Sermons From My Heart

The passage we heard from 1 Samuel 17:1,4-11 is one of the best-known and most loved stories in the Bible. The story has embedded itself in the culture and language of humanity. It is so well-known that it has become the way of describing any conflict in which there is a marked difference between the combatants, whether they are athletes, companies, or nations.

This story has a special appeal for Christians, partly because of the natural support for the underdog. A larger reason for its popularity is that so many of us can identify with the situation. We are constantly challenged in our lives by the giants of the world, and we find courage and inspiration in David’s idealism and his faith in God. This is not just a story about a young man fighting a much larger enemy. It depicts the conflict of the ages. It is a story about the battle that has been raging ever since Satan rebelled against God-the confrontation between good and evil, between God and His enemy.

A deep ravine between two giant cliffs in Israel’s valley of Elah is purported to be the very site where this battle took place, The gap between the cliffs is about 100 yards wide-the distance of a football field. The army of the Philistines would have gathered on one side, and the army of Israel on the other, to witness the battle between David and Goliath. In the ancient world, wars were sometimes decided in a head-to-head battle between two champions. People believed that the gods determined the matter through these two warriors. Throughout the account, David’s youth and Goliath’s experience were emphasized. By earthly accounts, only one of them was a man of war.

Goliath came from a culture that was compromised primarily of mercenaries who traveled from the Aegean Sea and wrought havoc from Syria to Egypt. He was the fiercest warrior of the Philistines. He was the largest and strongest human, long experienced in warfare, and prepared for both hand-to-hand combat with the sword as well as distance battles with the spear. Despite his size, he was very quick and nimble. Notice that Goliath was fully armed, in spite of his massive size. He even had a shield-bearer who went before him.

David would leave Saul’s armaments behind and face his foe with only five stones, a sling, and the shield of faith. David looked at Goliath, saw his heavy chain mail and his spear and knew that he had the weapon that was needed-namely, a rocket launcher. Goliath would be far too slow to either get close enough to David or dodge the stone. The Bible consistently minimizes the importance of military weapons and emphasizes their relative uselessness in warfare. God laughs at enemies who put their trust in weapons.

In human terms alone, Goliath was invincible, but David counted on the Lord being with him and making the difference. David had a special background. As a shepherd he was used to protecting the flock against wild animals. It’s not that David was stronger than bears or lions, but that lifestyle helped shape David to focus on God.

What distinguishes David from all the other characters in this story is his trust in God. Goliath was confident in his size and weapons. The Israelite soldiers lacked confidence in themselves and did not trust God. David was different. His trust in God was complete, and in this trust he offered both a model for kingship and a posture for the people of Isreal.

If his presence created fear, Goliath’s words added shame to the fear. The speech that he gave each day for forty days, morning and evening, is recorded in verses 8-10, and it represented a challenge not just to the army of Israel but to the God of Israel. To either ignore the challenge or to decline it was a humiliation both to Israel and to her God.

Can you imagine the state of the morale among the army of Israel? We’re not being called out by a giant, but we all know what failure feels like. When we’ve lost our courage or made a poor choice, the enemy will tell us that we are a failure, that we will never succeed. His objective is to break our will so that we will never try again. We must not let Satan win this spiritual battle. Our God is a gracious God of second chances and third chances, and His power that formed the universe is available to us as we face life’s challenges. When we see His power at work in our lives, our faith will grow and we will trust Him to show Himself faithful again.

David was outraged that this godless man was insulting the God of the Israelites, even in front of the Israelite king. David knew and was confident that his God was with him in the fight. This was the God he probably got to know very intimately on the hillsides of his home country, when things were quiet and he was isolated with his flocks. May we, in the face of real and sometimes very deep fears, remember our God, and that He is for us.

When Saul was appointed as king of Israel, everyone was struck by his size. When the Holy Spirit came upon him, he became a fearless warrior. In our Old Testament reading last week, we read that God rejected him as king, and then the Holy Spirit left Saul. Now, there was caution and fear. The challenges that seemed so possible in God’s strength now appeared as impossible missions.

All of Israel felt the way Saul did. This is an example of what happens to a people when their leadership is frightened. There is no place where fear is more contagious than in a leader. It is sad to observe this in a nation and even sadder when it happens in the church. Fear, left unchecked, can ruin us both spiritually and physically. Saul and Israel had proven themselves to be greatly concerned with outward appearances and were able to be influenced by the fear of men. It was only natural that Goliath would be their worst nightmare come true.

