5.7K
Downloads
345
Episodes
Where music, worship, family and fun collide.
Episodes
Saturday Jul 30, 2022
Saturday Jul 30, 2022
JULY 21 = 2 TIMOTHY 4
PREACH THE WORD!
There are some verses in 1 and 2 Timothy that refer to some themes that I think are important for us to know.
“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”
2 Timothy 4:1-5 NIV
THE CHARGE
“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:
We are always in his presence, of course. But Paul is calling upon the highest of solemn charges when he recognizes he is in the presence of God. When he is in the presence of Jesus. When he is aware that Jesus will judge the living and the dead. When is is viewing his coming and his kingdom.
And so Paul issues what he calls a charge. It is a command. An Imperative. A solemn order from a higher authority. He is delivering the word from God to Timothy.
PREACH
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
Just as he is commanding Timothy to boldly declare to others. He calls it PREACH. To preach is more declarative than to teach, or to give a speech. It is more than a lecture. We usually call what someone preaches a sermon. But preaching can happen one on one with someone. You can get to preaching when you are convicted that what you are saying is of extreme importance.
Preach = correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
Correct. You are thinking wrongly. Here is the right answer. This requires a man who not only knows what is right, but who has the bold confidence to deliver it. Rebuke goes to the next level. There is a lot of spiritual authority that lies behind a rebuke. And encourage. After breaking someone, they need a master who can rebuild the broken, repentant heart.
With great patience. Not just a little. What takes patience is having said hard things and people did not repent, and you keep standing alone, a voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord!
And careful instruction. Don’t just throw any old teaching off the top of your head at people. Learn what way people will best hear you. In what setting. With what stories or illustrations.
BE PREPARED ALWAYS
be prepared in season and out of season;
I have learned a little about seasons in my lifetime.
One of my favorite sayings when people are making plans and I agree with them. I’ll say, “I’m game. But I’m not in season.” For some reason I think it’s funny and I keep trying it. But this is not the season for people to get my jokes, I guess.
In the same way, there are seasons of receptivity and seasons when you are not resonating with those to whom you are speaking. Even so, be prepared to preach the word.
There are even seasons when the environment is such that the gospel is actually under persecution, and the message of Jesus is offensive to people. Your family or your friends don’t want to hear it. If so, even while you are being silent, don’t shut down or give up. It might not be the season to preach, but be prepared.
More personally, there may be seasons when you are not the one who is given the pulpit. Maybe you are just the song leader, or a member who is sitting and listening to that message. It might not be the season for you to preach. But be prepared anyway. Make your life a sermon. Be learning, every day. You never know, after 4 or 5 decades of unseen discipline, you might be doing a podcast every day about some aspect of a chapter of scripture, and your study today could help you to be prepared for when it has finally BECOME your season.
So, no matter what, even if it is not the season for you to deliver SERMONS, still I say PREACH THE WORD!
For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
Are we in this season, my brothers and sisters? The season of people gathering around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear? Is it common today to sing what we call songs of worship that actually are more about our personal feelings than about Jesus and what he has done? How often do we call upon the name of the Lord? How often do we find the word “justice” or “the poor” or “widow, refugees or the oppressed”? All of those words and topics are found often in the psalms, but people pay to hear songs that make them feel good. So writers write songs that people will pay for. And the cycle goes on and on, that people pursue what their itching ears want to hear, and a great number of teachers are available to say just what they are asking for.
So I say it again: we are all to be prepared. In season. Out of season. Even people will not put up with sound doctrine. Paul’s charge to Timothy might not be addressed to you and me directly. But his charge is for every one of us in this room today. And so I deliver that message to you this morning: PREACH THE WORD.
Sunday Jul 31, 2022
Sunday Jul 31, 2022
JULY 22 = TITUS 1
REBUKE THEM SHARPLY
The gospel is a message of grace, and Paul is going to remind Titus of that truth multiple times in this letter. The gospel is also a message of truth. Jesus was full of grace and truth, and he came to bring them to mankind.
You might say that the opposite of grace is law, rebellion, oppression, regulations, requirements and limits. And the opposite of truth is falsehood, deception, lies and imbalance.
