of future persecution and death (29-32).

Let’s look at this Theological Truth and weigh its importance for our faith.

1. Our Future Resurrection is founded upon one essential element of the Gospel Message: Christ is Risen (12)

exp.: Rd v 3-4; you received (1) that which I also received (3); Namely, that Christ died (and more specifically – for our sins), 2ndly, that he was buried, and 3rd, bringing out this essential element now, he was raised on the 3rd day!

app.: Paul is establishing a point here: without the resurrection, there is no gospel! It is an essential element of the Gospel message. But then, he takes it to another logical progression: rd v 12; Ah-ha! Here we find the information from their letter – some had said that there is no resurrection in the future for believers. By the way, this is a doctrine of the Sadducees that had made its way into Christianity. Paul clarifies here. Rd v13f;

Without the resurrection, there is so much wrong with Christianity: 1. Our faith is futile. 2. We’re still in our sins. 3. Those who have perished have no hope. 4. We as Christian are then, pitiful! Read through v19

But, that ain’t the way it is. Because Christ is raised. And, His resurrection is the first of many to come. Beginning with those who’ve gone before.

Check out this structure of his teaching in v 12-32:

1. The Foundational Element: Christ’s Resurrection; The Gospel is Established in the Fact of the Resurrection; without it, there is no hope. (12-17)
2. The Faithful’s Example: Their hope in their own future resurrection caused them to live faithfully for Christ – even to the point of death. That witness brought others to faith and faithfulness (18-20; 29). Added to this, is Paul’s personal example (30-34).

Let’s walk through these verses and see the way Paul presents them in what appears to be a Chiasm. Without the Resurrection of Christ, then

1. Our preaching is in Vain.

2. Your faith is futile.

3. We’ve been found to be misrepresenting God (our testimony is a lie).

4. You are still in your sins (hopeless and hell-bound).

5. And those who’ve died, they have perished and there is no hope for them (18)

6. We are to be pitied above all people. (19)

6. But Christ is raised (20)!

5. The “firstfruits” of those who are asleep and will one day be resurrected! (20)

4. Death came by Adam, But the hope of the resurrection comes through Christ who has removed the stain of sin.

3. We haven’t misrepresented God. He will be proven true when all things are subjected to him.

2. Your faith isn’t futile, because people believe and are baptized when they see the faith of those who’ve been martyred. (29)

1. Our preaching isn’t in vain. Indeed, we’re willing to face death to preach this message to the world (30-32).

Based on this, Paul issues a command: rd 33f; Wake up from your drunken stupor! Here is that call again, that charge to steadfastness and stability, to holding on to the faith, remaining unmovable, unshakable.

t.s.: As Jesus said to Martha in Jn 11.25: ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Conclusion: And I ask you, “Do you believe this?”

In the summer of 2003, after seven years of monthly visits to the prison, Dave’s wife Sandy called Shawn with the sudden and shocking news—Dave was dying of cancer.

The man who had mentored and loved Shawn like one of his own sons had only a short time left on this earth. Shawn recalls, “Although I didn’t want to live without Dave, I was so thankful that I had a chance to have him in my life for so long.”

A few weeks later, Shawn called Dave to see how he was doing. Sandy told him he was just in time to say goodbye. Dave was so weak that Sandy had to hold the phone up to his ear.

“He couldn’t respond much, but I knew he could hear me,” Shawn says. “It would be the last time I talked to him and it was a very hard conversation, but I was so glad that I was able to have it. I thanked him for everything that he had done and for being such a good friend to me. I told him, ‘I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for you.’ And then we said goodbye.”

A year later, Shawn was released from prison three years early for good behavior, and Sandy Stensland was there to give him a big sendoff. With tears of happiness, she hugged him tightly.

“Shawn, I know Dave would be so proud of you—and I’m proud of you, too,” she said. “Your life is going to be different now. Just remember that God has great things in store for you, and He’s giving you another chance.”

And who is Shawn Hagwood today? Besides being a happily employed software developer, he also uses his story to encourage others who are struggling with life, especially young people …

Because Dave Stensland took his faith seriously and he shared it with another person in need, a young man’s life was changed.

1 Corinthians 15.1-11

Title: The Gospel: An Old Rugged Cross and An Empty Tomb

Text: 1 Corinthians 15.1-11

CIT: Paul reminds the Corinthians of the great salvation they have in Christ and just how they got it!

CIS: to remind the church of the gospel story.

Introduction: Ps 119.18;

In the life of politics, we see some wins and we see some losses. I saw one report that 8 of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump are now out of office. Liz Cheney was the most recent casualty.

As Christians, I firmly believe that we should be involved with politics. But here’s the problem with putting our hope in politics: We can’t legislate morality into a people. Morality will only be the practice of Americans when God’s Word takes root in the hearts of people. The only hope we have is a sweeping Great Awakening in the US.

So where is the hope? Is our hope in clean, fair, transparent elections? Is our hope in who governs us? Is our hope for a conservative Supreme Court? What hope do we have to share with a lost and dying world? Is it in the field of politics?

No, our hope is found only in the transformation of the hearts of individuals. It is the power of the Gospel transforming lives. Transformed people will vote a moral agenda into place. Only then will life be valued. Only then will we see less government oversight in our lives. Only then will people begin to care for the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner in the land – and stop expecting the government to do everything for us.

Point blank: it is the power of the Gospel… at work in the lives of people.

Paul reminds us of this hope we have through the Power of the Gospel in 1 Cor 15.1-11:

• The Process by which these people were saved
• The Proclamation that brings this salvation to them
• The Proof of Christ’s resurrection through eyewitnesses
• The Product of a saved soul…

Transition: let’s look 1^st at…

I. The Process by which these people were saved (1-2)

exp.: rd v 1-2; They are reminded of how they came to Christ; Look at these very clear steps:

1. The Word of God is Preached; Ladies & Gentlemen, we must communicate the Gospel with Words! The days of just being good have failed! We must now speak, too. I’ll never forget Jonathan Falwell, pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va. Saying: You can’t live good enough to save yourself, what makes you think you can live good enough to save others? Actions only validate words; actions can’t replace words. Romans 10.14 – 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? Romans 10.17: Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ. The Gospel was designed to be communicated through words.
2. The Word of God is Received; rd v 1; The Gospel is heard and has its effect! It is received by faith! I’ve been criticized for not offering an invitation every week. We’ve grown accustomed to people getting saved only here and only by me. No! People come to Christ the same way they have for 2000 years – when you tell them, and you invite them to receive Christ. They make that public – just as Richard did last Sunday!

Once that is done, a person begins to live a life worthy of this Gospel! Rd v1c; in which you stand…v2 … hold fast

• The Word of God is Established, and we see how one stands in v 2; rd v 2;
  • Perseverance: and by which you are being saved;
  • Evidence: if you hold fast to the Word I preached to you; top & the tail (v1&v58)

ill.: There is an interesting article that came out this week in the Baptist Press: 10-year-old new believer helps mission team lead dozens of others to Christ; FBC, Jonesboro, Ga. Traveled to Montana to serve at an Indian Reservation. There is a yearly ‘Pow-Wow’ – a gathering of some sort, where thousands of Native Americans converge at this particular place. Anyway, this 10-year-old saw an Evangelcube on the table, heard the gospel, and got saved. He spent the week with this team. He would go and find some children and bring them back to the table to hear the gospel. He did this over and over. He heard the gospel presentation so many times, that he was then able to share with others – and did so.

The week came to an end and the people all had to go back to Georgia. This is a major downside to short-term mission trips. This little boy was so sad to watch them leave. I asked myself – who is going to disciple this little boy – or any of the other 28 children and 4 adults who got saved?

We preach the gospel to bring Salvation, and then, too often, we never disciple those we’ve evangelized.

I know what some of you are thinking, because it is what I’ve been taught, too. If this kid is truly saved, then we can trust the Lord to disciple him (and the others). That has been our biggest problem in Evangelism in the last 70 years. We make fishers of men who catch lots of fish and then leave them up on the shore without cleaning them! Leaving them there to die.

When you catch a fish, the job isn’t done. And it is the same when you are a fisher of men! When someone surrenders to Christ, the job is just beginning. That’s why in the vision I presented last week, evangelism isn’t in a circle all its own. It is encompassed in discipleship.

app.: Now, maybe, just maybe, there is a ministry there at the Reservation, and this child will be assimilated into a local church. The Word of God is preached and received, but it must also be established!

t.s.: 1^st, The Process: God’s Word is preached, received, and established; 2ndly, the Proclamation… the 2^nd reminder:

II. The Proclamation of this Gospel which makes salvation possible (3-4)

exp.: Sure, there are supernatural stories where people got saved without someone telling them. They picked up a Gideon Bible in a hotel room. I have a friend who started reading Galatians and saw that Scripture went against the Cult he was in. He arrived early to pick up his girlfriend and her roommate. He sat at the table and just opened up the Bible and started reading. When the girls were ready, he asked them to listen and he re-read the passage in Galatians. So, yes, there are really cool stories where God’s Word did its thing. Or a Muslim overseas had a supernatural vision of Jesus. But those are rare. The main pathway to salvation for many is that they hear the Gospel proclaimed. They all were able to receive Christ because of what he did.

Look with me at the Three Aspects of the Gospel proclaimed in v 3-4:

1. Christ Died
   1. For our sins: God is holy and we are not; We could never remove our sins from before God; So, God acted on our behalf.
   2. According to the Scriptures
      1. By what the law prescribed
      2. By what the law foretold!
      3. I’m sometimes asked how people in the OT were saved. Answer: the same way we are saved – the only difference is they looked forward to the Cross in faith.
2. Christ was Buried; In a Borrowed Tomb: In the belly of the earth; he would borrow it because he didn’t need it for long; his body wouldn’t see corruption.  
3. Christ was Raised
   1. Time: on the third day; the timing is important because of what the Jews believed;
   2. Prophecy: According to Scripture; Jesus also predicted this about himself; Hebrews 11 points to Gen 22.4; Jonah, in the belly of the fish (Mt 12.39f); Luke 22.46; three days is a prominent theme of activity in the OT. I mean, it is repeated over and over again.

Ill.: in our Bible Study on Revelation, I taught about numbers and what they mean. Does anyone remember what the #3 represents? The significance of the numbers:

• 1 is uniqueness
• 2 is unity, disciples, animals on the ark
• 3 is power, on the 3^rd day – Jonah, Resurrection, trinity, a cord of three strands.
• 4 symbolized the whole of creation: 4 corners, 4 winds

Three days were so important – three days declared someone to be dead – really dead. For Jesus to be raised on the 3^rd day meant that he had Power over Death.

app.: The Bible teaches us that the wages of sin is death – the payment due to us for our rebellion against God is death. We could never pay the penalty because we’re ineligible. We needed a sinless sacrifice for us. And so Christ died for sins, once for all. That’s what we proclaim when we proclaim the Gospel.

t.s.: But there is more here from Paul. The third element adding to the Power of the Gospel…

III. The Proof of the gospel was established through eyewitnesses (5-8)

exp.: rd v 5-8; after rising from the dead, Christ Appeared to many. The women aren’t mentioned here, but they were amongst the first to witness Christ’s resurrection.

