FROM DESOLATION TO DOXOLOGY
#717 FROM DESOLATION TO DOXOLOGY
Scripture Ezekiel 36:22-36, NIV Orig. Date July 6, 1978
Passage: 22 “Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. 23 I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.
24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. 32 I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel!
33 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. 35 They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.” 36 Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’
Purpose: To call attention to those values which free the human spirit from the petty values of the flesh that we might learn to walk with God.
Keywords: Prayer Worship Wonder Stewardship
Introduction
Emile Cailliet, in his book Journey Into Light, tells of his search as a young French intellectual. The war was over. His time in foxholes behind him. But he remembered the hours of longing for some book that would contain all of the great and lofty pinnacles of literature, a book as he said “that would understand me.” Upon his return to the academic community he decided to put this book together. He called it his “anthology.”
The young woman, a Scotch-Irish evangelical, whom he met in Germany and later married, had been informed that religion would be a taboo subject in their home. It would remain important in her life however. A few years later, after the birth of their first child, and living in France, God threw open a door for her husband’s desolate soul.
She was pushing the baby carriage, found the way crowded, and ventured off to a side street totally unfamiliar to her. Spotting a patch of grass, she stopped to rest. She then noticed a stone stairway, and without knowing why, she climbed it. At the top she saw an open door, and as she entered, she saw a white-haired gentleman at work at his desk, and nearby, the ornate carving of a cross. Only then did she realize that this was a Huguenot church structure, hidden away even though the danger of persecution had long passed in France.
Without fully understanding why, she approached the pastor and asked, “Have you a Bible in French?” He handed her one, and she walked out with both feelings of joy and guilt. She had not intended a confrontation with her husband. But when the confrontation came, she heard her husband say, “A Bible you say? Where is it? Show me. I have never seen one before.”
You see, his project, the Anthology, was a failure. His words were “I knew that the whole undertaking would not work, simply because it was of my own making.” But it was in this hour that his wife returned with the French Bible. Let me share his words, “I literally grabbed the book and rushed to my study, I ‘chanced’ upon the Beatitudes! I read, and read. . . . I could not find words to express my awe and wonder. Suddenly the realization dawned upon me: This was the book that would understand me! I needed it so much, yet, unaware, I had attempted to write my own in vain .”
For “Desolation” to become “Doxology” it was true for Israel that there were obligations which they owed to God. V33, “In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes will be builded.” Desolation to Doxology is God’s plan for His people in this day also.
I. Give God the First Hour of Every Day.
There are instructions that call us constantly to prayer and meditation. Psalm 63:6 “I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.” Hebrews 13:15 “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually.” Luke 18:1 “Men ought always to pray and not to faint,”
Only those days that find us in God’s presence with first light will conclude with His reassuring. Psalm 5:3 “My voice wilt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” Lamentations 3:22f “The Lord’s mercies . . . are new every morning.” Psalm 88:13 “. . . in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.”
It must be noted here that there is no more heart-rending passage in the Bible than this. The Psalmist is desperate. In his “desolation” he speaks “my prayer prevents thee.” His determination for God to intervene, causes him to appeal to God before, in His own labors, [God’s] vigil carries Him elsewhere.
II. We are Likewise Instructed to Give God the First Day of Every Week.
This is, first of all, a mandate for worship. A reminder that we are mortal. Ezekiel 36:22 “Therefore say unto the House of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes O House of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen.” Such a reminder teaches us that He is Immortal. When I kneel to pray I feel the special quality of His person. When I meditate upon His Word, I discover a feeling, caring message of concern.
It is also a manifestation of wonder. Perhaps you heard about the fisherman who was observed catching fish, throwing the large ones back, keeping only the ones shorter than his forearm. “I have only a ten-inch fry pan,” he said. Shall we work on interest and entertainment to motivate? Shall we stay with the WORD and trust self-motivation?
III. Do not Neglect to Give God the First Portion of Every Paycheck.
We don’t want grudgy money.
I know of few areas where there is such clear effort to intimidate the preaching of truth as there is in regard to our pocketbooks. I am, first of all, intimidated by my own failure. If I am not true to my own conscience and the convicting of the Holy Spirit, then I need not seek Spirit leadership in other things.
