Sermons From My Heart

(An audio version of this sermon can be found at https://www.spreaker.com/episode/numbers-21-verses-4-9-the-serpent-on-the-pole-and-our-saviour-on-the-cross–58970136)

Do you ever get tired of people who do nothing but complain? If so, then perhaps you can understand why God sent the poisonous snakes among the Israelites in Numbers 21:4-9.

These verses describe the last recorded occasion on which the Israelites complained about the food God provided and their longing for the good food they had in Egypt. The other times they complained God provided food and water, but on this occasion God responded by sending poisonous snakes. Many people died from the snake bites.

All of us complain when things do not go our way. We get upset with long lines or slow drivers, but the real reason why we are impatient might actually be because of God. God’s harsh response to the complaining of the Israelites is especially unnerving when we consider how often we show the same impatience in our lives. God often responds by sending “poisonous snakes” to stop us dead in our tracks, to confront us with the truth of the futility of thinking we can simply go our own way. God wants us to trust Him more than anything else in the world. When we don’t, we are in big trouble.

We can appreciate the impulse behind the complaining. It’s easy to get caught up in the doom and gloom of life, but life goes on. We worry about failing relationships, safety for our families and in our communities, and justice for the marginalized and the others in our midst. It can feel like being on high alert all the time. We can find ourselves fearful, praying to God to take the snakes in our lives away.

Today we are on the move as well. We are navigating our next steps, seeking to find ourselves in God’s plan for our lives, and hoping to make sense of our own lives. Just like those who have gone before us, our exhaustion, hunger, crabbiness, anger, and doubt cause us to complain, cry out, and blame. Our cries lead to a response from God because we are also God’s beloved.

The reason people complain is not that they have less, but that they appreciate less. When we look at the role God’s grace plays in every good thing we have which is a gift from Him, we understand why He hates complaining so much. It is a slap in the face to God to tell Him that what He has chosen for us in His perfect wisdom does not match what we think should happen.

The Israelites were afraid of the unknown. They were afraid of what awaited them on their journey. Fear corrodes faith and cuts off our pathways for giving and receiving grace and mercy. If it is left untreated long enough, it leads to hatred, hardness of heart and soul, and eventually death.

There is nothing wrong with being discouraged, but discouragement can lead to something worse. The Israelites complained against God and against Moses first, then they began to complain about everything, especially the bread from God, and this became outright rebellion. They did not trust God with their future, just like many people today do not trust God with their future. Many Israelites died because of this faithless attitude, just like many people today are in danger of dying because of the same attitude.

This story shows two aspects of the nature of sin. On the one hand, in the fact that the Israelites were bitten by fiery serpents, God tells us that sin is like the mortal bite of a poisonous snake. Sin bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. It inflicts terrible wounds on our souls. To be a sinner means to stand in urgent need of healing. With snake bites, time is crucial if a life is to be saved. This aspect of sin calls forth God’s compassion and pity, and the tender care of the Great Physician Himself.

On the other hand, in the fact that the serpents were sent to Israel as a punishment for their murmurings and rebelliousness, God tells us that sin is rebellion against God and His good and perfect will. Often we do not want to see the necessity for rebirth, because it would be too costly for us. We resist the truth because our hearts are in rebellion against God, much as the Israelites were.

Moses became the people’s mediator with God. When the people confessed their sin of speaking against God, Moses was able to intercede for them. God heard Moses’ plea and told Moses to make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole. Those who looked on this bronze statue were healed of the snake bites and lived, just like we have to fix our gaze on Jesus if we want to be healed of our sin and live eternally. The choice to look in faith brought life instead of death to the Israelites, just like accepting Christ in faith gives us eternal life instead of eternal separation from God.

The snake was a symbol of all that repelled the people of Israel. As such, the bronze serpent atop a pole was a dramatic, horrible symbol, but only those who would look at it would live. The snake on the pole has the effect of Christ on the cross-visually horrible, but the only means of salvation. Moses kept the bronze figure as a reminder of the people’s sin and God’s provision. Eventually, however, Hezekiah destroyed the serpent because the people had turned it into an idol.

In John 3:14-21, Jesus explains to Nicodemus how his role differs from that of the serpents in the wilderness. Jesus did not come to be like the biting serpents of judgment of death, subject to the law. Jesus came not to condemn the world but to save it.

It can be hard to understand that the kind of love that will save us might hurt us first. The Israelites had to see in the serpents the result of their own failure to trust the God who delivered them from slavery, sustained them in the desert, and promised to guide them into a new homeland. The bronze serpent forced them to stare the poison down until they saw in the grief, the anger, and the judgment the unending mercy of a God whose love is vast but tough, deep but demanding. It is a love that will heal but also expose truth-truth that hurts.

The bronze serpent is both reminder and remedy. It is a reminder that when we trust in our own way and doubt the guidance and provision of God, we will meet death. We can’t cure ourselves, and we can’t lead ourselves. The bronze serpent reminds us of the choices that humanity has made. Jesus is lifted up as a reminder of the choice God has made.

Sometimes we go to great lengths to avoid looking at what is causing pain, even death, in our own lives and communities. Is it because if we look at the problem head-on, chances are good that we will have to deal with it? Lent is a good time to come clean about the things that are the real sources of pain and death in our lives and relationships, and to ask God’s help to be delivered from them. God can take the very worst thing and turn it around so that we can heal, stop the death, and see each other again without fear.

The provision God made for Israel is the same as the provision of the cure for sin. The bronze serpent represents sin judged. As Israel was given this symbol of substitutionary atonement, so also Christ, for our sakes, and for our healing, was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, and made sin for us, and was lifted up from the earth, when He bore in His own body the judgment of a holy God upon sin. In other words, the bronze serpent foreshadowed the ultimate work of salvation that Jesus accomplished for us on the cross.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 202)
2. Philip, J., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 4: Numbers (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc., 1987; pp. 215-218)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. David Mainse, “Look.” Retrieved from www.100words.ca
6. George Young, “A Bronze Snake on a Pole.” Retrieved from today@thisistoday.net
7. Anthony Robinson, “Look.” Retrieved from dailydevotional@ucc.org
8. Kaji Dousa, “On the Stick of Change.” Retrieved from dailydevotional@ucc.org.
9. Debi Thomas, “Looking Up.” Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus.net
10. Dr. Paul Chappell, “Stop Complaining.” Retrieved from daily@dailyintheword.org
11. Meg Jenista, “Numbers 21:4-9 Commentary.” Retrieved from https://cepreaching.org/authors/meg-jenista/
12. Emily Roy-Hegener, “Numbers 21:4-9.” Retrieved from communic@luthersem.edu.
13. The Rev. Dr. William E. Flippin, Jr., “The Remedy: Look, Lift Up, and Live.” Retrieved from www.day1.org

(An audio version of this post can be found at https://www.spreaker.com/episode/romans-4-verses-13-25-faith–58800570)

Amidst the ruins of World War II Germany, a woman named Basilea Schlink brought together a small group of women in a faith community. They believed God wanted them to build a chapel, but they had nothing more than prayer, faith, and the encouragement of Scripture. They prayed, and land was donated, but repeatedly the building authority said, “You can’t build on that land.”

One morning she read this passage from Colossians 2:10: “(Christ) is the head of all rule and authority.” She decided to walk 45 minutes into town to visit the building authority and, on her way, a car slowed to offer her a ride. The driver was the town’s mayor. “This man is the high official of our town that the Scripture spoke about,” she realized, and in five minutes she was able to explain her request. The building permit was granted, and a prayer tent was erected on the property as the women asked God to provide the missing $61,990 of the $62,000 needed to build. The funds came in. Schlink wrote that “this experience deeply etched into our hearts our responsibility to hang on in faith when a situation seems hopeless, for then the name of the Lord can be glorified before many people. “

In Romans 4:13-25, Paul analyzed Abraham’s faith so that people would know what constitutes faith. God’s promise is independent of the law and rests squarely on the principle of faith. Abraham’s faith was based on confidence in God. When God’s people look to the law for justification instead of looking to God, failure to keep the law makes them guilty and they face death instead of life. The object of faith is that which really matters more than anything else.

Abraham’s faith was exemplary not because of its strength or lack of it, but because its object was God. Throughout history, people who had faith in their own abilities perished. They believed that God was dead, and they found out that they were wrong. Their faith was sincere, but it was sincerely wrong.

The Mosaic Law has always been a means of pointing the way toward God, an instrument that helps us to know and do God’s will. It is meant to liberate, but when the means is mistaken for an end in itself, the result can be a state of confusion in which all hope is obscured. God’s promise of the law is uncertain. His promise of faith is certain. The promise given to Abraham has not expired nor become the private possession of any one race. It permeates the entire world.

