THE PARABLE OF TREES

#784 (use with #33)                                 THE PARABLE OF TREES                                                                                      

Scripture  Judges 9:7-15 NIV                                                                                                                  Orig. Date 8-26-51

                                                                                                                                                                      Rewr. Dates 9-26-90 

Passage:  ⁷ When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. ⁸ One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’

⁹ “But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’

¹⁰ “Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’

¹¹ “But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’

¹² “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’

¹³ “But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?’

¹⁴ “Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’

¹⁵ “The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’”

Keywords:          Parable

Timeline/Series:               Old Testament Parables

Introduction

                Our story begins with Gideon.  He was chosen as judge of the people.  He sought confirmation.  Judges 6:36f “If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand.” So, both Gideon and the people knew that he was their leader.  They responded to him accordingly.

                In later years, they had come to depend on him so completely that they offered him rule over them.  Judges 8:22 “Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the  hand of Midian.”

                The word for rule implies sovereignty.  It may or may not have the effect of royalty.  It is nonetheless clear that they were satisfied with all that had happened and were willing for the descendants of Gideon to come to the office and role of rule if not to the place of monarchy.

                Gideon rejected these advances.  He made it clear “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you” (Judges 8:23).

                Besides king-like rule, Gideon left behind seventy sons “of his body begotten” (8:30), and a son, by a concubine, whom he called Abimelech.  At Gideon’s death, Abimelech struck quickly.  He went to Shechem, his mother’s home, claimed to be one of them, and the royal son.  Together, they went after his  half-brothers, killing all of them but Jotham, the youngest, who was delivered from this attempted assassination.

                The message here, a parable or fable, is Jotham’s message to the men of Shechem who have followed Abimelech’s wiles.

I.             It is First of All About Trees. Judges 9:8, “The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them.”  It has the quality of a fable, but it is meant to stand out as a moral lesson.  The meaning is hidden, but barely.  These Shechemites are to see themselves. Jotham means for them to not like what they see.

                There are some things we need to remember about trees.  They derive their sustenance from soil.  They take from the soil what they are fitted to take to meet their own needs.  The trees are not  valued equally in the codes of human economy.  They are different in terms of size, and sight, and fruit.

                Jotham then begins to identify certain of these trees and plants.  The olive tree was asked to reign over the forest.  One tree can yield a half ton of fruit per year, and there were numerous orchards.  It offers food and building supplies. The olive branch is a symbol for peace.

                The fig tree was called forth to reign.  The fig tree provides food;  in I Samuel 25:18, Abigail, an Israelite woman, made 200 cakes of pressed figs.  Adam and Eve used its leaves to cover themselves.  It is the first fruit mentioned in the Bible.

                The vine was singled out.  It produced fruit for nourishment and for medicinal purposes. In Numbers 13:23, the spies sent out by Moses cut a branch with a cluster of grapes, and also brought pomegranates and figs.  Micah 4:4, “But they shall sit every man under his vine,  and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid.”

                Finally, the great cedar was pictured.  It was the greatest of Bible trees.  Herbert Lockyer wrote that a cedar could be as much as 120 feet tall, with a girth of 40 feet (A36p334).  Both Solomon’s temple and palace included cedars.  In Judges 9:15 fire devours the Cedars of Lebanon.

                A bramble is offered the role.  It is a plant with no fruit of worth.  Some use it as fuel.  It could be used as a hedge, 12-15 feet high.  The parable does not effect repentance.

II.            The Prophetic Message of the Parable/Fable.  Judges 9:15, “If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow.” 

                The  olive tree has to do with covenant privilege.  Romans 11:17-21: ¹⁷ ‘And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, [2] and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; ¹⁸ Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. ¹⁹ Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. ²⁰ Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: ²¹ For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.’ 

                It is evergreen, suggesting eternality.  In Exodus 27:20 the Hebrews were to bring “pure” olive oil for use in the tabernacle.

                The fig tree seems more to stand for the national privilege.  I Kings 4:25 “Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree.”  That is similar to Micah 4:4; Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah.    Zechariah 10:12 forecast the messianic time.  Think of the intended sweetness of the fig.  But the Christless Zion is the bane of most non-western nations.  Also, the great parable of Christ in Matthew 24:32, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree: when his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that Summer is nigh.”

                The vine seems to speak of spiritual privilege.  Isaiah 5:4, “What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?  Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?”  The vine is God’s chosen symbol for joy.  The vine brought forth alien fruit.  Psalm 80:14, “Look down from heaven and visit this vine; and the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted; . . . turn us again, O Lord of hosts, cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.”

                The bramble speaks of liberty, responsibility, privilege being sacrificed.  The bramble is willing to reign.  The cedars are willing to allow it.  The demand of the bramble is for the cedar to “put your trust in my shadow.”  It is said that when the Messiah comes, He will build the new temple, again of cedars, but instead, His head was anointed with bramble.

THE CHRISTIAN ENTERPRISE OF LOVE

#757                                                 THE CHRISTIAN ENTERPRISE OF LOVE                                                                        

Scripture  I Corinthians 13:1-13 NIV                                                                                                            Orig. 12-10-61

                                                                                                                                                              Rewr. 10-17-65, 10-3-79 

Passage:  If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing. ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Purpose: To speak to my people on the most worthy of subjects and call them to the goal of evidencing a likeness to Jesus in love for others.

INTRODUCTION

                Perhaps one of the finest examples of love in action in our time was that which was lived out in the life of Elisabeth Elliot.  Even after the primitive Auca Indians had slain her husband and other missionaries, she still was able to infiltrate those people and their culture and represent Christ in their midst.  It should not be surprising then, that many of them came to know Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

                A marvelous straightforwardness assails us in Mrs. Elliot’s book The Liberty of Obedience.  She tells of the difficulties of her early months in this beginning work with the Aucas.  When it became apparent that these people were responding to them, and that they could begin a larger work without fear, they had to decide how much of their own cultural deprivations that they would lay upon these people.  She knew that Satan used certain human intemperances.  Should she tell them what she had learned in her own walk in the faith?  She wanted to tell them: “You must not tango. You must despise Cinerama.  You must not wear make-up.  You must not smoke.”  But it became clear to her that these satanic influences as she had known them, did not exist here.  The nearest movie was hundreds of miles away in Quito.  They knew nothing of betting parlors and dance halls.  Not wearing make-up could hardly be considered a problem in a culture where the people wore little or nothing at all.  Mrs. Elliot declares that she came to the startling discovery for herself, and then for the Aucas, that Christianity is Christ.  It is only indirectly related to one’s culture and its negative values.  It certainly does not depend upon those negative values for its existence.  What they must be taught is that Christianity is the inner presence of Christ . . . .  The joy of obedience in liberty.

                Perhaps no better definition of love will be brought forward.  It is the joy of obedience in liberty.  The enterprise that should occupy the time and the meditation of every Christian is how to love.  It is learning freely to obey, not the Christ of a self-limiting culture, but the Christ within.

I.             The New Testament Greek Has a Marvelous Facility: To Define Love..  We stumble with one four letter word with which we are to express the most important feeling in our language.  If you want  people to know how fond you are of ice cream, you love it.  If you are of the mind to jockey for position with thousands of other drivers, park 10 blocks from the stadium, sit on hard seats in a smoke-filled arena for three hours, and often don’t even have the satisfaction of being on the winning side, then you love football.  It has somewhat cheapened the word to use it thus when we contemplate its meaning when related to another person.

                The Greek language has four magnificent words with which LOVE is defined.

                The noun ερος (eros) and its verb form are used principally for love between the sexes, or perhaps even ambition or even intense patriotism.  But even by the time of the writing of the New Testament the meaning of these words had degenerated to the place that they are not one time found in the New Testament.  They had come to stand for a lower form of love.  Our contemporary word “erotic” is a case in point.  As a Christian, I may still be free to participate in an “erotic” film, or book, or TV program.  I am not free to enjoy what is clearly not in my best interests.  Joy, which comes from the Holy Spirit, will be absent in every such occasion.   