So when teachers come along who are rebellious and full of deception, they must be silenced. Especially so when they teach things they ought not to teach for the sake of dishonest gain. This is what was happening on the island of Crete, where Paul had left Titus to straighten out the organization of the churches there.
That’s why Paul says,
“… Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”
So, when do you know to rebuke someone “sharply?” I think of Priscilla and Aquila who spoke with Apollos and explained the ways of God more fully to him. And of how Paul told Timothy that the Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but be kind to all. What is a time to confront with a sharp rebuke? Let’s see what the elements are of this false teaching.
Merely human commands of those who reject the truth. Unlike Apollos, these people have heard the truth, but they have rejected it. They don’t need to have the truth explained to them, but they need to stop rejecting it.
Corrupted and do not believe. If they are teaching for dishonest gain, then they are corrupted. If their lifestyles are immoral or in some way inconsistent with the moral God they claim to represent, then they don’t believe their own message.
Minds and consciences are corrupted. In fact, their corruption is so complete, both their minds and their consciences are corrupted. They have convinced themselves in their minds that they are not living immoral lives. And they have even convinced their consciences that they have nothing to feel guilty about. They are truly hardened in their hearts.
They deny God by their actions. They follow “Jewish myths” and “merely human commands.” But their actions show that they don’t believe in a final judgment from a righteous God.
They are detestable. Detestable is a strong word, reserved only for the truly hardened of heart.
They are disobedient. They should know to obey, but they choose not to. There is no excuse for disobedience.
They are unfit for doing anything good. Their teaching is so poisoned that nothing good can come of what these people are propagating by their lives.
Parents know well the fine line between loving someone and warning or even scolding them. They know that it is possible to do both at the same time.
Jesus himself does provide an example of giving a sharp rebuke to the Pharisees in Matthew 24. He calls them hypocrites, blind guides and fools, says they make their followers twice the sons of hell that they themselves are. I imagine Jesus delivering those harsh words with tears, much as the Father had held out his own hands all day long to a stubborn and obstinate people, and yet they would not repent. But there is a time for not beating around the bush or mincing words.
This is truly a challenging test, to know when to gently correct and when to sharply rebuke. The Holy Spirit, who is the heart of God, will guide us in knowing the difference between the two, and will show us how to love someone, even as we severely scold them. Amen.
Sunday Jul 31, 2022
Sunday Jul 31, 2022
JULY 23 = TITUS 2
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S HURDLE
In chapter two of Titus, Paul tells the young evangelist to teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Then he goes on to list what to teach each group of people, from older men, older women, younger women and young men.
All of the lists are worthy of careful consideration, of course. Titus is to tell the older men to focus on six things to help their lives honor the Lord. Titus is to teach the older women four things. Then the older women can teach the younger women—notice that it is not the young man Titus who should be ministering with personal advice for young women. For the sake of his purity and their growth, it is the older women who can best teach the younger women an impressive list of seven important items.
Then Paul tells Titus what to teach the young men.
“Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.”
Seriously? Just one thing for young men, after all the matters on everyone else’s lists?
Yes. Indeed. For young men, the gateway to maturity is self-control. If they only focus on one thing, that is the single most important part of their lives for them to really master.
In fairness, self-control is also on the list for older men and for younger women. But it is the only thing for young men.
You might say that the clearest mark of a young man is that he wants to explore “grown up” things and prove himself overnight to be a real man. So this ambitious and competitive young guy runs at life tackling everything he thinks is the mark of an adult.
The problem is, he usually gets it wrong. He sees the marks of maturity to be running fast and being strong and driving fast and taking risks. He finds himself with all kinds of hormonal desires, and so he is sexually active, and he gets into fights, he uses grown-up language and stands toe-to-toe with anyone who challenges him. In short, he glories in his manhood and imagines that he has made it as a man because he understands the ways of the world.
Of course, the problem is that a typical young man’s world is upside down. The mark of maturity is NOT in saying YES to all those things that were forbidden to him when he was younger. The mark of maturity for him is to learn to say NO to those temptations that have flooded his young brain.
Self-control is a fascinating topic, and an intriguing word in the New Testament. The word is sophroneo, which is a form of the word wisdom. It is found when the Gadarene demoniac has been delivered and they find him fully clothed and “in his right mind.” He is in control of himself, rather than the demons dictating his behavior after all these years.