V27f Ezekiel laid the judgment of God on the line for Israel. If the corn was to be increased, and the famine decreased, and the fruit of the tree multiplied, and the waste places built up, then Israel must accede to the Spirit which God puts within.
Will I also be intimidated by those who want this message to be low-key? Yes, I would go there to church, but everytime I go he’s preaching about money. If that is the case, then perhaps God is speaking more directly to you than you would dare suppose.
There is no area of our public Christian life that is more totally under our control than the area of stewardship of possessions. Though the demands and judgments of God are clear, He [neither] wants nor expects anything from us that we do not have to give. I do not give my tithe because the law demands. I give it because my heart insists upon it. The widow’s mite given in love is 10,000 times more important to the Kingdom of God than the boldest of gifts given for lesser reasons.
IV. Give God the First Consideration in Every Decision. V33 “Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.”
I know of no verse of Scripture, certainly not in man-made illustration that puts spiritual value in perspective like Psalm 84:10. It also contains the Hebrew “dwell.” “One day with God is better than a thousand of any other kind.” I would rather be restricted to the view from the threshold of my Father’s house, than to be the head-honcho in the mansion acquired through godlessness.
Peter’s experience recounted in Luke 5:1-6 also helps us to keep this in perspective. He had toiled all night as a fisherman and had nothing to show for his labors. At the direction of Jesus, he went back to the same dry holes and the net broke under the burden of his success. WHO DID YOU WORK FOR THIS WEEK?
V. Give God First Place in Your Heart.
It is to this that the other four have reference.
John Gillmartin, Sermon Illustrations each Week, “Blood-Stained Testimony”—
A Gideon friend recently told of how the Gideons’ well-known, pearl-white New Testaments were distributed to the Pacific Fleet prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. He also told of how, on a later occasion, the evangelist Harry Rimmer was speaking to a meeting of believers interested in military evangelism. During the speech, Dr. Rimmer displayed his own personal copy of the white Pacific Fleet New Testament.
Following the meeting, a member of the audience tarried to show Dr. Rimmer another white New Testament, one given to his son prior to the bombing of the Hawaiian base—one stained with blood. The man smiled and said, “Yes, this little book is very precious—it’s stained with the blood of my son.” Dr. Rimmer paused for a moment, then held up his personal Bible and said, “God feels the same way about that Book. He loves [it] too. Its pages are stained with the blood of His Son.” Indeed it is; each page of Holy Writ is covered with that precious, precious blood which flowed from the pierced and bleeding side of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. [Thanks to Brian Stromsoe, of the Gideons, for recently sharing this vignette with our church.]
Is your mind and heart clear in relation to Jesus? Do you understand that He is the One who died for you?
The Son of God spent His life in one determined effort to deliver you from the pits of Hell. Have you allowed Him to do that?
Conclusion
While this of which we speak is the work of God, it is not normally something which He is going to do without our full cooperation.
Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Revelation 22:17 “Let him that is athirst come! Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.”
BEARING FALSE WITNESS
#292 BEARING FALSE WITNESS
Scripture Exodus 20:16; John 8:32 NIV Orig. 7/24/1966; 3/1976
Rewr. 8/17/1989
Passage:
Exodus 20:16 You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
John 8:32 “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Purpose: Continuing a series on the Ten Commandments, here calling attention to the ninth and its urgings as to the importance of truthfulness in all things.
Keywords: Falsehood Truth Witness
Timeline/Series: Ten Commandments
Introduction
If one is writing on stone tablets, brevity and conciseness are essential. It is necessary to say the very most in the very fewest possible words. We must remember, then, that the value of these words springs not from their mass, but from their measure.
John, the gospel writer, will not be content until the full measure of this meaning is stated. He determines to define and personalize both truth and falsehood.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. . . . For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:14,17.
Satan was called “a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
Pilate wanted to know if Jesus was a king: “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37f). “Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.”
“Jesus said to him, (Thomas) ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.’” John 14:6.
There is His most earnest expectation for us: “I will pray the Father, and He will give you . . . the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:16f
John 8:32 “If you continue in my word, you are . . . my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
I shall seek to go in two directions this morning: (1)To define what “being a false witness” means,” and, (2)understanding religious experience as the fullest expression of truth.
