Troubled Hearts

In John 14:1 Jesus reminded his disciples that things would happen that would trouble their hearts.  Not just the disciples, but the whole nation of Israel was in the middle of a huge social disruption that would forever change how they related to God.  Similarly our nation is in the middle of such a disruption that has fragmented our society.  Certain cultural patterns of thinking and living are being broken down and either transformed or discarded.  This creates a period of confusion as people ask this internal question.  “If I can’t do this (whatever is no longer acceptable) then what do I do now?”  How should I act and what is expected of me are other ways of asking this question.

Now Jesus was not only speaking to the social disruption that was happening in the first century AD, but he also spoke to the social disruption that would be prevalent at the end of the age.  In Matthew 24:6 and following, Jesus talks about how there would be social turmoil and wars.  Yet, he tells his followers to not be troubled by these things.  That word troubled is the picture of a turbulent sea of various currents that keep our heart agitated and anxious.  This time and its events will have the effect of agitating our minds and filling our hearts with worry.  But Jesus tells them to not allow their hearts to be tossed to and fro by these events.  How is that possible?

The disciples were about to get a lesson in how to do this.  Their time with Jesus and the way things had been for the last 3 years was coming to a close.  Jesus had been their stability and had told them what they were going to do each day.  They followed him.  But that dynamic was about to be changed or transformed.  In John 13:30 there is an interesting phrase that is used after Judas leaves to betray Jesus.  It simply says, “and it was night.”  Most scholars point out that this is meant to be more than a chronological statement.  It wasn’t just night time, but it was metaphorical of the dark night their hearts were going through.  A time when the light you have been living by seems to be snuffed out and you can’t see to find your bearings.  What do we do now?  This question was asked by each disciples as they saw their Lord crucified and buried.

That is why Jesus was telling them to not let their hearts be troubled.

Trusting God And Jesus

After telling them to not let their hearts be troubled (a negative command) he then positively commands them to not only believe in God but to also believe in him.  That word believe is to put your trust in them.  The turmoil would cause them to contemplate not trusting.  However, they were to fight that and find a calm and peace around continuing to trust God in the face of impossibility. 

It has been said that uncertainty is a certainty.  In this world the uncertainties around us will either cause us to give up or it will cause us to look to the certainty that is God himself.  Jesus went on to tell his disciples that he was going to prepare a place for them.  Not only was he preparing a place for them, but he would come and bring them to be with him.  Trust me, is what he was saying.  Even when it seems impossible, trust me.

We are given a tender picture of this in Revelation 21:4.  Here we find that all who have put their faith and trust in God will reach a day when he personally wipes the tears from their eyes.  This is not a sense of  “quit your whining, we don’t cry here.”  It is more a tender picture of God stepping in with his personal touch to wipe away those tears of this life.  He becomes the One who knowingly understands our tears and identifies with our tears.  He will tenderly brush them away as he heals our hearts from the pain and sorrow.

The believer must always hold before them the hope that God has given us in this.  No matter how difficult my path in this life, I will eventually leave this anxiety behind and I will be welcomed into God’ healing presence.  Thus I do not need to be tossed about by the troubles of this life.  Though they are real and I will have to deal with them, through faith in Jesus I can find a place of peace here and now in the midst of my own personal night.

There Are Different Kinds Of Temptations

Three different attempts are made to tempt Jesus in this passage and they are very different.  We need to realize that Satan has a whole toolbox of tricks that he uses to trip up believers and unbelievers.  In Ephesians 6:11 the Bible says:

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (NKJV).

“Wiles” comes from the same root that we get the word “method.”  Thus our enemy has methods, strategies, and operations by which he tries to trap us.

Temptation #1, Jesus is tempted to please his flesh above the spiritual.  There is nothing wrong with eating bread.  However, Jesus had been “led” into the wilderness by the Spirit of God.  He was preparing himself for the coming ministry through prayer, fasting, and facing temptation.  Food was not a priority on this mission, but being in concert with the Father was.  The enemy loves to get us to focus on any desire of our flesh above the higher spiritual things of God.  But the stomach of Jesus is not the only target.  Satan target’s the pride of Jesus when he says, “If you are the son of God…”  This trick of the devil manipulates us to prove ourselves.  Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 8 that man lives by every word from God’s mouth, not just bread.   When you look into the context of that verse you realize that Moses was telling Israel that God took them through the wilderness and allowed them to thirst and hunger, so that they might look past the bread and seek him.  It was a test.  Thus Jesus doesn’t just throw a bible verse at the devil, rather, he shows that he knows the heart of this temptation.  Good things can get between us and God.

Temptation #2, Jesus is tempted to use God’s Word for selfish gain.  In this temptation the devil takes Jesus to the highest point in the Temple and tries to get him to jump.  The reasoning is that the Bible promises that God will keep the messiah from dashing his foot against a stone.  God will be forced to supernaturally protect Jesus in front of the multitudes at the temple.  Thus Jesus will be accepted.  God’s Word is not given for us to twist to our own ends, or to manipulate God into accomplishing our desires.  This presumes upon the goodness of God.  God will not be played a fool.  Thus Jesus quotes a verse that says you shall not tempt the Lord your God.  How is this tempting God?  You are tempting God to quit giving you his goodness and to judge you.  We can do this today by using the amazing grace of Jesus as a license to sin.  God has promised to forgive us our sins.  Thus I can sin as much as I want and just ask forgiveness after the fact.  In Romans 6 Paul says, “God forbid.”  This kind of attitude is spiritually dangerous and tempts God to judge us.  It is important to note here that the devil can quote scripture.  It is always twisted and perverted out of its context but he makes it look good.  The Bible says that the devil transforms himself into an angel of light.  That means he comes looking as if he is God’s messenger to you.  He carries a bible and quotes scripture.  He may even have a church where he preaches every Sunday.  We need to verify for ourselves that any “teaching” from another really does line up with all the word of God.  Jesus doesn’t argue Satan’s verses.  Instead he points out that there are other Scriptures.  He quotes from Exodus 17 where Moses is reminding them of an incident where they were accusing Moses and God of bringing them into the desert to kill them.  God sent poisonous serpents into the assembly as a judgment to their accusatory demands.  They were in effect rejecting God’s way through the wilderness.  Was Jesus going to reject God’s way, which involved death on a cross, or would he try to force another way?

Temptation #3, Jesus is tempted to idolatry.  Satan doesn’t quote any scripture this time nor does he employ any subtlety either.  This temptation simply comes as a brute force attack.  Following God won’t work.  Just worship me and you will get it all in a far easier way.  Will you stick with God and receive what he has for you or will you worship another to get something “better?”  Many sell their souls to the devil for the fame and wealth of this world.  But it is always far less than it looks and it never satisfies.  Jesus saw through this blatant charade and reminds Satan that man should worship God alone.

God’s Children Will Face These Temptations And More

Whether Satan is subtle or not his temptations are always strong and must be resisted.  Several lessons can be learned as we look at this passage and meditate on it.  First, a battle always comes on the heels of times when we know that God has spoken.  In chapter 3 Jesus had just been baptized as the Holy Spirit descended upon him and the Father spoke from heaven, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”  Yet, immediately the Spirit takes him into the wilderness where the tempter tries to bring him down.