Self-control is what it takes to move from limits of law and of parents to setting your own limits. When a horse has been raised in a pen, and for the first time he is released from the gate and given total freedom as to where to go and what to do, he has two choices: he can assume that he is still fenced in and stay within a small circle of space, or he can run into the wild and explore the world, reveling in his new freedom.
But for humans with a conscience and the Holy Spirit, we have a third option. We can live under childhood limitations or go crazy, or we can learn to live under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who gently guides us through the freedom of the vast world with self-control as our first tool.
Young men, may the Spirit of Christ teach you to be self-controlled and alert, that the enemy might gain no ground in your lives. Amen.
Monday Aug 01, 2022
Monday Aug 01, 2022
JULY 24 = TITUS 3
CHRISTIANS AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES
Conspiracy theories are everywhere. Elections. Visitors from other planets. Aliens from other countries. Governments. Schools. Churches. Genders, race and wealth.
I don’t know if you have noticed it, but a conspiracy theory can only come about by slander. It starts with distrust and ends with talking about others without the benefit of them being able to defend themselves. And through social media, and with the help of our always-present AI robots, we fill our inboxes with like-minded people and opinions that underscore our biases.
Paul is writing to Titus, who grew up on the island of Crete, which was originally a penal colony, and had become a center for mythology about the Greek gods. Cretans had a reputation that Paul quotes: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” Then Paul says, “this saying is true.” It is this culture to which the Gospel had come, and this culture in which the church was struggling to find a place.
Can you relate? Is our culture becoming anti-Christ, anti-church, or anti-traditional morals? What do we do in such a culture?
Paul gives this advice:
“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.”
In the first place, don’t rebel against the government, no matter how godless and corrupt it may be. Follow the rules, obey the laws, and be ready to do what is good.
Then comes the hidden instruction to “slander no one.” To slander usually means to tell the truth, but it is a hurtful negative report against that person. Paul is saying if anyone is going to choose NOT to be part of the slanderous conspiracy theories about the government and other leaders, let it be the followers of Christ. Slander no one. NO ONE. Instead, be peaceable and considerate, and always be gentle toward everyone.
Then Paul goes on to say why we can and should be charitable toward even our cultural foes.
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.”
Paul is saying that we were part of that foolish culture in our past, no matter which side of the conspiracy we happened to be on. We knew all about hate and envy. But we were changed, and now life is different.
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.”
So, let us show ourselves to be washed and reborn, renewed and citizens of a culture with hope of eternal life. This world is not our home. Then, with Paul we can say,
“…avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.”
My flesh is drawn to a good controversy. God’s Spirit tells me that such things are unprofitable and useless. Amen.
Monday Aug 01, 2022
Monday Aug 01, 2022
JULY 25 = PHILEMON
WELCOMING A USELESS THIEF
Paul writes the briefest of his letters to a brother in Christ named Philemon, who is known to “have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.” Philemon had become a believer, and had a church that met in his home, together with his family. The main purpose for this letter is to restore a relationship between Philemon and his former slave, Onesimus.
Here is the likely backstory of the relationship between the two men: Onesimus had been the slave of Philemon—perhaps a bond servant, perhaps someone whose services had been purchased by the wealthy Philemon. If Onesimus was his name from birth, then it seems likely that his family was a family of servants, for they named their son “Useful.”
However, young Onesimus was not growing into his destiny, for he was becoming “useless” to Philemon and his family. And then he ran away, likely stealing some things from Philemon on his way out.
That’s when Onesimus met Paul and was led to the Lord Jesus Christ, and his life turned upside down. He became an eager helper to Paul, delivering two of his letters (Colossians and Ephesians) by hand. And now, this former slave was called by Paul “my very heart.” And Paul knows that it is best to send Onesimus back to his master to be forgiven and restored. So he writes this letter to help pave the way.
“Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord. So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.”
Then comes one of the verses of Scripture that strikes me as an inside joke. Paul writes, “I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self.” (And I always think, it’s a good thing that Paul didn’t mention that!)