Though the Israelites feared losing to Goliath, they forgot who called them to enter the Promised Land. They saw God fight for them in many previous battles, but they neglected to trust Him in this one. David’s focus was not on the size of the enemy, but on God.

There are certain things anyone knows not to do. You don’t fight a lion with a toothpick. You don’t sneeze into the wind. You don’t go bear hunting with a cork gun. And you don’t send a shepherd boy to battle a giant…unless you are out of options. Saul was. It is when we are out of options that we are most ready for God’s surprises.

We might want to contemplate the identity of various giants who shout out to God’s people. These giants may be a giant rift in our families or wounds in our hearts, or they may be doubts, illness, or anything else that threatens our well-being. We should explore how we usually respond to these giants. When we do, we have to ask ourselves how the Lord would want us to respond. God’s adopted sons and daughters of all times and places essentially think and act as if God is dead, powerless, or uninterested. God sides with oppressed and powerless people.

When we hitch onto the Spirit, it is impossible to know what the future will hold. When it comes to our faith, we have the choice of whether we will live in fear or in trust. That applies to all aspects of our lives, but especially to what we do at church. Church growth is fairly simple. If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always gotten. It seems that many think that the way to promote the vitality of a church is to take old familiar ways and just push them harder. Seeking new vitality requires new directions, and that takes courage and faith. It takes faith to step into the unknown like David did when he confronted Goliath.

The punch line about David and Goliath was something to the effect that God uses insignificant people and unlikely means to accomplish improbable feats. When we’re gripped by fear, let’s follow David’s example and fix our eyes on God to gain a right perspective of the problem. The threat may be real, but the One who is with us and for us is bigger than that which is against us. When we face impossible odds, we receive divine guidance and energy, and we can do greater things than we can imagine. The impossible becomes possible as we tap into God’s energy. When we trust God, we can respond with courage and strength to the forces that threaten to defeat us.

When the enemies of God and His people become brazen in their attacks, it is imperative that those of us who love God and the truth take a clear and definite stand. Yet it is often in those moments that we are tempted to stand back and hope that someone else will confront the problem. We do not have to be afraid of our enemies, for God is more powerful than all of them put together. When we face the giants in our lives, we must remember the greatness of our God! Though Satan can look threatening, he is only a shadow, and he flees at the Name of Jesus. While Satan can intimidate and make noise, he has no power over our future, so we do not need to live in fear of him.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 378)
2. Chafin, K.L., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 8: 1,2 Samuel (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1989; pp. 1126-128)
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. 371-372)
6. Roger Nam, “Commentary of 1 Samuel 17: [1a,4-44,19-23] 32-39.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org
7. Doug Bratt: “1 Samuel 17: (1a,4-11,19-23) 32-49.” Retrieved from https://cepreaching.org/authors/doug-bratt/
8. John C. Holbert, “In the Name of YHWH? Reflections on 1 Samuel 17:1a,4-11,19-23,32-39.” Retrieved from https://www.patheos.com/about-patheos/john-c-holbert
9. Ralph W. Klein, “Commentary on 1 Samuel 17: [1a,4-11,19-23]32-49.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org
10.  The Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm, “In the Name of the Lord.” Retrieved from www.thewakingdreamer.com
11. Daniel Clendenin, “After He Killed Him, He Cut Off His Head: David, Goliath, and Sacred Violence.” Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus.net
12. Albert Lee, “Overcoming Fear.” Retrieved from donotreply@email.rbc.org
13. Graham Slattery, “David and Goliath.” Retrieved from seeds@ellel.org
14. Pastor Allen Jackson, “Second and Third Chances.” Retrieved form emails@allenjacksonministries.com
15. Dr. Paul Chappell, “Don’t be Silent.” Retrieved from daily@dailyintheword.org
16. Bobby Schuller, “Giants Fall.” Retrieved from hourofpower@hourofpower.org
17. Meg Jenista, “1 Samuel 1: (1a,4-11,19-23), 32-49 Commentary .” Retrieved from https://cepreaching.org/authors/meg-jenista/

A man worked for a bank in a large city. On the ground floor of the bank building, there was a cafeteria. Every day this man would get a two-cent pat of butter and hide it under his roll so he wouldn’t have to pay for it when he got through the line at the cashier.