Another lesson is that we need to face temptation privately in our hearts before we can truly conquer it in public.  We should never settle for merely looking like we have avoided temptation.  God will not settle for appearance only.  But on a different note, why live such a life that would not be filled with joy?  Often we need to get alone in prayer and the word and break down the lies of the enemy.  Perhaps we need some mature, godly counsel.  But don’t settle.  Lastly, the devil uses temptation to neutralize our ability to do anything for God.  God’s way makes us useful for others, but his way fixates us on ourselves.  You may be able to find some other lessons upon further study.

Satan uses temptation to try and destroy or at least neutralize our faith.  But, he also uses temptation to keep those who don’t know God trapped in the chains of sin.  Let’s be aware of the methods of the enemy and combat them in our life.  Let’s also be wise in how we approach the lost.  May God help us to demolish the lies of the enemy in their life through love and truth.

Making An Impression On Jesus Isn’t Necessary

Several places throughout the Scriptures we are told that Jesus loved this family.  Martha apparently is the older sister due to the fact that it is called her house.  Although not mentioned here, this has always been considered the same Martha and Mary who had a brother named Lazarus.  Jesus had a special place in his heart for this family.  Probably because they provided a peaceful and safe place for him to stay when he was in the area.

Now Jesus shows up with his 12 disciples and Martha invites them to her house.  Two different choices immediately are made.  Martha begins to prepare a meal, while Mary sits and listens to Jesus teach.  Have you ever tried to impress God?  I think part of Martha’s problem is not that she wants to care for their food needs, but rather all the other junk that is going on inside of her heart and mind.

Three descriptions of Martha describe her condition.  She was “distracted” with much serving.  Granted, serving is a good thing, but not when it becomes a distraction to something better.  The word distracted has the sense of being drawn away from something by something else.  The serving was getting in between Martha and her sister, but even more importantly it was getting in between her and Jesus.  The second descriptor is “worried.”  Why would she be anxious?  Is she afraid she won’t get the food out quickly?  Was she going overboard?  Clearly she is upset that Mary doesn’t help her.  But it seems that Martha has envisioned something to impress Jesus and is worried she can’t do it by herself.  It is interesting that in Matthew 6:31-33, Jesus specifically told his disciples to not worry about what they are going to eat.  But to put God’s Kingdom first.  Then the food part will be supplied.  This is not a promotion of being lazy, but one of priorities.  Martha was losing a sense of priority in her worry.  The last descriptor is “troubled by many things.”  The word comes from the same root as the word “turbulent.”  It literally means a crowd.  Martha’s mind and heart had become a crowd of worries and desires that were crashing back and forth like an unruly mob.  And all of this was over the issue of preparing a meal.

In contrast to this Mary is simply sitting and receiving from Jesus.  There is a time for making a meal but the contrast is clear.  Martha was fixed on what she could do for Jesus, but Mary was fixed on receiving from Jesus.  Lastly, Mary was not concerned about what Martha was concerned about.

Only One Thing is Necessary

Martha grows more and more agitated until she finally has had enough.  Instead of confronting Mary she goes over her head and asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her.  Jesus’ answer is that Mary had chosen something better than Martha and he would not take it from her.  His statement that “one thing is needed” begs the question.  “What is that one thing?”  I believe the Matthew 6 passage we looked at earlier helps us to see what is needful.  What is necessary?   To keep the higher eternal things at a higher priority than the lower temporary things of this earth, like eating.  The lower, temporary things do need to be taken care of: food, clothing, shelter, jobs, education, etc…  But, if we let them be of a higher priority in our life, we will be overwhelmed with a very turbulent crowd of desires.  Martha was angry with Mary, but Mary had done nothing wrong.  She had simply chosen to spend time with Jesus before eating.  Why despise that?  Only when I am consumed with earthly concerns would it bother me.  Perhaps there is a worry about impressing Jesus with the great care that their household would give him.  Whatever her concerns, they had created a problem in her heart.

Was it necessary to eat right away?  Apparently not.  Jesus doesn’t seem to have asked for food to be prepared.  Why not spend some time together first?  Was it necessary to do so much serving?  Was it necessary to get angry with her sister?  We can excessively worry over earthly cares.  The reality is that they will be hungry again in a matter of hours.  No amount of eating will eternally satisfy.  Thus we need to be careful that our heart and minds do not become turbulent with these lower concerns.

Martha wants to serve the Lord, but the best way to serve the Lord is to know what he really wants.  In John 3:34 Jesus told his disciples that he had food they didn’t know about.  It was the food of doing his father’s will.  Jesus was not a slave to earthly food because doing the work of teaching, miracles, and laying his life down satisfied him on a higher level.  Later in John 6:27-29, Jesus was talking to the crowd that he had miraculously fed.  They had rushed around and oared across the Sea of Galilee in order to find Jesus.  But they followed him for natural food not the higher spiritual food.  Yes we have to eat, but the natural should not rule over the spiritual.

"Choosing the good part" is when we see that it is more important for us to wait upon the Lord and let his teaching transform us than it is for us to rush out and do great things for him.  Who should have joined who?  Martha wanted Jesus to make Mary join her.  In reality Martha needed to join Mary.

Have you been pressured in things of this life by yourself or others?  Are you laboring to satisfy an inner crowd of emotions and desires that are fixated on the earthly temporary stuff over the top of the eternal?  Jesus wants you to have rest and to have peace.  Stop today and rest at his feet, let him teach you.

Let’s first recognize that there is a difference between “The Church” and “a church.”  The Church is the group of people from all generations, and all ethnic groups who have put their faith in God and believed on Jesus’ death to cover their sins.  It is a reference not to an earthly institution, but an invisible tie of faith between people of very different societies.  “A church” is a local gathering of a small subset of The Church.  Either way, it is good to distinguish that though we call the building they meet in a church, it is only because a church meets in that building.  A church does not need a building to be the church, though it is quite convenient.

When we question whether there is hope for the church, we generally have in mind denominations, buildings, real estate holdings, and such things.  But even if a local church disbands and closes its door, it does not mean there is no hope for those individuals.  They can still meet together or join other groups of believers.  They can still be a church without buildings, projectors, and instruments.  These things do not provide hope.  They only make it more pleasant to do what churches do: worship God, encourage each other, and share Jesus with those who do not know him.

We Already Have All We Need

In Acts 20:25-32 Paul knows that he is going to be imprisoned and eventually killed.  He knows that he will not see the elders of Ephesus again.  So, he meets with them and gives his last word.  It is interesting to see that he makes a huge point that they have all they need.  It won’t be easy without Paul, but Paul has given them everything they need, which he himself received from Jesus.