                The noun στοργε and its verb have to do with family affection.  I can find no derivative in our language, although we pronounce the Greek word as “storgé.” Paul helps us here by using the word at least once.  Romans 12:10: “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.”  Not “brotherly love” as you might suspect, but “kindly affectioned.”  Here the word is φιλοστοργοι, or philostorgos.

                The most used word in Classical Greek is the noun φιλος “filos” and its companion verb φιλια “filίa.”  It defines a close, affectionate relationship: husband and wife, parent and child, friendship.

                By far the most common New Testament word is αγαπα “agapa” and the companion αγαπαν “agapan.” It appears 250 times.  In classical usage it was more as a benefactor.  The word became the epitome of Christian love.

II.            This Word of Limited Use and Meaning Would Become the Vehicle for the Fullest Expression of Love.

I Corinthians 13:1f: Though I have the silver tongue of an orator and the voice of an angel; even if I had the gift of prophecy, understanding all knowledge; though I had all possible faith; though I give liberally to the poor; even if I were to give all of my vital organs to be used by others: and do these things for reasons other than love, it does me no good at all. 

                These prior words were self-limiting in their meaning.  Erotic love would ever be that and nothing more—sensual pleasure.  Biblically, sex is not a dirty word or an evil concept.  It was an integral part of the marital relationship.  Outside of marriage, it is more the biological function of the brute beast, than it is expression of human love.

                The second word was limited to the feeling of warmth and affection between family members.  While that is very close to Christian love, it may be that because this word was often used as an expression of devotion for the household gods. 

                Philia-love was undoubtedly a lovely word with deep meaning, but could properly be used only with that which was near and dear.

                Christian love must reach a higher dimension.  It must include the nearest and dearest, our friends and all who love us.  1 John 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling.  It extends to all who are of the Christian fellowship.  John 13:35: By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have love one to another.  The expression “one another” is found often.  Hallelujah in Hebrew means “praise to God.” Hallelujah in Greek means “one another.”  Luke 10:27 Thou shalt love the Lord with God with all thy heart. . , soul . . , strength. . , mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. 

                Agapa, then, takes us beyond the family of faith to our neighbor, to our enemy, to the world.  James 2:8: If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well.  Which must always raise the question “Who is my neighbor?” To which we have but one answer, which is that of Christ.  The parable of the Good Samaritan tells us clearly who is our neighbor.                

CONCLUSION

                Dr. James Sullivan, former Executive Secretary of the Baptist Sunday School Board, tells of a proofreader’s consternation that came about as a result of one of the many manuscripts that passed through the editing office.  The author had used a phrase which is very familiar to all of us, “tabasco sauce,” but which was totally unfamiliar to the proofreader.  She paused over this word, but finally decided that the author meant “tobacco” and changed the manuscript.  Shortly after, a second proofreader was going over this paper, and came upon the expression, “tobacco sauce.”  This proofreader decided that this had to be wrong, and changed it accordingly.  You can imagine the consternation on the part of the author and publisher when the publication appeared using instead of “tabasco sauce,” “tobacco juice.”

                It is just as easy to confuse people around us about “love.”  Live the life so that friends, loved ones, even strangers will know the kind of person you really are.

***Daniel Hutto, of Wake Forest, NC, was of immense help in reproducing the Greek here***

A TIME FOR CONFESSION

#734                                                                    A TIME FOR CONFESSION                                                                             

Matthew 16:13-16, NIV                                                                                                                                      Orig. 1-19-79

                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. (10-85) 11-7-89 

Passage:  When Jesus can to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”                                                                                                                                                           

Purpose: To use the occasion of the Lord’s Supper to challenge my people of the need to lift up life and voice in confession of Christ as Lord.

Keywords:          Christ                    Lordship              Lord’s Supper                   Ordinance          Communion,                                                     Confession

Timeline:             None

Introduction

Not many of us are generally familiar with the writings of George Buttrick.  His ministry to God’s people ended [long ago].  His books are still in circulation, but may not be known except to an occasional pastor or Bible teacher.

Mr. Buttrick’s is a name often quoted in seminary classrooms.  He left insightful material relating to the work of pastors.  Speaking to the Senior Class of Princeton University a number of years ago, he issued a pastoral challenge.  His ableness of speech came out of the fact that he then served as pastor of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City.  Several in his audience were themselves going into the pastorate.  He urged these graduates to “be with their people.”  They were to be listeners in the marketplace to understand where their people are in life, and what they are thinking.  He advised what some might find contradictory.  I quote, “When you are at Coney Island, don’t tell the people of the concessions on the Boardwalk, about which they already know; tell them of the mystery of the sea, about which they do not know.”

It is a late hour in the saga of the evolution of life.  We gain wonderful knowledge about our world every day.  But the more informed we become about the world, the less concerned we seem to be for the mysteries of Christ.  The question was asked of the disciples, for which we must have an answer:  “Who do you say that I am?”  I must know the answer.  So must you!

I.             It is Firstly a Question of Determination.  V.13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”  Examining the context we know that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem.  Luke 9:51: “He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.”  (He fully/finally determined.) It is with knowledge of His death. He knows it will be violent. 

Caesarea Philippi arcs His course southward.  It identifies the time when Jesus’ public popularity is on the wane. Matt 13:1 “The same day…great multitudes were gathered unto him.” 12:46 “So many sought him (His mother and brothers)…could not get close.”  9:8 (after healing a paralytic) “when the multitudes saw it they marveled and glorified God who had given such power to men.”

We will not again see this public acclaim until Matthew 17:1-6: After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John the brother of James and led them up a high  mountain by themselves.  There He was transfigured before them…The disciples fell on their faces. Matthew 17:24 “Does your Teacher not pay temple taxes?” Mt 19:1-3: “Some Pharisees came to him to test him.”  Mt 21:15: And when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did…they were indignant.”

It is as if some line of demarcation has been passed.  Jesus had always faced opposition. But He had lived in the sunshine of a ministry marked by blessings/benefits to people around Him.  He perceives the sun slipping behind the clouds, darkness invading the land.  As He faces down Mt. Hermon’s flank, He knows another mount, called Golgotha, must soon be scaled.

“Up Calvary’s mountain, one dreadful morn, walked Christ my Saviour, weary and worn;

Facing for sinners death on the Cross, that he might save them (us) from endless loss.

Father, forgive them, thus did he pray, E’en while his lifeblood flowed fast away.

Praying for sinners while in such woe; no one but Jesus ever loved so.”

II.            Secondly, it is a Question of Decision.  V 15: “But who do you say that I am?”  There was no debate about a right answer to this question. It was answerable in different ways: Saviour, Son of God, Anointed, Messiah.  But all are answers that allude to God’s forgiving grace in Christ: that man has a sin problem; that only God’s answer suffices. Matthew 3:15 John hesitated when Jesus presented Himself for baptism. (Not because he didn’t know who Jesus was, but because he did. “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

Too many today are uncertain as John was, but their confusion is from the speculation of doubt.  There was speculation even back then.  Healed people were instructed not to tell. (Matthew 8:4/9:30.). Evil spirits guessed His identity and were commanded to silence.  Even John the Baptist later sent for confirmation. Luke 7:19 “Are you the Coming One (anointed) or do we look for another?”  Jesus accepted this reticence. Luke 7:23 (His answer to John): “Blessed is he who shall not be offended because of me.”

Deal with your decision on the basis of being offended because of Jesus.  Are there times when it embarrasses you for people to know you are a believer?  During social upheaval do you tend to remain non-committal? Does the Swygart/Gorman controversy offend you? What about the SBC leadership stand-off?  Are moral crises requiring polarization?  There were reasons for reticence then.  Jesus was not what the people expected in Messiah. He clearly was interested in more than mainline Judaism.