1. Cephas; rd v 5;
2. The Twelve; ill.: 100 years war (116 years); Sue’s Piano; rd v 6;
3. 500; most of who are still alive; Tell me if you know this story: on an LA Freeway, there was a white bronco being chased by Law Enforcement. Do any of you remember that?
4. His brother, James, is the senior pastor at the Church in Jerusalem.
5. All the apostles (Mt 28); There are more than 12 Apostles, by the way – Paul being one of them; Barnabas, etc.
6. Paul

ill.: Quote from Charles Colson; You can read this for yourself in the book Loving God by Chuck Colson, chapter 6, starting on page 61: “Watergate & the Resurrection”. I’ve been asked by young men over the past 20 years or so, what books had the greatest influence on my life. To this day, Loving God remains in my top 5. (Loving God, Amazing Grace, 24/6, Charles Spurgeon, Dangerous Call, Growing up to God, The Deliberate Church, Amillennialism) – read the blog post

app.: The resurrection is an amazing story, validated by those who were willing to die for what they knew to be true.

t.s.: We see this in the Result in their lives, and in the lives of people today. That’s #4;

IV. The Power of the Gospel Produces very specific Results in a saved soul (58)

exp.: just what is this product? We see it in v 58;

1. The hope of our resurrection! v 12-57
2. They are reminded of their life in Christ.
3. Be Steadfast (1 other time in 1 Cor.; 7.37, in ref. to marriage); most of us know what this means: standing fast in your place or standing your ground in the faith, showing strength in the face of adversity.
4. Be Immoveable (only time here); άμετακίνεητος΄ – α -without; κινέω – eng.: kinetic – motion, to move away; without movement.
5. Always Abounding in the Work: you might say ‘at all times’; abounding in the work of the Lord.
6. Knowing this work is not empty! Κενός, Kenosis is the process of emptying out something completely. This is the word used to describe Christ in Philippians 2, where he left heaven and ‘emptied’ himself of his divine qualities, becoming a man.

app.: your work should be abounding (this is what gives credibility to your proclamation), but also filled with the knowledge that all you do isn’t in vain – it’s not empty! There is a good return for your work, even if you don’t see it now.

Conclusion: Invitation to come to Christ

1. Will you receive this gospel? You’ve heard the preaching of the Word today.
   1. Christ was killed
   2. He was buried
   3. He was raised
   4. He was seen

2. Will you become established in it? Deeply rooted, growing up in Him? This is your opportunity. Don’t let it pass you by.

Pray & we’ll be dismissed.

¹⁶ May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷ encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17May the power of the Cross and the Victory of the Empty Tomb fill your lives this week as you live out your life for Christ’s Glory!

1 Corinthians 8-10

Title: Living in Obedience: A focus on our behavior

Text: 1 Cor 8-10.23

Introduction: Were’ in chapters 8-10 in 1 Corinthians.

Let’s begin 1^st: Ps 119.18; ¹⁸ Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

How we got here: healthy church – her blessings, her relationships

Preface: I don’t know why, but when I say what I’m about to say, it makes some people mad – angry. Usually, those folks are the very ones suffering from what I’m talking about. So, let me be very careful in how I present my finding. You ready?

I connect depression with sin. What I mean by that is this: from my experience on a personal level and from a professional level – people I’ve encountered in life who suffer from depression can trace that depression back to a time of rebellion in their life. So, I want you to contemplate, without sitting here being angry at me, sin with depression. This might very well be that moment in life right now for some folks. Hence, the anger. When you tell someone the reason behind their depression is their sin, their rebellion, it makes them angry.

With that being said, we might need to talk some more, because I’ve just opened a can of worms that I can completely deal with in one sermon. But, with that being said, once we’ve had a chance to work through some of those issues, people begin to find their way out.

That was my experience. I’ll just tell you: I used to suffer from severe depression. So much so, that I planned on three different occasions to take my life. I’m so glad God intervened in a way that has me standing alive and well here before you today.

I want to share two books with you. (1) Twelve Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson. (2) Happiness is a Choice. It is by Dr. Frank Minirth and Dr. Paul Meier. In this book, these men teach about behaviors and the effect proper behavior has on one’s Psyche, as well as, the effect wrong behavior has on a person. They say, “Make better choices.” Here is the list narrowed down in this 2^nd book.

1. Be Kind. (read from pg 19) this reminds me of a message from Robert Garland some months ago that has stuck with me – mainly because of Lisa: Never pass up an opportunity to be kind! Being Kind is simply showing a Christlike love toward others.
2. Focus on healthy behavior. this is getting harder to identify in our society. The current woke culture would like to eliminate what you and I understand to be healthy behavior because sin makes people feel bad about themselves. I discuss this in more detail at WEBS.
3. Challenge inaccurate thinking with the Word of God. Put bluntly, this is false teaching. But the reality is that many folks just don’t understand what the Word of God says. There are a lot of bad ideas out there related to Christianity and the Word of God.
4. Share hurts. Each of us has experienced our feelings of being hurt. It helps us when we talk about those feelings with others with whom we are in relationships. It is a part of growing up. It’s a part of maturing in our lives. Bottled-up feelings of betrayal, anger, disappointment, etc. lead to stronger relationships.
5. Meet dependent needs through Christ and the local church. This is huge! Enter into healthy relationships! End relationships with folks that hurt you! Too many of us put our hope in relationships that can only be fulfilled in Christ. Too many women look for that fulfillment in a man. That man doesn’t exist on this earth! The same goes for men. Some people look for it in a bottle – pill bottle, alcohol bottle, smoking weed, and the list goes on.
6. Consider the Medical. The truth of the matter is that some folks have a chemical imbalance and need the assistance of a physician. But, the percentage of these folks is probably a lot lower than you would think.
7. Emphasize Christ.

Their premise, which is backed by years of study and validation, states that good behaviors cause connections to happen in the brain and result in good mental health; on the other hand, poor behaviors result in depression; These guys have latched on to an idea that Paul presented to the Corinthian Christians 1960 years ago.

This is what we’ll see in the next few chapters of 1 Corinthians: our behavior affects our emotional stability. Bad behavior leads to depression and good behavior leads to joy.

To begin look with me in 8.1; Rd 1a; so, the issue appears to be about eating meat that was sacrificed to idols; rd v 1b; I think, we can surmise right away that Paul is saying that doing and acting out of knowledge is one thing, but doing and acting out of love – that’s a whole different animal.

Transition: Though the issue is about the meat of animals sacrificed to idols – and the consumption thereof, Paul’s concern for them is first and foremost…

I. A Mandate for Obedience (8)

exp.: rd 1b again; So now we have a thesis dealing w/ knowledge and love; knowing is one thing, but doing is another; Jesus said, If you love me, keep my commandments (Jn 14.15);

ill.: Colossians 1.9-10.

exp.: Back in 1 Cor… There is a sense of pride concerning their knowledge; they’re missing what Paul’s been teaching, what Jesus has said; rd 2-3; So he’s saying, In your knowledge:

1. Let love be your guide. Note: the 2 ‘we know’ v1; v4; Illustration: May I share your story about ‘Amy’?
   1. Remember there is One God (capital G) and many gods (little g); rd v 4-5; this is important! Their sacrifices are nothing; those ‘things’ are just wood or stone; the meat is just meat, fit to eat; it’ll taste just like the meat from any other animal; rd v 6-7;
   1. Don’t let your freedom become a stumbling block to others. Love them enough to abstain. Although they may know that there is only One God, they don’t grasp the full idea that those ‘little ‘g’ gods’ are nothing. They have too much history in this…

ill.: I see this principle applies to so many ‘things’ in the Christian life. 1^st and foremost, beer and wine; you have a woman who struggled with alcohol, and she goes on a rampage about how evil it is. No one can have a beer or a glass of wine at dinner! Or, you have a man who struggled with secular music and how it was so harmful to him – causing him to think bad thoughts and act on them. Then, wah-la, no one can listen to Country Music because it is evil!

exp.: rd v 12-13.

app.: So, what, if you have knowledge! If you destroy your brother through your freedom, you’ve failed. That’s why it is so important to have love with your knowledge.

t.s.: Paul offers this mandate for Obedience to love, but then offers himself as a model…

II. A Model of Surrender (9)

exp.: Let’s look at Paul’s Work; rd v 1-3 and let’s look for the personal pronouns in the 1^st person sg; And so he does this self-examination, and the 1^st thing he does is establish…

1. Paul’s rights; rd v 4-12a; but then…
2. Paul’s Decision to surrender his rights; rd 12b; 15-18;
3. Paul’s Obedience; rd 19; v 23;
4. Paul’s Exhortation for them to do the same; rd v 24;

app.: So Paul offers this positive illustration – himself; My rights, set aside, and through my love for people – the gospel becomes real! Would you do the same? Listen, you have rights also. However, when you chose to do something right, for the wrong reason – relationships are destroyed; brothers and sisters in Christ are damaged;

t.s.: Now, Paul is thinking that his example isn’t enough -so he offers a negative illustration – Israel, and he does this through the bk of Exodus…

III. A Manual for Failure (10)

exp.: Exodus; Chapters 12-17; and what Paul says here is that these people were blessed, but they blew it! look in 10.1a;

1. Their Blessings: Look at what they were:
   1. Protection – the cloud; rd v 1a
   2. Promise: Deliverance; rd v 1b-2
   3. Provision: rd v 3-4;
   4. Problem: God was not pleased! Rd v 5

But then Paul says, look at how they responded;

2. Their Response: examples for us; Rd v 6-7
   1. Idolaters; rd v 8;
   2. Immoral; rd v 9
   3. Instigators; putting Christ to the Test; rd v 10
   4. Ingrates: whiners and complainers.

exp.: but Paul says they were that way to be an example for us on how NOT to behave! rd v 11;

app.: I don’t worry too much about you having statutes of Buddha in your living rooms, But I do worry about the other three; and in my own life – when have I been selfish, though right to do so and hurt the Body through my ‘putting Christ to the Test’ or whining and complaining!

Conclusion:

There is a movement by many godless people in the world who want to make bad behavior to be considered good. Implement gay marriage or remove marriage altogether. Get rid of sin. Sin makes people feel bad! Change long-standing laws to no longer make it wrong to steal or destroy property, etc.

ill.: Did you see the article in the New York Times by Steve Descano this past week? He is the District Attorney for the Commonwealth of Virginia. His article is entitled, “My Governor may pass bad abortion laws, but I don’t have to enforce them.” He has made a public vow to not prosecute laws he doesn’t agree with. We’re already seeing that in California, where people just walk into a store with large bags and empty the shelves and just walk out the door!  

This evil theory and this is my take on it all, is to change the laws so that people are no longer wrong. If they’re no longer wrong, then they don’t have to feel bad about it! They want to ‘help’ people who suffer from mental illness to feel good about themselves. Make it ok for a man to dress like a woman by removing gender stereotypes. If you can remove the stigma, then folks who have problems won’t feel bad about feeling the way they do.

Here is the problem: (1) it doesn’t work. I watch Daily Wire videos. In one video I heard Ben Shapiro say that if changing laws and removing the idea of wrongness worked, then why are just as many transgendered people committing suicide today as there were a generation ago. (2) Sin is a very important part of the Gospel. Our rebellion is why we’re in the mess we’re in. Sin is what we’re saved from!

As believers, we have a mandate for obedience that stems from love.  Eat what you want to eat. Drink what you want to drink. However, we have an example in Paul, but we also have the perfect example in Jesus, to show us how our freedom isn’t to be used selfishly. We act in love! And we have bad examples of the Hebrew Children who wandered in the desert because of their rebellion and selfishness.

If you’re interested, we’ll come back to this idea at WEBS of where our rebellion leads us (into depression) and how we can overcome the cloud of depression through surrendering to Christ.

Observations & Implications:

1. Are you blessed? Would you say God has blessed you? If so, how do you respond to those blessings?
   1. Idolatry?
   2. Immorality?
   3. Instigators?
   4. Ingratitude?
   5. How do you express your attitude of gratitude? Through obedience? Is it evident in your behavior?
2. As an example to others – do you line up under Paul or the Israelites? Do a self-exam; Can you say, ‘be like me’? or Do what I say, not what I do…
3. As you look at your rights, which ones would you hold on to, even to the destruction of another brother or sister? Is your behavior toward others a contributing factor?

Preparation for the Lord’s Supper: Chapter 11:23

Mark 16.1-14

Title: The Resurrection: What did it do?

Text: Mark 16.1-14; 1 Corinthians 15

CIT: Paul presents 4 elemental truths of the Resurrection

CIS: To present these 4 truths and challenge the believers to a changed life.