He had preached to them the kingdom of God, how they could be a part of it, and what it really was.  Jesus had said in Luke 17:21 that the kingdom of God did not come with observation, but was within our hearts.  One became a citizen in this new kingdom of God not by living in a particular geographical area or having a particular genetic link, but by simply having faith in the Lord, Jesus as God’s Anointed One (Christ) who has saved us from our sins.  Not only were they citizens, but Paul had given them the “whole counsel of God.”  (vs. 27)

The counsel of God is an amazing concept.  Can you imagine if there was a, for real, God.com that you could go to and put in your problem.  Then the instructions from God would come back to you.  God wants us to live wisely and so has given us counsel.  But they also had the "Whole" counsel.  The point being that they were not lacking anything.  There was no hidden instruction to be found in the 21^st century.  Neither was God only giving the first century counsel, but saying to us today that we have to figure it out on our own.  God knew the church would need wisdom and through Christ and his apostles that wisdom was delivered once and for all to His Church.  We have all that we need.

We Need to Guard Our Hearts

Those who have everything have to guard it or thieves will break in and steal it.  So it is in the spiritual.  Precisely because the Church has been given such great wisdom, salvation, and Hope, the enemy seeks to steal it, kill it, and destroy it.  Paul compares The Church to a flock of sheep and the elders to shepherds.  As shepherds over God’s flock, they need to “take heed” and “watch.”

The term “take heed” means to bring something near for inspection.  Notice in verse 28 Paul tells them to inspect themselves and the flock.  If we don’t inspect ourselves first then we cannot do a good job inspecting others.  The reason this is so important is because of two threats.  The first is pictured as “savage wolves” from outside.  The second is believers who rise up from within and twist the truth in order to gain disciples after themselves.  The shepherds are to be introspective and inspective in order to ward off these threats. 

The term “watch” means to rise up as opposed to sleeping and lounging about.  To do a good job guarding the sheep, the shepherds would need to rise up and be vigilantly on the lookout.  This parallels with the “false teachers.”  Both parties “rise up,” but for very different reasons.  One leads in order to protect.  The other leads out of self motivation and with twisted teaching.  They draw disciples after themselves instead of after Christ.  These people think they are a church following Jesus.  But, sadly, they have become a lost group following the wisdom of a man.

Paul knew that this danger was so great that he warned them night and day with tears.  It concerned him greatly.  That is why in verse 20 he says, “I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you.”  Jesus has given us good shepherds to watch over the flock but they need to watch over their own hearts lest they pervert the truth of God and mislead the sheep.

Lastly Paul commends or entrusts them to God and His Word of Grace.  Grace is a gift.  Thus God’s word is a gift to us that has the power to build us up (strengthen us).  It also has the power to give us an place among his people both now and in the age to come.  So is the church going down?  Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.   He wasn’t talking about buildings, cathedrals, and denominations.  He was talking about his true believers regardless of where they were.  Let’s quit looking at the natural and begin trusting in the one who has given us all that we need for life and godliness.

Today we will look at a passage in Ephesians 6:5-9.  In it Paul is giving instruction to both slaves and their masters.  You may think, "well, I'm not a slave so this doesn't impact me."  However, in this passage Paul gives us principles that go beyond being a slave.  In fact, it would be best if we take a bit of time to discuss what it means to be a slave and why slavery ever came into existence.  First of all, the essence of slavery is not being the property of another.  This is definitely a part of the history of slavery.  So I don't mean to diminish its reality.  However, the real concept behind being the slave of another had to do with the "master's" claim upon the work of another.  How that claim comes about can be varied.  But no matter what, every economic system and every people group has had to deal with the reality that some people do not do well and end up owing others.  When you owe somebody they have a claim upon your production.  How we go about satisfying that claim has as many possible ways as there are people to dream them up.  If we were to creat a continuum that has on the one side a picture of deeply, depraved slavery, such as that pictured in Alex Haley's mini series "Roots," and on the other side a system like we have today where people are physically free but are still in debt to others, then we can recognize that there exists between them a multitude of "systems" that could be devised.  One side values the freedom of the owing individual over the claims of the other.  Whereas the other expression values the claim of the owed individual over the freedom of the individual.  Not everyone ended up as a slave due to owing someone something.  Some were attacked by other nations or tribes and forced into slavery.  This is a clear wrong.  However, how many of us do not recognize we are somewhat "slaves" to our debts?  Some have stated that the Bible is clearly flawed because it does not emphatically denounce slavery.  The Bible denounces dehumanizing slavery, but let it never be forgotten that it was the teaches of Christ that fueled the energy of the anti-slavery movement.  We can fight our whole life against a system of slavery and finally win only to find out that another system of slavery comes in to take its places.  Those who think we can even yet again tear down the current system and build a better one are deluding themselves concerning the heart of men.  Man will create nothing but systems that enslave.  It is only men who fear the Lord who will restrain themselves from this bent in our nature.  So God speaks not to the hopeless fight of destroying slavery, but to the hopeless heart of the slave.  God has something better for them that goes beyond this life and God has something better for you that goes beyond this life.

No matter what, if you need a paycheck from an employer than you are in an indebted situation.  You are providing a service for someone or some company who has become your "master."    Let us look at this passage today in that light.

Jesus Is Our Boss

 Paul in verse 5, 6, and 7 hammers home that we should work as if Jesus were our boss.  It is not in those terms, but that is the intent.  Many of you are scratching your head thinking, "my boss is nothing like Jesus."  But this is nevery mentioned.  The simple principle is work as if you were doing it for Jesus.  Think about that principle alone for a moment.  If you worked like that, I don't think there is a single employer who wouldn't want you on the job unless you were just not talented for it.  This is a revolutionary concept.  In verse 5 it calls them "masters according to the flesh."  The word master is the same word used of Christ which is always translated "Lord."  Now Paul goes on to give some practical instructions for followers of Jesus.  If you were working, as if Jesus were your boss, you would work like this.

Show Respect for Authority.  To obey with fear and trembling is a picture of a healthy respect for the authority and position of the one who is over me.  Would I talk back to my boss if he were Jesus?  Would I ridicule him behind his back if he were Jesus?   Would I work to try and get him fired?  To respect the position and authority of the person over us is impossible if we do not first respect the position and authority of God over our lives.  How might this kind of attitude improve your relationship with your boss?

Be Sincere.  This is to have a single heart and devotion towards the job.  That means you give your whole heart to the job instead of working half-heartedly.  Need I ask? 

Don't work only when supervised.  In verse 6 it it is called eyeservice.  It is pretty obvious that when we know we are being watched we work much harder.  Paul challenges them that this is the path of those who are man-pleasers.  This isn't intended to be a good thing.  We ought to work in order to please God not men.  Those who work to please men only worry about when they are watching.  It is insincere and false.  Am I trying to manipulate my boss instead of working hard for him?  God can always see us.  So If I am a God-pleaser, I know there is no time when I can "do whatever I want."

Be willing and "good-minded."  To have a good mind and heart about the job is easier said than done.  But it starts with remembering that Jesus is our real boss.  How we serve our earthly bosses says volumes about where our heart is before God himself.

God Always Has the Final Say

In verse 8 Paul begins to pivot by reminding the slave that both the slave and the free man will stand before God one day.  If I serve well in this life than God will reward me with good.  In fact, Scripture even teaches that to the degree we do good in life is the degree that God will reward us back.  That might change your motivation.  Salvation may be by grace but reward and punishment will be based upon our deeds.