The militant sought to use Him to address their purposes.  John 6:15 “When Jesus perceived that they would come and take Him by force to make Him a king, He departed again into a mountain alone.”  There are even good reasons for reticence today: We faced the burden of our sin.  The age grows the more complex, and the void grows wider.  The lateness of the hour suggests the gravity of unbelief.  The message is so unlike the means for making it known.

How do you describe a mountain panorama? The Grand Canyon? A beautiful sunset? A matchless symphony? A 50th anniversary of a devoted couple? But we do try, don’t we? And as well, we must share with those around us our faith in Christ.

“Who do you say the Son of man is?”

Conclusion

                Do you recall the story from Uncle Tom’s Cabin?  Tom was on the barge being taken with other enslaved people to the riverside plantation of Simon Legree.  The name still makes us draw up in dread.  Tom was trying to console another who had been sold away from wife and children.  “Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  “Them’s good words,” said the other, “but who says ‘em?”

                In a dark hour in Thomas Carlyle’s life, someone read to him from John 14:1.  “Let not your heart be troubled…in my father’s house are many mansions.”  The essayist replied, “Aye, if you were God, you had a right to say that; but if you are only a man, what do you know more than the rest of us?”

                It is thus the Christ who calls us to answer: “Who do you say that I the Son of man am?”

THE POTTER’S HOUSE (with Deuteronomy)

#614bb                                      THE POTTER’S HOUSE (with Deuteronomy)

Scripture   Deuteronomy 20:1-4; Jeremiah 18:1-6, NIV                                                  Orig. Date  May 10, 1981

Passage: 

Deuteronomy 20:1-4

When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. ² When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. ³ He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. ⁴ For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

Jeremiah 18:1-6

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” ³ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. ⁴ But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.  ⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me. ⁶ He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.”

Purpose:  To share a message at a special gathering of high school students.

Keywords:          Discipline             Banquet               Revelation                          Relationship                       Youth

Introduction

                It was one of those intolerably hot August days.  A hiker had come out of the high regions and was beginning to see signs of civilization.  Occasionally, in the distance, a house.  Here and there, cultivated land with crops laid by.  The hiker was now thinking only of finding a place to get a cool drink of water.

                Down the way, he saw an old mountain house.  As he drew nearer, he saw a man seated in a rickety chair on the run-down porch.  As he approached he determined to be neighborly to the man, hoping that he would be so in return.  He spoke, then called attention to the disagreeable weather. Still no invitation to rest came.  He went on, “How is your cotton doing in this hot, dry weather?”

                “Ain’t got  none!” replied the mountain man.

                “Didn’t you plant any cotton?” asked the surprised traveler.

                “Nope,” he replied, “’fraid the boll weevils’d get it.”

                “Well,” said the passer-by, “How is your corn?”

                “Ain’t got none of that either,” said the old farmer, “And if you gotta know, I figured there weren’t gonna be no rain.”

                Still hoping for an invitation to rest, and a drink of water, the hiker plunged in again.  “Really, well what did you plant?” he asked.

                “Didn’t plant nothing,” said the farmer, getting up to enter the old house.  “I just played it safe.”

                There are lots of good reasons why we do what we do.  Some of them even good ones, and our excuses become the determinants of the way our lives are lived.  To be a farmer and not to plant is ludicrous. To live in God’s world and make excuses for discounting Him is also.

                There’s a shorter story of an avid golfer who was checking with his spiritual adviser about golfing in heaven.  The adviser said, “There’s good and bad news. The good news is that the golf courses in heaven are many and lavish.” “That’s great!” the golfer happily exclaimed.  “What’s the bad news?” The adviser said: “Tee off time is tomorrow at 10a.m.”

                At first glance, Cervantes’ novel, Don Quixote, has little to offer young people.  It is the story of a thought-to-be senile old man, and his fat and 50ish servant.  They launch a quest to do something about the evil in the world, the don on a sway back horse and Panza on a mule.  They stop for the night at a less than becoming inn, and his strange ways continue.  He addresses the slovenly inn-keeper, “Behold, you are the Lord of this great manor.”  The abused kitchen servant was seen as a beautiful maiden, and he requests a token to carry with him into  his battles with evil.  But what happens is that people who have never been trusted before respond to Quixote’s kindness, and it changes their lives, and does affect the evil in the world by affecting the lives of evil people.

                You are at the place to decide your quest:  A part of the evil, or an attempt to do something about it.  Why you?

                The New Orleans TV market had an unusually fine TV program a few years ago that ended with the sudden and unexpected death of the host, Jim Metcalf.  He chose for a portion of one program to see life through a child’s eyes.  “I now recall only how to look.  I do not recall how to see.”

                You must decide quickly, before you join a great host of others who recall only how to look at the world, not how to see it.  How to experience the world, not how you feel about that experience.

                Jeremiah is a case in point.  It is here that I invite you to venture with Jeremiah to the potter’s house.

I.             With All of His Experience, there was a Lesson that He had Missed.  It was not an obvious lesson: not wasted clay, though we Americans have something to learn about waste—our loss of credibility.  The lesson was in the symbol of wasted clay.  It was a revelation.  Not new, but very old.  The symbol declared that it was God’s purpose to take what seemed to be useless and give it meaning and opportunity.  It is a lesson that must not be pushed too far.  The clay does not have free will with which it can resist the potter.  Jeremiah did, and we do.

II.            You See, Even as God’s Prophet, He had Compromised an Ideal.  The world out there waiting for you is beset with bargains. 

                Soren Kierkegaard told a story about wild geese who chose to stay behind in a farmer’s field because it was safe.  A wild goose, with broken wing, entered a farmer’s flock.  After winter, with healed wing, he heard another flock flying north.  He extolled the other geese to fly with him, but they would not, for the farmer’s corn was good, and the barnyard secure.

                Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote: “When was it that I completely scattered the good seeds, one and all? For, after all, I spent my boyhood in the bright singing of Thy temples.

                “Bookish subtleties sparked brightly, piercing my arrogant brain, the secrets of the world . . . in my grasp, life’s destiny . . . as pliable as wax.

                “Blood seethed . . . and every swirl gleamed iridescently before me.  Without a rumble the building of my faith quietly crumbled within my own heart.

                “But passing here between being and nothingness, stumbling and clutching at the edge, I looked behind me with a grateful tremor upon the life that I have lived.  Not with good judgment nor with desire are its twists and turns illumined, but with the even glow of the higher meaning which became apparent to me only later on.

                “And now, with measuring cup returned to me, scooping up the living water, God of the universe!  I believe again!  Though I renounced you, you were with me!”

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Gulag II (Harper and Row—1968)

III.           It was Now Time to Certify the Word from God.  What God had to say was to be revealed in the work of the potter. 

                It speaks of confidence.  There is something to believe in.  There is a dependable world.

                It speaks of obedience.  James Michener’s book, The Source, is a fictional account of Moses.  El Shaddai said to Zadok-the-Righteous, “As long as you live old man, you will be free to ignore my commands.  But in time, I will grow impatient and will speak to others.” Zadok: “My home is the desert.  I was afraid to leave.”  El Shaddai: ‘I waited because I knew that if you did not love your home, you would not love me either.  I am glad that you are now ready.”

                It speaks of faith. I watched with more than a smile as a little girl, 4 or 5 years old, waited at the baggage belt in the air terminal in New Orleans.  Just the three of us waiting for luggage at Moisant.  She asked about putting her stuffed bear on the belt.  Her daddy assured her it would come back.  You cannot imagine the look of concern on that father’s face as he waited with her for his word to be trustworthy.