Paul experienced more calamity and disasters in his life than we can begin to imagine. He was shipwrecked three times, once having to spend a day and a half in the sea. He was beaten three times. He faced danger not only in the city, but also in the country. He was attacked by robbers, went without food and water, and suffered from exposure. None of these disasters was able to persuade Paul that God would not deliver him; nor were they able to affect his confidence in God’s unconditional love for him. Paul was convinced and boldly declared that nothing is able to separate us from God’s unconditional love.

Paul was saved from despair by a simple revelation: that the God of creation, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist could not be fully approached by relying on the traditions of his ancestors.

In Romans 4: 19 we read that Abraham’s faith did not ignore the practical realities of the situation. Years earlier, God promised Abraham that he (Abraham) would be the father of the Jewish nation, and through his descendants all the world would be blessed. Biologically speaking, Abraham’s and Sarah’s bodies were dead as far as being able to have children. On the other hand, God can give life. He can breathe into corpses and make them come alive again, just like He did in the valley of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37, and just like He raised Christ from the dead. Paul argues that the phrase “his descendants” refers specifically to Christ and that this promise really constituted the Gospel. All believers, through Christ, become heirs of the promise.

Abraham refused to be intimidated by his circumstances. Instead, he demonstrated the faith for which he was famous. He did not despair when God’s promise was not fulfilled immediately. He patiently trusted God to work through many delays and disappointments.

Abraham’s faith conquered impossibility, improbability, inadequacy, inconsistency, insecurity, and infidelity. Abraham believed in the God of creation, who calls those things which do not exist as though they did. This is the essence of faith. The same God of Genesis 1-2 who brought forth life and the earth and sky out of nothing also brought forth Isaac, the son of promise, from the deadness of Sarah’s womb. Later, at the altar, standing over that same son with a knife in obedience to the Lord, Abraham again believed that God could give life to the dead. How that is centered on God is contrary to the world’s hope.

Abraham did not waver in his faith at the time of testing. God’s ability to perform His promises was the foundation of Abraham’s faith’s stability. Faith looks past the gift to the Giver and past the promise to the One who promises. God never promises anything that He can’t deliver. Do we believe that? If we do, then it only makes sense to put our complete trust in Him, regardless of how dark our circumstances might appear. God’s salvation is available to anyone who opens up his or her heart in faith.

As with Abraham, God has put dreams in our hearts. He has spoken promises over us. Deep down we believe it will happen, but in the natural world, it looks impossible. The odds are against us. The key is to follow Abraham’s example and praise God while we wait. That’s how we grow in faith.

Some people still believe that salvation is earned by our own efforts after all. Perhaps it is because of pride. Perhaps it is because of arrogance. Perhaps they are in denial that the human condition in a sinful world is as bad as God seems to think it is. Whatever the case, we hear the message that it is all by grace alone, and we can’t believe it. We want to insert ourselves into the salvation equation and say that God loves us because we are so moral and so good.

If Abraham’s relationship with God was founded on works then Abraham would be in a position to boast about what he had achieved. Instead, he trusted in the promise he had received.  Any relationship with God which is grounded in and lives out of the law is not a right relationship. In that situation humans receive divine wrath rather than divine promise. The right relationship is grounded in and lives by faith for both Abraham and us.

Martin Luther said that in Romans 4:23-25, “the whole of Christianity is comprehended.” These words were not just for Abraham’s sake alone, but also for us-every believer in every age. If Abraham was justified by faith, then all others are justified on the same basis. We can’t accept God’s gift by good works; we have to accept it by faith.

Because of Jesus’ death to pay the price of our sin, God credits us with Jesus’ righteousness—making us justified—when we believe in His promise to save. In this way we become the spiritual descendants of Abraham, who believed “that God had the power to do what He promised.”

What does it mean to believe in Christ? It means to trust in God like Abraham did, not wavering or doubting but firmly believing that God could do what He promised. That is what faith is: to believe that God can do what He has promised. What is faith? It is believing in the promises of God, even before there is a sign or miracle. Like Abraham, we want to become people who can trust God when the momentum of our lives seems to be taking us toward God and when the circumstances seem to be saying there’s no way even God could do this. Just as God kept His promise to Abraham, making him the father of many nations, God will keep His promises to us. He is ever present, so we don’t have to be afraid of world events. He is with us every moment of every day. We can be confident in His presence, strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.

What are the things in our lives that are mere possibilities? What are the mountains in our lives? Are these there in order to build our faith in the one who can enable us to ascend to the peak? Once we know that it is God’s will for us to pursue, we can do it with faith. Faith requires action when we know it is Him who is leading.

Faith is simply believing that God tells the truth. Faith is like a muscle. We have to use it. If we neglect it, it will atrophy. If we use it, it will get stronger. We have to apply our faith, which means taking risks. Our faith has to speak if we’re going to see results. When we become people of faith, people who depend on God for everything, then we honour God for everything in our lives.

God’s perfect will for us doesn’t begin where we would have been if we’d never made bad choices. It always begins where we are right now. We might have got into an uncomfortable place through a wrong decision. As far as God is concerned, this is the right place for us to start the next part of our journey with Him.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bibie: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp. 1548-1549)
2. Briscoe, D.S., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 29: Romans (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982; pp. 101-105)
3. Stanley, C.F.; The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr., The Mac Arthur Study Bible, New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2010)
6. Scott Hoezee, “Romans 4:13-25 Commentary.” Retrieved from https://cepreaching.org/authors/scott-hoezee
7. Daniel G. Deffenbaugh, “Commentary on Romans 4:13-25.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org
8. Richard Carlson. “Commentary on Romans 4:13-25.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org
9. Pastor Edward Markquart, “The Center, Faith in Christ.” Retrieved from www.sermonsfromseattle.com
10. George Vink, “Justified.” Retrieved from today@thisistoday.net
11. Joel Osteen, “Growing Strong in Faith.” Retrieved from devotional@goto.joelosteen.com
12. Vikki Burke, “Hope Despite Adverse Circumstances.” Retrieved from dbm@dennisburkeministries.org
13. Rick Warren, “God Never Plays Favorites.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
14. Greg Laurie, “How Faith Gets Stronger.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
15. Mark Brazee, “Call Forth Your Miracle by Faith.” Retrieved from paul@ncmcanada.com
16. David Jeremiah, “The Wobbly Bridge.” Retrieved from TurningPoint@davidjeremiah.org
17. “If Only…” Retrieved from info@seedsofthekingdom.net
18. Os Hillman, “Being Fully Persuaded.” Retrieved from tgif@marketplaceleaders.org
19. Bonnie Sala, “This is What People of Great Faith Do.” Retrieved from info@guidelines.org

Here’s a questions for those of you who have children. Do you love your children? Do you want what is best for them? Godly parents love their children. They always want the best for them. God our heavenly Father loves us as His children, as Jesus mentions in Matthew 7:7-12. He always gives us good gifts. He offers eternity to us free of charge. He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins on the cross.

The walk with God is a walk of prayer, a life in fellowship. As we pray we need to understand the kind of God to whom we are praying. It is this knowledge which undergirds our faith, for faith is not a blind wish; it is a response to evidence. The more we understand God the more our faith is developed.

Jesus commands His followers to pray using three imperatives: ask, seek, and knock. All three words are in the continuous present tense, so they mean keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. All three commands are also accompanied by a response from God: His people receive, find, and have the door opened to them.

God answers prayer. We are not bothering God when we give Him our requests. He wants to give us the desires of our hearts and pour out His favour and blessing on us. He has unlimited resources. He will never have to dip into a reserve fund or summon a new measure of strength.

The threefold command to ask, seek, and knock is both a command and an invitation. These words are present imperatives in the Greek which mean continuous action to ask and keep asking. This may suggest persistent effort, but more likely it is the recognition that we need to continually come to God. God loves to shower us with good things, but we have to present Him with our requests.

If we want to be treated kindly, we must treat others with kindness. If we want to be given the benefit of the doubt, we must give others the benefit of the doubt. If we want good things, we must want good things for others.

Verse 12 is also known as “The Golden Rule.” This verse is best understood as an extension of Jesus’ teaching on prayer-and a lesson in the second commandment to love others. It is easy for Christians to say that they love others, but do they prove that love by their prayers and their sincere care? Jesus is saying that what God wants to see in our lives He initiates by the things He is already doing for us! He is doing for us what He wants us to do. Jesus placed the ethical principle of the Golden Rule in the positive form. He made it a model for action, a marching order for the disciple: Whatever you want men to do to you, you also do to them. This is the fulfillment of the will of God as revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures.  

Jesus said that the true way which leads to life is based on an internal transformation, not on external deeds. When a person’s ways and words are the same, the fusion is explosive. When a person says one thing and lives another, the result is destructive. People will know we are Christians, not because we bear the name, but because we live the life.

What do you need from God today? Hope? Provision? Freedom? Love? If you find it hard to ask for what you need, look to children for inspiration. They’re not afraid to say what’s going on in their heads.