Paul then gives a caution or warning to the masters / lords / bosses.  Bosses have bosses.  But ultimately all bosses have to answer to the big Boss in heaven.  He tells them in verse 9 that they should follow the same advice he had just given to their slaves.  This a verse that many a slave owner in the south neglected to ponder.  God does not play favorites.  Literally God is not enamored with your face and all it represents.  You might be the greatest "master" in all the world.  But God will judge you in the same way as the lowliest slave.

In our society we generally picture justice as blindfolded.  It is intended to demonstrate that it is blind to the individuals involved and only gives the truth.  However, justice is never blind to the facts of the situation.  For justice to be truly done then it must see not just the surface but even the intents of the hearts of those involved.  God himself is the ultimate justice.

When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I have a dream speech," he talked about judgment and justice.

"I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."  What most miss is that Dr. King most certainly wanted his children judged.  However he longed for a judgement that was based upon truth and not the lies of men.  Lies that say worth can be seen by the color of someone's skin, or even the ability of their mind and body.

Do I approach my job as if it were a calling from God?  Even if you work for yourself, do you recognize that you still work for God?  When your job becomes a ministry to Jesus it will bless your employer, the customers and yourself.

Perhaps you are reading this today and you are thinking, "I wish I had a job."  Let this time be a time of reflection.  Perhaps you took previous jobs for granted.  Perhaps the Lord is teaching you to trust in him.  In the end if you will choose to be an employee like is mentioned in Ephesians 6 then you will find a job and God will bless you in it.

Today we are going to see that the same God who created marriage and family can help us fix it, or keep it from breaking in the first place.  In Malachi 2:13-16 God confronts the men of Israel for divorcing their first wives.  Apparently they did so in a desire to get a better, new and improved wife.

The Message of the Cross Confronts Our Sin

In verse 13 God describes the effects of these men’s actions.  They had covered his altar with weeping and tears.  Have you ever asked yourself, “How much pain have I caused in my marriage and family?”  It is easy for us to see the things that others do, but what about me?  God is very aware of our tears and the things that led to them. 

“You keep track of all my sorrows.  You have collected all my tears in your bottle.  You have recorded each one in your book.” Psalm56:8 (NLT)

No matter what the other person has done, God challenges us not to pay back wrong for wrong.  In our society today women have far more options and power then in Malachi’s days.  Many a man has wept over a woman who cast him aside as well as women like our passage describes.  It often starts with not forgiving one another and instead paying them back.  This is a recipe for disaster.  If we will stop and recognize that I have caused pain and God is not pleased with me then we might have a chance of ending the pain in our homes. 

In verse 14 God calls their actions treachery.  Some antonyms for treachery are: forthright, honest, loyal, and true (thesaurus.com).  Marriage and family are built upon Loyalty and honesty.  It is a covenant or contract between a man and a woman, and before society and God.  Even if society will not call you on your disloyalty and dishonesty, God will.  When we are loyal to each other we do not find excuses to get out of an unpleasant situation.  Instead we keep trying to find a way to fix things.  Honesty requires us to open up and be transparent about what we think and feel.  These are difficult things to do.  Have you ever been honest and two seconds later wished you had just kept your mouth shut?  Being honest can make the other person made or hurt.  There is room for not saying everything that goes through your mind.  But if we don’t let each other know the things that hurt us then we are not being loyal to the marriage God has given us.

We must always remember that our own sin brought about the need for the cross.  Jesus died for those things that my marriage and family will cause to rise to the surface, like a refining process.  If we haven’t figured it out yet the truth is this:  Sin ruins everything.  No matter what perfect system you devise, if people are going to be running it, then sin will ruin it.  Until we face the fact we have a sin problem, our marriages and homes cannot heal.  The cross shouts from the highest hill that every man, woman, boy and girl has the same problem, sin.

The Message of the Cross Teaches us to Die to Self

Since God designed marriage and the family, we need to look to him to understand how it should work and where we make our mistakes.  Instead of saying, “I can’t make it work,” we need to go back to the master and seek help in “mastering” marriage ourselves.  In verse 15 God gives 3 purposes he has for marriage.  If you have never even thought about what God wants out of your marriage then you need to today.  When we only approach marriage for what we desire then it ruins the whole thing.

First, God desires union.  God made man and woman to be “one.”  This is not just physically, but also includes emotionally and spiritually.  Oneness is a lifelong project.  Oneness requires us to compromise with the other person and drop selfish desires.  Through marriage God is inviting us to join him in the greatest oneness of all, himself.  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have enjoyed the miracle of oneness from the beginning.  It is our fear of what oneness requires us to drop that causes us to run from marriage.

The second thing God desires is godly offspring.  Now, there are those who are unable to have children and this is not intended as a point of guilt.  This is a general principle that will apply to most.  Today having children is swiftly becoming the procreative equivalent of a nuclear bomb.  There are many who would love to have kids sterilized at birth and see that as a moral good.  But God desires for a godly offspring to carry on when we depart this earth.  This requires godly parents rather than selfish ones.  Obedience must be first exampled and then it can be taught.

The third purpose for marriage is seen in the word “violence” (vs. 16).  God considered their actions a violent thing.  When we compare this to Ephesians 5 we see that God expects to find love between a man and a woman.  But when we cause each other to suffer we cover ourselves in violence.  Have you ever seen a truck that has been 4-wheeling and mud is all over it?  This is the picture God has of us.  We might come into church or society looking all clean and wonderful, but we have dealt violently with one another.  Spiritually we are covered with violence like that truck.  God sees it and it repels him.  He will deal with us if we do not deal with it ourselves.

Unless Jesus is the leader of our home we will be forever locked in a Tug O’ War of who gets what they want.  Eventually one or both will quit the “game.”  But like a pyramid, if we focus on Jesus, we can start far apart but be brought close together as we move towards his heart.

Divorce always happens when one or both have chosen self over the life that could be.  They rejected the cross that they would have to bear in order to love the other person and instead chose self.  There is no deeper wound than to die to yourself and still be rejected by your spouse.  It is an incredible violence that we never really talk about.  It is a violence of the soul and leaves people broken and forever bleeding in its wake.

What kind of spirit do I have in my marriage and home? The selfish spirit leads to pain, sorrow, and destruction.  The selfless spirit of Christ leads to life.

What desires of my flesh do I need to crucify in order for my home to have life?  It is never too late if just one will surrender to Jesus.  Do it today.

Just as this world can make us cynical to the ability to know we have absolute truth, so we can be cynical about this life and hope that we can have a good life.  It doesn't help that we often get the wrong ideas about what is a good life.  The much touted "American Dream" today is not what it originally was.  Today it often means trying to make a bunch of money so that I can have a nice house, sweet cars, take long vacations to exotic places and a companion that makes me feel good.  We have come to target all the wrong things with our hope and we have based those hopes upon all the wrong thing.