I. Bearing False Witness is the Passing of Any Judgment that is not Factually True.
We live in an age of compromised values. Integrity and truthfulness are often sacrificed for personal advantage. People in “high” and “low” places speak in the lingo of the Saturday matinee, “with forked tongue.” What emerges is a bland mixture of truth, half-truth, and no-truth-at-all: The fairest flower is poisoned; the tallest sequoia has root rot; the finest furrows of our fertile fields are awash with weeds.
A man was asked: “What in your lifetime has given you the greatest satisfaction?” He answered without hesitation: “A child that went down the road singing, after asking me the way.”
How willing are you this morning to perceive of yourself as the witness in question? Anonymous: “There is no fit search after truth which does not, first of all, begin to live the truth it knows.”
To begin at the beginning is to define false witness as the giving of false evidence in a court of law. This was at the heart of the Old Testament meaning: Perjury is a crime; it is false testimony; it is withholding truth. The law court is a device, ordained of God, through which justice is mediated. Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject to the higher powers. For there is no power of God: The powers that be are ordained of God.” For the which there is judge, jury, witness, plaintiff, defender, accused: One lie irreparably breaks down the system.
Out of the law court, the false witness is the peddler of malicious gossip. Do not ask if true or false, it is gossip either way. Claim not to be condemning sin. That being the case, to the sinner you must go. Psalm 1:1 “Blessed is the man/woman that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Doubt not that the one receiving such trash is as guilty as the purveyor. We take garbage to a proper receptacle. So the gossip, with his load of filth, seeks out the willing ear. If such people gravitate toward you, find out why.
One who wishes to slander another can do so also by inference. This is the realm of the half-truth. When the real juicy stuff is in decline, this will do very well. Proverbs 11:9, “An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbor.” Proverbs 12:18, “Gossip can be as sharp as a sword. But the tongue of the wise heals.” NEB.
Someone has noted, “Beware of half-truths. You may get hold of the wrong half.” Shakespeare writes of Julius Caesar’s death at the hand of Brutus, but he thought justly. Mark Antony delivers the funeral oration intent on declaring his feelings to the populace. Speaking then that “Brutus is an honorable man,” until the people begin to doubt. After planting this doubt, Shakespeare has Antony to say, “Mischief, thou art afoot. Take thou what course thou wilt.”
Likewise in need of consideration is standing in defense when it is in our power to do so. In defense of a friend when their character is assailed: Mainly, nothing counteracts slander at its roots like upbeat, positive reply. Job 42:10 “The Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends.” John 13:34 “that ye love one another.” Romans 12:20 “If thine enemy hunger, feed him.”
II. The Second Consideration from this Passage is a Valid Declaration of Religious Experience. “Thou shalt bear false witness.”
We are, in fact, to communicate the truth of relationship. There are people in the local church and out, who deny Jesus is Lord. Those out are the object of some ministry of prayer or concern. Those within are a contradiction of gospel declaration. Mark 16:16 “He that believeth not shall be damned.” These are the words of Jesus. To what degree do we believe them? Are we willing to live by them?
Laws in natural world, fire, water, storm, are deadly. Even the liberal media warn of dangers of drugs.
Whether we take Jesus’ words (above) to be temporal or eternal, we are to live in the context of truth, reality.
We, occasionally, need to reconsider our own spiritual experience. In light of all the New Testament says about repentance, are we up-to-date? Can we recall the time when, by actual expression of faith, Christ became Lord of my life? “Ye must be born again.” Let me rephrase an earlier statement. “There is no fit search after Jesus (truth), which does not, first of all, begin to live the Jesus (truth) it knows.” Go, and live that experience, or be what you are, a false witness.
Conclusion
Martin Luther had theological values we would not want. He thought the earth stationary. (Eclipse.) He thought demons caused thunderstorms. National Geographic [has a] picture of black wall stain where he threw his ink pot at the devil. But it was he, standing before Emperor Charles, surrounded by the royal court, knowing that he was bringing the combined wrath of empire and church down on his own head who declared his witness. “. . . My conscience is captive to the word of God . . . . Here I stand! I can do no other! God help me!”
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 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)
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 3rd 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.”
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?
FAITH IN THE FACE OF FIRE
#480 FAITH IN THE FACE OF FIRE
Scripture I Samuel 17:26, 31-37 NIV Orig. 3-31-68
Rewr. 5-19-89
Passage: 26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. 32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
Purpose: To share a message in which we may compare our own faith with that of a young shepherd boy out of the hills of Judea. It is typical, isn’t it? When trouble is recognized, all of us look for a near-point of escape. But we want this text to help us to examine the courage of our faith. “FAITH IN THE FACE OF FIRE” is our theme.