Although an attitude of autonomy is not bad, it encounters difficulties when we translate it into faith. God wants us to share our whole being with Him, the good times and the bad, the joys and the struggles. God expects us to invite Him to share in our pain, rather than hide it from Him. Our next step in healthily processing suffering is to learn to ask Jesus for what we need with confidence, just as a small child does. Instead of relying on our own strength, we should actively turn to God when we don’t understand and trust that He will help us.

It’s our faith that activates God’s power. We have to press through our thoughts, press through our circumstances, press through the crowd and obstacles until we touch Him. With every step we take, God is drawing closer to us. When we ask Jesus into our hearts, we are re-born into God’s family. From that point forward, there is no question that we are His children. We don’t have to prove that He is our Father or that we are entitled to receive support from Him.

Jesus exhorts us to a truly revolutionary way of living. His standard for life doesn’t consist of merely telling people what not to do. Instead, He exhorts God’s people to offer loving service to others. He calls people back to the heart of the Old Testament message with one comprehensive command: “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.”

God knows the desires of our hearts and He answers our prayers according to His wisdom, goodness, and grace. Do you believe this? If not, the prayers we pray may miss the mark. We may expect too little of God or insist on our preconceived solutions. We may spend time asking for what He has already given instead of thankfully receiving God’s promise, provision, and power. If we trust that God knows our needs-spoken and unspoken-we can trust His answers. We can humbly entrust Him with what concerns us and confidently move into each day, trusting that He is at work in us and in the world around us.

As I just mentioned, God answers our prayers according to His wisdom. He might say “Yes.” He might say “No.” He might say, “Not now,” or He might say “No, because I have something even better in mind for you.” We must be prepared to accept His answer.

Would you like to have a key to the vault of God Himself that provides access to all the valuable things of time and eternity? That key is prayer. How do you receive the key? Ask, seek, and knock. This promise is for the children of God, those who know Christ and are obedient to Him and living in His will. When God’s children surrender to Him, and pray persistently, God will open the vault of Heaven to them. Everything in the vault of God is good; no stock is outdated, and the supply is limitless.

Do you want to have all that God has for you? Do you want to develop as a follower of Jesus? Do you want to follow hard after Christ? Do you want God’s rich spiritual blessings? If you do, then follow the instructions Jesus gives you:

1. Ask God to give you not what you want, but what you need.
2. Seek the things that elevate God, not you. Seek eternal things that will impact the kingdom.
3. Knock on the door that opens to God’s path for you. Allow Him to open up the opportunities for career and training.

The challenge for us is that when we ask Jesus for something, we must be prepared to work with Him and care for others. It is exciting to be aware of everyday miracles that can happen when we ask Jesus to walk with us on the road of life.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013, p. 1293)
2. Augsburger, M.S., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 24: Matthew (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982; p. 18)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Lucado, M: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2010; pp. 1305-1307)
6. Dr. Ed Young, “Vault of God.” Retrieved from ministry@winningwalk.org.
7. Rosina N., “Ask, and It Will Be Given to You.” Retrieved from acts@actsweb.org
8. Joel Osteen, “Press Through.” Retrieved from devotional@goto.joelosteen.com
9. Steve Arterburn, “You’re a Child of God.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
10. “Do This.” Retrieved from support@leadlikejesus.com
11. “Do You Believe This?” Retrieved from support@leadlikeJesus.com
12. Ron Moore, “Good Gifts.” Retrieved from www.ronmoore.org
13. Ron Moore, “Ask. Seek. Knock.” Retrieved from www.ronmoore.org
14. Beth Fellinger, “Boots and Feet.” Retrieved from today@thisistoday.net
15. Rick Warren, “God Proves His Goodness Through Your Prayers.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
16. Joel Osteen, “Just Ask.” Retrieved from devotional@goto.joelosteen.com
17. Dr. Paul Chappell, “Why You Should Pray in Faith.” Retrieved from daily@dailyintheword.org

(An audio version of this sermon can be found at https://www.spreaker.com/episode/matthew-7-verses-7-12-ask-seek-and-knock–58776564)

During the time when Jesus lived on the earth, leprosy was widespread. It was a dreaded disease. The word “leper” can refer to a person suffering from any of several different skin diseases. When someone had leprosy, they were covered with sores all over their bodies. Unlike chicken pox, these sores did not go away. When someone had leprosy, their situation was hopeless because there was no cure at that time. To make matters worse, other people considered them to be unclean and were not allowed to touch them. Many people believed that people who had leprosy got the disease because of some terrible sin they had committed.

Physically, leprosy seems incurable because it reverses the pain process. Most diseases have pain as an early warning that helps in healing. Leprosy is just the opposite. The disease destroys the signal system for pain, leaving the body without its natural protect  ion against self-destruction. A leper is burned, cut, and broken without the warning of pain. Skin falls off, fingers, arms, toes, and legs die and drop away in defiance of the normal process of the body to heal itself. In the absence of pain, the leper loses the hope of healing.

Leprosy is also a hopeless social disease. Because lepers are so grotesque, respectable society labels them as contagious and sends them into exile. It is one thing to be condemned to die, but it is quite another thing to die in isolation. Lepers were to cry out, “Unclean, unclean” wherever they walked. Decent people avoided the contamination of even their shadows. For Israelites, God was worshipped in the community. Being cut off from that community also meant being cut off from God.

The Law of Moses required all such infected individuals to stay away from healthy men and women, but in the passage we heard from Mark’s Gospel, the man approached Jesus. The man clearly believed that Jesus had the power to heal him; he simply did not know if the Lord desired to do so.  If we identify with the leper, we need to ask ourselves what it is in our lives that makes us feel cut off from community and ashamed at the presence of some condition, habit, or secret in our lives.

Here is the early and yet ultimate test of the feelings of Jesus. During His ministry, He will meet the full range of physical needs-blindness, blood disease, epilepsy, palsy, paralysis, and even insanity. But of all these diseases, leprosy is the symbol of hopelessness. A leper is not only considered physically uncurable, but he also suffers under social rejection and spiritual condemnation. Don’t forget, Jesus hears the scum of the earth cry out, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Some ancient manuscripts have the term “being angered” rather than the term “moved with compassion.” If the former reading is correct, then Jesus was probably angry that the work of the devil had enslaved and injured the affected man. That Jesus touched this leper-and theoretically made Himself ritually unclean and exposing Himself to the disease-stood in stark contrast to the rabbis’ treatment of lepers. Jesus was on a collision course with legalistic religion throughout His ministry. The Good News challenges the drudgery of the Old Testament Law. Jesus’ authority challenged the scribes and the Pharisees. His concern for human needs was opposed by the traditions of the church.

When we read that Jesus is moved with compassion, it means that He feels Himself so deeply into the sufferings of the leper that it is just as if He Himself is suffering as a leper. Jesus is not moved with pity-that is too condescending; not with sympathy-that is too superficial; not with empathy-that is too distant. Not just mind for mind, hand for hand, or even heart for heart, but stomach for stomach, blood for blood, gut for gut, Jesus feels His way into the leper’s needs, just like he feels His way into our needs today.

Jesus met all sorts of physical needs during His ministry, but leprosy was a symbol of hopelessness. Jesus matched the most difficult of human needs with the deepest of human feelings. He knew the full range of human emotions because He was human. He responded to His feelings by touching the leper. Jesus let the leper and us know that He will take our place-not only in the risk of physical contamination, but in social contamination as well. By doing this, Jesus shows us what true compassion really means.

Jesus’ compassion had a cost. He had to give up His ministry in the city because the leper told people how he was healed. People had to come to Jesus in the desert, just like Jesus comes to us in the deserts of our lives. The leper’s actions set the edge of legal opposition to Jesus. Conflict now becomes His never-ending and ever-escalating fact of life.

The man disobeyed Jesus’ instructions not to tell anyone about his healing. He was affected emotionally and rejoiced. He followed his own feelings instead of following Jesus’ commands.  Why did Jesus strictly warn the man not to broadcast what He had done? First, Jesus wanted more time to define His messiahship on His terms before people could misinterpret it on their own terms. Second, if the Romans learned that He was the Messiah, it would prematurely end His ministry, and He had much more to do before His time on earth was done.

Just like Jesus took the man’s leprosy, He can take our sin. Sin makes us feel alone. We don’t feel like going to church and hanging out with fellow Christians who can encourage us. As we mature in our Christian faith we realize that this is when we need Christ and Christian fellowship the most.

At some point in our lives, we will ask the same thing the leper asked: “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” Each and every one of us will face serious illness. Each and every one of us will go to medical professionals and use the best of medical resources. Each and every one of us will pray and beg, “Jesus, if you will, you have the power to heal. My son, my daughter, my mom, my dad, my friend, me. Please Lord, use your powers to make the medical treatments that I am receiving effective. In your name. Amen.” We will all say that prayer with similar words. We will beg for healing, that God will bless the medical procedures we are receiving.