IV.          The Lesson had to do with Discovering a Destiny.  “Cannot I do with you as this potter? . . .  As clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.”

                Let me remind you of your dependence.  This is not what your contemporaries want you to consider.  It is threatening to them.

                Let me remind you of design.  The will of God is not a trite “preacherism.”  It is ultimate truth. A little boy in a small town heard a “circus” was coming.  He did not know what it was but posters and talk convinced him.  For weeks he saved pennies till he had 25 cents.  On the day, he got to town and was told where to go for the beginning of the parade.  He saw lions, tigers, bears, elephants with people riding on them, beautiful horses, acrobats, jugglers, clowns, the circus band.  As the last person appeared, the little boy stepped into the street, put five nickels into the man’s hand, and ran home to tell what he had seen.  He had not been to a circus but to a parade.

                Let me remind you of discipline: the calloused feet; the tools—wheel, rasp, chisel, fire.  The light then came on in the prophet’s brain.  Life’s meaning is found on the shaping wheel of grace, tempered in the fires of God’s providence.

Conclusion

                Herman Hegedorn wrote after the initial atom bomb blast in New Mexico: “I went to call on the Lord in His high house on the hill, my head full of 150 million people having to grow up overnight.  If ever a people needed a miracle!  The Lord!! He looked at me as a mountain might look at a molehill.” ‘So you want a miracle. My! My! You want a miracle. You want me to come sliding down a sunbeam and make 150 million self-willed egotists into 150 million cooperating angels. 

                ‘Brother,’ said the Lord in a voice that shook the windows, ‘that isn’t the sort of universe you are living in.  That isn’t the sort of God I am. . . . 

                ‘Give me your life, and I will make it a spade to dig the foundation of a new world.’”

THE POTTER’S HOUSE

#614b                                                              THE POTTER’S HOUSE                                                                                       

Scripture  Jeremiah 18:1-6, NIV                                                                                                Orig. Date  2-4-75 (5-78)

                                                                                                                                                                      Rewr. Dates 9-24-87 

Passage:  This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” ³ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. ⁴ But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me. ⁶ He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.”

Purpose:  To share a message at a special gathering of high school students.

Keywords:          Discipline             Banquet               Revelation                          Relationship                       Youth

Introduction

                It was one of those intolerably hot August days.  A hiker had come out of the high regions and was beginning to see signs of civilization.  Occasionally, in the distance, a house.  Here and there, cultivated land with crops laid by.  The hiker was now thinking only of finding a place to get a cool drink of water.

                Down the way, he saw an old mountain house.  As he drew nearer, he saw a man seated in a rickety chair on the run-down porch.  As he approached he determined to be neighborly to the man, hoping that he would be so in return.  He spoke, then called attention to the disagreeable weather. Still no invitation to rest came.  He went on, “How is your cotton doing in this hot, dry weather?”

                “Ain’t got  none!” replied the mountain man.

                “Didn’t you plant any cotton?” asked the surprised traveler.

                “Nope,” he replied, “’fraid the boll weevils’d get it.”

                “Well,” said the passer-by, “How is your corn?”

                “Ain’t got none of that either,” said the old farmer, “And if you gotta know, I figured there weren’t gonna be no rain.”

                Still hoping for an invitation to rest, and a drink of water, the hiker plunged in again.  “Really, well what did you plant?” he asked.

                “Didn’t plant nothing,” said the farmer, getting up to enter the old house.  “I just played it safe.”

                There are lots of good reasons why we do what we do.  Some of them even good ones, and our excuses become the determinants of the way our lives are lived.  To be a farmer and not to plant is ludicrous. To live in God’s world and make excuses for discounting Him is also.

I.             Jeremiah Reminds Us of Something that He has Overlooked.  V2. “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.”  The message is not a new one. We are reminded rather than informed. It is not something never said before, not some new thing making its appearance.  There all the time but Jeremiah was elsewhere.

                And, it was becoming increasingly important for Jeremiah to know the heart of God.  I wonder what good thing occupied the prophet.  I wonder why he failed to seek the “best” thing.  Were you ever guilty of that? I have been.

                Even here, we can occupy ourselves with secondary matters.  Why, here is a wonderful lesson about wasted clay.  The potter needs to be more careful.  We can extend this to a world where waste abounds and examine others’ guilt. 

                Contemporary ecology warns us about waste.  We are losing trees, forests, woodlands. Water quality is a problem everywhere.  Oil has been wasted to the point of world revolution.

                The major economic concern in America today is that we are creating debt on unborn populations.

                But, that’s not the lesson.  The lesson is in the message delivered through the potter.  It is a lesson that shows God to be the redeemer, the user of what has been cast aside.  It didn’t just involve clay. It involved people, flesh and blood. Folks with free will, who could resist their potter.

II.            So, Jeremiah Has to Deal with a Relationship That Has Been Bargained.  V4 “And the vessel that he (the potter) made of clay was marred.”  It did not achieve what was intended.  It was bargained.  It was cheapened.  Now, wait a minute, do those words mean the same?  The world out there, young people, is teaching you to get by as cheaply as you can.  That’s okay if you’re buying books, or jeans, even a car if you are careful.  But what about things that matter: Home, family, community, peace, dignity, integrity.  God. 

                Soren Kierkegaard, a philosopher you’ll study about in college, wrote a fantasy about geese.  A wild goose, with broken wing, entered a farmer’s flock.  After winter, with healed wing, he heard another flock flying north.  He extolled the other geese to fly with him, but they would not, for the farmer’s corn was good, and the barnyard secure.

                We are too ready, you and I, to bargain the true lessons of God’s spirit for material, worldly reasons.  James Michener’s book, The Source, is a fictional account of Moses.  El Shaddai said to Zadok-the-Righteous, “As long as you live old man, you will be free to ignore my commands.  But in time, I will grow impatient and will speak to others.” Zadok: “My home is the desert.  I was afraid to leave.”  El Shaddai: ‘I waited because I knew that if you did not love your home, you would not love me either.  I am glad that you are now ready.”

                We are neither too young nor too old to discount, to bargain the word of God to us.

III.           Jeremiah Begins at Last to Look into the Very Heart of God.  V4b “He made it again, another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make it.”  V6 “. . .As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in my hand.”

                The prophet had to learn that God was involving Himself redemptively in their lives.  Exodus 19 (Moses): “Ye have seen how I bear you on eagle’s wings to myself.”  Psalm 37 (David): “I was young, and now old.  Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken.”

                How intuitively Jesus knew this to be the case. Matthew 5:45 “He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and the good.”  Matthew 10:29 “The sparrow shall not fall without the Father.”  Luke 12:27 “Consider the lilies of the field, they toil not, neither do they spin.”

                The prophet had but to remember this Godly quality and act in obedient faith.  The life of Jesus proves how unlike God we are.  His doing is my undoing.  Without His mercy I have no choice left.  Faith is believing, and living on the basis of that belief.

                I watched a little girl, 4 or 5 years old, at the baggage belt in the air terminal in New Orleans.  Just the three of us waiting for luggage.  She asked about putting her stuffed bear on the belt.  Her daddy assured her it would come back.  You cannot imagine the look of concern on that father’s face as he waited with her for his word to be trustworthy.

IV.          The Prophet Reminds Us that there Is an Undeniable Discipline in Responding to the Trustworthiness of God.  V6 “. . . Cannot I do with you as this potter [does with the clay]?” saith the Lord.  “As clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in my hand.”

                So, we are dependent. Give God the first segment of every day.  Give God the first day of every week.  Give God the first return on material earned.  Give God the first consideration in every decision.  Give God first place in your heart.

                For a brave to become a chief, he had to pluck the fur from the sacred bobcat, bring down the white buffalo alone, wrestle the brown bear. Then came the trial of fire and water. “Whatever happened to wholesome good looks and a nice personality?”