It leads me to a question: Is there a place for me as a believer in Christ to hold a personal wrong against someone? What if they betrayed me? Stole from me? Had a bad attitude? Were a lazy worker? Lied to me? Ran away and became unreachable? Is there good reason for me to pray against him, and ask God to bring him to harm?
Jesus taught us to turn the other cheek to the one who strikes us. To bless those who curse us. To forgive those who have wronged us. In short, our Lord said to pray for our enemies. And when we pray, what do we ask God for? To hurt, confront, impede, and curse the person for eternity? Or do we pray for him to bless them, to heal them, to bring them repentance so that seasons of refreshing may come to them?
May we let love always be our highest priority, even when we are wronged. Then it will be true that we will have spent a lifetime “refreshing the hearts of the saints.” And in the end, “the grace of the Lord Jesus [will] be with your spirit.” Amen.
Tuesday Aug 02, 2022
Tuesday Aug 02, 2022
0802B A HUNDRED STUPID WAYS TO DIE IN THE BIBLE (SONG OF THE WEEK)
(On a whim a few years ago, it struck me that perhaps a satirical song pointing out various ways that people died in the Bible. So it is set as if a classical German art song. Enjoy, and learn well!)
"The apostle Peter says that Scriptures are written for our strengthening, encouragement and comfort. But Paul also reminds us that they can also serve as a warning. This song is dedicated to the following Scriptures that fit into the latter category.
"Oh, there must be a hundred stupid ways to die in the Bible
Things that you should never even try in the Bible
So learn your lessons well and find out why it's in the Bible
To keep these things from happening to you:
Don't yell, "Baldy, baldy, baldy" to a prophet [Elijah]
Especially if he's on his way to prayer
You and the boys just play with your toys
imagine that he's hairy
unless you and your friend would like to be mauled by some bear-ies.
Oh, there must be a hundred stupid ways to die in the Bible
Things that you should never even try in the Bible
So learn your lessons well and find out why it's in the Bible
To keep these things from happening to you:
Pay attention if your neighbor is a builder
especially if he's building him a boat [Noah]
If you're a Giant of a man just be careful where you stand
Don't blaspheme before a boy with five smooth stones [Goliath]
Oh, there must be a hundred stupid ways to die in the Bible
Things that you should never even try in the Bible
So learn your lessons well and find out why it's in the Bible
To keep these things from happening to you:
If you're ever leaving Sodom in a hurry don't you worry
that it's raining fire and brimstone all around--just don't turn round! [Lot's wife]
Don't eat food from talking snakes [Eve]
Watch for women holding stakes [Jael]
Don't you follow hogs with demons or you'll drown [Gadarene demoniac]
And If you ever sell some land don't try to make yourself look grand
By conspiring to be lying you'll be lying under ground [Ananias and Sapphire]
If you have long flowing hair in the forest ride with care
You can keep your head by keeping your head down [Absalom]
Oh, there must be a hundred stupid ways to die in the Bible
Things that you should never even try in the Bible
So learn your lessons well and find out why it's in the Bible
And you won't have a millstone tied around your neck [Jesus' illustration]
your thumbs cut off or stoned to death [Adoni Bezek, Achin]
Cut up in pieces eaten by dogs [prostitute, Jezebel]
Shot by an arrow overrun with frogs [Saul, Pharaoh]
Do what's right in all you do to keep these things from happening to you!
Tuesday Aug 02, 2022
Tuesday Aug 02, 2022
JULY 26 = HEBREWS 1
THE GOD WHO SPEAKS
The letters written by the apostle Paul to various people and churches are organized in our New Testaments from longest to shortest, Romans to Philemon, a total of thirteen books. Then there are several “general epistles,” for which we know the author, but the recipient seems to be the church in general. So these letters bear the names of their authors—James, Jude, John and so forth.
The exception to all of these is this letter, the one commonly called “Hebrews.” Neither the author nor the receiver is specifically mentioned, though it is clear from the start that the author is addressing Jewish believers throughout the country of Italy, to strengthen their faith in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, as the fulfillment of God’s plan from the beginning.
Many scholars believe that Paul wrote the book of Hebrews. Indeed, much of the vocabulary, logic and style is consistent with Paul’s other letters, even though he is called to be an apostle to the Gentiles. But as he often says, his heart has always been for Israel to be saved. So without introduction, he launches into his long-thought-out letter to the Hebrews.