What else do we hear in this text? At the very heart of the story for today, the Bible says, “Jesus was moved with pity.” When He sees us in our diseases, whether it be cancer, heart attacks, or AIDS, God is always moved with pity. Although the culture might not be moved with pity, God is always moved with pity, because He is a God of healing and compassion. He does not allow disease in any form.

Who has not experienced the effects of the leprosy of sin in our lives? The selfishness of sin cuts a person off from family members and friends when: lies are told; goods argued over; siblings exhibit rivalry; parents play favourites; spouses argue excessively and don’t seek help; success is measured by the size of income; and students cheat in school. Hansen’s disease, which is the medical term for leprosy, is treatable with drugs. Sin and its fragmenting and isolating effects are not so easily eliminated.

Sometimes we may find ourselves in a situation where we are uncomfortable, like when we had chicken pox. But there may come a time in our lives when we find ourselves in a situation that is truly hopeless. When that happens, where can we turn? How do we find hope in a hopeless situation? We can turn to Jesus. When the situation is hopeless, Jesus is our only hope.

Jesus shouted the gospel from the housetops, so that the voice of the gospel would echo through history. Like the healed man, we should shout for all to hear, “The Lord has healed me. The Lord has intervened in my life and made me well.” Mark tells us that each hearer of the Gospel experiences Jesus’ compassion and desire to heal us. What he said to the leper is offered to a sinful world and to each of us as well. As God gives us opportunities, we can extend grace and show compassion with a gentle touch that conveys dignity and value. The simple, healing power of human touch goes a long way to remind hurting people of our care and concern. More important is the fact that they are reminded of Christ’s care, concern, and love for them.

(An audio version of this post can be found at https://www.spreaker.com/episode/mark-1-verses-40-45-jesus-compassion–58623432)

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New Kings James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 1345)
2. “Hope for the Hopeless.” Retrieved from www.Sermons4KIds.com
3. Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament. Part of Wordsearch 12 Bible software package.
4. McKenna, D.L. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 25: Mark (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982; pp. 52-56)
5. Pastor David McGee, “A Leper No More.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
6. Lisa Samru, “Power of Touch.” Retrieved form donotreply@email.rbc.org
7. “A Healing Touch.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
8. McKenna, D.L., & Ogilvie, L.J., The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 25: Mark (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982; pp. 52-56)
9. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
10. Jude Siciliano, O.P., “First Impressions, 6^th Sunday (B), February 11, 2024.” Retrieved from firstimpressions@lists.opsouth.org
11. Alyce McKenzie, “Blessed to be a Blessing: Reflections on Mark 1:40-45.” Retrieved from www.patheos,com/about-patheos/alyce-mckenzie
12. Pastor Edward F. Markquart, “Leprosy: Gospel Analysis.” Retrieved from www.sermonsfromseattle.com
13. Pastor Edward F. Markquart, “Leprosy.” Retrieved from www.sermonsfromseattle.com

How can you tell a true prophet from a false prophet? The question was an urgent one for the audience that Deuteronomy 18:15-20 addresses. After Moses, who was the pre-eminent prophet-dies, how will the people know the will of God? They can’t consult sooth-sayers and mediums like the nations around them do, so how would they know who speaks for God? When we stand at the threshold of something new, we know that the path ahead will be both challenging and rewarding. We wonder how it will turn out for us. God’s compassionate response to the people’s complaints is a powerful testimony to the love God holds for His people.

The events in this passage took place at the end of Moses’ life as the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land. Moses was the only leader they have ever known, and his impending death put the people in danger. This passage represents Moses’ last words to the people, both present and future. Moses called the people to belief and a life lived according to God’s instructions. Moses told the people to remember what they asked for because God promised to do it. God promised to send someone else like Moses to speak God’s word to all the people. Anyone who did not pay attention was in deep trouble.

The people were afraid to listen directly to the voice of God, so they asked Moses to act as a mediator on their behalf. Moses provided the people of Israel with a way of knowing and understanding the course of human events, a way that was completely different from that of their neighbours. Moses set the standard for every future prophet. However distinguished a future prophet’s role might be in Israel, none would be like Moses until the Mediator of the New Covenant came. That Mediator was Jesus.

The role of a prophet was to settle the unsettled. Prophets, according to the old saying, “afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.” Some churches are filled with people who love to speak the truth. They use words as weapons and then walk away from their prophetic work relieved to have “gotten that off my chest” while the congregation sits shell-shocked and uncertain how to proceed. On the other hand, a prophet like Moses speaks the truth in love.

Moses promised that God would raise up a prophet like Moses from among the people. God fulfilled Moses’ promise by sending prophets to reveal God’s will and presence to the people. These prophets who preceded Jesus spoke in God’s name by using the phrase “Thus says the Lord,” but Jesus spoke from His own authority.

The comparison between Moses and Jesus is striking. Moses, in his role as leader of the people and spokesman for God, was instrumental in founding the first kingdom, the kingdom of Israel. Though he was followed by many genuine prophets, none of them compared to him. Jesus also marked the coming of a new kingdom. It was not a political kingdom of this world, but the kingdom of God. Moses mediated the covenant, which was to be the constitution of Israel, whose true king was God. The prophet Jeremiah signaled the end of this age and pointed forward to a new covenant and a new kind of kingdom. These points of the past were fulfilled in Jesus.

The phrase “the Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me” speaks of the coming of the Lord. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy during His earthly ministry, so it was appropriate that Moses appeared with Jesus at the Transfiguration. There are three standard prophetic offices of the Coming One—Prophet, Priest, and King—along with two more expectations: the Sage and the Suffering Servant. Each of these five ideals was a subject of intense interest in the century before the coming of Christ. Texts in the Dead Sea scrolls show how lively the issues were.

When a prophet made a prediction in the name of the Lord and that prediction did not come true, the prophet was stoned to death. The failure of the prophecy demonstrated the false nature of the so-called prophet’s credentials. Since the people were to obey God’s prophet without question, to prophecy falsely was to usurp the place of God. Such an act was a sentence of death to the false prophet. There were a few tests that could be used to determine whether a prophet was speaking the word of God:

1. The true prophet does not seek to be a prophet. No prophet in the Bible wanted to be a prophet, but it was something that they did because they could not avoid God’s call.
2. The true prophet seeks neither self-promotion nor riches. Elisha healed Naaman the Syrian of leprosy by Elisha’s word in 2 Kings 5, but Elisha would not accept any payment or gift.
3. The message had to be given in the name of the Lord. The true prophet speaks God’s Word, not his or her own.
4. The true prophet’s words do not contradict what we already know about God from Scripture.
5. The prophecy must come to pass. Does the prophet lead others to be disciples of Jesus or of themselves? Does his or her preaching lead to repentance and transformation or to complacency and self-absorption?
6. Is the prophecy presumptuous? Does it misuse the Lord’s name?
7. Does the prophet use practices such as sacrificing children, sorcery, omens, witchcraft, the casting of spells, or consulting the dead?

Our humility about having the whole truth and our affirmation of God’s many voices does not eliminate the reality that some revelations are superior to others, some speakers more insightful and transparent to God, and that God may choose to be more present in some people than others.

The characteristic of false prophets is the failure of their predictions to always come true. Sometimes false prophets speak and it happens as they said, but they are representing false gods and trying to turn people from the true God. Other times false prophets are more subtle and identify with the true God but speak lies. If the prophecy was not fulfilled the people would know that the prophet had spoken presumptuously, and that God had not spoken. The people could also be assured that they need not fear the prophet and that the prophet would die for his arrogance.

What if the prediction doesn’t take place immediately? What if the fulfillment is based on the response of a human being? How do we figure it out? The key is to humbly obey God. Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:2-3, “proclaim the message, be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itchy ears, they will accumulate for themselves to suit their own desires and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.”

Even today, Christians should avoid making predictions about the future because the Bible says in Matthew 24:34-44, “No one knows.” If God’s people focus on mysteries they were never intended to unravel, they will neglect the Master’s ongoing work in this day and time. Those Satan cannot dissuade, he will distract. We can know the truth by avoiding the ways of the world, by listening to and obeying God’s messengers, and by testing the message of God’s prophets.