                Look on the potter’s wheel and see design.  It was the design that was flawed.  Even so, God’s people were less than he had planned, thus the renovation.

                Nor must we overlook discipline.  The potter’s feet were calloused and misshapen from all the years at the wheel.  The tools were those of wheel, rasp, chisel, fire.

                And it was thus that the light suddenly came on in the prophet’s brain.  This God would have me to see.  His work is never to destroy but to design.  His grace is not to reduce but to redeem.  The smartest thing that one can do is to let Him have His way in our lives, and the sooner the better.

Conclusion

                Herman Hegedorn wrote after the initial atom bomb blast in New Mexico: “I went to call on the Lord in His high house on the hill, my head full of 150 million people having to grow up overnight.  If ever a people needed a miracle!  The Lord!! He looked at me as a mountain might look at a molehill.” ‘So you want a miracle. My! My! You want a miracle. You want me to come sliding down a sunbeam and make 150 million self-willed egotists into 150 million cooperating angels. 

                ‘Brother,’ said the Lord in a voice that shook the windows, ‘that isn’t the sort of universe you are living in.  That isn’t the sort of God I am. . . . 

                ‘Give me your life, and I will make it a spade to dig the foundation of a new world.’”

Alternate Conclusion     

                “When was it that I completely scattered the good seeds, one and all? For, after all, I spent my boyhood in the bright singing of Thy temples.

                “Bookish subtleties sparked brightly, piercing my arrogant brain, the secrets of the world . . . in my grasp, life’s destiny . . . as pliable as wax.

                “Blood seethed . . . and every swirl gleamed iridescently before me.  Without a rumble the building of my faith quietly crumbled within my own heart.

                “But passing here between being and nothingness, stumbling and clutching at the edge, I looked behind me with a grateful tremor upon the life that I have lived.  Not with good judgment nor with desire are its twists and turns illumined, but with the even glow of the higher meaning which became apparent to me only later on.

                “And now, with measuring cup returned to me, scooping up the living water, God of the universe!  I believe again!  Though I renounced you, you were with me!”

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Gulag II (Harper and Row—1968)

KNOWING I AM A CHRISTIAN

#591                                                         KNOWING I AM A CHRISTIAN                                                                                

Scripture I John 5:1-15 NIV                                                                                                                             Orig. 10-29-72

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 11-4-86 

Passage:  Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.  This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.  This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God has overcome the world.  This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 

This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ.  He did not come by water only, but by water and blood.  And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.  For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and the three are in agreement.  We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.  Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart.  Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.  And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.  We have the assurance in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Purpose: To help my people examine their relationship with God to the point of having assurance of faith.

Keywords:          Doubt                   Revival                 Faith                     Word of God    

Introduction

                Having a guest in our home last week was a happy privilege.  I have had occasion to think of such times when I was guest in pastor/family homes.  One always stands out from all the rest.  I arrived at my appointment at the prescribed time.  The pastor took me to his home to settle in before the service that night.  Entering the house, my friend explained that the teenage daughter had consented to relinquish her room for the week.  She would be elsewhere in the house.  I don’t know what negotiations went on before my arrival, but there I was, settling into a room that was decidedly not my style.  It was sufficiently comfortable, but the decorations were nauseating.  I spent the week under the watchful gaze of Bobby Sherman and Mickey Something-or-Other.  And having to enter the room through a curtain made from aluminum can pop-tops left me a little fractious.  There were two people praying for that revival that week.  Both praying that it would pass quickly: her and me.

                I am not the pin-up type.  I wouldn’t even make room for Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus. Sam Sneed maybe!  Jan Stevenson certainly!

                I do hold on to certain pictures occasionally.  A brochure came in the mail awhile back.  From an evangelist.  It was so different I tucked it away for possible future consideration.  The front contained a double picture of said evangelist.  On the left side under a seedy looking individual was the following: Police Department, Houston, TX 71770. “Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me.”

                Opposite was a current picture of the same individual, shaven, hair combed, neatly dressed.  Beneath this picture, Evangelist—“The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen could ever tell.”

                A question emerges, Does Christ make a difference in a person’s life?  If so, how can I know that I am a Christian?

I.             First, We Must Certify How One Becomes a Christian.  V13 “These  things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”  One becomes a Christian by casting doubt aside, and believing.  V11 “This is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” 

So there must be some analysis of doubt.  Is it the doubt of ignorance? How often do we hear someone respond to questions of faith?  John says in V13 “These things (are) written, that you may know fully.”  Paul expressed his belief clearly that he knew which he had believed.  He likewise instructed Timothy to “study to show himself approved unto God.”  If doubt exists, and it is the doubt of ignorance, heed God’s word.  Take seriously the witness of Christian friends who certify faith.

Perhaps your doubt is only the doubt of inexperience.  Akin to that causing Abraham distress when he was directed from Ur to some unnamed land afar off.  Dealing with doubt was in the going.  Or that bothering the spies. Two exceptions were Joshua and Caleb.  The spies saw the land and the enemy.  They saw a land worth keeping, and men worthy of such keeping, and they were afraid.  Victory, and disposal of doubt awaited going forth in battle.  Jesus stood one day at the door of your life and knocked, waiting to be invited in.  He has been there before, as He is now, and faith awaits disposal of doubt and asking.

It may also be that the doubt is the doubt of strangeness.  Let the story of Balaam alone be a sufficient warning.  In Numbers 22 Balaam, who had a kind of faith in God, was tempted to curse Israel.  His stubbornness before God brought him to the brink of death.  An angel of God blocked his path, and his donkey sensed the danger before he did.  Faith in the face of stubborn doubt may not be easy, but surrender to God is required.

II.            One Has Assurance that He is a Christian by Taking Hold of the Word of God.  V10b “He who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given.”  There are parallel verses from the pen of John. 1 John 5:13 “These things were written to those who believe that you may know that you have eternal life.”  John 20:31 “…Written that you might come to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that believing you might have life.”

So the Word is there, available to us all. We must grasp the rightness of its message for us.  Listen in as Elizabeth speaks to Mary. Luke 1:45 “…You believed that God would do what He said.  That is why He has given you this wonderful blessing.” (LB)  Hear what God said in the parable of the seed, Luke 8:15.  “The good soil represents honest good-hearted people.  They listen to God’s words, and cling to them and steadily spread them to others who also believe.”  Do not be so quick to ignore a text of the early church, comparing Berea to Thessalonica.  Acts 17:11 “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, or they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Jews as well as Gentiles.)

We are able to hold onto the Word of God because we trust the character of God.  Luke 12:32 “Fear not little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”  What kind of father uses gifts to control his children?  Not a good one.  Not for long.  The Heavenly Father does not give to get or to goad or to gauge.  He gives because he is genuine and generous and good.  He invites us to be of one stock, with Him.

III.           Before We Conclude, a Brief Word of Counsel.  Don’t let the circumstance of your daily life nurture doubt.  Psalm 63:1 “My soul thirsteth for thee. My flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.”  In poetry and song we equate sunshine with good fortune.

                “O they tell me of a home far beyond the skies,

                O they tell me of a home far away.

                O they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise,

                O they tell me of an unclouded day.”

But we have seen those places marked by unending sunshine, where no clouds ever appear.  It is a land through which course no streams, where no springs gurgle, and without tree or flower. 

Assurance of faith is not determined by trouble-free life.  It is determined by our desire to know and do the will of God.  John 7:17 (Phillips) “If anyone wants to do God’s will, he will know whether my teaching is from God, or whether I merely speak on my own authority.”

Conclusion

We mentioned pin-ups earlier.  What do you see in the picture gallery of your own life? Can you visualize a before and an after in relationship to God?  Can you identify a time when the picture changes?  What do you see that is different now?  How was it before Christ came?  If He has not, why do you detain Him? Why do you leave the door closed on such a One? 