Intro: I’m not much on Topical sermons. I preach them from time to time, but my preference is to preach through books. Oftentimes, it is hard to narrow down all of the information in a certain topic, so problem #1 is that you just have too much material. 2nd, I like knowing on Monday morning what I’m preaching next Sunday. Besides, preaching through books makes it where I must cover every doctrine at some point. You just can’t avoid it. But, the downside of not being prepared to preach a topical sermon on special days can create a situation where a preacher is presented with an awkward situation.

            CJ Mahaney is a preacher I always love to hear. Whenever he is on the schedule at a conference, I make sure to get a good seat! CJ tells the story of how he concluded a three-part sermon series about the afterlife. That last sermon in the series just happened to fall on Mother’s Day. He had not connected the special day with his topic nor with his sermon title. That Sunday morning, mothers came dressed in their pretty dresses, some with hats, some with gloves, some with a corsage. CJ was totally caught off guard, as were many of his moms when the time came for CJ to present his message, a sermon in the afterlife series which simply read: Hell!

Things have worked out well on my calendar, as I have done my best to be at this particular place in Scripture on this particular holiday. I decided to start there and move out from there to another passage on the resurrection. There is a question that I’d like to answer and, today is a great way to spend some time looking at that question: We all know what Christ’s death accomplished, but, what about His Resurrection? Was the resurrection even necessary? He died for our sins, and paid the penalty required in his death; so, why did he need to be resurrected?

            Our text is Mark chapter 16. We’ll also spend some time in 1 Cor 15; take a moment to mark those places with a bookmark. This morning I’d like to present four theological truths about the resurrection as presented by Mark and Paul. Here they are:

• The Resurrection is an essential part of the Gospel Message
• The Resurrection is validated by a tremendous body of evidence
• The Resurrection offers us the hope of a resurrection
• The Resurrection will impact how you live your life

Transition: let’s look at the 1^st truth

I. The Resurrection is an essential part of the Gospel Message (16.1-6)

exp.: rd v 1-2; the word gospel, and the word evangelism are basically the same word; the difference is that one is a noun, and the other is a verb; it is the word Ευαγγέλιον; From which we get evangelism; So, what is this good news? Rd v 6; He is not here, He is Risen! Check it out… the place where he lay. And the 2^nd part, evangelism…rd v 7; I love that the angel places an emphasis on Peter. I wonder if he was having a tougher time because he had denied his Lord.

Paul makes this point to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15; rd v3f;

app.: Paul and Mark are establishing a very important point: without the resurrection, there is no gospel! The Resurrection is an essential part of the Gospel message. Had Jesus simply died – then he would have been like every other man who has ever died. But, Jesus proved his divinity by being raised from the dead!

t.s.: The 2^nd Theological Truth presented is found in this same sentence; 1^st – he died; 2^nd, he was buried; 3^rd, he was raised (Pft. Pass. Ind.); 4thly, he was seen; this is the 2^nd theological truth…

II. The Resurrection is validated by a tremendous body of evidence (4-34; Mark 16.7-14)

exp.: There, in 1 Cor 15, we just read “in accordance with the Scriptures: 

1. The Scriptures; rd v 3-4; Jonah; Isaiah; Jeremiah; David; Psalms; Genesis; Exodus; Numbers; Deut.; etc., etc., etc. Read v.5-8;
2. The Appearances of Christ to so many; Cephas; the ‘12’; Jn 20.19-29; 500+; James (prob, his brother); Paul; In Mark 15, we see the Mary listed first in v9; and v12. One of my favorite passages on this is in Luke where Luke gives us more information on this story. In that passage, Luke says, “²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
3. There is a third group listed in 1 Corinthians: The Martyrs: Death of the Witnesses v 29-34; 1^st, what do we know about Scripture and Salvation? Baptism cannot save you; ὑπέρ; NASB/NIV trans.: for; because of; So, who are the dead? They are the martyrs: those who preached in spite of persecution and even death; why? Because they knew death is not the end, no – there is the resurrection;

In fact, each of the disciples here will die for their faith. Why would they do that if these testimonies here were lies? Who is going to die for a lie? And, even if you could find one person foolish enough to die for a lie, how could this overwhelming group of witnesses all be willing to die for a lie. Someone, at some point, would have said, “hang on, it’s not true, I don’t want to die.” But that didn’t happen. One by one, each gave up their lives because they knew of a greater hope!

app.: the resurrection: that’s what they knew, that’s where their hope was placed! Acts 1.15-22; 2.32; 3.15; 5.32; 10.39-43; That’s more evidence for us to view…

t.s.: Truth #1: The Resurrection is one essential part of the Gospel Message. Truth #2: The Resurrection is validated by a tremendous body of evidence. Truth #3

III. The Resurrection offers us Hope that one day we, too, will be resurrected. (35-57)

exp.: The Resurrection is explained in a simple fashion. There are two prerequisites to being resurrected: Death and Faith. 1. Death: You must die in order to be resurrected.  2. Faith: You must have faith.

1. Death: Two bodies; one must die for the other to live; (rd v 50); The perishable must perish, in order that what is imperishable may inherit eternal life.
2. Faith: Paul says that it is a mystery; rd v 51-57;

t.s.: Truth #1: The Resurrection is an essential element of the Gospel Message. Truth #2: The Resurrection is validated by the tremendous evidence. Truth #3: The Resurrection offers us hope that we’ll one day be resurrected. Truth #4:

IV. The Resurrection will impact how you live your life (58)

exp.: In our text in Mark, he records miraculous signs that accompanied those believers in the Apostolic Age. We see in our text that many lives were changed and impacted such that, they were willing to die for what they knew to be true! Listen to what Paul says in 1 Cor 15.58:  “Therefore”; Marker of result; Because of this; For this reason; Because you have received the Gospel, Because of the tremendous body of evidence, Because of the hope you have of your resurrection, then you should – One imperative vb: to be; become; γίνομαι; two adjectives to describe; two participles (verbal adjectives) to describe;

1. Become steadfast; this info, the gospel message, the overwhelming evidence, and the hope of your resurrection, as well as those you love who’ve gone before you, should plant you firmly where you are; and
2. Become immovable – this info should not only plant you firmly but also make you immovable; there is a 3rd description of what this does to you;
3. Abounding in your Work; always; every day of your life characterized by the Resurrection; your job, raising your kids, loving your neighbor, serving your brothers and sisters! Christians do their work, because of this last ptc mentioned: we know
4. Knowing your work isn’t empty; κενός; Phil 2.5; I love this word knowing – this is faith in action! Heb 11.1

t.s.: When you gain an understanding of the resurrection, not just of Christ’s, but even your own: The Resurrection will affect your life and how you live. – and might I add, how you die.

Conclusion: Show the 7-minute video of Padina (https://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=FE92J1NU)

            I began with the question: What did the resurrection accomplish? It completes the gospel story and is validated by a body of evidence. But even more, it gives us hope and impacts our lives to live for him. I hesitate to show videos like this because I don’t like it when they are used to manipulate people. That’s not my goal. I shared this video because.

• I want to challenge you over this next year to consider adopting a UUPG somewhere in the world.
• I want to challenge you to pray! Pray for God to lead us step by step. I honestly don’t know what that will mean… what will it cost us? Will some of you go and give your lives so that others may know? That burdens…
• I want to challenge you to prepare, research, acquaint, and yield.
• I pray Christ’s resurrection inspires you to live your life for others.

The Christian’s Relationships

Title: Lord, even over the household.

Text: Colossians 3.18-4.1

CPT: Colossians, when you confess Jesus as Lord, that confession must be manifested in and through the relationships with the people closest to you as you are serving the Lord in your marriage, with your children, and in the relationships you share with your master and servants.

CPS: As those who confess belief in Jesus as Lord, that Lordship extends over every aspect of our lives, including the relationships with the people who are closest to us: in ours marriage, with our children, and in the relationships we have with those with whom we work and serve.

Introduction: Let me begin by openly talking about Dysfunctional Families – I shared my story last week, not to summon sympathy, but just to share my experience. I find two areas at work in my life: The Word of God and my experience. When I was younger, I would find these two appeared to clash. As I get older, I find the Word of God validates my experience.

Let me ‘splain… What I preach and proclaim from God’s Word isn’t about how I feel or what I think. As I open God’s Word and share, it comes from faith that what God says is true – even if I don’t understand. And, I find experientially, this has played itself out in my life.

Many of you could feel what I spoke about last week, because it is your story, too. And, as you’ve watched these same scenarios work themselves out in your lives, the lives of your parents, the lives of your children, the lives of your friends and their families, you concur.

I wish there were more stories like the girl I spoke about who was adopted in her family and I mean truly adopted. Not just on paper, but experientially. Not just by the courts but into the family.

What we’ll look at today is the perfect home – the perfect family. I know ‘that’ family doesn’t exist in real life. I believe there are some families who come close. I know there are some families who try real hard. But, the fact is that we’re all sinners and when sinners get involved, well, things just don’t go perfectly.

———————————————-

Next, let me offer a caveat here, as well? Now listen carefully, because what I have to tell you relates to how you receive this message. I’m going to make a statement that you know to be true and I worry you’ll just gloss over it. Oh, yeah, I know that. You have no control over other people. Let that sink in, because I’m sure most all of you said, “Yeah, I know.” I’m not sure you really do. I say that because the responses I see in people is just the opposite – you want to control other people and their decisions. I’m going to say it again: You have no control over other people. I can only control me. Say it with me: I can only control me. And that’s a hard enough task as it is!

When we look at this text, we see that Paul doesn’t say to anyone here – here is what you make other people do. Can I re-read this with the take some folks get here? Bear with me…

¹⁸ Wives, make your husbands love you, as is fitting in the Lord. ¹⁹ Husbands, force your wives submit to you, and do not be harsh with them. ²⁰ Fathers, make your children obey you in everything, for this pleases the Lord. ²¹ Try not to provoke them in the process, lest they become discouraged. ²² Masters, make your Bondservants obey you in everything…

You get the idea. Right now, as we begin, do me a favor, do yourself a favor. Don’t think of anyone one else – focus in on you and your role as it applies in your life. Maybe you’re younger, you’re not yet married or don’t have children. Think and apply these to your life as you prepare for those things. Pray and ask God to lead you as you surrender and submit to His Will for your life.

Let me give you a focal point: take your pencil, pen, highlighter and note the following phrases. This actually begins in 3.17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24; 4.1

Jesus is Lord of the House…

We see this in three different relationships within the home:

1. The Marital Relationship of Man and Woman
2. The Parental Relationship of Parents and Children
3. The Working Relationship of Slaves and Masters

A word about these relationships. 1) I find it interesting that one man might be in all three groups. Indeed, that might even be Paul’s thinking here. That man can be husband, father, and master. He has great responsibilities in relations to his wife, his children, his slave. 2) Each of the others, the wife, the child, the slave, are subservient, they are submissive not just to their husband, parents, master, but their actual service and submission is to the Lord Jesus.

This is hard, I know, but note what God is doing in each relationship.

t.s.: This last section will need some work because today, we no longer have slaves and masters. We’ll talk about that when we get there. 1^st, what is God doing in the marital relationship?

I. The Marital Relationship (18f)

exp.: rd 3.18f; Wives and husbands; lit.: men, women; typically there is a pronoun with these words, showing possession. You belong to each other. And, you serve each other.

ill.: The marriage relationship is foundational to our society and as God has designed, it is a picture of the Gospel. Have you heard me say this before? Let me demonstrate with a graph, an image of The Trinity.

exp.: turn with me to Ephesians 5.21; the parallel letter to this one; read through 5.33; The Church is a Picture of the Gospel.

app.: Married Couple – you are a picture of the Gospel to the rest of the world.

t.s.: next, we have the parents…

II. The Parental Relationship (20f)

exp.: rd 3.20f; The trinitarian function is the same in this relationship; That further reflects the church; The Roles of the Elder and Deacons; why there is dysfunction in the church; Example is Saddleback, who ordained 3 women to the pastoral ministry this past week; Society forces its way into the church and wields its power over her – just as the society forces itself into the family and wields its power of it. Then you have dysfunction. And, you no longer present a picture of the Gospel.

ill.: I want to take a moment to address something, I didn’t handle right last week. I mentioned something about Mother’s Day, but I didn’t do anything special. I don’t want to say I never will, because I’m sure I probably will; however, I don’t use the calendar to plan my preaching schedule. I use the Bible and I preach through books. With that being said, after Mother’s Day, I came across a movement by a certain party in our political system to remove the term ‘Mother,’ and instead use the term “birthing person”.