If you have learned anything make sure that you understand that our False Hopes Must Die So That True Hope Can Rise.  If you have lost hope about this life and whether it is worth living, then let me just say this: the death and resurrection of Jesus gives you hope for your life that cannot be changed by the economy or the death of a loved one.  It is a hope that is based upon God himself and changes what we are living for.  It also changes how we experience life.

The Message of the Cross Gives Hope for True Power

As I said earlier, the cross becomes the central point of the gospel.  It is the gospel in a nutshell.  In some mysterious way, Life comes out of death.  In first Corinthians 1:17-18, Paul is reminding these believers of the gospel that he had given them.  Jesus had chosen a path that seemed foolish to the world.  In fact it seemed foolish even to the religious people both the sincere and the hypocritical.  However, the path Jesus chose made life available to all those who would believe on or put their faith in him.  He could have taken up his power and paid them all back, but instead he goes down a different path.

In the Bible there is a concept of "The Way of The Lord."  This is contrasted with the way that seems right to a man.  On one hand there are as many ways to live life as there are humans, but they all are expressions of the way of self.  There really are 2 paths.  We see this exampled with Eve in the Garden.  The serpent tempts her to find a better path for herself.  She ends up rejecting God's way and trying the way of her self.  We see this in the old testament with Moses.

^"19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;"  Deuteronomy 30:19(NKJV)

With the giving of the Law of the Lord, Israel now had possession of the Way of the Lord.  The way the Lord asked them to do life.  Much of it was ethical, but some of it was metaphorical.  That means God commanded it not because it was right in and of itself but because it pointed to a greater spiritual truth.  A case in point of this would be the Sabbath and the dietary laws.  They could follow their way or God's way.

In Matthew 7:13,14 Jesus says, "¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (NKJV)  Here the way actually has a gate on it.  Notice that the Lord's way is narrow, straight, and difficult as opposed to wide, crooked, and easy, which is the way of pleasing our self.

In verse 18 of 1 Corinthians Paul says that the message of the cross is the Power of God for those who are being saved.  The message of the cross gives us power that goes beyond that miracle of resurrection that God promises to those who believe in Jesus.  It is a spiritual power that enables us in this life.  It is a power that is available to whosoever will receive it.  Those who are being saved are compared to those who are perishing.  The word perishing refers to a present and continuous process by which they are being destroyed.  However those who are being saved are in a present and continuous process of being healed and protected.  We are saved from the guilt of our sin.  And, we are enabled to live righteously through the Holy Spirit's help and God's Word.

I can know that when I die to the desires of my flesh it is not the end.  God will cause life to rise up within me.  I will come alive to him in greater ways.  The new life that has been birthed in me is not based up on the desires of the flesh.  That life is fleeting and never satisfied, while is destroys us.  In short it is no life at all.  Don't look at God's Word and the things it gives us to do as a drudgery.  Rather see them as the key to life.  When I die to the desire of my flesh that fights this truth of God, then True Life will be poured into my life and of those around me.

The Message of the Cross Gives us Hope for True Wisdom

In verse 19 God is quoted as saying that he will destroy the wisdom of the wise.  To me this doesn't just sound like a declaration of his intentions.  It is more a viceral rejection and declaration of war against man's wisdom.  Why would God make such a declaration?  The great wisdom of man has failed over and over again to truely help mankind.  Even worse, the wisdom of man has always led it away from God and never towards him (vs. 20).   God despises this wisdom that grows into a thing that rejects him, then denies him, and puts man in bondage to his own fleshly desires and to other men.  He will bring it all crashing down.

The message of the cross is foolishness to this world.  So the world continues to pursue the wisdom of man.  It continues to believe it can weave clothing out of moth-eaten material.  We make our wisdom more and more convoluted and twisted so that today we see man's wisdom declaring almost the exact opposite of God's Word.

God chose the plan of the cross not just because a price had to be paid, but precisely because to do it in this way would put to shame the wisdom of this world.  Think of it, that same wisdom that has ridiculed those who were "stupid" and the "ignorant" believers, has itself been put to shame by the wisdom of God.  David did not defeat Goliath because he stood up to the giant.  He defeated him because he trusted in God and God gave him the power to take down the giant.  If you are not wise according to the world's standards, do not fear.  God offers you a wisdom that, if you will trust him, will cause you to excell far above all those "wise" people who look down on you.

Are you trying to become one of those "wise" men of this world?  Are you struggling, studying, and jockeying for a position among the "Brights" of this world?  O friend, recognize that you are pursuing the greatest folly.  In trying to be wise you are becoming foolish and in trying to "save yourself" you are losing your own soul.  Paul says in verse 26 that not many who are wise according to this world are called and not many of the mighty are called.  Why?  Because they refuse to let go of this world's power and wisdom.  The refuse to let go of all they have accomplished.  Pride.  Make a choice today.  You will either continue to sacrifice all to obtain the power and wisdom of this world, or you surrender to God and embrace his power and wisdom.  This will revolutionize your life.  Sure you will incur the ridicule and shaming of this world.  But, you will have a place among those who are truly wise, and you will be given the right to participate in his glory when Jesus returns to establish the kingdom of God here on earth.

This rejection is pointed out by Paul in verses 22-25.  The Jews represented those who had the true religion, but had become merely religious.  They looked for great signs and wonders to convince them of power and wisdom.  They wanted Jesus to miraculously lead them to victory over the Roman Legions.  That was the only power and wisdom they were willing to accept from God.  The Greeks was a term that represented the nations of the world as a whole.  They are a picture of not just false religion, but really the wisdom of man, whether that is projected in a religious way or a secular way.  They put  their confidence in wisdom.  Though Jesus was truly wise, his wisdom did not fit their mold.  They wanted a wisdom that gave them military ascendancy and economic superiority.  This was the only wisdom they would accept from God.  Thus the cross and its message become a stumbling block to both religious and secular people.  Unless we let go our expectations of what God's power and wisdom must look like, then we are doomed to be destroyed by the coming day of God's judgment.

When verse 25 uses the phrases, "foolishness of God" and "weakness of God," it is meant to be tongue in cheek.  People will look at the design of an eyeball and say that God must be wise.  But when they look at the cross they have great cognitive dissonance.  When people look at the amazing power of all the suns in the universe and the galaxies scattered among the universe and they say that God must be powerful.  But when they look at Jesus, God taking on the weakness of human nature, it causes the same confusion.  It is a stumblingblock, or rather a scandal that they are unwilling to have associated with them.  What about you?  Will you be associated with the "foolishness" of God and the "weakness" of God?  The world's mindset does everything to avoid the cross.  It would never choose to go to it.  Jesus appears foolish and weak when judged by the wisdom of this world.  This world will stomp any real righteousness out of you as you compromise in order to survive.  But, Jesus says to you today, "Pick up your cross and follow me."

I don't know all the ways in which you are going to have to die to the things of this world.  But I promise you this.  If you will follow Jesus and quit trying to save yourself, then you will actually be saved by God's wisdom and God's power.  Then this life will have great meaning for you.  You will have the same power that enabled simple men and women to stand before kings without caving in.  You will have the same wisdom that enabled Jesus to not only be resurrected, but to provide life for WHOSOEVER would believe on him. 