V12 “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

JOYFUL COMMUNION (DELIVERANCE FROM ONE’S FRIENDS)

#522 JOYFUL COMMUNION (DELIVERANCE FROM ONE’S FRIENDS)

Scripture: Psalm 4, NIV                                                                                                                      Orig. 12/13/61 (1/78)

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 4/14/87 

Passage: Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God.  Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.  How long will you people turn my glory into shame?  How long will you love delusions and seek false Gods?  Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.  Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.  Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the Lord.  Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”  Let the light of your face shine on us.  Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound.  In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, let me dwell in safety.

Purpose: Continuing series from Psalms, here sharing David’s prayer asserting God’s gracious presence in his life.

Keywords: Communion                 Prayer                   Deliverance      

Timeline/Series: Psalms

Introduction

                A Keene, TX, woman by the name of Marie Crawford tells about a most disconcerting experience a few years ago when she was traveling in the Appalachian Mountains.  She became suddenly, and seriously ill, and knew that she must immediately seek medical assistance.  She was in the small town of Banner Elk, NC.  Because she was with a tour, it was necessary for her friends to continue without her.

                Being thus alone, she discovered that she would have to have surgery, and that it would not be wise to wait until family arrived.  Being assured that the surgery was not life-threatening, she gave her consent.

                In her room, after the surgery, and as the sedative began to wear off, her first conscious thought was that someone was in her room.  Not knowing what to think, or who it could be, she struggled to clear her mind.  When finally managing to get her eyes opened, she was shocked to see two strange mountain women in her room.  She had never seen them before.  Had no idea who they were.  They were sitting side-by-side in rocking chairs.  Both wore bonnets, and rocked with their hands folded in their laps.

                She managed to get her wits together enough to speak.  “I’m sorry, ladies, you must be in the wrong room,” she said.

                The younger of the two women turned to Mrs. Crawford and replied, “Now, don’t you fret honey.  We ain’t going to bother you one bit.  Poor Papa died in this room, right in that bed, one year ago today.  Me and Mama jus’ want to set here a spell and rock, and think about Papa.”

                David is in need of a time and a place where he can feast on the Father’s presence.  Thus, he speaks his heart.

I.             We Must First Compare with the Prior Chapter. Both are called Psalms of David.  Both bear the imprint of a man at prayer.  There is a noteworthy difference in the object of his prayer.  There may be a heading: Psalms 3, a Morning Prayer, and Psalms 4, an evening prayer.  Chapter 3 you remember was a prayer seeking deliverance from his enemies. V5 “I laid down and slept; I awakened; for the Lord sustained me.”  Chapter 4, however, is a prayer seeking deliverance from his friends.  V8 “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for thou, Lord, only makest me to dwell in safety.”

Clearly, Psalm 4 is a Prayer Psalm.  V1 “hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness.”  It is a prayer of David, called so in the title.  Neginoth means “stringed instruments.”  Note Psalm 5—Nehiloth—flutes.  The anxiety of a man on the run penetrates the 3^rd Psalm.  Adversity surrounds him as Absalom seeks the throne.  Here is the prayer of a man pressed in, not by his enemies, but by his friends.  Counselors may mis-advise him.  Special interests may seek favors from him.  He must be a man alert to God’s leading.

II.            We Also Understand the Ground Upon which David Prays.  He prays because God has dealt justly with him.  V1 “thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress.” “Have mercy, hear, as you have before.”  He comes to God without any claim to merit.  During the time of Saul’s jealous rage with David (I Sam 18:14) “David behaved himself wisely and the Lord was with him.”  He comes, because he is wise, asking to be heard, because God is merciful.  V3 “The Lord will hear when I call unto him.”

III.           As We have Learned the Ground of His Prayer, We Know Also the Subject of His Prayer.  His so-called friends have confronted him with wrong choices.  V2 “O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame?”  Rom. 1:21f “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”  They were men of prominent station.  David points them to the One who is his keeper.  “The Lord will hear” (v3), and who insists upon their recognition “stand in awe, commune, offer the sacrifices,” is his very good advice to them.

                It defines a “set-apartness” that we must not overlook.  The Christian shares this separateness. 

                II Corinthians 6:17 “Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord.”  The conditions of relationship are not changed: wrong to capitulate to the world, wrong also to avoid contact, wrong to reflect haughtiness/

arrogance.

                David points his friends to a conditional trust.  The condition is that they stand in “awe” of God. RSV: “Be angry and sin not.”  KJV “Stand in awe and sin not.”  GNV “Tremble with fear and stop sinning.”  Find a place where worldly thoughts will not distract from God’s presence: “upon your bed”/“still.”  Alone with one’s own thoughts, at a place of their own choosing, where distractions are minimal.

IV.          Having Found Such a Place, Offer the “Necessary Sacrifices to the Lord.”  Ps. 27:6 “therefore will I offer in his tabernacle, sacrifices of joy.” Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite spirit.”  Isaiah 1:11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices.”  Hosea 6:6 “for I desire mercy and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”  Micah 6:8 “What doth the Lord require?”

                His prayer is that they may know as he knows. Doubt, skepticism abound. V6 “There be many that say, Who will show us any good?” Such negativism abounds today.  What better do we have to reflect God’s presence than the joy of relationship?  V6 “Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us”—not to see us but to see God within blessing.  What David has is of far greater value than the best of what they have.  V7 “Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.”

                David had to share what those around him needed. V

8 “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.”  Psalm 3:5 “I laid me down and slept; I awakened for the Lord sustained me.”  Odee Parker’s “What do I pray for?” “Peace!”

Conclusion

                Listen to a final admonition from Habakkuk: 3:17-18 “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

THE MAN NAMED JOHN

#501                                                              THE MAN NAMED JOHN                                                                                     

Luke 1:5-15a NIV                                                                                                                                           Orig. 12/14/1990

In the time of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest name Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.  Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly.  But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.  Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.  And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.  Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.  When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.  But the angel said to him:  “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard.  Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.  He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.

Purpose: Continuing a series for Sunday evenings on New Testament characters, here presenting John the Baptist as a man striving to please God.

Keywords:          Biography            John the Baptist’s History           

Timeline/Series:               Sequential/New Testament Characters

Introduction

                As noted last week, we are indebted to Luke for much that we know about John’s roots.  All of chapter one, remember, is unique.  In that lengthy chapter, VV 5-25 and 57-80 tell us about the birth of John, and the near-miraculous nature of his conception.

                Zechariah was a priest, married to Elizabeth who was also of the priestly line.  They were godly people, of advanced age, who had struggled somewhat with the barrenness of Elizabeth.

                The estimates for the time suggest that there may have been as many as 18,000 priests divided into the 24 courses.  All would be in Jerusalem for the major festivals (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles).  Otherwise, each course would serve one 8 day stint every six months in Jerusalem, from Sabbath to Sabbath (BI F88 p49).

                One day Zechariah was chosen by lot to burn incense in the temple. (Exodus 30/I Kings 11).  This happened morning and evening each day, however in the morning four were involved, in the evening only one.  It is likely that this honor would fall to a man only once in his lifetime.

                He entered the Holy Place, took incense from a bowl, and put it on burning coals atop the altar of incense, and then prostrated himself for a short period of prayer.

I.             In This Setting, Then, the Angel Gabriel Made His Appearance, Gave His Message of the Birth of a Special Son. (Luke 1:14-16).  Because of his disbelief, Zechariah would become mute, which, with recovery of speech at John’s birth, would be an enabler of many people recognizing this birth as a step, or a fore-work of the coming of the Messiah (V 76-79) “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

                Conclusions that we can reach about this man named John are drawn from v 13 “Thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.”  Repeating what is already established, the parents were elderly, childless; they were both of priestly lineage (of the division of Abijah: I Chron 24).  There is a familial link between John/Jesus. Mary and Elizabeth were kin (v 1:36 “Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.”)  Their babies enjoyed unusual, even miraculous, births.  Both would bear names given them by the angel Gabriel: John—Yahweh gives grace, and Jesus—Yahweh is salvation. 