This went on for a month or so, and people began to watch him. They saw him steal the butter and reported it to the bank president. The president fired the man on the spot, saying, “If I can’t trust a man with a two-cent pat of butter, how can I trust him with thousands of dollars?”

1 Samuel 16 begins that part of 1 Samuel which tells of both Saul and David. It covers the rest of 1 Samuel and the first chapter of 2 Samuel. These chapters tell the deterioration of Saul who, though he has been rejected by God, still reigns as the king of Israel. They also tell the story of the development of David from the shepherd lad in his father’s house to his place as the shepherd king of Israel. While the events took place in a more primitive setting than ours, there is insight to be gained as we watch God relating to nations and to individuals in order to work out His eternal purpose for creation. Israel’s political history that began with the tragedy of Saul is a mirror in which we see our own reflection today. Our leaders today are hardly different from the rulers of old.

1 Samuel 16 follows God’s rejection of Saul with the choosing and anointing of the one who will eventually be his successor. The selection of Saul was initiated by the people, but the selection of David was a divine initiative. The people’s choice was a terrible king whose life ended in disaster. God’s choice was the ideal king whose life and kingdom reflected a heart for Him. It is more important that leaders be anointed by God than appointed by humans.

When Samuel came to Jesse’s house, David was tending his father’s sheep. In ancient Israel, a shepherd did not have a great position in life. We have romanticized the idea of shepherds because they were watching their flocks on the night the angels came to them and announced Jesus’ birth, but a shepherd in those days was pretty low on the socioeconomic ladder. In fact, the testimony of a shepherd wasn’t even allowed in a court of law. When Samuel asked Jesse if all of his sons were present, Jesse said that David was tending the sheep. He essentially said that David was just a shepherd. Those who are rejected by their parents often become beloved of God.

It can be easy to look upon those around us with judgment based on their flaws or faults. As we grow in our faith, the opposite starts happening. Instead of looking down on others, we begin to see them for who they truly are-children of God, unconditionally loved by Him.

David grew up in a time when leadership was in great demand. The judges had come to power and presided over a weak and wicked country for a time, but then the people pleaded with the prophet Samuel to anoint for them a king. As the leadership of King Saul began to fail, the nation worsened. Yet God was at work, preparing David to be king of Israel.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon David the same way it came upon Saul when he was chosen king in 1 Samuel 10:10, privately confirming that David was God’s choice to succeed Saul. David is mentioned in the New Testament more than any other Old Testament figure-59 times. Sixty-six chapters throughout Scripture are devoted to telling the story of his life. David could not succeed without the Spirit of the Lord any more than Saul could. We will enjoy true success only when we cooperate with the Lord by allowing His Spirit to fill us.

When the Lord describes David in Psalm 89:20, He calls him “David my servant.” God looks for leaders who put other needs above their own, no matter what their station in life. Leaders in the secular world want to know how many people are serving them, but leaders in the kingdom of God want to know how many people they are serving. God trained David for a leadership role with four disciplines, and these are the same four disciplines that He uses to train us:

1. God trained David in solitude. David needed to learn life’s major lessons all alone before he could be trusted with responsibilities and rewards before the public. Solitude nurtures qualities all its own.
2. David grew up in obscurity. God trains His best personnel in obscurity. Men and women of God, servant-leaders in the making, are first unknown, unseen, unappreciated, and unapplauded.
3. David was faithful in the menial, insignificant, routine, unexciting, uneventful, daily tasks of life.
4. Contrary to what we might think, David was not sitting out on some hilltop in a mystic haze, composing a great piece of music, or relaxing in the pastures of Judea and having a great time training sheep to sit on their hind legs. The reality was quite different.

Samuel mourned for Saul in 1 Samuel 16:1. Part of his grief was caused by his love for Saul and his family, and some of it must have been tied to his anxiety about what would happen to the country, so recently united. God reminded Samuel that He bases His decisions on inward character and the caliber of a person’s heart alone. Saul was taller and more handsome than anyone in Israel-he looked like a king. David was less impressive by human standards-and even less so than his brothers-but he possessed the heart of a king. He also had a heart for the true King of Israel, the Lord. Even a godly man like Samuel couldn’t help but judge a man’s character by his appearance. This is why we must continually go to the Lord for His wisdom; only He sees the heart. If we don’t periodically take time before God to have our hearts purified and cleansed, it will only be a matter of time until His blessings will no longer flow through us.