Ben Shapiro sent out a tweet to show how ridiculous this has all become. He tweeted: “Happy Birthing Persons’ Day to all the egg-producing homo sapiens of unspecified gender who made the decision to bring to term a meaningless cluster of cells!”

Had I known about this, I would have said something and expressed my gratitude toward Moms. Whereas, you’re probably going to see “Happy Birthing Persons Day” instead of Happy Mother’s Day, we will recognize Mothers on Mother’s Day!

app.: Moms, you are loved and appreciated. Thank you for your sacrifices to make us who we are. Can I say a word on this to Husbands, Dads, Wives and Mom? Your relationship with each other is a picture of the Gospel, but so is your relationship to your children. Let me demonstrate once again with an image. Your relationships mirror the church and her relationships.

t.s.: Finally, a word about this last grouping…

III. The Working Relationship (3.22-4.1)

exp.: read 3.22-4.1; Two points:

1. This is in no way an affirmation of slavery by Paul, or by the Word of God. When one reads the book of Philemon, it becomes apparent that Paul isn’t for slavery at all. But it didn’t matter how he felt because… and this is my 2^nd point:
2. Christianity was birthed into a world where slavery was the law of the land. Historians estimate that there were some 60,000,000 slaves in the Roman Empire at the time of this letter. This was a situation that existed and the Church had to deal with it.

Slavery was one of the ways the economy functioned. A person had the right to sell themselves into slavery for a period of time. Think of military service. A person could become a slave for a period of time – usually a pretty long time – and money would be then given to the family. I know not all of the slaves were this way, but there were a good many who were.

So, don’t think that Paul is approving of or condoning slavery. His relationship with Philemon and Onesimus (4.9) confirm his distaste for slavery. But, it was the law of the land and many new Christians needed to know how to deal with that situation.

Slavery is no longer the law of the land. In a situation where slavery does exist, it is abhorrent and wicked. That is a topic that should be addressed, but I’m not prepared to deal with it this morning. For time’s sake, let’s focus in on how we might apply this to our situation today.

ill.:

app.: for sure, we can do our work without just giving eye-service or being people pleasers, but instead to perform our tasks with sincerity. We would do well to perform our work as to the Lord. In all of our work, we should work heartily, because it is indeed the Lord we’re serving. And, your life, your response, your actions with your employer and employees will communicate the Gospel to those who are watching.

Conclusion: But the context of the text is household relationships. These relationships have a purpose and a function.

I’m guessing most of us don’t even think one bit about how our family life communicates the Gospel to a lost and dying world. We probably don’t consider how our marriages and our families give credibility to the Gospel story.

For sure, we miss out on how much damage is done when the home doesn’t communicate the gospel.

The following is from Dr. James Dobson, Hide or Seek

He began his life with all the classic handicaps and disadvantages. His mother was a powerfully built, dominating woman who found it difficult to love anyone. She had been married three times, and her second husband divorced her because she beat him up regularly. The father of the child was with her third husband; he died of a heart attack a few months before the child’s birth. As a consequence the mother had to work long hours from his earliest childhood.

She gave him no affection, no love, no discipline, and no training during those early years. She even forbade him to call her at work. Other children had little to do with him, so he was alone most of the time. He was absolutely rejected from his earliest childhood. When he was thirteen years old a school psychologist commented that he probably didn’t even know the meaning of the word love. During adolescence, the girls would have nothing to do with him and he fought with the boys.

Despite a high IQ, he failed academically, and finally dropped out during his third year of high school. He thought he might find acceptance in the Marine Corps; they reportedly built men, and he wanted to be one. But his problems went with him. The other Marines laughed at him and ridiculed him. He fought back, resisted authority, and was court-martialed and thrown out of the Marines with an undesirable discharge. So there he was—a young man in his early twenties, absolutely friendless. He was small and scrawny in stature. He had an adolescent squeak in his voice. He was balding. He had no talent, no skill, no sense of worthiness.

Once again he thought he could run from his problems, so he went to live in a foreign country. But he was rejected there also. While there he married a girl who had been an illegitimate child and brought her back to America with him. Soon she began to develop the same contempt for him that everyone else displayed. She bore him two children, but he never enjoyed the status and respect a father should have. His marriage continued to crumble. His wife demanded more and more things that he could not provide. Instead of being his ally against the bitter world, as he hoped, she became his most vicious opponent. She could outfight him, and she learned to bully him. On one occasion she locked him in the bathroom as punishment. Finally she forced him to leave.

He tried to make it on his own, but he was terribly lonely. After days of solitude, he went home and literally begged her to take him back. He surrendered all pride. Despite his meager salary, he brought her $78 as a gift, asking her to take it and spend it any way she wished. But she belittled his feeble attempts to supply the family’s needs. She ridiculed his failure. At one point he fell on his knees and wept bitterly as the darkness of his private nightmare enveloped him.

Finally, in silence he pleaded no more. No one wanted him. No one had ever wanted him.

The next day he was a strangely different man. He arose, went to the garage, and took down a rifle he had hidden there. He carried it with him to his newly acquired job at a book storage building. And from a window on the third floor of that building, shortly after noon, November 22, 1963, he sent two shells crashing into the head of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Lee Harvey Oswald, the rejected, unlovable failure, killed the man who, more than any other man on earth, embodied all the success, beauty, wealth, and family affection which he lacked. In firing that rifle, he utilized the one skill he had learned in his entire, miserable lifetime. [James Dobson, Hide or Seek (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, 1974), pp. 9, 11. As told by R. Kent Hughes]

This is why we, as Christians, have been called into relationships – to demonstrate and communicate the Gospel with our lives. It validates what we say when we preach that Christ is the Messiah of the World!

Take-a-ways:

1. You cannot control others. Stop trying!
2. You can only control yourself – so what are you going to do with this information? How will you respond to this?
3. When you ‘control’ you, and apply the teachings and principles of God’s Word to your life, then you are living out the Gospel before others.
4. Finally, It’s not too late for you and me! No matter what has happened in the past, God is gracious in forgiveness and compassionate in your circumstance. What a great opportunity for all of us to surrender every area of our lives to Him. Is there any area you haven’t surrendered? Is there something new you need to learn about? Give that to Him. Do you need to extend forgiveness to someone – a parent, a spouse, a child? Do you need forgiveness – from a parent, a spouse, a child?

I said last week, we are never more like Christ then when we forgive. I’d say that also goes well with the humility we display when we humble ourselves and seek forgiveness where we have failed. Humility – so Christ like. Those actions are the gospel on display before others.

Let’s pray…

The Pastor’s Struggle

Title: A Pastor’s Struggle

Text: Colossians 1.24-2.5

CPT: Paul rejoices to see the Colossians (and the Laodiceans) walking with the spiritual maturity that comes through knowledge and understanding of this wonderful mystery, which is Christ in you, the Hope of Glory.

CPS: A Pastor’s struggle is faced with joy when he knows his people are walking in the full assurance of faith and spiritual maturity that comes through wisdom and knowledge.

Introduction: Canadian Pastor James Coates was jailed in March for violating Canada’s 15% capacity rule. His crime as the leader was that he refused to turn anyone away, allowing his congregation to exceed the mandated 15% capacity of their worship facilities.

This past year, John MacArthur faced difficult and tested threats from the leadership of California for pretty much the same thing. I think with Dr. MacArthur’s situation, he just continued to show up and when people noticed on video that he was preaching from his pulpit, they just started coming and sitting in the worship center. Pretty soon, the worship center was filled – which of course violated the state’s mandate for social distancing. All sorts of threats were issued, but I don’t think any were really carried out.

I believe we’re on the cusp of religious persecution against churches and Christians in general. I believe it has already started and will only grow as the moral revolution ramps up pressure to conform.

Robert Hoogland’s daughter was 11 years old when she told someone at school that she identified as a boy. Over the course of a few years, the rights of her parents were taken away and the government stepped in to help her transition to a boy.

The father protested, declaring the surgery, the hormone therapy and other treatments would hurt her physically and damage her. He refused to give consent. But the court took away his rights and declared that his consent wasn’t needed. Instead, they pursued their agenda by using the girl as an example for their own political purposes. Furthermore, Robert and his wife were ordered in court to affirm their daughter’s gender identity. And, added to that, if they refused to do so, they would be guilty of ‘family violence’. This included using the proper pronouns.

As I understand it, immediately after the court’s decision, Robert agreed to an interview with the Federalist (a conservative new source). In the interview, he used the pronouns ‘she’ and ‘her’ to reference his daughter. He also called her his daughter, and not his son. The judge was furious. Local authorities were ordered to arrest Robert immediately if he referred to his daughter with feminine pronouns. He was soon thereafter arrested and incarcerated for family violence. From what I understand, he has been denied bail and remanded to prison until his court hearing scheduled for Monday, April 12^th. He’s been incarcerated for about a month now.

Paul understood this. As he writes this letter, he is in prison for preaching the gospel. Turn to 4.3; ³ At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—

As we open this section of the letter, we’re reminded that Paul’s ministry – preaching the Word of God – has put him in prison. Rd 1.24; ²⁴ Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church… Now, your first thought might be questioning just what Paul means. First, let us just take note that Paul is suffering. We know he is in prison, but his suffering seems to go beyond simple incarceration. He appears to be suffering bodily harm. You see that with his phrase, ‘in my flesh’ and ‘afflictions’.

Instead of noting his situation, most folks run to the theological dilemma of his statement, “I am filling up what is lacking for the sake of his body,” Many begin to wonder: did Christ’s suffering not fulfill it’s purpose. What was lacking in his sacrifice? The answer: nothing.

I’m convinced that Paul was a genius. His writings contain incredible, indepth structure. Two items I notice here.

1. Look at 1.22f; Paul points out two facts about the body of Christ. 1^st, in these verses Paul is referring to Christ’s physical body (cf.: 1.20 – His blood);
2. Our passage is referring to the church, who is the body of Christ. rd 1.24c; for the sake of his body, that is, the church…

Paul’s suffering isn’t enhancing what was lacking in Christ’s sacrifice for sins. The suffering, death, burial and resurrection of our Lord is perfectly sufficient and effective in atoning for our sins – indeed, for the sins of the whole world. That’s Paul’s point in 1.19-22; Sufficiency and Efficacy. Paul’s suffering in these verses is in reference to the suffering the church has been called to endure. Evidently, Paul was enduring more than his fair share. And you see what he says about this suffering? He rejoices! If you somehow missed it, he’ll repeat it down in 2.5 (top & tail).

While I’m on the topic of his genius, I’d like to point out something special in his literary structure: another chiasm. I mentioned this form of teaching two weeks ago. Look at the chiastic structure Paul employees in these two paragraphs:

 a) Rejoice (1.24)

            b) in my flesh (body) – (1.24)

                        c) mystery: Christ (1.27)

                                    d) spiritual maturity (1.28)

                                                e) struggle (1.29; 2.1)

                                    d) spiritual maturity (2.2)

                        c) mystery: Christ (2.2)

            b) in my flesh (body); (2.5)

 a) Rejoice (2.5)

You see here, the top and the tail, there is this rejoicing that takes place Inspite of his suffering. So here is my opening statement: Paul rejoices… and he rejoices in his struggle. But why? Well, in this short couple of paragraphs, Paul helps us identify three reasons for his joy: His Ministry, His message, and the change he sees in those who believe that message. So let’s begin with the first reason.