Here is how the author opens:
“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.”
Notice the position of Jesus in these verses: he is called “his Son,” “heir of all things,” “made the universe,” “radiance of God’s glory,” “exact representation of his being,” “sustaining all things by his powerful word,” “made purification for sins,” “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven,” “became superior to the angels,” as his name “is superior to theirs.”
Oh, that we in our generation would grasp the magnitude of the person of Jesus! This chapter is only one of the explanations of how astounding it could be that God, the Creator and sustainer of all, would become human, and worthy of such accolades and more!
But there’s more to the story than just the position of Jesus above all. The author says, “In the past God spoke … at many times and in various ways.” From Adam in the Garden and Noah in the flood, Moses in the bush and Daniel in the dream. From prophets who loved and served him (Samuel) to those who spoke his word for dishonest gain (Balaam), and those who were afraid (Gideon). He called Abraham from his family, inspired kings who were after his heart (David), and even spoke to foreigners who did not know him (Nebuchadnezzar, Pilate’s wife, the magi).
Yet, in these last days—we are still in these last days, you know—he has chosen to speak to us through his son. In Jesus an entire generation saw an exact representation of his being, missed his message, had him crucified, and yet God showed himself to be the great forgiver and atoning sacrifice for all. After he was raised and ascended, his name became superior to the angels (who are pretty impressive to mere mortal humans. Just look at every time they try to talk to one of us!)
So the book of Hebrews is going to tell Jewish people about their Messiah. It’s quite a story! Let’s learn it together! Amen.
Wednesday Aug 03, 2022
Wednesday Aug 03, 2022
JULY 27 = HEBREWS 2
SHARING OUR HUMANITY
We know this to be true elsewhere in the New Testament: Jesus was fully human, tempted in every way. Yet he was without sin. It was essential that Jesus did not stoop to become ALMOST human, but with super powers and super intelligence and the strength to stop a flying bullet. He had to be mortal and die. He had to be mocked and beaten, and he had to serve and give. Otherwise, his sacrifice would not have had any reason to happen.
No, he had to be human, in order to bring us along with him.
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—”
The humanity of Jesus not only defeated Satan, but it was so that he might serve as our compassionate and safely reserved example. The human had to defeat death, so the rest of us could follow.
“For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
You know a little about Jesus’ prayer in the Garden on the night of his betrayal: Father, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not my will but yours be done. Jesus had to suffer like that, and had to be denied, because we ourselves are also denied when our wills do not align with the Father’s. Otherwise, how could Jesus bear our sins? How could he make us one with the Father, except that he went through the valley of the shadow of death himself, bearing our sins in his body.
And then comes one of my favorite clues about the humanity of Jesus.
“He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.””
Jesus sang in church! That’s right, it says it right there: “In the assembly I will sing your praises.”
Maybe I just love this thought because I’m a musician. But I like to think it is deeper than that. You know, many of us men are proud, and if we can’t win at something, we don’t try. So in church I see men stand with arms crossed, letting the women and children carry the load of singing. But one of my most touching worship experiences was on a Sunday evening when I was sitting in the congregation and we were singing the song, “Jesus Loves Me.” There behind me was a dear friend, who is a faithful husband and a father of several children. He couldn’t carry a tune, at all, but there he was with his children, singing in full voice his praises and the assurance that Jesus loves us all. Even those of us who don’t sing well.
It made me wonder if perhaps the incarnation was so complete that Jesus may have been just average at certain things. Not a great athlete, not an academic genius, and maybe our Lord didn’t have perfect pitch. But if not, he fulfilled Scripture anyway, and he sang praises in the assembly for all to hear.
What do we have to be proud of? Do any of us have better voices than the angels who sing in God’s presence night and day? What does it matter? Jesus sang. Let’s join him in praise today. Amen.
Thursday Aug 04, 2022
Thursday Aug 04, 2022
JULY 28 = HEBREWS 3
IT IS ALWAYS TODAY
In chapter 1, the writer opens by saying that Jesus is superior to angels, for he is the Son and heir of all things. In chapter 2, we see that he was made a little lower than the angels for a little while (as he lived on earth), in order to be the brother of all who are in his family. And through his suffering and death, he provided a way to bring help to us.