Samuel tried to hold on to the past. Through the centuries, Christians have often been trapped by their inability to let go of those things which no longer seem to serve God’s purpose. We grow accustomed to institutions, organizations, programs, ways of thinking, and ways of doing things. We develop such an emotional attachment to them that long after their usefulness to God is past we hold tenaciously to them.  We often pick leaders by credentials rather than character. When we have to select a leader, we should ask the candidates questions about character, not about their qualifications.

A little boy was passing the afternoon away in his backyard when suddenly he saw a huge rat. He knew that his parents didn’t want rats around the house, so he grabbed his baseball bat and took care of the rat rather quickly. He was so excited that he wanted to tell his parents right away. He went inside and yelled, “Mom, Dad…you’re not going to believe it! I found a rat, hit him in the head with my baseball bat five times, and them I stomped on it!” Just then the boy saw the pastor of the church was in the living room visiting his parents. He finished his story by saying, “And then the Lord called him home.” People with true character are those who live authentically in every area of their life. They’re the same people on Saturday night that they are on Sunday morning.

The choice of the least likely person, from a human perspective, is a theme found throughout the Bible. The apostle Paul, in discussing the gospel of Christ, states that God has always made choices that have surprised the world. The study of church history or the study of history of any congregation will usually reveal that God has often worked His purpose through some very unlikely choices. If you will let me get personal for a minute, I am one of these unlikely choices. Recently I celebrated 20 years of lay ministry. To this day I’m still amazed that God chose an unlikely person like me to do His work in my parish and the wider community. If we want God to do something extraordinary in our lives, we must be obedient in the little things, and then He’ll bless us beyond our imagination.

There is an old saying that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and that’s true. Our idea of who’s beautiful and who is not is quite different across cultures and indeed has changed rather a lot over time. When you meet someone for the first time, what thoughts go through your mind? How do their physical attributes influence what you think of them? That’s a confronting question, because most of us treat people quite differently, depending on whether we perceive them to be “good looking” or not.

In a world that is obsessed with influences, Instagram filters, Facebook followers, work-out routines, fad diets and fashions, this word from God is fresh and relevant today. We learn to look for the unexpected heir of David in our midst-not arriving with an entourage or emerging on the balcony of a castle, but tucked away in a manger, worshipped by shepherds. David was an unlikely choice.  If Samuel had his way, he would have deferred to Jesse’s oldest son, but when David came Samuel followed God’s prompting.

No matter who we are or where we are from, we are valuable. That is true for everyone, no matter what society tries to tell us today. No one is perfect, but the Bible tells us that God accepts responsibility for all our imperfections. That doesn’t mean He takes responsibility for the problems in our lives that we brought on ourselves by poor choices like overeating, smoking, or drinking too much. God accepts responsibility because He has a bigger perspective than any human. God sees us for exactly who we are, and He wants us to know that He loves us abundantly and wants to do mighty things through us!

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp. 376-377)
2. Chafin, K.L., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 8: 1,2, Samuel (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1989; pp. 120-124)
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. 369-271)
6. Rick Warren, “You Are Valuable, No Matter Who You Are.” Retrieved from connect@newsletter.purposedriven.com
7. Jack Graham, “The Big Blessings of Small Obedience.” Retrieved from jgraham@powerpoint.org

• Bayless Conley, “Answers for Each Day: Clean and Committed.” Retrieved from Bayless@AnswersBC.org
• Jack Graham, “What It Means for You to Live a Genuine Life.” Retrieved from jgraham@powerpoint.org
• Greg Laurie, “An Inside Look.” Retrieved from greglaurie@harvestdirect.org
• Christine Caine, “Look Again.” Retrieved from no-reply@christinecaine.com

1. Christine Caine, “God Looks Inside.” Retrieved from no-reply@christinecaine.com
2. Charles R. Swindoll, “A Man od Integrity.” Retrieved from info@insightforliving.ca
3. Berni Dymet, “Beautiful People.” Retrieved from berni@christianityworks.com
4. Dan Clendenin, “When God Was Sad.” Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus.net
5. Meg Jenista, “1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 Commentary.” Retrieved from https://cepreaching.org/authors/meg-jenista/

Trinity Sunday is the one Sunday in the church year when we do something a little different. Instead of talking about Old Testament stories or Jesus’ teachings or healings, we talk about the Trinity-God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is not specifically mentioned in the Bible, but it is there. Trinity is not an easy concept to understand or explain. In fact, many preachers decide to take Trinity Sunday off!