Paul rejoices in the struggle because of… (24; 29-2.1; 5).

I. The Ministry – called, equipped (v25)

exp.: he identifies his calling at the beginning of v 25; rd v 25a; of which I became a minister; this word ‘minister’ is the Gk word for which we get our word ‘deacon’; Acts 6 and the dilemma of the Greek Widows being overlooked in the daily distribution of food; they selected deacons – same word here; but it then says, “Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. ⁴ But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry (to the deaconing) of the word.” This word deacon simply means someone who serves. Paul is saying that he is a servant.

ill.: it bothers me that this word deacon has come to mean something so negative. It doesn’t really take much; you can have 9 great deacons in a church who are good, godly men, but let one bad deacon have too much power and man, you’ve got a mess on your hands. But since I’m on this subject, let me just say that deacons have a bad rap for a couple of reasons: 1) men were selected to serve who weren’t qualified and 2) the deacons didn’t serve (wait tables), but rather ruled – and that isn’t their function.

Church, when the time comes to select men and women to serve at Tarpley, make sure you pick servants and make sure their responsibility is service. That would be Biblical. So, Paul says he became a ‘servant’ (minister); 2^nd…

rd v 25b; according to the stewardship; This word (stewardship) is a word that describes Joseph when he was a house manager for Potipher; So he’s a servant and a house manager, serving the people of God. This is another great word for deacon or servant – a steward, a house manager;

ill.: instead of a definition, let me show you a picture; image key ring;

Now look at this 3^rd section of 1.25; rd 1.25c; to make the word of God fully known; he’s a servant & a steward to the church and 3^rd, he’s a preacher and a teacher;

t.s.: which brings us to our 2^nd reason for his joy: 1) His Ministry and 2) his…

II. The Message – the mystery revealed (v25c-6f)

exp.: and just what is his message? The Mystery; rd 1.25c-26; Within the Word of God is this mystery; we spoke some of it last week at Easter – God has come in the flesh and made his dwelling among us – God with us; His coming as Messiah can be truly labeled as a Mystery; the full details hidden in the past; rd 1.27; Christ in you, the Hope of Glory!

app.: it is an amazing thought that Christ would come to dwell in us; it is mysterious, but truly wonderful. This mystery is Christ – Him we proclaim! It reads in 1.28;

t.s.: So, we’ve seen Paul’s joy in the struggle because of His Ministry, His Message,

III. The Maturity it brings to peoples lives

exp.: rd 1.28c-2.2; Paul’s toil, his struggle is for them; that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love (their relationships), to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding (maturity) and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ. rd 2.3-5; we see this in two respects:

1. Salvation to the lost (v28)
2. Maturity to the faithful (1.29-2.3)
   1. Helping them to avoid following false teachers and teaching (2.4)

ill.: When I was younger, I found it odd that the Gospel, preached and proclaimed, accomplished these two tasks – salvation to the lost and spiritual maturity to the believers. The first one I got – that one makes sense, but that 2^nd one stumped me. Now, decades later, I see that the Gospel proclaimed and possessed brings about spiritual maturity. It’s something I’ve experienced and witnessed in countless Christians.

Can I add that I can also see how a lack of the Gospel has left many an older believer spiritually immature? This can be heartbreaking – to see someone who aged with decades of life, but is still a baby, a toddler when it comes to the faith. What a waste of a life – never attaining to the maturity Paul describes here.

Conclusion: Oh, but for those who do grow – what a blessing! He says, I rejoice to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Why? Because there are those out there who wish to delude you with plausible arguments. They wish to lead you astray. This false teaching has already infiltrated the church of God. We have denominations who’ve embraced the LGBTQ movement – not just to admit them into church membership, but to select them into leadership!

As subtle as it was, these leaders have seduced the church! The next movement is afoot! For those who will not conform willingly, they will be forced to conform or face persecution. We’re already seeing it!

Recently, former vice-president, Joe Biden nominated Dr. Rachel Levine to be Assistant Health Secretary. Dr. Levine is a man who thinks he is a woman. He ‘transitioned’ from male to female in 2011. He now goes by the name of Rachel Levine. A couple of concerns cross my mind as I’m sharing this information with you.

1. With someone like this in our leadership – how long will it take before what has happened in Canada begins happening in the US?
2. I understand that my statement above violates all sorts of politically correct protocol. I’m supposed to refer to Dr. Levine as a woman and use female pronouns. My problem is that, although I understand the delusion, I’m just not willing to enter into the delusion myself. That’s why I say he is a man who thinks of himself (that’s the delusional part) as a woman.

I’m not trying to offend anyone. I’m really not. I’m just saying that it is a reality before us as Christians – reality, that’s the word I think the liberal portion of our society is ignoring – the reality is before us that the values we hold to as Christians, the values we get from this book, the very Word of God, inspired, inerrant, and infallible, … the values, and mores, and ethics, and standards we hold to from the Word of God are under attack. So, let me encourage to stand boldly against those who would lead us astray! That is why it rejoices my heart to see you grow in the faith.

So, what do we do when persecution comes? Aaron Armstrong and Brian Dembowczyk offer four responses:

Pray for deliverance.

Pray for endurance. (physical)

Pray for Faithfulness. (spiritual)

Pray for those who persecute you.

The Pastor’s Passion

Title: The Pastor’s Passion – The Gospel

Text: Colossians 1.15-23

Introduction – The past week or so has seen to mass murders take place; both, on opposite sides of the country; both caused by individuals who appear to be on opposite sides of the ideological spectrum.

The moment something like this happens, people move to their corners and shore up their particular stance – whatever that might be. There are those who would like to take all forms of self-defense and remove them from our homes and our churches. They would like to legislate gun reform – that basically would abolish the 2^nd amendment – the right of the people to keep and bear arms.

The problem isn’t guns. The problem is people. James Madison famously said, “What is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?” If that is so, then our government is reflecting a degenerate human nature – and it is getting worse!

In these two instances of tragedy, one in Georgia and the other in Colorado, we see two individuals where the heart is the same – it’s just a different face. And that heart is reflected in a degenerate government that leads the people further and further away from God.

The USA Today had an article this week on why Oral Roberts University should not be in the NCAA Tournament. #15ORU knocked off #2Ohio State in a shocking surprise win. Then, they went on to upset #7 Florida Gators to advance to the Sweet 16 round. ORU is the Cinderella team for 2021. But, according to USA Today’s writer, Hemal Jhaveri, who appears to be transgender, preferring the pronouns she/her, thinks ORU should be ousted from the tournament for their Christian beliefs on marriage – that marriage is between one man and one woman. And further, that intimacy should be shared only within that context.

So, where am I going with this? I don’t want you to get mad or upset or spur you to write your congressman/woman. What we need isn’t government intervention! What we need is for a mighty move of the Holy Spirit bringing about a revival in this land. That can only happen as the Gospel is preached. I say that because that is the means by which God has chosen to perpetuate the faith.

Transition: That’s why preachers and pastors love the Gospel. It is life changing because it changes the heart of a person. Our text is all about the gospel and how it changes people, specifically, how it changed the Colossians.

The letter begins with a traditional or typical opening: This is Paul and Timothy, to the saints at… Grace & Peace to you; Thanksgiving and Prayer; often times Paul would express his theme within his prayer or somewhere in the opening of his letter. And really, that prayer of his is so in line with the theme of his letter. In Colossians, it all about their spiritual maturity.

So, it’s interesting how he gets there in this letter. The first bit of information he tackles is some of the deepest, richest theology of Christ we see in Scripture. This passage is actually recognized as an ancient hymn. If you have the CSB, you’ll note at how this is written out in poetic form or style. I notice none of the other translations do that. At least none that I have. The editors of the Greek Text have it in poetic form.

If I were to sing, “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound…” you could probably join in – without needing words on the screen or a hymnal. If I said, “Our father which art in heaven…” you could probably join in… without aids. So, it would be with these Colossians.

The hymn starts in v15 and goes through v20; You’ll note the Hebraic style in the Chiastic structure:

            a. He is the image of God

                        b. The firstborn of all creation

                                    c. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

c. He is the beginning

                        b. The firstborn from the dead

            a. In him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell

The hymn brings out two important doctrines of Christ. 1) He is the Creator of all things and 2) He is the Head of the Church. So, what is the point of this hymn and Paul’s citing it here in the first part of this letter? I think it is simply this: Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, and he has absolute authority to accomplish whatever his heart desires. Paul quotes this hymn to demonstrate, first:

I. Christ in Relation to Creation: He is Lord. (15-17)

exp.: rd 15a; He is the image of the invisible God; This is a simple declaration that Jesus is God; It is reiterated in v 19; For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell; continuing in v 15; the firstborn of all creation; firstborn doesn’t mean the first one born; the word is means position; the common use would be the firstborn of the family.

ill.: According to the Law, all firstborn in Israel belong to God. So, the first-born animals were sacrificed as an offering to God. In some instances, such as firstborn sons, they could be redeemed by offering sacrifices in their stead. God was declaring the importance of position.

When an inheritance was to be given, the oldest, the first born got 2/3 of the estate; the final 1/3 was divided up between the rest of the boys. So, the etemology of the word leans toward people thinking that it has everything to do with birth position, but that isn’t it – that’s just the visible, popular use of the word. You need to know it means that Christ is preeminent in position of authority.

app.: He is the agent by which creation came into existence; he is the one who has authority over all of creation;

exp.: rd v16; For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. John 1.3 – ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

πάντα διʼ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν. ὃ γέγονεν

All through him became, and without him became not one thing which became.

Without him, nothing was made that has been made. He created it all! rd v 16 again; For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Rd v 17; And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

1. He is Creator.
2. He is Sustainer. Not only did he speak all that there is into existence, but his power is what holds it together.

app.: That’s an incredible power. That’s the ultimate authority. So, Paul, still in the midst of this hymn, is quoting for these people – probably something they already know – reminding them of Christ’s Supreme Authority. And he continues… rd v 18

t.s.: Now, this Hymn brings out…

II. Christ in Relation to The Church: He is Head. (18-20)

exp.: cf.: Chiastic structure; Christ has all authority as creator, sustainer, but he is also the Supreme Authority over his church.

• He is the Head of this body, the church.
• Beginning (ruler)
• Firstborn (position) from the dead; the 1^st to be resurrected

ill.: Others were raised from the dead, but they eventually died again; Christ is the first to be resurrected and still lives; And because of this, we have this hope of our resurrection and the resurrection of our loved ones; But this one act establishes Christ as the Supreme Authority over the Church. Remember, this again is about his position.

exp.: rd v 19-20; ¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 19 establishes once again that he is God in the flesh; vs 20 tells us why he did all that he did: to reconcile to himself all things. He has all authority. He could have just written the earth off and destroyed it, but instead, he brought us peace. And he did so through the shedding of his blood on the cross.

app.: I love a good hymn that has good theology and doctrine. This ancient hymn is rich in Christology – the Doctrine of Christ. But why is Paul quoting it here? At the beginning of his letter? Where is he going with this?

t.s.: well, let’s look as he points us to…

III. Christ in Relation to The Colossians: He is Redeemer (21-23)

exp.: rd v 21-22; alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds; it appears there are two pieces of evidence for their unregenerate lives: alienated – that is to say, separated from God and enemies (hostile in mind) – that is to say, at enmity with God. These two pieces of evidence were seen in their actions – doing evil deeds. Earlier Paul mentioned (10) bearing fruit in every good work – same word here as ‘deeds’; good deeds vs. evil deeds; but it isn’t that way anymore!

Now you are no longer alienated or at enmity, but rather you’ve been reconciled…(and here is the gospel) in his body of flesh by his death; this little statement is connected to v. 24; we’ll revisit it next week, but for now, it’s important to note that Jesus physically died on the cross for our sin, making it possible to have a relationship with him. We were enemies of God, doing evil deeds, but now, he has reconciled us, making us holy, blameless and above reproach before him.