                Of the boyhood of John, we can only surmise.  He was to be reared a Nazirite V 1:15. The Nazirite vow is described in Numbers 6, and Samson and Samuel are examples.  Who takes over to rear a child born in the twilight of life?  No family is left to assume responsibility.  One thing is known: v 80 “And the child was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.”  One strong tradition suggests that John was reared by the Essenes, who were known to take orphaned boys and to live by strict rules of abstinence.  What this does not address is the fact of John’s priestly lineage.  It would be expected of him.  One writer (BI W82 p36) suggests he kept this covenant, but broke with them discovering what many had become.  We might well divide them today between liberal and conservative.

                Matthew’s description of John lead us to close the door on the Essenes. His raiment was camel’s hair; he wore a leather girdle; his diet was of locusts and honey; and he had a message as austere as his dress.  His message was as austere as his dress. V 3:8 “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

II.            Our Next Concern, Therefore, Must be Message. Luke 3:3 “he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”  The gospel writers all affirm a prophet.  Luke (1:15) brings in the Holy Spirit, the Source of the divine message.

                The message proclaimed is repentance.  For us: a change of mind as consequence of sin. New Testament Greek: a change of mind from evil to good, worse to better.  The Old Testament word for repentance: shuv is more often translated “return again.” Remorse, regret, humiliation, grief because of sins against God mean much more than tears.  I Kings 21:27: “When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.  Hebrews 12:17: Esau “found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.”

                That repentance was to show in their lives.  Their deeds were to give evidence. “Fruits meet worthy”—from the Greek axiom.  Our “axiom” means self-evident truth. 

Additionally, John was to be the one who would introduce the Messiah.  It was a call to preparation. “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” Matthew 3:3/Luke 3:4.  There is no need even to comment on his expectation of a particular person.  How well did he and Jesus know each other?  The link of their mothers does not guarantee any relationship.  John recognized Jesus as the appointed one.  Did he, however, recognize Jesus as the son of his mother’s kinswoman?

III.           Finally, What Stands Out of John’s Example?  V16 “And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.” 

His ministry began as a prophetic ministry of preaching and baptism.  Luke 3:3 “preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sin.”  Some say the unnamed disciple of John the Baptist (1:35f) was the other John.  John the Baptist offered the example of prayer. Luke 1:11 “Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples.”  Certain aspects can be taught. We know it more caught than taught.

He taught them to fast (abstain from food).  Matthew 9:14 “Then came to him the disciples of John saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?”  Pharisees: practiced legalism which Jesus rebuked.  Religious disciples from his Spartan days with the Essenes.  Jesus’ answer to them (Matthew 9:15) was that “the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

Conclusion

We still have much to learn from John in the exercise of commitment.  What they learned from him they practiced.  They were jealous for him.  In John 3:25 they argue with the Jews, and question John about Jesus’ early success.  John’s disciples are still at work long after his death.  In Ephesus (Acts 19:1f, c. 65A.D.) “disciples” of John the Baptist are ministered unto by Paul, subsequently baptized “in the name of the Lord Jesus.” 

Though, as this indicates, some were slow to follow, John the Baptist pointed people to Jesus.  His whole ministry was predicated on forecasting the Messiah. Four Gospels: “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.”   The “way” is the very word used by Jesus of Himself. John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.”  He exercises a humility in relation to Jesus that most of us have yet to learn.  John 1:27, 30: “He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie….This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”  John 3:30: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

COMPLACENT CROWD OR COMMISSIONED CHURCH

#498                                  COMPLACENT CROWD OR COMMISSIONED CHURCH                                                         

Scripture Luke 14:16-24, NIV                                                                                                                           Orig. 5-26-68

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 7-18-91 

Passage: ¹⁶ Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. ¹⁷ At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ ²¹ “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ ²² “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ ²³ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. ²⁴ I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

Purpose: Addressing my people on the need for the followers of Christ to confirm in daily living all things vital in showing ourselves committed followers of Jesus.

Keywords:          Christ                    Lord                       Commitment                    Complacency

Timeline/Series:               Luke

Introduction

                The article stared back at me from the daily paper (Town Talk, 5-24-67).  The dateline, San Francisco, should have given it away at once.  Weirdness seems to regularly first test its mettle there.

                I read on anyway.  “A well-proportioned brunette tiptoed through a hushed room decorated with a stuffed rat, two crows, and a skull.  She took off her clothes and lay down on a leopard skin covering a mantle. All was ready for the baptism of a child.

                “Anton Szandor Lavey,” continued the article, “who calls himself a sorcerer and the high priest of the First Church of Satan, baptized his gum-chewing three year old daughter Tuesday night as a hooded organist played ‘The Hymn to Satan.’”

                We read such things with measured disgust, and tense up trying to pat ourselves on the back:  “I thank God that I am not as other men.”

                Do you suppose there is a difference in the mind of God?  Think you that He sees this Satanism ploy any differently than He sees people in a Baptist, Methodist, etc., church, whose only telling influence is that they are gathered around an altar?

                Here we are in our Sunday best. Some of us.  Seated here in our comfortable, contemporary, even conservative pews.  Add to that our disdain for what Lavey and his crowd conjure up.  Is that enough to earn for us the favor of God?  Or does it take personal response, commitment even, to be a follower of Christ?  

I.             The Signs of Complacency are Clearly About.  V18 “And they all with one consent began to make excuse.”  Actually, the three major concerns of life figure into this parable.  One addresses his occupation, another his fascination, the last his adoration.  So we examine one’s vocational life, the avocational life, the invocational life.  See it as job, as fun, as church.

                Remember, this is a parable, and therefore, contains teaching meant for our ears, too.  Jesus was out touching lives: down-and-outers.  He was at a feast in the home of a prominent Pharisee.  It all started with a pontification.  One of the guests said, V15 “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God.”  He was inspired, perhaps convicted.  Now he would inspire others.  Jesus’ response was to direct his teaching to their complacency.  Excuse, job-related: this piece of land has to be put to proper use. Excuse, avocation: pull-off involving five yoke of oxen, a tractor-pull.  Excuse, religious devotion: “I have married a wife.”

                Deuteronomy 24:5 tells us, “When a man hath taken a new wife he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business, but he shall be free at home . . . to cheer up his wife.”

                So, in the parable, these guys have been honored by one more honorable than they.  It was to be a festive occasion.  They wanted, expected, to be invited, and would be insulted not to.  The corollary, I would remind you, is our invitation to the faith feast honoring God’s Son.  “I want, expect, to be invited,” you say, “but it must be convenient.”

                We could spend a lot of time here talking about excuses.  We could lose our jobs.  We have let pleasure take us where it would; in the tractor/taffy pull, “Go for the gold!”  We even use our religion as an excuse.

II.            The Expectation Here is Commission.  V16 “A certain man made a great supper and bade many.” V21 “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither.”  The oriental feast had a special dimension.  The invitation was for an appointed day.  It was understood that the hour awaited preparation.  They were to stay ready.  They were to come when called.  As they had accepted the invitation, they were to keep themselves available.

                The wealth of talent in the contemporary church is extraordinary:  People capable of turning the wheels of industry; professionals, teachers, gifted laborers. Imagine, all those talents dedicated.

                Hey, I have an idea.  Let’s dedicate our avocations to the Lord also.  Did you see that delightful piece about Darryl Strawberry?  He became a Christian, and he doesn’t play out of anger anymore.  But how many athletes, musicians, entertainers, entrepreneurs, have a new mountain to climb?  Christ is the Lord of what they are doing. 