In order to understand the Trinty, we have to understand both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The time of the Old Testament was the time of God the Father, and that is referred to indirectly in Isaiah 6:1-8. The New Testament era was the time of God the Son in the form of Jesus Christ, followed by the time of God the Holy Spirit, who dwells in the hearts and minds of all believers.

Isaiah’s vision is one of the most powerful witnesses to man’s encounter with the divine, or God’s breaking into human life in a life-changing way. God is always present in our lives. Sometimes He moves gently, and sometimes He moves dramatically. In any event, there are moments that change everything-moments that take us beyond the normal and horizontal to a deeper naturalism in which the heavens declare God’s glory and the whole earth is filled with God’s presence.

Every symbol in Isaiah’s vision of God is significant. In the first five chapters of the Book of Isaiah we learn that Israel had become too complacent in its security to heed God’s warnings and too corrupted in its prosperity to escape God’s wrath. In addition, King Uzziah, who was a good king for 52 years, had become arrogant, profaned the temple, contracted leprosy, and died in shame in 740 BC as judgment for his arrogance in entering the temple to burn incense-a job only the priest was allowed to do.

All of Israel needed to be shaken up by the vision of God sitting on a throne with the train of His robe filling the temple. The symbols of the title Lord-the throne, the lofty position, and the all-encompassing robe-reinforced His sovereignty over all of the universe, over all its kings, over all of their nations, and over all peoples, including the chosen children of Israel. God’s sovereignty is pronounced in Isaiah. Nations turn against Him, but His will prevails; kings compete with Him, but fall in shame; people turn from Him to worship idols, but their false gods crumble. Even His people refuse to trust Him, but they do not escape punishment.

Ca we see ourselves in this place? Well, we are in this place because we are always in the presence of the holy through the Holy Spirit living in us. We have been set free from guilt and shame through Jesus, who took our sins to the cross. Our relationship with God was restored.

Sovereignty is not the primary revelation of God’s character in Isaiah’s vision. It is the holiness of the Lord that Isaiah senses. Sovereignty is the powerful nature of God; holiness is the moral character of God. He is pure; He is complete; He is whole. We understand why the seraph use their wings to cover their feet and faces. Even without sin, they cannot stand to have the holy God look upon their created nature.

The moral character of the holy God is more than a matter of “being”. Isaiah sees that God’s holiness is also a matter of “doing”. As His holiness can’t tolerate sin among the people or the nations, wherever His holiness touches down we see the ethical imprint of His character in the glorious work of God. In God’s sovereignty we encounter the fact that His will can’t be known; in His holiness we learn of His purity that can’t tolerate sin; but in His glory we learn of His mercy that promises a remnant out of which will come a Saviour who will redeem the world and all nations.

How did Isaiah respond to God’s presence? He was both afraid and fascinated. We have the same reactions when we meet God. We tremble with fear and awe, but at the same time we are fascinated by His holiness. That is attractive, desirable, promising, and compelling. Worship should not begin with a focus upon ourselves and our own needs, but upon the character of God; we should not proceed without the expectation of the visitation of His Spirit but wait in His holy presence until He comes; we should not assume there is nothing new under the sun that we have not seen but come expecting a glimpse of His glory.

In the presence of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah’s heart caused him to cry out, “Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips.” This confession confronts us with three uncomfortable and unpopular truths:

1. When we see the holy character of God, we feel anguish for our own sin. Whenever we see the King, the Lord of Hosts, our sinfulness is exposed.
2. When Isaiah saw God, he accepted responsibility for his sin. He did not shift the blame. Isaiah said that he had no place in the presence of God, no right to praise God, and no authority to speak for God. Jewish people saw lips as reflecting the motives of the heart and the decisions of the will.
3. After confessing his own sin, Isaiah went on to say, “I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips.” Although sin is primarily personal, we can’t deny that sin has a social impact. When we see the holy character of God, we also see the pervasive influence of our sin. The phrase, “a people of unclean lips” represents corruption at the very heart of the culture.

Why all of this emphasis upon sin? Why not move on quickly to the anointing of Isaiah? The answer is in the Biblical qualifications for prophetic or apostolic ministry. In the early church, two qualities served as the credentials for ordination in what is called the apostolic succession. One quality was to be blameless in character; the other was to be true to the word of God. Later on, as the church drifted from its biblical foundations into institutional corruption, ordination became an end in itself so that even a scoundrel or a heretic could serve as an instrument for the means of grace.  Corrupt popes, priests, preachers, and pastors are a blight upon the history of the church. Isaiah’s encounter with God calls us back to the biblical requirements for ministry. Ordination seals the qualifications of a person who is blameless in character. Until Isaiah confessed his sin, he was neither ready nor worthy to be called a prophet of God.