Paul then makes this statement that might bring some confusion: rd v 23: ²³ if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard… It sounds like you can lose your faith, but that isn’t the doctrine.

This is the doctrine: Continuation in the faith is evidence you’ve committed your life to Christ. For those who don’t continue in the faith, it is evidence that they haven’t committed their lives to Christ. This verse doesn’t mean that you can become a Christian and then lose your faith. Lots of folks start the journey and decide not to stick with it, for various reasons. When they choose to walk away from it, it means they never really were committed to it.

t.s.: The preeminence of Christ in all things establishes his authority in redemption history, reconciling the Colossians based on his atoning work and their continuation in the faith. And it is the same for us – All authority, in heaven and on earth, belongs to Christ. He is Preeminent in all things, including our redemption, if we stand firm in our faith.

Conclusion: I love the Gospel. I love that it changes lives.

She had been coming to our church for a few months. She was inquisitive and truly seeking. That was evident in her passion and pursuit of the truth. Her story relects the woman at the well – the Samaritan woman. When we met her, she had come through a nasty divorce. She and her little girl were trying to make a go of life in East Texas. She had gotten pregnant and had no intention of marrying the father of her 2^nd child. A co-worker, actually a subordinate, invited her to our church. It was there she heard the gospel.

She attended for some time – months even. It was during this time that she got pregnant with her 3^rd child. According to her own testimony, as she drove down the road, she was overcome by her own sin. She knew that living her life her way had made things incredibly difficult. She said she pulled off to the side of the road and just wept. It was there in her car on the side of the road, with tears streaming down that she committed her life to the Lord.

And boy did she. The Gospel got a hold of her life and transformed her. At first I was leery of her conversion. A lot of people start off like a falling star – bright and brilliant and full of energy at first, but then fall away into mediocrity. Not her! Jesus changed her and she has never been the same. I’ve watched her blossom into a passionate evangelist who has probably led more people to Christ than any other convert I’ve personally known!

1 Timothy 1.12-17

Title: Jesus Came to Save Sinners

Text: 1 Timothy 1.12-17

 

Introduction: One of the things I miss about having church on Sunday night is that it is so relaxed. The music, the conversation… really everything. I miss people sharing Scripture and the specials from children and others who might not normally sing on a Sunday morning. But what I miss most is the testimony time. Now, don’t get me wrong. Sometimes, testimonies were more about the person rough life than about the grace and mercy of Christ. But that is more the exception than the rule. I tell you, I worship when I hear a powerful testimony to the grace and mercy of God. I really do. Something in my spirit is moved.

As we’ve made our way through 1 Timothy we’ve seen Paul charge Timothy with the task of confronting teachers who present unsound, unhealthy doctrine. But now Paul takes a break to insert this… almost parenthetical statement about the joy and privilege of serving Christ and this statement culminates in a glorious doxology.

Transition: But get this, that even in Paul’s Testimony, the story isn’t about him. It is about Christ. This is what Paul wants you to see – He wants you to see Christ. First, he wants you to see:

I.     The Mercy of Christ (12-13):

exp.: rd v 12; Paul expresses his Gratitude toward Christ for his incredible mercy in appointing Paul into Christian Service: Look at how Paul points to Christ…The Mercy of Christ is evident in the following actions:

• Christ has strengthened him (lit.; empowered me): rd v 12; Timothy, you’ve been called to this work and this is my experience in the work: Christ has empowered me to do this ministry which he has called me to do.

app.: I know I usually give my applications at the end, but can I just stop right here and say, wow! What an incredible application for us. Christ will give you what you need to accomplish the mission he tasks you with! Provision is such an important lesson to learn.

ill.: Phil 4.10-13; context – the context is God’s provision for Paul; that also means strength to enure when it seems you have nothing;

• Christ has judged him faithful (lit.: considered or thought me faithful; NASB)
• Christ has appointed him to this ministry; this echoes v 1; an apostle; commissioned; And this is where we see the mercy of Christ; appointed to this ministry, this service (διακονίαν) in spite of the fact that…
  • All of this in spite of the fact that he, himself felt that he was so undeserving of Christ’s mercy. Rd v 13; He says: I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent
  • The Reason: He had acted ignorantly and in unbelief

ill.: we saw that in the passage John read for us earlier; there at the stoning of Stephen, giving approval Acts 7.54-8.3;

app.: Mercy is such a beautiful word – mercy displayed through equipping Paul and empowering him to do this blessed ministry.

t.s.: So first, Paul wants us to see the Mercy of Christ in his life – in spite of who Paul was and how he had acted as a non-believer. Secondly, Paul wants us to see

II.    The Grace of Christ (14-16):

exp.: Paul’s displays his Attitude toward the Gospel because of the grace of Christ toward him: (Christ’s Amazing Grace toward Paul);

exp.: rd v 14a; overflowed like, in superabundance; According to Gordan Knight, this grace, which overflows in superabundance, not only forgives and strengthens, but it moves one into a sphere of faith and love – and better, it keeps one in that sphere. But listen, to Calvin on this…

faith and love may be referring to God… I opt for a more straightforward exposition. Faith and love bear witness to God’s grace that has just been referred to, so nobody will conclude that Paul is boasting for no good reason. Faith is contrasted with Paul’s unbelief (v13); Love in Christ is contrasted with the cruel persecution Paul had handed out to believers. It is as if he was now saying that God had transformed him and he was now a new person.

That’s pretty deep if you ponder on it for a bit. Christ, in all of his mercy and grace, gives the believer the faith and love he or she now needs to live this Christian life. I think this matches what Paul teaches to the Romans in Romans 5.

And to add strength to this, Paul now seems to quote a popular saying: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

Ill.: Philip Ryken tells of how modern-day worship leaders have taken to changing words in hymns to make them more palatable. One example he gives is: Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound, that saved and strengthens me. Which, sounds harmless at first. But, the point Ryken makes is that people don’t want to be considered wretches. They’re basically saying God’s amazing grace reaches to them, but that they’re pretty good people – not wretches. And then Ryken goes on to quote Brian Ragan: Grace is amazing because it saves wretches, not because it puts a final polish on nice people.

What we need to do is see ourselves as Paul sees himself. He, himself, was an example of Christ’s incredible patience toward the hardest sinner. I think the way you and I do that is to see ourselves in light of Christ. I think you do that when you see who Christ is in all of his holiness and purity and glory. And, we then see ourselves in comparison to him – then, we’ll understand the term wretched.

Ill.: it is kind of like having a standard for jumping. We might think we’re pretty good jumpers for someone our age, but the truth is there is someone who jumps higher and farther than we do. Jason, or Blake. If we were that way we’d be happy to jump high and we’d compare ourselves to others that we’re better than and strive to be like those who are better than us.

Back in Harlingen, we had a gym. I’m sure they still do. I was minister of youth and recreation, so I hosted a basketball game at lunch. We had a group of guys who would take lunch and come to play basketball. It was so much fun. There was always a lot of trash talking and fouling, traveling – basic rule-breaking. But, nobody ever believed he was actually at fault. Including myself! So I set up a camera to record our game. I placed it up on the 2^nd floor and videoed our lunch hour game. Afterward, I told everyone what I did and most of the guys wanted to stay and watch. I knew I recorded it and was still embarrassed at what I saw. That was at least 25 years ago and I couldn’t believe how pitiful I looked. I’m so used to seeing the pros move and jump and run.

But here’s the thing: the standard in jumping is to jump as high as Lebron James! The stand is to jump up and touch the moon! And no one can do that – we all fall short of the standard – if that were the case.

The reality is that the standard is Holiness – and all of us fall short of the glory of God in that category, too! Only one person met the standard: Christ! But look at how incredible this grace and mercy is toward him in v16; rd v 16; Wow! That’s’ a beautiful picture of the Messiah.

Transition: Once we see ourselves that way and we realize just what He has done for us – his incredible patience toward us, we can’t help but break out in Worship… and that is exactly what Paul does in v 17.

III.   Doxology: The Magnitude of Paul’s Praise to Christ for His great mercy and grace.

exp.: we see that in v 17; rd v 17; this is a sermon in itself. We could set aside this verse, break it down phrase by phrase, word by word and create a sermon series on the glory and majesty of the Father. That actually sounds fun! ¹⁷ To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

So, what did we learn today? What will you take with you when we go our separate ways?

Take-a-ways:

1. I want you to think about the attributes of Christ as Paul presents Christ in his testimony: strengthens, empowers, provides, patient, loving, faithful, He doesn’t give us what we deserve and He gives us what we don’t deserve. You’ve probably heard this little ring before:
   1. Mercy: not getting what we deserve; Paul describes his experience of calling to this incredible service as ‘mercy’. He deserved was what he had dished out to others. He counted it as a blessing to suffer for Christ.
   2. Grace: getting what we don’t deserve; Paul describes his experience of salvation as ‘grace’ toward him. He did not deserve salvation or the privilege of serving the Master. But really, who does? Who is?
2. I’m glad Samaritan’s Purse was here today with us. I’m grateful for their ministry and the opportunity we have to participate. But I want to caution you: don’t think that the sum of your Christian service is sending shoeboxes filled with Christmas gifts to children. Because serving can feel good. Helping out at helping hand can stroke your ego. Those are good things, but that isn’t what saves you. It should be what you do because of who you are.
   1. The Trustees and I are planning to meet soon to talk strategy for the upcoming year. We want to encourage missions and evangelism. That is all part of the plan. But don’t rely on that to make you feel good about yourself and your Christianity.
   2. It isn’t that you don’t do them then, but that you do those ministries with the right intentions.
   3. Isn’t it odd or peculiar that Paul considers it ‘mercy’ that Christ would allow Paul to suffer as he had caused others to suffer? It brings up a great question about what does it mean to suffer and do we see that as God’s mercy in our lives?
   4. I think we often see mercy as God doing something wonderful in our lives – but what about suffering for him in accomplishing the ministry he’s called us to…
   5. What does it mean that the disciples… left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. Or, when Paul says… ⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— ¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
   6. How crazy, right? To see God’s mercy in suffering for Him and His glory! It’s Gut-check time.
3. I think of Paul’s statement about the perfect patience of Christ. Peter says the same thing – it isn’t that the Lord is slack in returning, it’s that he is displaying his perfect patience toward us. If you sit here today and you’ve never committed your life to Christ, that should move you, that he has delayed his return to give you more time.

1 Timothy 1.8-11

Title: What do we know about the Law?

Text: 1 Timothy 1.8-11

What do we know about the Law?

The answer is honestly…very little. And, what we do know about the law we oftentimes don’t really understand. Or, we misuse it.

When one thinks about the law, that person usually thinks of it in negative terms. But the Bible doesn’t refer to the law in negative terms. Not really… consider:

Does this sound familiar:

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; ² but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. ³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Or this one:

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; ⁸ the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; ⁹ the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. ¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. ¹¹ Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

If you read Psalm 119 regularly, you might be familiar with this one: ⁹⁷ Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.

Do we just throw out the Law as Christians? I mean, it is the Old Testament, right?

No! Because, the law does some truly wonderful work for us. Listen to what Paul writes in Galatians.

¹⁹ For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

So, we can’t gain righteousness through the Law, but it still serves a purpose. The theme of Romans 8 is that we aren’t to live by the law anymore, but rather by the Spirit, whom God has given us when we become Christians.

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. ³ For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.

And just how did he do that? We continue in Romans 8: By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

We’re in 1 Tim 1. We’ve only just begun our study in 1^st Timothy. Paul writes this letter for Timothy to encourage him to take a strong stand against false teachers. That is clear in v3-4; In v5-7 we are reminded, as we consider the law, of what the goal is supposed to be. Rd v 5; Love! Love.

Don’t forget that. It is so easy to do! Maybe people start off with love in mind, but it quickly disintegrates into anger and bitterness and defensiveness. It becomes a goal of winning an argument and being right.