                Very little of what it takes to be a Christian takes place here from 11 to 1.  Does it bring you back at 7pm?  What is your prayer life like?  The worst excuse of all is blaming the pulpit.

                Friendliness is an avocation: earnestness, enthusiasm.  When you are out of your place, you have left a void that cannot be filled.

                Leave some room for commitment invocationally, also.  The chairs at the feast are going to be filled, not by the most worthy citizen, but by the most enthusiastic, the most responsive.

III.           Finally, Do Not Overlook Intent.  V24 “None of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper.”  Make no mistake, we are dealing with the purview of God here.  The invitation went out clear to all in nature.  Romans 1:20 “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, . . . so that they are without excuse."  Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”

                But God’s invitation came yet again.  Romans 8:1 “There is now therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ.”  Here the meaning came clearly.  The second invitation came, the clearest of directives.  The feast is prepared, you must decide.  Romans 8:31 “What shall we then say to these things, if God be for us, who can be against us?”

                To ignore the summons, to be complacent about the invitation is to court disaster. V24 as above—“none that were bidden shall taste of my supper.”  Romans 10:1f “My heart’s desire . . . for Israel is, that they might be saved. . .  For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness. . . , and going about to establish their own righteousness. . . , have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.”

                The message then of the parable is fourfold.  It tells of the provision of the feast.  It tells us of the people invited to the feast who think themselves worthy, who know themselves unworthy.  It tells us of the prospect of complacency.  It tells us of punishment awaiting negligence.  So it is a promise of provision through faith.

Conclusion

                A young man is said to have approached a holy man of India standing by the Ganges River.  “How may I find God?” he speculated.  The holy man seized him and thrust him violently under the water.  “Why did you do that?” he sputtered.  “When you long for God as you longed for air, you will find.”

ANCIENT LANDMARKS REVISITED

#495                                                          ANCIENT LANDMARKS REVISITED                                                                        

Scripture Proverbs 22:28 NIV                                                                                                                      Orig. 5-12-1968

                                                                                                                                                                              Rewr. 5-11-1989 

Passage:  Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your ancestors.

Purpose:              On Mother’s Day, to share with my people some of the more noble concepts of a society based on God’s word.

Keywords:          Church                  Christian Education        Family                  Mother’s Day                    Special Day        Worship

Timeline:             Mother’s Day

Introduction

                Finding a different text for Mother’s Day is never difficult.  One can start anywhere except with Adam and Eve, and relate one’s life to one’s mother.  In every other instance there is one.  There are some negative examples, of course, but there are many positive ones.

                I have used some of the classic passages in celebration of prior Mother’s Days.  What more fitting example could there be than the mother of Jesus?  An Old Testament illustration of the highest echelon of motherhood was seen in Samuel’s mother, Hannah.  And surely, every one of us has heard at least two sermons taken from Proverbs, chapter 31,

                                “Who can find a virtuous woman? For

                                Her price is far above rubies.”

                While this passage, also from Proverbs, seems to have nothing at all to do with motherhood, I want to claim it today as a text to speak to us about the more noble of society’s concepts.  There are deep spiritual truths perceived here, and who has a greater interest in truth than a mother has for the child that she has born and nourished.

                Rudyard Kipling wrote about his own mother:

                                “If I were hanged on the highest hill,

                                “I know whose love would follow me still.”

He recognized, as we certainly must, that the fountainhead of society, the stabilizing force for godliness and righteousness, has been “neither school nor church nor hall of justice,” but the concern of a godly mother for her children.  May I share these four “landmarks” that are the keystones upon which any pertinent society must be built?

I.             The First is that of Home and Family Dedicated to God.  The home remains God’s focal point for the redeeming message.  Genesis 1:28. “And God blessed them and said, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion.”  It is a promise of blessing.  It is a pronouncement of bearing.  It is a profession of birthright.

                At the level of family relationship, it anticipates spiritual dominion.  Proverbs 22:6. ”Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  That is not the language of force.  It does not suggest that the child becomes what the parent chooses.  It says to give him consistent spiritual example. Pray regularly for them, and challenge them to be the best they can be.

                Recognize that home and family begin with two people committed to each other and to an endearing principle.  Marriage is not theatrics.  It is not exemplified by one single example on TV. It is not fun, games, and clever repartee; it is not a perverted relationship.  The safest marriage is to a person who is one’s spiritual equal.  Years ago safety meant a reasonable guarantee of happiness. Today it carries somber, physically debilitating overtones.

II.            The Second Landmark is that of Corporate Worship.  Psalms 55:14 “We took sweet counsel together and walked to the house of God in company.”  Of course, where there is spiritual mutuality, this is assumed.  Our friends Herman and Lois Smith in New Orleans are a fond example.  The fact of worship is a constant in nearly every human life.  By meaning, worship is “a willingness to serve or make sacrifices for someone or something.”  Our lives, then, are molded, not by what we profess, but by what we worship.  Jesus had this in mind when he admonished his hearers as “hypocrites.”  They claimed to worship God.  In fact, it is power, privilege, prestige.  It is so today as well.

                Christ is the only valid instrument to lead us to worship.  I Peter 2:5 “Ye . . . are built up a spiritual house . . . to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”  He is the redeemer of all who will come to him.  In a Bridgeport, CT, cemetery there are two recognizable names.  P.T. Barnum (“a sucker born every minute”) lies beneath an expensive, ornate stone. A simple stone marks the grave of “Aunt Fanny”—Fanny Crosby (“I am Thine O Lord,” “Blessed Assurance,” “Jesus is Calling”). 

                He supplies the answer to any of life’s enigmas.  World Book 1968, p. 205, Kenyapithicus Africanus “The finding also destroyed the popular textbook theory that man evolved from an apelike, tree-dwelling primate.”  He holds the key to order in a disordered world.  He alone offers a meaningful climax to history: No more Lebanons. No more Noriegas for Panama.

III.           There is the Landmark of Christian Education. 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.”  Education has clearly taken a downturn.  It may be administrative laxity, the lack of teacher dedication, a breakdown of family expectation.  The signs of the times clearly indicate a problem: drugs, pregnancies, dropout.  Let me define what I mean by Christian Education.  It is not the expectation of Christian education in the public schools.  It is the home and the church working furiously to involve all we can to the glory of God.  It is education geared to the student’s need and capability from a Christian perspective.

                At its heart, Christian education is a parental responsibility.  It should involve both parents.  Don McNeill’s Breakfast Club radio guests were asked to express views on mothers.  “See that their children are sent to Sunday School and Church.  Make sure the children respect their fathers.”  Every Christian should be eager to assist in such efforts.

                VBS planning has begun.  Are you ready to offer assistance?

                See that we do not get out of reach of our pulpits.  In the language of the sea, there was a sailor sent to the foredeck, called the “pulpit rider.”  On the foremost point of deck he rode the wave, took the shock, but warned the wheelhouse of imminent danger.

                The purpose of Christian Education is not to make people religious, but to give them freedom to make wise choices.  Candles of faith cannot be lighted in unbelieving hearts if there is not a bright, warm glow in our own hearts.

IV.          If Opportunity Permitted, There Would be One Other Landmark, that of Civil Disobedience.

Conclusion

                A major yachting event was underway. The race from Cape Town, South Africa, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was won by a 43’ ketch captained by Kees Bruynzeel.  He was 72, and had a serious heart problem.  He hoisted anchor in Cape Town, with a nurse, a complete Cardiac Care unit, and a weighted bag for burial at sea if he did not make it.

                Susan Butcher (Iditarod winner 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1990), flew one of her lead dogs to Anchorage to the vet, and slept on the floor of the kennel for ten days until the dog was well enough to return home and resume training.

                What kind of dedication do we bring to our faith?