(An audio version of this message can be found at https://www.spreaker.com/episode/deuteronomy-18-verses-15-20-prophecy–58456393)

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 249)
2. Maxwell, J.C., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 5: Deuteronomy (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1987; pp. 217-219)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Kathryn M. Schifferdecker, “Commentary on Deuteronomy 18:15-20.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org
6. Beth L. Tanner, “Commentary on Deuteronomy 18:15-20.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org
7. Br. David Vyrhof, “A Prophet Like Moses.” Retrieved from www.ssje.org
8. “A Prophet That is False.” Retrieved from www.patheos.com/blogs/gloriouslife
9. Jude Siciliano, OP, “First Impressions, 4^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B), January 28, 2024.” Retrieved from firstimpressions@lists.opsouth.org
10. Bruce Epperly, “The Adventurous Lectionary-Epiphany 4-January 28, 2024.” Retrieved from www.patheos.com/blogs/livingaholyadventure
11. Barbara Bruneau, “God Pause for Monday, January 22, 2024.” Retrieved from communic@luthersem.edu
12. Dr. Kari Vo, “A Prophet Like Moses.” Retrieved from www.lhm.org
13. Dan Clendenin, “Test the Spirits.” Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus.net
14. Meg Jenista, “Commentary on Deuteronomy 18:15-20.” Retrieved from https://cepreaching.org/authors/meg-jenista/

(An audio version of this post can be found at https://www.spreaker.com/episode/genesis-15-verses-1-11-17-21-we-can-trust-god–58429879)

In Genesis 15:1-11,17-21, Abram wants to know who God is, and how God can be trusted, especially since there had been a delay between God’s promise of an heir for Abram and its fulfillment. In verse 1, the phrase “Do not be afraid” is heard. This is the first time this phrase has been recorded in the Bible. Fear comes when God’s people take their eyes off of the One who promises and begin to worry about the promise. Because Abram refused great wealth in Genesis 14:21-22 and did not have an heir, He needed to know that God was his shield and exceedingly great reward—his Protector and Provider.

Abram held God responsible for his lack of an heir, but Abram also had a level of faith to even register disappointment that God has not yet done what God said God would do. Questioning God is considered to be the opposite of faith, but it is through his questioning that Abram rises to a higher level of faith. Because of his question, God reinforced the promise using a means of “signing a contract” that was common in that day. Abram expected-and believed-that God would keep His Word, which is why Abram spoke in the way he spoke. The heart of the interaction between God and Abram is faith and trust. If Abram understands God to be righteous, to be one whose word is firm and secure, to be one who will make good on God’s promises, then Abram can believe. The same is true for us. Belief is hard enough when there is a delay between God’s promises and their fulfillment. It would be impossible if the God in whom we believe is not trustworthy, is not righteous.

One way to learn faith is to ask questions. Ignoring them or suppressing them actually deprives us of the opportunity to grow. We may never get an answer to all our questions, but when we allow our questions to come out into the open, we open our hearts to experience the awareness that God really is God, and that we entrust our lives into God’s loving care.

Even though Abram enjoyed a special relationship with God he was not exempt from the circumstances of life, and he was not immune to the reactions common to man. He was so upset by the events that led to his military expedition on behalf of his nephew, Lot, that God had to remind him of some of the great promises upon which their relationship was built. God’s promise that He would be Abram’s shield was appropriate in that it came after Abram showed that he did not want to form an alliance with the king of Sodom. Abram was asked to believe that his shield was a better idea than relying on the support and strength of the kings in the region.

Abram was childless, but for a man of extraordinary wealth, it was important to avoid dying without a plan for inheritance, which was the ancient culture’s mark of irresponsibility. Abram did what others in his situation would do: he adopted a servant, Eliezer, as his heir. This “quest for a son” underlies Abram’s entire story. Abram was worried that the promise that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him did not mean that he would be the father of a child. He confronted the fact that perhaps God was going to fulfill this promise through the perfectly acceptable practice of regarding a servant of a childless man as an heir. This was not what Abram had in mind and he said so in no uncertain terms. Abram’s faith was not without fear and uncertainty. It was not untouched by reservations and questions. Even though Abram did not see how God could fulfill His gracious promise to him regarding an heir, he trusted the Lord. He looked beyond what he could see to what God could see.

God helped Abram deal with his fears. God stimulated Abram’s faith through His word so that Abram would learn to trust the Lord for all that he (Abram) could not do for himself. God still proclaims His truth through His Word in order that men and women might believe Him and trust Him to be all that they could ever wish for in time and eternity. The promises made by God stimulated Abram’s faith, calmed his fears, and gave him a hope for the future. We should not easily forget that we are also children of Abram if we believe in the same Lord of the promises. In Christ we have much more to go on than Abram ever had.

Verse 6 sets the clear pattern traced throughout the Scriptures: a person is saved only and always by grace through faith, and nothing more. In other words, God applied the results of atonement to those who believed in the Law of Moses in Old Testament times. Those people were, in essence, saved on credit, waiting for that payment for sin to be made. Now that Jesus has made the payment, citizens on this side of Calvary need only look back and trust what Jesus did on the Cross.

God was not only the provider of the covenant with Abram; His character and unchanging presence were its promise. Still, Abram wanted a sign. More important than a sign, however, is an obedient will. Abram went from a present clarity to a future ignorance, from what he had to what he did not have. He went from the known to the unknown, from everything that was familiar to all things strange, He was a stranger in a strange land. Abram realized that everything he does now is for future generations. All of his actions, all of his life, all he would give from that moment on, would not have a lot to do with him, but would have everything to do with the future. Whatever he thought he was going to get out of it for himself-as great and famous as God would make him, and God’s plan of building a great nation through him-all that would be realized long after his death.

God used a familiar ancient custom-a covenant-to solemnly ratify His agreement with Abram. Verses 18-21 offer new details about the covenant God promised Abram in Genesis 12:2-3,7. The Lord gave this land to Abram’s descendants. The specific territory-about 300,000 square miles-covered far more area than the nation of Israel has ever occupied. But in the future kingdom, it will all be theirs.  God keeps His promises and rewards our obedient faith. When God promises to direct our paths, we can be confident that He will carefully lead us.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 20113; pp. 22-23)
2. Briscoe, D.S., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 1: Genesis (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1987; pp. 132-138)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2020; pp. 21-22)
6. Sara M. King, “Commentary on Genesis 15:1-6.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org.
7. The Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm, “Learning Faith.” Retrieved from www.thewakingdreamer.org.

(An audio version of this message can be found at https://www.spreaker.com/episode/1-samuel-3-verses-1-10-listening-for-gods-voice–58277665)

Had the wireless radio been on, they would have known the Titanic was sinking. The radio operator of another ship had tried to relay a message to the radio operator on the Titanic letting him know that they had encountered an ice field. But the Titanic’s radio operator was busy relaying passengers’ messages and rudely told the other radio operator to be quiet. The radio operator on the other ship turned off his radio and went to bed. Ten minutes later, the Titanic struck an iceberg. Their distress signals went largely unanswered because few other ships were listening.

First Samuel 3:1-10 focuses on listening for God and His varied movements within our lives. God always talks to us through insights, encounters, hunches, dreams, bursts of energy and inspirational thoughts. Our calling is to listen to the many voices of God that are often hidden in everyday experience, and then follow God’s guidance. These voices shape our encounters with God in our own unique ways.

This passage comes up regularly in some Sunday School classes where the teacher is urging the children to listen hard for God’s voice in their own lives. If that voice comes, the children are urged to respond as Samuel did in the temple. Samuel lived at a time when prophets rarely spoke to Israel. The passage begins with an interesting statement: “The word of the Lord was rare in those days.” The people did go on with the business of their religion. The Israelites’ hearts were hard, and the Lord knew they would not listen. The lack of a word from God was not so much connected with God’s reluctance to communicate with the people as with the lack of a human instrument to receive and speak the word of the Lord.

Most people don’t think of Samuel as a prophet because they associate the word “prophet” with predicting future events. While that was part of a prophet’s role, his main business was to speak God’s word to the people’s current situation.

Samuel did not yet know the Lord even though he had learned about Him his whole life. Knowing about God is not the same as having a personal relationship with Him. While most people think of the more dramatic revelations of God as normal, most people experience God’s guidance in quite ordinary ways: through positive and negative experiences, while reading Scripture, through the counsel of another, or out of a growing interest.

God’s call to Samuel came with greater intensity each time. This last time He called his name twice—a signal that this was a crucial moment. Other people whom God called by repeating their names include Abraham, Jacob, and Moses.

The most important aspect of Samuel’s call was the provision of Eli to help him interpret the call. Eli is much more tuned into Samuel’s spiritual experience than he was to Samuel’s mother. After all, Eli thought that Samuel’s mother was drunk when she asked God for a son. Eli could not see physically, but he did have good spiritual vision because he perceived that it was the Lord who had called Samuel. Eli told Samuel how to respond. Eli taught Samuel how to listen to God-and if we are going to be people of God, we must also learn how to recognize God’s efforts to speak to us.

Samuel’s call reminds us of the importance of spiritual mentoring. Many of us seek the services of professional spiritual directors, but we have to equip church members, youth leaders, and pastoral staff to be spiritual mentors. The church needs to be a laboratory for spiritual formation. Individual congregations or groups of congregations should offer classes in Christian meditation, prayer, and healing touch.