Ill.: I remember after seminary learning about the Catholic Church and finding some truly wonderful practices about the Catholic Church. I met Father Dan Crawford, an Episcopalian Priest, who mentored me. It seemed to me that seminary training for me was more about what they did wrong and why the Reformation was launched. I knew about our differences, but not anything about what we hold in common. For me, it felt so much about being able to defend our differences and to win an argument if I debated someone who is Catholic or Episcopalian or Pentecostal. Maybe we need to stop being so argumentative and we need to start listening more.

Here’s where I’m going with this:

• There are some people we feel comfortable worshiping with because they are just like us.
• There are some people we wouldn’t feel comfortable worshiping with because they’re different.
• But there are some people who are so different, that we would say, “That isn’t even Christian.”

But, in every instance where it comes to doctrine, this isn’t about winning arguments. It isn’t about debates. Paul reminds us here: it is all about love.

Certain men, teachers of the law, did not have love as their motive. 1 Timothy 6.3-10 tells us their goal was to get rich. They taught certain aspects of the law from Speculation and not true knowledge and experience. And so we pick up in v8 of 1^st Timothy 1 where Paul begins up the law. So, what do we know about the Law? Well, Paul presents three facts about the law that I would like to spend the rest of the morning inspecting. The first fact, we know that…

I.     The Law is Good (8)

exp.: and we see that clearly communicated in v 8; rd v 8; how is it that? We see what looks to be a conditional clause: it is good if one uses it lawfully. So, you can use the law in an unlawful way. And I think that is what v6-7 is all about: ⁶ Certain persons, by swerving from these (i.e., a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith), have wandered away into vain discussion, ⁷ desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

Using the law in an unlawful manner means to make confident assertions about the law that are false.

• It means using the law for ill-gotten gain.
• Using the law in an unlawful manner means leaving love out of the equation.
• It means being ‘right’ in a debate. It means using others to get what you want.

Ill.: There are different types of arguments and I’m not sure any of them are good to engage in. We have speech and debate; I’m not talking about those types of things. I’m talking about the casual conversations you have with your workers, friends, and acquaintances. If you argue and push until you win – you might lose the battle of trying to win them to Christ. If something is heretical, yes, you should shed light on that. But again, what is your goal – to show how stupid they are? Or, is your goal love and you want to help that person. Those are two very different things.

app.: I shudder to think of my behavior in the past when I was quick to defend a belief or something I disagreed with. Paul establishes for us that he’s not bothered about the Law being taught because the Law is good. So, don’t be afraid of it. Instead – look for Christ in it.

t.s.: Which brings us to Paul’s next fact… The law also has purpose.

II.    The Law has Purpose (9-10)

exp.: rd v 9a: ⁹ understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just (or righteous), but for the unjust or the unrighteous; and he outlines them; read them; rd v9-10;

I want you to note that these echo or parallel the 10 commandments; you might consider these a commentary by Paul on the 10 Commandments; (the first three pair follow the 1^st part of the Decalogue) lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane,; (the rest of the list, the 2^nd part of the Decalogue) for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, ¹⁰ the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine;

thou shall honor your father & mother; thou shall not murder; thou shalt not commit adultery, enslavers is lit.: ‘manstealer’ it is used to describe someone who steals people and sells them; liars – bearing false witness;

Transition: Paul moves through the purpose and goodness of the Law and shares with Timothy that their newfound Faith in Christ doesn’t go against the Law;

2^nd, note that The law has purpose – it shows us what a life in Christ is like.

Ill.: Listen to John Piper as he uses Galatians 3.19-25 to explain this text: So the law, Paul says, is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious. This sounds very much like Galatians 3:19. Paul asks, “Why the Law then?” Why was it added 430 years after Abraham was justified by faith? He answers, “It was added because of transgressions.” He does not say that it was added because of righteousness. It was added because of these kinds of things we read in this list in 1 Timothy 1:9-10. The law had a special role to play in setting a rigorous, detailed standard of behavior which functioned, Paul said, to hold people imprisoned (Galatians 3:22) or under a guardian or tutor (Galatians 3:24) until Christ came and justification by faith could be focused on him. The law commanded and condemned, and pointed to a Redeemer who was to come. Then Paul says, in Galatians 3:25, “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”

app.: So, it parallels the 10 Commandments and 2^nd, it points us to Christ. Paul wants to establish that he’s not bothered about the Law being taught because the Law is good. Its purpose is to demonstrate life and to point to the one who was to come. It shows us our need for Christ; It shows us our sinfulness and our sin; it shows us our need for forgiveness;

t.s.: which brings us to this 3^rd fact of Paul’s in what do we know about the Law? We know that (1) the law is good and we know that (2) the law has purpose. And, (3) we know that…

III.    The Law & the Gospel are in One Accord (11)

exp.: v 11; in accordance with the Gospel; that’s pretty clear; I think the converse would be true then: if you find something in the law and it doesn’t line up with the Gospel, then there is something wrong with the Gospel you’re teaching. That’s a bold statement. Am I off here? Think about this for a moment – let that sink in: if you’re teaching something from the law and it doesn’t line up with the Gospel – then there is something wrong with the Gospel you’re teaching. You’re not teaching Paul’s Gospel. You’re teaching a false Gospel. The whole phrase, the Gospel of the glory is used only one other place in Scripture: 2 Cor 4.4 – ⁴ In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

ill.: If you come across a teaching that declares you can be unfaithful to your wife. That is a false gospel. If you come across a teaching that insists you can steal something because you’re entitled to it. That’s a false gospel. If you hear a teacher proclaim that God wants to give you the abundance of riches and he or she declares that to be financial riches – that’s a false gospel.

app.: The Gospel is quite clear – and the law is in accordance with it. That is just one of the facts we know about the Law: 1. It is good; 2. It has purpose and 3. It is in accordance with the Gospel.

Conclusion: In 1945 the USS Indianapolis what’s sailing in the Pacific. On one particular run, the Indianapolis sustained significant damage from a Japanese Kamikaze – a plane that uses itself as a bomb. The ship limped to a nearby Island and made what repairs she could. But the damage was significant enough that the Indianapolis was then forced to return to San Francisco for major repairs.

In 1945, many Americans believed the War was coming to an end. All indications were that was the case. Because of this, Lt. Commander John Emery used his position to pull some strings and get his son, William Friend Henry stationed to the USS Indianapolis at San Francisco. The Lt. Commander thought his son would be safe there. He thought his son would stay there in dry dock while repairs were being made. And, then, she would probably never head back out to war – the war would be over and his son would be alive. So, using his rank and his relationships with his powerful friends, he got his son transferred to Indy.

But a need arose. The powers that be needed a ship to transfer the atomic bomb to Guam. The USS Indianapolis was in a perfect place to become the ship that would transfer ‘the bomb’ – The atomic bomb that would be loaded onto the Enola Gay and then flown to Japan, where it was dropped on Hiroshima.

It was after this transfer at Guam that the Indianapolis was sent to the Philippines for some training exercises. The crew thought they were safe. Laziness and inaction by others gave the Captain of the Indianapolis a sense that they were safe. Lt. Commander John Emery thought they were safe – he thought his son was safe, but as you know – if you’ve ever seen the movie Jaws – you know it was torpedoed and sank. You know that most of the men on board that ship were killed. In an effort to save his son, the actions Lt. Commander Emery took actually brought about the death of his son.

There is another story about a Father whose actions brought about the death of his son. But this father wasn’t acting to save his son. The actions he took were intentional. He was acting to save you and me. God sent his Son, Jesus to die on the Cross of Calvary and to pay the penalty of sins for you and for me. You see, that’s the Gospel. Talk about love as the goal: that’s the Gospel.

Paul wants to establish that he’s not bothered about the Law being taught, because:

1. The Law is good.
2. It shows us our need for Christ.
3. It is consistent with the Gospel.

Take-a-ways:

1. Read the Law – it is good for you. It is a major part of your sanctification. Read a little. Meditate on one verse. Read one chapter a day. Read 5 chapters a day.
2. Learn the Law, so that you might learn of Christ’s Character. Remember he said that he didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He fulfilled it. Perfectly. Which is my third take-a-way
3. Live the Law – to do so would be to be like Christ. Sure, there are some hard things about the Law, but in reading them, learning them and living them out, there is great reward. Do this, because the Law is good, it has purpose and it is in accordance with the Gospel of the glory of the blessed God.

1 Timothy 2.1-7

Title: E = P x Q

Text: 1 Tim 2.1-10

CIT (Aim): Praying for others and living a quiet, peaceful life with all godliness and holiness are the fertile grounds for fulfilling the Great Commission.

CIS: I want to encourage our congregation to speak up and tell people about Jesus and the hope we have in him.

Context: The Corporate Body – we’re not talking about individual responsibility.

Introduction: E = P x Q; Evangelism = Prayer multiplied by a Quiet, peaceful life with all godliness and dignity.

I like this title, but for sure, it needs some ‘splainin’… More on that in a moment. For now, let that ruminate for a while.

I heard the following story on RadioLab. It’s really good and goes into to so much more detail than I can this morning, so I commend the podcast to you:

I want you to go back in time with me to 1944. Go with me to 1944, up north, to Thermopolis, Wyoming some 30 miles south of where we used to live. Three miners at a place called the High Line Coal Mine, just outside of town, had stepped outside of their mine. I don’t know if they were done for the day and headed home or if they just were taking a break. But, they were standing at the entrance to the mine, just about dusk and they hear this whistling sound over their heads that ends with a loud explosion. Across the Bad Lands, about a mile away, they see this large cloud of dust. Above them, there is this floating circle. Today we’d call it a UFO – an object that is flying, but which is unidentifiable. Someone asks me: do you believe in UFO’s and I say yes. Do I believe in little green men from other planets flying around incognito: No! But, do I believe there are objects that remain unidentified by individuals. Yes. I think there are logical explanations for those things. But, that’s what this is… a floating circle. They best described it as a parachute. But that wasn’t what it was, but something they could identify it with.

They jump in their truck to follow it and do for a little while, but because it is dark, they lose sight of it soon thereafter and abandon the chase.

• About that same time, a little boy and his daddy are working in their barn in Colorado when they hear an explosion. They run outside and there is a smoldering crater in their front yard.
• In Wyoming, a 9-year-old boy is playing in his front yard he hears an explosion.
• Throughout the winter of 1944, there are these strange reports about explosions, and there are sightings of these ‘parachute’ looking things in the skies.

Napa, California; Lane Deer, Montana; Detroit, Michigan, Idaho, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Oregon, and the list just goes on. Everyone who sees these ‘things’ and hears these explosions come up with many different guesses to what they’ve experienced: plane crashes; gas line explosions; and you name it. But, they’re all guesses. No one knows for sure.

Until one day, Sheriff Hyde came across one these ‘parachute looking’ things and he was able to apprehend it. Sheriff Hyde is probably the quintessential sheriff; serving in Utah, just north of Salt Lake City: Stetson Hat; a giant of a man, gun on his hip. He gets a phone call from a local farmer who says there is this balloon, parachute contraption in my field, just floating around. So, the Sheriff jumps in his car and speeds out to the farm. He runs out into the field and grabs a hold of this thing. He later described it as a huge globe, paper white, and coming down from this globe are these thick 40’ ropes. Attached to the bottom is this heavy metal chandelier with bombs hanging off the bottom.

Well, the Sheriff, leaving his hat and holster and gun in his car, runs up to the ‘thing’ and grabs a rope. He hopes to maybe tie it down and keep it safe for the authorities to come and check it out. But, just as he grabs the rope, a gust of wind comes and takes the balloon up and away. But the sheriff doesn’t let go of the rope. This thing climbs higher and higher and crosses a canyon. But he doesn’t let go. He slams to the ground on the other side of the canyon and he tries to tie it off on some sort of juniper plant, but it brakes loose. He grabs hold and it takes him back across the canyon. It bounces about the field – the same one where it was earlier, but the sheriff can’t hold it down or tie it off. He’s sick and nauseated from being spun around and fighting with this thing for some time. His vision is blurry and exhausted from fighting to keep this thing down, but he doesn’t give up.