Keywords: Faith Vision Courage
Timeline/Series: Biographical
Introduction
We cannot be absolutely sure that David fully understands the danger that he is taking upon himself. There were stronger men in the Hebrew army who had declined the Goliathan offer. There were brave men on the field of battle who agreed that a fight between two representative soldiers would be better for the two nations than the onslaught of blood-letting that awaited them. But Israel had no representative soldier who was the equal of Goliath.
David, in his youthful vigor, offers to go out in battle against this loud-mouthed Philistine. If that is all it is, youthful vigor, then he and his king and people are in serious trouble.
But when the showdown came, David went out “in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.” V40 “He went out with a staff, a slingshot, a bag of five stones, and faith.
Years ago, American soldiers were among those of a United Nations peace-keeping mission sent to the Congo to quell an uprising. These young soldiers were not sure what awaited them. To say they were anxious is an understatement.
Readers Digest, in its “Humor in Uniform” section, reported a dialogue that took place on the plane as it was preparing to land. An African American soldier turned to his white seatmate and said, “Ray, you are in more trouble than you have ever been in.” Ray, of course, wanted to know why. “Because,” said his friend, “if those Congolese soldiers come running toward this plane when we get off, I'm going to jump on your back and yell, ‘I got ‘im! I got ‘im!’
We don’t want to compare our courage with a young soldier, or even David. We do want to get a measure of our faith as compared with that evidence here.
I. The First Measure of His Faith is that it is Courageous Faith. V32 “Let no man’s heart fail because of him, thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” It does us well, from time to time, to remember that young soldiers are still being called to battle. We hear too little about their bravery. We hear more of the philosophical issues. A liberal press is often more interested in failure than in fortitude under fire. More of these brave young people have been sent to Panama.
Something like this happens on the spiritual level as well. Not only is the church under fire. The very character and integrity of Jesus is put to the test. “God is dead,” they say. “Morality is going out of style.” We Christians have a chance as never before, to stand by our faith. The enemies out there are Goliathan in proportion, but they are not invincible. As a soldier represents his battalion and a shepherd lad his people, we are to know where the power is in the confrontation with evil.
David, though young and without practical experience, had faith in God. For forty days Goliath had taunted Israel. David would stand in the gap.
On Wednesday night we studied Jonah. Because he went to Nineveh, the Northern Kingdom survived 50-75 years longer. It is also interesting to consider Daniel in light of the decree of Darius and Cyrus (Daniel 6:10f).
II. Next Measure David’s as a Confident Faith. V37 “The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.”
Faith always draws on prior experience. One does not have to travel far to see much and feel deeply. What enemies he had encountered had been summarily dispatched. Why not this taunter of God as well?
There were betrayers of such confidence. He took the form of David’s elder brother, Eliab. I wonder why we are not surprised, because we have been older brothers, or known them, or had them. Eliab accused David of “pride,” of a “naughty spirit,” of “neglect” of his sheep. Perhaps Eliab saw himself in his younger brother. What does it take to betray your confidence in your faith?
III. Then I See David’s Faith as a Charted Faith. V39b “And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these: for I have not proved them. . . And he took his staff, . . . and chose five smooth stones.” We must respond to the enemies around us with our strengths and not our weaknesses. That doesn’t reflect any inability to attempt the untried. But it early recognizes all that is to its hurt. It is one thing not to be in the House of the Lord regularly, including Sunday evening. It is something else when we choose things that dishonor Christ instead.
Faith faces openly the things that strengthen it: dealing regularly with the word; knowing that there is no substitute for prayer; acknowledging that evil is exorcized by confronting it. Such faith is the link-up of believers that we know as the church. Someone makes a grievous point: “Five out of every six churches in America could be dismantled without damage to the Christian mission.” That was something said not by a critic, but a friend. Now is not the time to think of other. If everyone in your church were like you are would it be of the five, or of the one?
IV. It is Next Visualized as a Conquering Faith. V50 “So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone.” We know, don’t we, that it was not the weapon. V50 “There was no sword in the hand of David.” Neither was it experience or the lack of it. Strength did not win this battle, though perhaps weakness played a part.