This passage refers to Eli’s failing eyesight. A priest who can’t see! No wonder the people had not heard anything from God. How could it be otherwise when Israel’s leadership was ineffective and corrupt? When religious leaders, of all people, are blind to sin, of course the word of the Lord will be rare and visions few. Religious leadership ideally combines receptivity and expertise. A capacity to hear and knowledge of what to say are necessary if God’s word is to be heard and visions to appear abundantly.

Servants like Samuel listen to their masters differently than others. Eli’s wise counsel is a good reminder that God can often use us to give better counsel to the children of others than we have been able to give to our own. God often supplies people like Eli at different times when we can’t discern God’s direction for our lives.

When have we missed something important? Not something like a cell phone call, but something deeper. When have we chosen to ignore instead of answering? When should we have done something but have been inactive? When should we have spoken up but have been silent? Most people who speak of their call do not describe a major disruption in their lives. There have been a few experiences like Paul’s encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, but most calls are a slow, quiet awakening to something. It could be a calling to a particular church office, an injustice that needs to be addressed, or a task that needs attention.

God’s call to serve does not guarantee a perfect life. God’s words to Samuel were hard to hear and even harder to tell Eli. In the verses following this passage, we read that Samuel’s first act of his call was to tell God’s word to Eli and that word involved judgment against Eli’s sons. Eli is a good example of how not to be a parent. Contempt, arrogance, and disobedience marked Eli’s sons. Eli dealt with them poorly. These major factors contributed to the bleak spiritual climate during Samuel’s childhood. Like Samuel, Isaiah and Jeremiah, God’s call often involves working to change human systems that are broken, and that can lead us down difficult paths.

Are we ready to hear God’s voice? Don’t answer that question too quickly, because we might hear something that is not what we had in mind. Where are we most likely to hear God’s voice? It could be anywhere, but chances are it will likely be in the church, and that is because the church is the most likely place for getting the help we need in hearing and understanding. Samuel needed Eli’s help, and we need each other’s help today.

We are living in a time when many people seem unable to discern God’s voice from the noise of the world. People are starving to hear God, but they do not have ears to hear. They grew up in religious environments. They go to church every week. They have a head knowledge of God, but they do not recognize God’s voice in their lives. There comes a time when we must recognize God’s voice for ourselves. God does not want us to have a religion; He wants us to have a two-way relationship with Him. Samuel was never the same after His encounter with God, and we will never be the same after we encounter God.

If God were to speak to us, would we recognize God’s voice? Would we be listening close enough to hear a voice that we might connect with God? Should we even expect God to speak? To hear God’s call, we must be prepared to listen and see rightly. We must follow the truth wherever it leads-even when the truth hurts. We have to listen and speak prophetically. We have to challenge our own assumptions about God and faith so that we can find the sacred in unexpected and even disreputable places.

If we become submissive to God, we will begin to enjoy doing God’s will because the people will be blessed. With the light of God in us, like Samuel, we are called to invade a world in need of healing. We will make a difference in the world because we are called for a major purpose in the time we are living in.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 363)
2. Chafin, K.L., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 8: 1,2 Samuel (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1989; pp. 39-42)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: 2010; pp. 350-351)
6. Beth Tanner, “Commentary on 1 Samuel 3:1-21.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org
7. “The Voice.” Retrieved from www.sermonsuite.com
8. “If God is Silent, Ask: Do You Have Ears to Hear?” Retrieve from info@cufi.org
9. Os Hillman, “Hearing God’s Voice.” Retrieved from tgif@maarketplaceleaders.org
10. Raul Ries, “A Submitted Life.” Retrieved from www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/somebody-loves-you-radio-w-raul-ries/
11. “1 Samuel 3:1-20.” Retrieved from communic@luthersem.edu
12. Glenn Packiam, “The Servant Hears.” Retrieved from donotreply@email.rbc.org
13. Debie Thomas, “What Do You See?” Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus.net

(An audio version of the post is available at https://www.spreaker.com/user/sermonsfrommyheart/galatians-4-verses-4-7-christ-and-the-sl)

A little boy visiting his grandparents was given his first slingshot. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit his target. As he came back to Grandma’s backyard, he saw her pet duck. On an impulse, he took aim and let it fly. The stone hit the duck, and the duck fell dead.

He panicked and hit the dead duck in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister watching. After lunch that day, Grandma said, “Sally, let’s do the dishes.” But Sally said, “Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn’t you, Johnny?” And she whispered to him, “Remember the duck.” So Johnny did the dishes.

Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing. Grandma said, “I’m sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper.” Sally smiled and said, “That’s all taken care of. Johnny wants to do it.” Again she whispered, “Remember the duck.” Johnny stayed while Sally went fishing.

Finally, after several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s, he couldn’t stand it. He confessed to Grandma that he killed the duck. “I know, Johnny,” she said, giving him a hug. “I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I just wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”

The good news of Christmas is linked to Christ’s birth, and Christ’s birth is explained in Galatians 4:4-7. Figuratively speaking, God’s calendar had a day with a big star on it-when the time was right for Christ to be sent forth into this world. Jesus was born when Rome was conquering and ruling the known world. The Roman Empire built roads that connected cities, towns, and military bases. These roads allowed the Gospel of Salvation to be taken all over Europe. Travel was safer than it had been earlier, a mail system was in place, and a common language existed. There was open idolatry, spiritism, and demon worship. The religious establishment was almost completely corrupt. With the absence of war, many people were rediscovering art, literature, and philosophy, and they were asking questions. All of this was part of God’s perfect, divine plan.

It was always God’s plan for Christ to be born, live among us, die for our sins, and rise again. Revelation 13:8 calls Him “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” This means that before there was a planet called Earth and a garden called Eden, before there was a couple known as Adam and Eve who ate of the forbidden fruit, God knew that humanity would blow it. He had a plan. His Son would come to earth and be born in a manger, live a perfect life, and die on the cross for the sins of the world.

When the exact religious, cultural, and political conditions demanded by His perfect plan were in place, Jesus came into the world. As a father set the time for the ceremony of his son coming of age and being released from the guardians, managers, and tutors, God sent His Son at the precise moment to bring all believers out from under bondage to the law.

Adoption in Roman society was very different from adoption today. When a flesh and blood son reached the age of maturity, he was “adopted” into his own family. Until that time, he was considered a child, and he was under the tutelage of a household slave. This slave was given the duty of supervising the life and morals of the boy or boys under his care. Boys could not even leave the house without their guardian before arriving at the age of manhood.

The Law of Moses played the role of this trusted servant to protect, discipline, and train the people, but it had one serious flaw. It had to be obeyed perfectly. If someone broke one law, he or she was considered to have broken all of the laws. The Law condemned people and gave them the sentence of death, just like Sally “condemned” Johnny to a form of slavery in the story I told earlier.

Jesus was born under the law so that He could fulfill every claim and demand of the law on our behalf. Like all people, Jesus was obligated to obey God’s Law. Unlike everyone else, He perfectly obeyed the law. His sinless nature made Him the perfect, unblemished sacrifice for sin. He perfectly obeyed God in everything. He fulfilled the moral law in His life and the ceremonial law in His death. Paul proclaimed that God operates in His own time and in His own way. Christ’s birth is the supreme event in God’s plan, the end toward which God has been moving. The love that reigned in God’s heart is behind the love that bled and died on the Cross.

The movement of God to accomplish our redemption is clear to Paul. The deliverance came in the form of Jesus Christ:

1. Jesus came from God and not from among men. He was the Son of God who had come from God to be the Redeemer of the world.
2. In order to be the Redeemer, Jesus entered the earthly scene. He became truly man, experiencing all the onslaughts of evil, all the temptations of the flesh, all the weaknesses of humanity, in order to stand beside us.
3. Jesus became our brother and could offer Himself as our representative. He was a son of Abraham, born under the law and shared the curse which the law imposed. By His crucifixion, He ransomed those under the law and became the Deliverer of all persons everywhere. Deliverance was from servitude of every sort-the bondage in which everyone finds themselves-into freedom as children of God.

In Paul’s day, some 60 million slaves lived in the Roman Empire. When someone bought a slave, the buyer could either own and use the slave or set the slave free. Before we respond in faith to Christ, while still under law, we are like slaves. It doesn’t matter that we are “master of all.” We are “under age” and the inheritance is not yet ours. Until we become of age, we are in bondage. We are in bondage to the present evil age, until that bondage is broken by grace and we are adopted as God’s children.

Even though God has established a great “trust” for us, we are still servants until we respond in faith to His promise. When God purchases or redeems people through Christ, He does so in order to set them free. Because we are not natural children of God, we can become sons and daughters only by divine adoption.

Although a human father cannot give his own nature to an adopted child, God can. The Holy Spirit, whom God places within us at the moment of salvation, confirms us as God’s children and stirs us to cry, “Abba! Father!”. It is the Bible’s greatest argument against legalism.