In the weeks ahead we are going to talk about how the Resurrection of Jesus gives us hope in our relationships, job, hard times and good times, successes and failures, and throughout all aspects of our life.

However, on this day we are going to look at how the Resurrection gives us hope that we have the Truth.  This can be a very fragile thing at times.  It was just like this when Jesus came on the scen in the first century.  There was very little hope that Truth had been obtained, both in the Roman world and in Israel.  Truth is something many of us desire, however, at times we find ourselves doubting we can ever truly obtain it--and if we did we couldn't truly be sure.  Through the Bible God tells us that he himself is the embodiment of Truth and that he wants us to have Truth, to have him.  This is where the Resurrection is so important.  It is one of those events wherein God gives us something concrete on which to build a foundation of Hope.  The Resurrection of Jesus gives us the hope of having obtained Truth.  Let's look at 1 Corinthians 15 in the Bible.

The Resurrection gives us Hope of the Truth

Jesus made some great claims before he was crucified and it stands to reason that people today would have some questions and even bear some cynicism towards those claims.  Jesus claimed that he was the Son of God and that he had come down from heaven.  He claimed that he was the Truth from God.  He claimed that those who believed him would have eternal life and be resurrected at the end of the age.  There is so much deception in the world today and there was in the days of the followers of Jesus.  In this passage Paul deals with some questions and cynical rejections of the concept of a day in which people are Resurrected.  Paul says in verse 3 that he is giving to them exactly what was given first to him.  As I said earlier, God wants us to have Truth.  Truth is not something that we arrive at purlely through reason.  But reason can help us to analyze that which we receive.  God himself is the source of Truth.  There are other sources out there that purport to have truth, but these sources always pervert truth to their own ends.  So let's look at some common accusations or objections to the claims of Jesus and his disciples.

Jesus Never existed? The first objection is a basic denial that Jesus existed and the resurrection happened.  Of course we live in a day that loves to "correct" the historical record.  However, if you love truth, you don't just change history to make yourself feel better.  You have to have some sense of humility that you weren't there.  It is safe to say this, there is enough evidence for a rational person to recognize that Jesus did exist and that he was executed.  To believe else is to stretch reality.  I will mention first that the New Testament itself is a witness or evidence that Jesus existed and was executed.  However, since its claims are what we are questioning then let's move elsewhere.  There are historical records that were written by non-Christians, which give evidence that Jesus existed.  Josephus was a Jewish nonChristian historian who wrote while the apostle John was still alive.  He gave testimony that Jesus existed, was executed, and that his disciples claimed he had been resurrected.  A Roman, nonchristian historian named Tacitus wrote within 80 years of the cross.  He mentions Christ who was crucified in Jerusalem under Pontius Pilate.  He also mentions many followers who existed in his day of this Christ.  We also have the verification of archaeology.  The Bible gives places, events and people that continually are verified by archaeological finds.  Many "objections" of the past that accused the Bible of false information have been proven unfounded by new archaeological finds.  So it is difficult to explain these things without creating a highly unlikely web of conspiracy.

Miracles, Death, Resurrection All a Lie?  Another objection or accusation is that the miracles were made up, the body was stolen, and the resurrection is a lie.  I put these together simply because they do not deny Jesus existed, however, they do question the Bible's presentation of the facts.  If we wanted to change the historical record of what the Sumerian culture did, there would not be any Sumerians around to object to our changes.  There might be some students of history that would object, but they would be objecting on the principle of Truth.  Historians are supposed to hold Truth as a foundational principle.  But as we become more and more cynical about Truth, then we become more and more likely to accept wholesale historical revision as long as it makes us feel better.  Historical revisionism could happen if the history in question is in the far past.  But it is simply impossible at the same historical period when most of the eye witnesses are still alive.  Let me give you an example.  If I were to state that it is historical fact that during the Bush presidency he had declared martial law and taken dictatorial control over the country.  In fact he had suspended the election of 2008.  He almost got away with it, however, a young senator from Illinois named Barack Obama had led a contingent of Black Panther brigades up to the white house and had wrested control of the country away from Bush and had restored the USA back to a democracy.  Though many people may wish this had been true, it would be impossible for me to establish a "hero worship" cult around Barack Obama's supposed exploits within decades of the real events that took place.  Any one who followed such poppycock would be clinically insane (out of touch of reality). 

Within 2 months of Jesus death, burial, and "mysterious" disappearance, Peter was standing up in Jerusalem stating that Jesus had done miracles among them and the religious leaders had put him to death.  Peter also claims that Jesus had been resurrected and that he and the other disciples had witnessed this.  3,000 people believed from the crowd that assembled that day.  And, month by month, year by year, more people continued to believe that Jesus had been resurrected.  No one refuted the claims to miracles, nor the claims to death and burial.  The only dispute had to do with whether or not Jesus really was resurrected from the dead.   The only counter explanations for the "missing body" are that he wasn't really dead (swoon theory) or that his disciples stole the body and lied about his resurrection.  Let's deal with these claims.

To claim that the Romans were not successful in putting Jesus to death does seem to stretch reality.  The Romans had developed crucifixion into a torturous, killing mechanism.  The death of Jesus was never in question during the first century.  It is only today when the Roman soldiers cannot defend themselves that such accusations can surface.  Add to that the public action of being stabbed through the side into the heart seems to put this theory of "near death" in the arena of more than highly unlikely.  So the real issue is the idea that the body was stolen.  This brings up several problems.

How were the fishermen that followed Jesus able to steal the body of Jesus while a contingent of guards were at the mouth of the tomb?  It had a huge stone rolled over the mouth of it.  How were they able to move it without waking these slumbering guards?  These guards were under penalty of death if they "fell asleep."  Next we have the problem that hundreds of people claim to have seen Jesus and spoken with him after his death.  He had the wounds, but was able to appear and disappear within a group.  He appeared to individuals, small groups, large groups and not just once but many times over the course of 40 days, indoors and outdoors.  Paul explains some of this in 1 Corinthians 15:5-8.  Over 500 people saw him at once?  At what point do you give up the idea that Jesus would have to visit everyone in Israel at the time if you are going to believe?

Lastly, it is hard to explain why the apostles would be willing to die torturous deaths for something they knew was a lie.  One of the problems with torture is that eventually people will say anything in order to get the torture to quit.  Basically you can make the average person confess to being a twinkie if you inflict enough pain over a long enough period.  Thus if the Resurrection were true we would expect for there to be some individuals who would "recant" in the face of torture merely to stop the pain.  But who would be willing to be tortured and killed for something you knew was a lie?  It stretches belief.  The only logical conclusion is that these guys really did believe that they had interacted with a resurrected Jesus and they really did think they had seen him ascend into the sky and go out of sight through the clouds.  Now what are you going to do with that??