The seraph touched Isaiah’s lips with a coal from the sacrificial altar. God gave the people of Israel the sacrificial system as a symbol of what Christ would do for them at the cross. Jesus had not yet come and so God gave them the symbol of the substitutionary death of an animal as payment for their sins. In reality it was the great sacrifice of Jesus for us that would make a way for our sins to be “taken away” and “atoned for.”

In the image of a coal of fire upon Isaiah’s lips, there is more uncomfortable truth for modern Christians. If our spiritual cleansing is partial, our spiritual consecration is dull, and our spiritual commitment is shaky. God has a word for us in Isaiah’s vision. The coal from the altar served as a symbol of sacrificial purification. When the coal touched Isaiah’s lips, he became purified in speech to thereby proclaim the words of God to Israel. Any doubt about the reality and frailty of human sin is erased in this image of cleansing fire. Only the fire of God can take away our guilt and only the white heat of a live coal from His altar can atone for our sin. A live coal from the altar of God reminds us that behind the love that takes away our guilt and the forgiveness that atones for our sin is a Cross that extracted a cost no less than the life of the Son of God Himself.

We will never deal effectively with our sin without first realizing who God is. When we study His Word and begin to grasp His holiness, a deep reverence for Him grows in our hearts. We, like Isaiah, are humbled before Him and realize that we fall far short of His holiness.

God first prepared Isaiah for service, then Isaiah offered himself to serve. God will never call us to do something for which He hasn’t equipped us, nor will He force us to serve Him. He wants equipped, willing servants. Every time we enter God’s presence in prayer and praise, we should feel as humbled as the prophet Isaiah. We should stand in awe of His holiness. We should feel overwhelmed with gratitude and thankfulness.

There are times when opportunities to serve are suddenly thrust upon us, We may not feel ready for them; but God isn’t obligated to ask our permission or opinion about who or how He wants us to serve. We often pray for God to use us for His purpose and then, when He interrupts our lives to answer our prayer, we start listing all our inadequacies. Moses did this when he spoke with God at the burning bush. He doesn’t ask us to cross the street because we have the capacity in and of ourselves to rescue or help people He asks us because He does. He doesn’t ask, “Are you capable?” He asks, “Are you willing?” For us today to answer the call of God there must be an awareness and acceptance of the pain and suffering that comes with the call. It is a tough place to live, especially in a world engrossed in comforts and pleasures.

Can we communicate the reality of God’s power, glory, and holiness to a world that considers the church irrelevant and/or corrupt? What does it mean for us that Isaiah paints a picture of God so large and imposing that the lower half of the divine robe filled the heavenly temple? Is that vision more real than the problems of the world and the infighting of the church itself?

We can’t afford to drown out the voice of God calling His people into action, nor can we drown out the one who is inspired to answer the call, no matter how much faith they have. We are called to be God’s witnesses by what we see in our world and by what we do in our world.  Seeing God’s power requires prayer; doing God’s will requires honesty and purpose.

It is impossible to compare anyone or anything to God. He is not like anyone or anything. God is God. He is separate. Because God is triune, we see reflections of His triunity in everything He created.  He created space, and space is height, width, and depth. We can’t get dimensions without width, or width without depth, or depth without height. They are all part of the same thing. Each is distinct, and yet each is indistinguishable and inseparable. Let’s also consider time. Time is past, present, and future. We can’t have a past without a present, or a future without a past. They are all indistinguishable, but each is part of the same thing. A man is body, soul, and spirit.