When we receive Christ, His Spirit takes up residence in the core of our being, giving us an internal power that we never had before and transforming our hearts from hateful and rebellious to loving and obedient. Our hearts control our words and actions.

When a person is saved, the law moves to the side and love moves to the centre. The believer is no longer enslaved to the harsh master of sin but becomes a mature son or daughter of God. The shift in a person’s essence from slave to son with full rights is immediate, although believers often do not understand it until later in their Christian experience.

When we receive a gift or a job promotion, or something good happens in our lives, it changes our behaviour in a positive way. When we have a relationship with Jesus, many things change for the better. We feel different about our time, our money, and our gifts. We realize that our time and money do not belong to us. It’s God’s time, God’s money, and God’s gifts that He is allowing us to be stewards of. We feel different about the Bible. We feel different about other believers, about ministers, and about our own lives. We even feel differently about people who don’t know Jesus yet. God is our Father in Heaven, and He wants to lead us in all of these areas. We can believe Him, we can trust Him, and we can experience His love in every situation. That changes everything.

It is a happy day when we move from slavery to sin and receive the Spirit of the Son of God and begin the free and glad life of sharing intimately with God the Father. We don’t come to Him begging and pleading like wayward derelicts who have to come to the back door for a handout. We come as children of God, knowing that we are welcome. We can accept ourselves, love and be loved, and feel worthwhile to ourselves and others. We are free to love ourselves and others and to know that we are worthwhile.

When we accept our sonship, we realize that we are not alone. We get strength from God and through the shared strength of the Christian community. This strength can work along with our weaknesses as we become vulnerable. In our sonship we become vulnerable to God, open and receptive to the coming of the Spirit. In the confidence of being loved and accepted by God, we can be vulnerable to others, open to the claims of our neighbours, and respond in sensitivity and care.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 1628)
2. Dunnam, M.D., & Ogilvie, L.J.,: T he Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 31: Galatians/Ephesians/Philippians/Colossians/Philemon (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc., 1982, pp. 77-83)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. H.B. Charles Jr., “The Good News of the Incarnation.” Retrieved from www.preaching.com/contributors/h-b-charles-jr/
6. Bayless Conley, “Enjoying the Fullness of Your Inheritance.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
7. Pastor David McGee, “Our Relationship Changes Everything.” Retrieved from www.crossthebridge.com
8. Pastor Raul Ries, “God Sent His Son.” Retrieved from www.SomebodyLovesYou.com
9. Dave Wyrtzen, “The Full Rights of an heir.” Retrieved from truthnote@gmail.com
10. Greg Laurie, “It Was Always God’s Plan.” Retrieved from greglaurie@harvestdirect.org
11. Greg Laurie, “It’s Time for Another Jesus Movement.” Retrieved from greglaurie@harvestdirect.org
12. “Living the Freedom Christ Has Given You.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
13. Greg Laurie, “No Time for God?” Retrieved from greglaurie@harvestdirect.org

An audio version of this post can be found at https://www.spreaker.com/user/sermonsfrommyheart/psalm-100-giving-thanks-to-god-the-king

How many of you know what a cornucopia is? It’s also sometimes called a horn of plenty. It is usually filled with many kinds of foods like apples, oranges, grapes, squash, and ears of corn. It is a symbol of an endless supply of food. Today it is usually made from a basket, but many years ago a goat’s horn was hollowed out and filled with food. We usually see it at Thanksgiving because it is a symbol of all the good things that we have to enjoy.

We have a lot to be thankful for. Who should we thank for all that we have? We should give thanks to God. The Bible tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from God. When someone gives us a gift, we say “Thank you.” When do you think we should say “thank you” to God? When do you think we should say “thank you” to God by worshipping Him?

Psalm 100 is a psalm of thanksgiving or giving grateful praise. Praise flows best from a grateful heart. That’s why it’s a good idea to do what the classic “Thanksgiving Hymn” suggests:

Count your many blessings,

Name them one by one.

Count your many blessings,

See what God has done.

Some believe that this psalm was the conclusion of six psalms used in worship when approaching the temple, and therefore sung when at last the congregation entered the temple proper. At times it also accompanied the thank offering. Worshippers would recite, sing, or chant this psalm as part of their praise. Through the psalm we are called into God’s presence based upon the revelation of who He is.

Today is Reign of Christ Sunday, also known as Christ the King Sunday. It is an affirmation that Christ and not our national interest, personal self-interest, or political leaders is to be our ultimate concern. Psalm 100 teaches us how and why to worship God as our King. Psalm 100 celebrates God’s loving presence. We are God’s beloved sheep, protected and nurtured by the good shepherd. Thanksgiving and praise are the only responses to divine providence and care. We can live joyfully because love rules the sun, stars, and humankind.

Worship should never be passive. The whole world is to shout before Him. God looks upon the heart. Beyond the action of the joyful shout, there must be a proper attitude. Thus the psalmist calls us to serve God with gladness.

Why worship God like this? The psalmist answers this question in verse 3:

1. “Know that the Lord, He is God.” In this affirmation the renunciation of all other gods is also implied. Since God is God, He is to be praised for who He is, not simply for what He has done. He is God, and that’s enough.
2. He is the creator. We are not autonomous. We are not self-sufficient. We are the creation and therefore dependent upon Him for everything.
3. Beyond creation stands redemption. Nations are included in this call given to us in Christ. Thus the Gentiles can join in confessing, “We are the sheep of His pasture.” The metaphor of the sheep assumes that God is the shepherd. We are His flock. God is the creator; we are His creations. God is the Father; we are His children. When we remember these basic truths, life goes a lot smoother for everyone. This picture is now fulfilled in Jesus, who presented Himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down in His life for the sheep.

The word mercy is inevitably associated with redemption in Christ. Sinners are saved by His mercy. The phrase “His truth endures to all generations” pictures the generations being born and dying, one following after another, while the faithfulness of God remains constant. True biblical praise focuses on who God is. What He does is the result of who He is, but His worshippers often never get past what He does.

In verse 4, the scene shifts to the temple in Jerusalem, God is enthroned as King, living in His palace like any other monarch. Filled with joy, the worshipers ascend the Temple Mount. They come to God’s house with an attitude of gratitude. This is the same attitude we need to have when we come to God’s house. Gratitude now turns to blessing. God is the object of our worship. As He gives us His name, so He calls us by name into a relationship with Him.

Why should we worship God as our King? We are to praise God because He is good. The goodness of God is seen in His moral character and in His benevolence toward us. Second, we are to praise God because His mercy is everlasting. God has bound us to Himself in a covenant or compact that He will never revoke or abandon. In an attitude of gladness and in actions of shouting and singing, we are to come to Him. This is the worship that blesses God. In turn, this worship will bless us as well.

What is it about praise and thanksgiving that brings God and believers so close together? Praise melts our hearts so that we are no longer hardened by sin or disappointment. The Bible teaches that God is near to those who praise Him. While He never requires our praise, He certainly wants it because He knows that praise places us in a position to receive His blessings.

There are four things that every follower of God should aspire to do:

1. Worship God joyfully. God gave us the voices we have, and they are adequate enough instruments to make a joyful noise to Him. Even if we’re not emotional people, when God is with us, and if He is real to us, we will engage Him on some level of worship.
2. Serve God gladly. Spiritual maturity isn’t measured by glorious singing as much as by glad serving. If we are going to serve God at all, we have to do it with joy, not complaining or moaning. God loves a life that is lived cheerfully for Him.
3. Love God intelligently. Contrary to popular belief, our minds matter to God.
4. Thank God consistently. We are to thank Him because of who He is. He is good, merciful, and honest, and He deserves our worship.

If God’s presence makes us joyful, then serving Him should make us happy. Only when one takes no pleasure in God does serving Him seem like a chore and a burden. Gratitude escorts us into God’s presence. We will be amazed at what a little thankfulness with God will do. Showing gratitude reminds us of God’s character and nature. When He does something for us, that action becomes a window into His character.

Gratitude also helps us touch the heart of a merciful Father. Our society is triggered with injustice, but it is deeply disconnected from God’s mercy, so much so that we are in a very dangerous place. If we are not careful, we will enter an era of vigilante Christian justice. If we are not careful, we will lose sight of the cross.

Gratitude opens up God’s voice as His truth enters our spirit. When we touch God through gratitude, His truth fills our hearts, washing and empowering our souls. Gratitude also acts like a weapon against our enemies. When lies seek to steal our peace, move us out from the presence of God, rob us of the nature of our Father, and kill the work of His mercy in our lives, we have to fight back by using the weapon of gratitude.