Resurrection Impossible?  The last accusation or objection I will deal with is the idea that a resurrection is impossible.  Bear in mind that we are not talking about a CPR situation, that is more like a "resuscitation." Let me just approach it this way.  If it were to be reported today that scientists have figured out how to freeze a person for as long as they want and then can bring them "back to life," some people might be sceptical.  But we would be sceptical that it is true, not that it is possible.  Most people have come to realize that through the scientific method, mankind is capable of doing "miraculous" things.  In a similar way if it were to be reported that through analysis of the human genome scientists have figured out how to fix a person's DNA so that they would never get sick.  Also, they have learned how to make the gene responsible for aging (maturing) to "switch" off once a person reaches their prime.  Many people would be sceptical, but they would be sceptical that it is true, not that it is possible.  It is somewhat hypocritical that we would believe that all manner of "improbable" things are possible when it comes to men doing it.  But we just cannot believe that the creator of all things, including life, is capable of bringing a person back to life?  Whether or not the resurrection was actual, it seems silly to persist with an argument that it is impossible.

Given the evidence that they had at the time, many followers of Jesus came to believe that Jesus had been resurrected.  Also, given the evidence of witnesses and what they had seen about Jesus, many others came to believe.

The resurrection itself became the proof to those who witnessed his life and teaching that Jesus had not been lying.  He really was the Son of God who had come down from heaven.  He really was paying the price for our sin through his death, burial, and resurrection.  Those who believed upon him really would be forgiven and saved from the punishment of their sins and be resurrected at the last day.  He really is coming back one day to rule upon the earth.  This really is what the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament were pointing to all along.  These people believed because of the evidence that they saw and heard, the fuller understanding of the Bible they received, and the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus himself emphasized that to believe on him was more than a mental event.  It really was accompanied by the presence and work of the Spirit of God himself.

Without the Resurrection our Hope is Worthless

In Verses 12-19, Paul points out that all of Christianity stands or falls upon the Resurrection.  This is why every year around this time of year there is a new attempt to disprove the Resurrection.  Last year a documentary purporting to have found the Tomb of Jesus and possible proof that he was not resurrected came out.  What is interesting is that most of the stuff in the documentary was discovered 20 years ago and had been dealt with by scholars.  It was not the "silver bullet" that it was made out to be.  Why would they do this?  Because they know that many people do not actually view the evidence.  Many people make decision for very emotional reasons.  Be careful of this.  The Resurrection is important because it is the proof that God had accepted the claims and statements of Jesus.  It is one thing for Jesus to say he can forgive sins by dying for us.  But how would we know that he is right?  The resurrection itself becomes the proof (vs. 17) that our sins are forgiven.

Here is the kicker.  For those who think disproving the Resurrection would solve the world's problems reread verse 17.  Notice that if the Resurrection is false then we have a bigger problem:  Our sin has not been dealt with.  Regardless of what you think about Jesus, if he was not resurrected then there is no answer for what is called "sin" in the heart of all people.  Religions in general tell you what you need to do in order to obtain freedom from the negative junk of this life.  But Christianity tells you that you simply need to believe in what God has done.  This is a big difference. One focuses on what men (myself) can do.  Christianity focuses on what God can do and has done.  If Christ was not resurrected than being a Christian is the dumbest thing in the world (vs. 19).  Jesus taught us to lay our lives down so that others might live.  This is a dumb thing to do if there is no life to come.  If there is no "after-life" then trying to live like Jesus is stupid. 

Paul closes his arguments with the Corinthians in verses 56-58.  The resurrection is what ensures us victory over death and the Law.  Why has God done it in this strange way?

False Hopes must Die For True Hope to Rise

In our humanity, we put our hopes on the wrong targets for all the wrong reasons.  God loves us too much to let us continue to hope in that which can never happen.  Our leaders will never figure out how to create a world in which we have Eutopia.  This False Hope will lead to the greatest tyranny this world has ever known.  At the cross the "messiah" of Israel and all the Hope that had been placed on him was executed on a cross.  The hopes died at the same time.  But when Jesus appeared in his resurrected form, he began to "retarget" their hopes and a new understanding arose upon a foundation that was no longer built upon a certain race, or a certain people.  It was a hope that was built upon God himself and cannot be shaken even when the people of Israel were kicked out of Jerusalem and scattered to the four corners of the world.

God sent Jesus to take your punishment upon himself.  God is not telling you to be a more perfect you.  He is telling you to die to your false hopes and to embrace the true hope that he is giving you.  What things in your life are you living for that are merely "wishful thinking?"   What flimsy reasons are you banking on to make it happen?  Think about this.  When your hopes are dashed might it be the grace of God to show you that your hopes are misplaced?  Could it be the love of God that tries to get your attention so that you might embrace a True Hope?  The resurrection of Jesus is God's way of trying to get your attention.  Has he succeeded?  Are you without Hope, today?  Good, now you are able to receive a real hope that God has for you:  A hope of freedom from your sins and failures, a hope of life everlasting, a hope that sees beyond the things of this world, a hope that can bring us through the worst that life has to offer.  Put your faith in Jesus today and ask him to forgive you of your sins and he will make you a part of his family.

Hope is a strange thing.  It is sometimes very reasonable and many people share it.  And, then again, it can go beyond reason and few may hold to it.  In the dictionary hope is often defined as, "the feeling that what is desired can be obtained."  As you dig deeper you see that hope is more than a feeling.  In fact Hope can refer to the emotion as already described, the target of our desire, and the foundation or reasons for our believing it will be obtained.  So Hope has a Target, a Foundation, and an Emotion.

The reasons for having hope can be as varied as there are people on the earth.  Perhaps we gain some perspective and see that the circumstances aren't as bad as we first thought.  Or maybe we see someone or something that is going to assist us.  Perhaps we hope simply because the alternative is too scary to contemplate.

Whatever the reasons for our hopes, it is important to understand that God wants us to have hope.  He doesn't want us to be a bunch of Eyores, convinced that a hurricane is coming.  But, He wants us to hope for the right things (target) and for the right reasons (foundation).  To feel hopeful when you have the wrong target and foundation is foolish.

Today we are going to see how Hope was God's idea in the beginning.  Hope was his gift to mankind, the gift that he stirred up, all the way back in Eden.  But let's start at the triumphal entry in Luke 19:37-44.

The People Were Hopeful that the Perfect King Had Come

The passage says that Jesus was on the Mount of Olives, which is across a valley from Jerusalem to the east.  As he descended down the valley towards Jerusalem, the whole multitude of disciples began to rejoice and praise God for all the things Jesus had done.  They loudly proclaim a scripture found in Psalm 118:26.  The teachers of Israel had recognized this Psalm to be talking about a coming leader who would save Israel.  The terms Messiah, Christ, Anointed, and Son of David are synonymns and refer to this awaited savior.  When they loudly proclaimed this verse they were clearly declaring their belief that Jesus was the fulfillment of this long awaited hope.  How long awaited?

Let's just take a bit of time to trace back where this hope for a Perfect King came from.  It starts in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve had sinned.  In Genesis 3 God is giving out punishments for the rebellion.  Yet, in the middle of this, He gives some hope to mankind.  In Genesis 3:15 God tells the parties involved that eventually a Seed from Eve would crush the head of the Serpent.  God recognized that Satan had taken advantage of Adam and Eve's innocence.  Thus he gives hope to mankind, but no such thing to the Serpent.  The hope that a son would be born who would rise up to crush Satan's head even though he would be injured in so doing.  This is the beginning of hope.  This forward looking idea enabled them to not be paralyzed or to kill themselves, but to trudge forward under the curse, knowing that one day they would be freed.