You see, he knew the government had been getting these reports of ‘parachute balloons’, the explosions, and UFO reports. But the government didn’t have any proof they really existed. Sheriff Hyde knew this was a great opportunity to lasso one. So he continued to hang on. He was eventually able to get it tied off to the root sticking out of the side of the canyon. He was the first one to actually capture one of these contraptions.

The government came and took it away and said nothing. They (the powers that be) decided that it would be best to keep it all quiet. They didn’t want to set off a panic amongst the people. So they just didn’t say anything. And not saying anything was a costly mistake.

Not saying anything. I think sometimes that not saying anything makes people talk, gossip and guess their way through problems and situations. Not saying anything hurts a situation more than just telling people. People’s imaginations are far worse than the truth. Sometimes it really is the right thing to do, but for the most part, it appears to me that just isn’t the case.

Two people in the church get sick. Both have cancer. One asks the church for prayers and tells them ways they can be praying. For sure, they don’t say everything about their illness, but enough that people are sensitive to their sickness and then they pray. The other says nothing. People start talking. What’s wrong? That start talking to each other… it turns into gossip. I don’t think that most people mean it to be hurtful, but it is what it is. People can’t help themselves, even though they should. And the very thing that the quiet, private person did not want has happened. While the first person doesn’t get gossiped about.

Not saying anything can be costly. Like in our text today…

Look at the title here: E = P x Q. Evangelism equals Prayer multiplied by a quiet, peaceful life lived out in all godliness and dignity.

Paul is writing to Timothy in this letter. He charges Timothy to say something: to confront false teachers and false doctrine. Then, in Chapter two, Paul turns to some basic practices in the church to be observed with order and oversight. These practices are important in combating false doctrine.

Now, Paul could have just listed them and been quick about it:

• First, Pray (you see that in 2.1) and pray for everyone, including your king and other leaders.
• And those public prayers need to be backed up with godly, honorable lives. People are watching.
• If you desire to be an overseer, an elder, then here is your standard. Oh, and it is the same for men and women who serve as deacons in the church.

You see, four sentences and I’m through the next couple of chapters. But that isn’t Paul’s style. That isn’t Paul’s nature. He’s a teacher. So he expounds. He digresses from the topic to explain. And I’m so thankful he does.

Let’s look at these and see how I came up with this formula: E=PxQ.

The Evangelist’s life is filled with prayer and a quiet, peaceful life lived out with all godliness and dignity. How is that so? Paul tells us in the following verses. I’ve listed them as follows:

1. The Pleasure of God in His Church (1-3)
2. The Plan of God for His Church (4-7)

Let’s look at this first section:

I.     The Pleasure of God in His Church (1-3)

exp.: Look what he says in 2.1: rd v 1; first of all; this means the first, as in order and maybe even in importance. You either start with prayer or nothing is more important than prayer. If you ask me which one it is, I’d say, both!

Can I repeat that: It is the first thing you should do and there is probably nothing more important in your winning people to Christ than your prayers for them. Now the context here is public prayers. As the church gathers, the first thing we should do and there is nothing more important than what we do than to pray publicly for all people.

I wonder if you agree… I’d challenge anyone here this morning to stand to their feet and declare a more important component to Evangelism than prayer. Maybe you could teach me something here, something that I’m not seeing.

First of all! That’s a pretty bold statement. Paul has been going off on these false teachers and their false doctrine and then he comes to structure and order in the church. And what comes first? ¹First of all, then, I urge that and Paul gives us 4 words for prayer in the church. They’re really all synonyms for prayer.

• Supplications
• Prayers
• Intercessions
• Thanksgivings

This is requests, specific request, general requests, and even gratitude. It’s all still just prayer. It’s talking to God. It is interceding on behalf of needs – and the context here is praying for people. And, Paul specifies next that these prayers be made for all people… let’s label this:

1. A Call to Prayer: it is like the foundational way we battle false doctrine; but, I think there is more here, and that is seen in this little statement: prayers be made for all people. For sure, there is this universal idea or theme to his statement. In Jewish religious practices, the Jew would normally pray for their neighbor. Paul’s idea is pretty radical compared to what they were used to practicing. Basically, there isn’t anyone who fits outside of these parameters. I don’t think this means to be generic in your prayers: God bless everyone. Let there be peace on earth. But rather, pray for all people. Everyone you can think of. There is no one who you shouldn’t pray for.

I think Paul begins to digress here for a moment in v2. He seems to do that quite often; rd v 2; ² for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

Let’s call this:

2. A Call to Piety: this is holy living. You might see this as the Public’s Perception of us. This is what they see in us. So, with this in mind, I think Paul is being more specific here in what he’s talking about in prayers: this isn’t the private devotional prayer. This is public prayer. It is Public Prayer as observed by others who are watching us in our Worship Services.

ill.: Did you see that President Trump stopped by David Platt’s church this past week? It was all over the news. First, because it looked like he had a new hairstyle. Then, because some of David Platt’s church members were upset that the pastor prayed for the president! David Platt used this passage and prayed for the President. The president had stopped by that morning because he said he wanted to pray for the victims of the Virginia shooting this past week. And David prayed for the president. He didn’t know he was coming. He heard that he would be there at the worship service just a few minutes he actually showed up.

Can I chase a rabbit for a minute, that’s really right up this alley? Y’all, it doesn’t matter who the president is. He still needs our prayers. And someday, she will need our prayers. You may not agree with someone’s politics, but this hatred in the political realm is getting out of hand. I would hope that no matter what politician showed up here asking for prayers that our congregation would act appropriately. And pray for that leader.

Paul tells us why we are to do this: in order that… we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. For the Jews, this was a practice that was encouraged because often times the emperor was to be worshiped. The act of publicly praying for the emperor was encouraging and it caused those in high offices to back off of pressuring the Jews. So, first, the leadership backed off. 2^nd, the leadership would be kind toward those people allowing them to lead… a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

app.: Here is Paul’s charge to them through Timothy: Pray and practice Piety. Because he continues in v 3; rd v 3; it pleases God. This is the pleasure of God in the Church: Prayer and Piety. Three P’s: Prayer, Piety, and Pleasure.

t.s.: Let’s continue… 2^nd,

II.    The Plan of God in His Church (4-7)

exp.: this is good and pleases God, but more than that – it is his plan! Rd ⁴ who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. So, there is this call to prayer and a call to holy living, all within the sight of lost people. And what is the result – that people would get saved. Wouldn’t you just love to please God? Pray for the salvation of all people. Right now, we’re just focusing on Who is your 1? Who is your 1? The challenge is to pray for 1 person, 1x a day, for 1 minute at 1 o’clock. This is our simple way of helping our church fulfill this charge: to pray, to practice piety, and present the gospel. Check this out: his pleasure is that we pray for all people – specifically, that, v4, they get saved by coming to a knowledge of the truth.

And then, Paul tells us how they can get saved: it’s his plan. Rd v 5; One God (holy, perfect) and us sinners; but there is a mediator who brings us together; How did he do that? rd v 6; Christ freely gave himself as a ransom.

This would be my plea to you this morning if you’ve never committed your life to Christ: God is holy and perfect. We are sinners and our sin separates us from God. I like to use a book like this to illustrate the sin that separates us. So, because we were helpless to act on our own, to remove this sin, God has sent his own son to die on the cross for our sins. He was buried in a borrowed tomb and he was raised three days later, where he ascended to be with the Father – and rules and reigns in glory.

And the Bible teaches us that if we’ll surrender our lives to him, that if we confess Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead, we’ll be saved.

Paul says, that was his mission, rd v 7; that’s God’s purpose for him. But, that it is also our mission. We’ve been given the Great Commission.

This is truly a beautiful passage if you just let it wash over you. God’s heart is to see all people come to him. 2 Peter 3.9 tells us that it is God’s will that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

1. God’s Pleasure – (3-4) in a church that prays for He Desires; Salvation
2. God’s Plan – (5-6) His Gospel; Son
3. God’s Purpose – (7) Paul’s Mission; Sent

Transition: Can you imagine if Paul had remained silent? What if he never said a word?

Conclusion: Remember the story of the UFO’s – the unidentified flying objects? The reports came in from all over the west, but the government didn’t say anything. The military kept quiet about these UFOs.

A couple of years earlier, in April of 1942, Lt. Col. Doolittle and his band of raiders flew what was basically described as a suicide mission to Tokyo. They flew their bombers to Japan and bombed Tokyo and other places in the Japanese Islands. What that did was terrify the Japanese, who had felt safe before, but now, after this bombing mission, left them vulnerable and scared.

People in the US knew of this raid. Doolittle and his men were heroes. But, here’s what the country didn’t know. The Japanese government issued a challenge to their people: we must find a way to bomb the US mainland.

One particular day, a Japanese man was standing on the shores of his island contemplating this challenge and saw a balloon go up into the sky. He noticed it drifted eastward, toward the US. He wondered what would happen if he could launch a larger balloon. Would it rise high enough, and last long enough to make it to the US? He launched a larger balloon and noticed when it got to a certain height it would just take off and head eastward. What he didn’t know, but we do now, is there is this thing called the Jet stream. There were many trial and errors, but eventually, The Japanese govt. loved the idea and weather balloons were chosen. They had sandbags, altimeters, and bombs. The altimeters would keep them below 30,000 feet. And if they got too low, sandbags would drop, causing them to rise back up into the Jet Stream.

Now you know, that’s what those explosions were. That’s what those UFO’s were. And the US Govt. knew, but they chose not to tell the people because they didn’t want to start a panic. They had done geological tests on the sand from the sandbags and determined that not only did the sand come from Japan, but it came from a specific island. They even knew the specific beaches where this sand came from. Man, the wonders of technology. But, they didn’t say anything.

9,000 balloons were launched. And virtually none of them did any damage. None did any harm… except for this one balloon.

Bly, Oregon lies on the southern part of Oregon at the base of Gearheart Mountain. A balloon landed there. Cora Conner and her sister were invited up to the mountain for some fun. Cora’s little sister, It was Sunday, May 5, 1945. Pastor Archie Mitchell and his wife, Elsie, pregnant with their 1^st child, invited some youth to go up the mountain for a picnic. …. Wanted to go because there was this guy there who liked her and he was going. …. Begged her sister to go, too, but she couldn’t because she was working the switchboard for the town.

The pastor pulled up and the youth all jumped out of the truck and ran around the area just goofing off, while Pastor Mitchell grabbed the fishing poles and picnic basket and what not. One of the young youth noticed something strange. And, he called all of the kids and Ms. Elsie over to look at this… what we know now was a downed weather balloon with its sandbags and odd looking canisters. Some 30’ in diameter, white, pale, canvas type, contraption laying on the ground. Elise called out to her husband and said that he should come over and look at this thing they’d found. He couldn’t see anything because they were all gathered around this thing – up close and tight. Pastor Archie took a couple of steps toward them when one of the youth picked up the bomb and it exploded – killing all 5 youth and Elsie and her unborn baby.

 

No one knows for sure, but what if the govt had issued warnings? What would have happened if the people knew about these weather balloons? What if they had known and immediately upon seeing it would have stayed clear until the proper authorities had gotten there? Kids are kids – and curious kids do curious things. Maybe they still would have died because they would have ignored what they knew. But what if they did stay clear because they knew. Maybe they would have lived a long and wonderful life.

The truth is we’ll never know. But this is what I do know: Evangelism isn’t evangelism if we keep silent. You can pray. You can live a godly and honorable life. But if you and I keep silent, then how will they know? Romans 10.14 asks us: ¹⁴ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

You’ve heard of this challenge: Who is your 1? I was so blown away this past week at the many prayer requests you guys shared with the staff – to pray for your One. I want to take that one step further. I was hoping you might join me in praying for each other’s One. Here’s how I’d like to do this.

Challenge: post the names to the cross and pray. Elders, come first, Deacons, too. And then make yourselves available to pray for and with others.