Regardless of what we are facing, in the midst of all of it, may we remember again that God gives us the opportunity each and every day to give worship and thanks to Him. Every morning He gives us breath is His invitation to come joyfully into His Presence. He reminds us that He alone is God and we belong to Him. He assures us that His plans in our lives are for good, that his love covers us securely, and His faithfulness extends from generation to generation.

The only reason there is any good in the world is because God is the Creator of the world, and He is a good God. His goodness is in the universe. We can’t spell “good” without “God.” If there is no God, then there is no right and wrong or good and bad.

God wants us to think well of Him so that we may submit cheerfully to His authority. When we do so, we can remember the words of this Christmas carol:

Come on ring those bells,

Light the Christmas tree.

Jesus is the King,

Born for you and me.

Thankfulness invites blessing more than anything in the world. When we jump up and down and thank God for something as simple as a good day, we’re going to have more good days.

If we want to be close to God and come into His presence as we have been invited and commanded to do, we must be people of praise. God’s goodness to us is overwhelming. It is beyond our ability to fully comprehend, and no matter how grateful we are, we will never exhaust the list of things for which we are indebted to Him.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 772)
2. Williams, D., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 14: Psalms 73-150 (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1989; pp. 207-210)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2010)
5. Ski Heitzig, “How Will You Live the Rest of Your Life?” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
6. Debbie McDaniel, “A Prayer for Thanksgiving Day.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswwalkmail.com
7. Alistair Begg, “Think Highly of Christ.” Retrieved from newsletters@truthforlife.org
8. Rick Warren, “What is God Really Like?” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
9. Dr. Paul Chappell, “The Path to God’s Presence.” Retrieved from daily@dailyintheword.org
10. Bobby Schuller, “Thankful and Blessed.” Retrieved from www.hourofpower.org
11. Michael Youssef, Ph.D.,” The Importance of Praise.” Retrieved from web@ltw.org
12. “Giving Thanks.” Retrieved from infor@keysforkids.org
13. Bruce Epperly, “The Adventurous Lectionary-Christ the King/Kin Sunday-November 26, 2023.” Retrieved from https://www.patheos.com/blogs/livingaholyadventure/
14. Dr. Ed Young, “Count Your Blessings.” Retrieved from ministry@winningwalk.org

(An audio version of this sermon can be found at https://www.spreaker.com/user/sermonsfrommyheart/ezra-1-verses-1-11-gods-sovereignty)

Ezra 1:1-11 begins “in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia.” This date should be identified with the first year he had authority over Babylon and Judah in 539 B.C. Cyrus ruled only a small region of the Median Empire (in modern Iran) until 550 B.C. when he took control of the larger empire, later known as the Persian Empire. Under his effective leadership the Median empire expanded in all directions.

Seventy years earlier Israel was conquered by the Babylonians and the people were taken into slavery. Politically, a powerful nation conquered a weaker nation. The prophets and pious Jews interpreted the disaster from a different perspective. The people were unfaithful to God and God gave them over to their enemies. Isaiah interpreted this as a consequence of Israel’s failure to keep the faith.

Cyrus waited for several years before moving against Babylon, which is in modern Iraq. In 539 B.C., life in Babylon was so terrible and the king of Babylon was so intensely hated that when Cyrus entered the city to capture it, no one opposed him. From that point onward, the Persian Empire included all of what we now know as Syria and Israel, in addition to Iran.

Rather than tyrannize his subjects as the Babylonian rulers had done, Cyrus sought good for the people under his reign. Considering the inhabitants of Babylon Cyrus said, “I brought relief to their dilapidated housing, putting an end to their complaints.” Moreover, Cyrus sought to reestablish religions devasted by Babylon, and he highly regarded sacred cities such as Jerusalem (which, however, Cyrus did not mention by name).

In 539 BC, after 70 years in Babylon, the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem. It must have seemed impossible to the faithful that God would first use a pagan king to punish the people and then use another pagan king to save them and restore them to their homeland.

King Cyrus’ decree that the Jews should rebuild the temple fulfilled the prophecies from the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah. Although Ezra does not say why Cyrus released the captives to their homeland, the prophet Daniel served in Cyrus’ court. Perhaps Daniel influenced the king’s decision. Throughout the Book of Ezra, God not only stirred others to act favourably toward Israel, but He prompted and encouraged Israel’s leaders. Here, He moved their spirits to go and build the temple in Jerusalem and surrounded them with support.

Why did Cyrus allow the Jews to return to Israel? He may have done so to rally popular support for his regime, but it is interesting to note what he wrote about his respect for the gods: “May all the gods whom I have resettled in their sacred cities ask daily…for a long life for me and may they recommend me (to him); …to my lord…” Cyrus seems to have believed that by returning idols to former locations he had in fact returned the gods themselves. In other words, he sought to gain divine favour by restoring indigenous religions and peoples, just like churches that ran residential schools are trying to restore relationships with indigenous peoples throughout the world today.

Cyrus’ actions were part of prophecies  by the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah. In Jeremiah 25:11-12, Jeremiah prophesied the downfall of Jerusalem and the restoration of Judah: “And this whole land {Judah} shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, says the Lord.”

Rather than comprehensively listing all 5,400 articles of gold and silver, verses 9-11 catalog only the most valuable articles that were brought back from Babylon. The articles of the house of the Lord included the priestly hardware taken from the temple by the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar. God preserved these items from destruction during the exile and provided for their return to the Israelites.

In Ezra 1:2-4, Cyrus ordered the rebuilding of Jerusalem and allowed displaced Judeans to return there. In addition, he encouraged those Jews who did not return to offer financial support to those who did. These aspects of the decree fit precisely with what we already know about Cyrus from his own memoirs.

The decree makes Cyrus sound as if he were a “closet Jew.” We know that he recognized every regional god and their limited authority. Unlike Ezra and Nehemiah, he did not affirm the ultimate sovereignty of the one true God, the Lord of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Nevertheless, this one God chose and used Cyrus to accomplish His purposes. Through Cyrus, the Persian “messiah,” God began to restore Judah.

Who is in charge here? Who is in charge of the world? Ezra 1 answers these questions simply and repeatedly: God is in charge. Ezra 1:1-11 illustrates God’s sovereignty over His people-indeed, over all peoples, and over all of human history. It provokes us to reflect on the scope, security, and scandal of God’s sovereignty. God is described as having the power to move a king who himself claimed to be “king of the world, great king,…king of the four rims (of the earth).” God also moved in the spirits of the Jews who decided to return to Jerusalem. Finally, Ezra and Nehemiah implied that the Lord brought the people up from Babylon to Judah, just like He brought the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land.

Just as God stirred up the spirit of Cyrus to act on behalf of His people, so also can He act in the hearts of those in authority over us to act for our benefit. He is sovereign, and He acts in response to prayer. God not only moves the spirits of unbelievers such as Cyrus to act in certain ways, but He also moves the spirits of His people to particular actions. To walk in the Spirit is to obey the initial promptings of the Spirit.

God holds sway over all of human history. Human hearts and political processes also stand under the sovereign rule of God. God’s reign is not limited to His own people-He can raise up even a foreign king to fulfill His prophecies. God’s sovereignty does not obliterate human freedom and responsibility. Human beings can and do act contrary to God’s will and will be held accountable for their wrong choices. As we take the fullness of God’s sovereignty seriously, our ways of thinking and acting will change. We will begin to see our secular jobs and spiritual turf as places where God’s standards still apply. We will also think differently about national affairs, such as prayer in schools, poverty, racism, health care, and education. God’s rule extends to every aspect of life, so we can feel secure.

If God is sovereign over everything, then why are things so bad? Why does God allow bad things to happen, especially to good people? Why does God not act when things are bad? Scripture does not solve the problem of God’s inaction or soothe the scandal of God’s sovereignty. In fact, rather than downplaying this scandal, the Bible teaches us to live in the tension by confessing God’s sovereignty in a world full of pain. The Scriptures encourage us to wrestle with God, to cry out in our frustration.

We live in an increasingly heathen and hostile world, and we are seeing governments take steps to limit religious freedom and to promote perversion. The problem is real, but it is not a problem we can fix by going on protest marches or voting. As Christians we have a responsibility to be good citizens of the world, and to be involved in the process by which decisions are made. The ultimate power-the power no human ruler or government can resist-is the power of God. When we face issues, our first response should be to seek His face.

When we struggle with God’s slowness to deliver us, we need to worship Him, to proclaim who He is, and to remember His grace in times past. We join our broken world in groaning while we wait for God to set all things right again. We know that in the meantime, regardless of how dire our situation is, in the words of Romans 8:39, nothing in all the universe “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 606)
2. Roberts, M. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol 11: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc., 1993; pp. 38-51)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Dr. Paul Chappell, “The King’s Heart.” Retrieved from daily@dailyintheword.org
6. Jude Siciliano, O.P., “First Impressions, 29^th Sunday (A), October 22, 2023.” Retrieved from firstimpressions@lists.opsouth.org