This attitude of hope was picked up by Adam's descendants, but not always for the good.  In Genesis 11 we see a group of people led by a "great Hunter" named Nimrod.  God had commanded mankind to spread out and fill the earth.  But, Nimrod had a different plan.  He would make a great name for himself and the people who would band together with him.  He had the hope that not only could he reject God's plan, but also that he could succeed in elevating his own glory to the heavens.  In their eyes God's plan to scatter had diminished their hope for greatness.  So they created a different plan that didn't involve God.  Notice their target and foundation of hope were in the wrong things.

Hope was also encouraged by the prophets throughout the Old Testament.  In Deuteronomy 18, Moses spoke about a coming Prophet who would be like him (to do a new thing in Israel).  He told them that it would be imperative for them to listen to him.  So Israel waited for the Seed of the Woman and the Prophet.  David spoke about God's Anointed One who would be from David's lineage.  This Anointed King would save Israel and live forever.  Thus Israel awaited the Anointed Son of David. All 17 books of the Old Testament prophets offer hope in the midst of judgment and hopelessness.  No matter how much they excoriate the nation of Israel for its sins, they always come around to say, "but."  But, God will raise up his Anointed and save us by his own right hand.  Not because of our great righteousness, but for his own name's sake.

Thus when Jesus showed up that day, Israel had been waiting for the Perfect Righteous King for nearly 1,500 years.  And all mankind had waited for the Seed of the Woman who would crush the serpent's head for something around 4,000 years.

The Leaders Rejected Jesus as the Fulfillment of this Hope.

In verse 39 of the Luke 19 passage, we see that some of the Pharisees called to Jesus from the crowd.  They were telling Jesus that he needed to rebuke these followers of his.  They knew exactly what was being done and they had already rejected Jesus as a possible contender for being the Messiah.  In a sense, they are putting him on the spot.  They want him agree with them and publically deny that he is this awaited Messiah.  Jesus responds by saying that even if the people quit saying that he was the messiah then the rocks would cry out.  The Bible employs many metaphors in which inanimate objects do personal things.  Trees clap their hands and the heavens rejoice.  So I don't believe that Jesus is saying the rocks would literally start speaking.  However, they would start moving somehow and their movement would be testimony to the truth about Jesus.  Think about how there was a great earthquake that tore the temple curtain in two at his death.

Clearly Jesus is saying that the people should not be rebuked.  What they are saying is true of him.  If they didn't say it then God would make it clear one way or another.  Jesus very clearly declared himself to be the King of Israel who would come forth in righteousness and save them from their enemies.

The Hope of Israel is Deferred.

 After this encounter, as Jesus continues towards Jerusalem, He began to weep over the city of Jerusalem and his people.  He knew that though many were declaring his praises and messiahship today, within a week the leaders would raise up a cry to crucify him.  And?  The masses would join them.  When God the Father finally brought forth the Seed of the Woman, we rejected him.  The very thing that was our hope, wasn't hopeful enough for us.  So we killed him. Yes I say we because Israel colluded with the greatest Gentile power of that time.  It wouldn't matter if it had been America and Iraq, we would have done the exact same thing.  Why?  Because, just like Nimrod, our flesh cannot stand to be diminished and must have its glory.  Jesus was a savior who did not fill Israel with pride before the nations of the world.  He says in verse 42 that this was "their day."

Can you imagine if you had planned for a wedding and when it came for the wedding day, you slept in.  Then you get a call from a friend asking where you are.  Of all days to be rebellious and stiff-hearted this was the worst.  They could have had "Peace."  But because they would reject it, God was going to "hide" it from their eyes.  Then great trouble from the nation of Rome would come against them because they didn't understand the timing of when God would visit them.  The pain and suffering that their decision led to was the result of rejecting the righteous Jesus.  But, Israel's rejection of Jesus opened the door for the gospel to go to the Gentile nations.

Friend, let me just say to you today that now is the day of salvation.  Now is the time that God wants to come into your life and stir up hope.  Not just any hope.  Not just any target and any foundation.  But to stir up your hope in him.  Do you have hope in the future of this world?  Ask yourself what that hope may be based upon.  Is it on mankind's abilities and technology?  Is it upon some future enlightened leader that we can create through superior education?  Is it through the collective human reasoning as we overcome cultural barriers?

Hope is a good thing if it is centered upon that which God has said he will bring us to and is based upon trust in Him.  We must hope for that which is good.  But we must also trust in God doing it not ourselves.  This message may seem contrary to sound reasoning, but if history has taught us anything it is this: men will always find a way to ruin a good thing.  Let those who have ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to his people. 

We had a great time with Fishnet Theatre on Sunday morning.  They started at 7:00 am and had our stage and sanctuary transformed into a veritable theater well before the 10:00 am start time.  The play centered on a couple from the 1930's, Johnny and Annie Imes.  Johnny is a well known private investigator, but in this story Annie takes the lead.  What is the case?  To find solid evidence for God, faith, and a Creator.

They did a fantastic job of portraying characters that had you laughing, but also had you learning about different questions people ask and how they can be answered.  The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 3:15-16,

"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶ keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."

It is easy to get intimidated by tough questions and to respond more out of fear and defensiveness rather than out of love.  It is not a failure to lack an immediate answer.  It is however a failure if we don't investigate for ourselves in order to give an answer to the questions that others are asking.

The play did a wonderful job of displaying the real-life problem that even when we lovingly answer people's questions they still have to make a decision.  Some will believe and be saved and some will not.  This is a hard fact of life: our own free will.  When you take time to truly meditate on the concept of free-will, what the Bible has to say about it, and what our experience shows us, you find many questions.  Don't fears, habits and engrained mental pathways often act as prisons to our will?  Do people sometimes want to do something but find that they can't?  Or even stranger do they sometimes wish that they wanted something, but deep down they don't?  The balance to the issue of free choice is the Love and the Spirit of God.  God in his grace helps us to break beyond what we "can't" do and even the junk that our hearts get set on at times.  His Spirit and the love of his people work to break down the walls and false idols of our hearts.  Many people throughout history have gone from not being willing to surrender to Jesus, to wanting to serve him.  This is a mystery that cannot be fully explain though it can be fully lived.

Have you surrendered your life to Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?  Another way of saying this is, Have you surrendered your life to Jesus as your personal Leader and Rescuer?  Maybe you have questions that need answering?  Here are "Annie's Notes" from the play.  Fishnet Theatre did a good job of making sure everyone left with a copy of the valuable information they presented throughout the play.

Thank you to the Cast and all the workers behind the scenes that came together to serve our group on Sunday and may the Lord continue to bless this ministry with new scripts and ideas of how to present the gospel, until He comes.  And, may all believers in Jesus take seriously the duty we have to fight for the hearts and minds of those who do not know Jesus with the greatest weapon of all: Love.