Did you see the Dexter Manley article (MMS 5/19/89 NFL/SB/PB)? A pro football defensive end, at 27 he enrolled in the Washington Lab School to learn to read. “I had to humble myself. I had to walk into the Lab School and not pretend.”
Every success in the faith venture brings a greater capacity for faith. Faith in the face of fire is not the kind to avoid. It is the kind to cherish. It is the kind to nourish. There will always be negative influences. Armor was Saul’s attempt to control. There was Eliab’s disdainful rebuke. Too many of us would have been effectively out of action. Satan would have won the battle.
V. Before Leaving David, We Must Assess His Faith as a Contagious Faith. V52 “And the men of Israel and of Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines.” What did they see, these Hebrew men? Eliab saw an excitable boy. V55 Saul saw a “stripling.” V44 Goliath saw “buzzard meat.” David saw himself as v34 “shepherd,” v58 “son of Jesse,” v45 “servant of God.”
What they saw was sufficient to lift them out of their fears to face the fire of their own faith.
Conclusion
B.T. Bradley’s poem says enough with which to conclude.
Lord, when I am weary with toiling,
And burdensome seem thy commands,
If my load should lead to complaining,
Lord, show me thy hands, Thy nail-pierced hands, Thy cross-torn hands,
My Saviour show me Thy hands.
Christ, if ever my footsteps should falter,
And I be prepared to retreat,
If desert or thorn cause lamenting,
Lord show me Thy feet, Thy bleeding feet, Thy nail-scarred feet,
My Jesus, show me Thy feet.
O God, dare I show thee MY hands and MY feet
HINDS FEET IN HIGH PLACES
#298 HINDS FEET IN HIGH PLACES
Scripture Habakkuk 3:17-19, NIV Orig. 9-20-89
Passage: Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength, he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. (For the director of music, on my stringed instruments.)
Purpose: Continuing a series on the Old Testament prophets, here examining Habakkuk’s change from perplexity to praise.
Keywords: Bible Study
Timeline/Series: Sequential/Old Testament Prophets
Introduction
The guide sheet covering the prophets of Israel and Judah shows Habakkuk as a contemporary of Jeremiah. The same prevailing injustice that Jeremiah railed against, is the contention driving this prophet to deep consternation.
Nothing about this man is known other than the historical setting that surrounded him. His name appears only here in this book of three chapters. He was of the tribe of Levi, for he identifies himself as one of the temple singers (3:19)
Paul knew him and so should we. He three times extols his great statement of faith, “the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).
Romans 1:17 “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”
Galatians 3:11 “Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”
Hebrews 10:38 “But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.”
I. Note his perplexity. Habakkuk 1:1 “The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see”: Invasion coming from without—the Battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C., in which the Babylonians claimed total dominance, and corruption arising within—Josiah has been dead a few years and his sons have come to the throne (Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah).
He raises three questions. How long? V2 “How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save?” Why? V3 “Why do you make me look at injustice: Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.” These questions assert both the evil of foreign powers, but also the corruption of religious/political leaders. He pauses, and God answers these questions in a way unsettling to Habakkuk. V5-6 “For I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans.” Remember Jonah’s struggle with Nineveh.
Habakkuk responds with his third question, V 13b “Wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously?” V12 He remembers who he is addressing, and V12b he extols God’s promise: Israel will live and her enemies will die. God’s holiness will not allow Him to betray His word.
II. Next, see what persuades him. Habakkuk 2:1 “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.” God’s three-fold plan for his prophet: He is to wait (2a, 3c), he is to watch (2a), and he is to write (2b). Again God answers the prophet’s question with a recordable vision of five parts. Woe against their insatiable greed (V6-8)—“because”; woe against their overarching ambition (V9-11)—“for”; woe against their cruelty (V 12-14)—“for”; woe against their inhumanity toward other people (V15-17)—“”for”; woe against their idolatry (V18-20)—“but.”
Habakkuk concludes ashamed that he has so rudely doubted. 2:20 “But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
III. Finally, we hear the call to prayer and praise. 3:2 “O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath, remember mercy.” He stands convicted and convinced. Nothing will stay him from faith.