Here in chapter 3, we find the author telling us that Jesus is also greater than Moses. Moses, after all, was faithful as a servant IN all God’s house But Jesus is the Son who is OVER God’s house.
And so we come to the first practical application:
“So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness,
When do we obey? Today. Always today. God has only made one time, and called it today. We cannot change tomorrow, for we have no control over that day. We cannot change yesterday, for it is always in the past. But God has set a day aside, always calling it today. And today is the day of salvation.
And what are we to do today? Hear his voice. He is the God who speaks, as the writer opened the letter by saying. And he has spoken in these last days through Jesus. Let us hear him.
And what are we NOT to do today? Harden our hearts. When we hear God speak and he calls for repentance, don’t say, “I don’t need that.” Or don’t say, “I will, but tomorrow.” Soften your heart today, while you can.
The writer goes on to talk about this some more:
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
There is something else that we are to do today. Encourage one another daily. Help each other to not become hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. Sin deceives us into thinking that we are not so bad, that God is not so right, that we can put things off. These are like the lies that the serpent told the original sinners. You won’t surely die. You’ll become like God. This will be good for you, not bad. God is the liar, not me. Well, we know how that turned out, don’t we?
The people of Israel were not able to enter God’s rest, which he had offered through Moses. The promised land was kept from them for forty years, until an entire generation of Israelites had died, never having entered. Their unbelief kept them from entering. They saw the size of the people, they saw their armies, and in spite of God’s deliverance and promise, they voted to turn around and stay in the wilderness until they died, rather than to enter into his rest.
I will enter his rest
I will enter his peace
What the law could never do the cross completes
Today I can hear his voice call me by name
The voice of Adonai
And he says, “Rest!” And He speaks peace.
The law is dead.
Your strivings cease
By a new and living way
Come gather here
Come boldly now
Come enter near
Into His rest.
Into His rest.
Come into His rest.
Let us enter his rest! Amen.
Thursday Aug 04, 2022
Thursday Aug 04, 2022
JULY 29 = HEBREWS 4
ENTERING HIS REST
Chapter four picks up where 3 had left off, and we find that the concept of the sabbath rest was (and is) truly important to God and essential for us.
You remember the original sabbath, right? Certainly, the Hebrews who were receiving this letter knew it well. Way back at the beginning of creation, God finished his work after six days, and he rested on the seventh. And he blessed the seventh day. And he gave that day of rest to us, as a blessing, not just as a law. As Jesus said, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. Because it is about rest.
On that subject of rest comes this subject of the “rest” that comes from God. His intention of the Promised Land was to be a land of rest for his people.
Let’s see what the author says:
“Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.”
Entering his rest. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Unless, of course, you do something to have fallen short of it. How could that happen?
“Now we who have believed enter that rest,…”
So belief is what it takes to enter that rest of God’s. Belief in the good intentions of our Heavenly Father. Belief that Jesus can and will bring us into that rest. Faith to stop our addiction to work and receive the promise.
Next question. How do we get there? When do we go? When is that seventh day, or where is that promised land? The writer goes on to explain:
“Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
Sounds like the answer to my questions of how and when are answered here. We enter that rest by not hardening our hearts, and by believing the good news through Jesus. This is fantastic news! God is offering us, not a religion, and not a to-do list of commandments, but a rest, a relationship, a fellowship with his spirit in which we cease from our labors.
And the writer concludes the topic this way:
“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.”
We make every effort to enter that rest. And having made every effort, we rest from our works. It is a Sabbath, a resting that follows six days of work. It is the opposite of perishing, which some do through their disobedience.
And then the chapter holds one of those essential verses about Scripture as the word of God. Here’s what it says,
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Can you divide between your soul and your spirit? I think the spirit is a sub-part of the soul. But I cannot distinguish the difference. Can I distinguish between joints and marrow? Perhaps a surgeon can, but it is beyond me. How about the thoughts and attitudes of my heart? I have thoughts. I have attitudes. But only the word of God, in the hands of a skillful heavenly surgeon, can know the difference and address the particular needs of my inner self.
Thanks be to God that we are so well known and so well loved. Amen.