Habakkuk 3:17-19 “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength, he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”
ELIJAH, MAN OF MIRACLES
#162 ELIJAH, MAN OF MIRACLES
Scripture I Kings 18:22-39, 19:13-18 NIV Orig. 1-7-62
Rewr. 4-71, 8-14-74
Passage: I Kings 18:22-39 22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left,(A) but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.(B) 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call(C) on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord.(D) The god who answers by fire(E)—he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.” 25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called(F) on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response;(G) no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. 27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”(H) 28 So they shouted louder and slashed(I) themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice.(J) But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.(K) 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar(L) of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.”(M) 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name(N) of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs[a] of seed. 33 He arranged(O) the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.” 34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench. 36 At the time(P) of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham,(Q) Isaac and Israel, let it be known(R) today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.(S) 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know(T) that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” 38 Then the fire(U) of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate(V) and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
1 Kings 19:13-18 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face(A) and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left,(B) and now they are trying to kill me too.” 15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael(C) king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint(D) Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha(E) son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah(F) to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael,(G) and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.(H) 18 Yet I reserve(I) seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed(J) him.”
Introduction
The main problem that a preacher has after choosing Elijah for a sermon subject is the way in which the subject should be developed. Should I preach on his faith, his courage, his lack of faith, his fear or maybe even his perseverance. This is the kind of man that we respect, for there is never any doubt where he stands. When he is intent on serving the Lord, then he lets nothing stand in his way. When he has a frustrating problem, he doesn’t cover it over with a thin veneer of false piety. The thing different about him was that his moment of defeatism came just after he had won a major victory.
“To reach the port of heaven we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it. But we must sail and not drift or lie at anchor.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
When the victory was achieved, he had begun to drift, and he nearly piled up on the rocks.
Four words are all that are needed to suggest the stages in the life of this prophet of God. Food! Fire! Folly! Favor!
I. Food! 1 Kings 17:4 “And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.” In this period we notice several commands from God: V1 to tell Ahab of the looming drought; v3 to go to the brook Cherith (we note God’s provision and we note the contingency of his provision); and v9 to go to Zarephath. We notice the man of God being used to help others—providing a meal v13-16 and raising a dead child v17-22.
We notice much use of natural provisions. We notice also, the food from heaven. Elijah made his proclamation to Ahab, assuming that there would be days when he too would be hungry. Food has always been one of the besetting problems of mankind.
II. Fire! I Kings 18:29 “And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answers by fire, let him be God.” Here we see the faith of this man: faith in God; faith in principles of righteousness; faith in his countrymen that they would agree to the test; faith in his mission—this is the point where we fall short.
We see the fearlessness of Elijah. There were 450 prophets of Baal, and one of God, Elijah; their offering was dry, his was wet. V26 They danced on the altar, and Elijah came near. We see the fire from heaven: Some people take more to convince.
III. Folly! I Kings 19:4 “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.” It has always been true that man cannot live forever in the mountain peaks. To get from one peak to another we must go through the valley, a valley of despair and a valley of hope. The greatest of men have had occasion of stumbling. The food of heaven is weak when mingled with humanity: In Exodus 16:3 the people of Israel asked if it would have been better to remain in Egypt and die. Martin Luther’s wife, Katherine, put on a black dress one day when Luther was depressed and despairing. Luther asked, “Are you going to a funeral?” “No,” she responded, “but since you act as though God is dead, I wanted to join you in the mourning!” Exactly what Luther needed to hear (source: unknown).
IV. Favor! I Kings 19:13 “What doest thou here. Elijah?” V15 “Go . . . and anoint.” V18 “Yet I have left me 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal.” God had erased forever that moment of weakness; William James says that sin always leaves its mark. God has given Elijah a new challenge, a task that would be impossible to attain in his lifetime—the preparation of Elisha.
The lesson in life: Never look back on our attainments, look forward to what can yet be.
Conclusion
When Thomas Carlyle had completed his first volume of The French Revolution, he entrusted the manuscript to John Stuart Mill for proofreading. A few days later, Mill was forced to return and tell Carlyle that the manuscript had been destroyed. A chambermaid had used it to start a fire. Carlyle remarked to his wife that they must never let Mill know the seriousness of the matter—serious because the Carlyles were penniless, and because he had destroyed all of his notes.
The next day he made this entry in his diary: “It is as if my invisible school master had torn my copybook when I showed it and said, “No, child, thou must write it better.”