These are not illustrations of the Trinity, but reflections of the Trinty in creation. We have the Father above us, the Spirit within us, and the Saviour who died for us. The Trinity is not a far-off concept; it is a present reality to all who believe.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 887)
2. McKenna, D., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 17: Isaiah 1-39 (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1993; pp. 106-116)
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. Michael Youssef, Ph.D., “Awestruck.” Retrieved from web@ltw.org
6. Christine Caine, “Across the Street.” Retrieved from no-reply@christinecaine.com
7. “Ready or Not, Here I Come.” Retrieved from support@leadlikejesus.com
8. Charles L. Aaron, Jr., “Commentary on Isaiah 6:1-8.: Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org
9. Adrian Rogers, “Seeing the Trinity Reflected in Creation.” Retrieved from devotions@lwf.org
10. The Rev. Billy Graham, “Isn’t the Old Testament still relevant today?” Retrieved from www.arcamax.com/healthandspirit/religion/billygraham
11. Judy Bullock, “Isaiah 6:1-8.” Retrieved from communic@luthersem.edu
12. Bruce Epperly, “The Adventurous Lectionary, Trinity Sunday, May 26, 2024.” Retrieved from http://www.patheos.com

(An audio version of this sermon can be found at https://www.spreaker.com/episode/john-15-verses-1-8-i-am-the-vine-you-are-the-branches–59668747)

A newspaper reporter went to interview a successful small business owner. “How did you do it?” he asked. “How did you make all this money?”

“I’m glad you asked,” the businessman said. “It’s a great story. When my wife and I married, we started out with a roof over our heads, some food in our pantry, and five cents between us. I took that nickel, went down to the grocery store, bought an apple, shined it up, and sold it for ten cents. “

“What did you do then?” the reporter asked.

“Well,” he said, “I bought two more apples, shined them up, and sold them for twenty cents.” The reporter thought this would be a great human interest story, so he asked excitedly, “Then what?” The businessman replied, “Then my father-in-law died and left us $20 million”.

The businessman prospered not because of his own ingenuity, but because he was connected. What does it mean to be connected? Well, it means three things. First, it means that we have power. When we say we have connections, it means that we have access to power and wealth. It means that we can get things done. When we are connected to each other through our faith in Jesus Christ, it means that we are strong and can get things done. Our faith gets nourishment and strength from both Christ and our fellow believers. As our faith strengthens, it bears fruit in the form of bringing benefit to ourselves and to the lives of others while doing God’s work in the world.

The events in John 15:1-8 took place as Jesus and His disciples left the Upper Room and moved toward the Garden of Gethsemane. As they walked past the temple, they saw an ornament. That ornament was a golden vine with a cluster of grapes as large as a man. Jesus’ relationship with the disciples could not be stated in precise, theological terms, so He used the image of a vine and its branches to illustrate spiritual truth. His union with the disciples was as alive as the relationship of the vine to its branches.

The second thing that being connected means is that we have a presence. We are not alone. Someone shares our lives. Someone is there for us, just like all of you are here for each other. If we abide with Christ, it means that we have a close, daily relationship with Him. Thus, we become a branch of the vine called Christianity-a branch that bears fruit. As such, our wants will be his wants, we will pray according to His words, and he will be pleased with our prayers.

Being connected means that we will live a productive life. A vine and its fruit point to the giftedness of discipleship while also indicating the substance that will sustain new branches and abundant fruit. The relationship between the vine and the branches, as well as the connection between source and fruit, lies in the love between God and Jesus, and between Jesus and us. In other words, we are to love one another as Christ has loved us. If the branch is not attached to the vine, it withers and dies. The very life of the branch depends on being attached to the vine. The same thing happens if we try to operate in this life without Jesus.

What does it mean to abide in Christ? Let’s take a look at the letters in the word “abide”:

1. “A” stands for absolute surrender. We have to come to Him just as we are, confessing our sin and saying, “You are the potter and I am the clay.”
2. “B” stands for believe. We have to trust Him completely to do with us, for us, and around us what is very best while we stand on His promises.
3. “I” stands for insight. We have to pour ourselves into His Word each day, learning His ways and gaining His insights for living.
4. “D” stands for dedication. We have to persevere over time, separating ourselves from sinful habits and from people and places that may hinder our purity.
5. “E” stands for enthusiasm. We go about His work in the power and energy He provides.

God owns the vineyard and cares for it. As with any responsible vineyard owner, His main purpose in growing a vineyard is that it will bear fruit. The branches that bear fruit must get all the nourishment. The experiences in life that we call troubles-the hurts, disappointments, and defeats-are God’s way of pinching off those excess leaves that seem so attractive but bear no fruit. The branches that bear no fruit will be removed. When they become dry and lifeless He casts them out to be burned. This is the final judgment on those who no longer “abide” in the vine.

The disciples are not perfect, but they have been made clean, for the unnecessary lives have been cut off. This refers to Judas, who betrayed Jesus. The word which Jesus has spoken has pruned them so they might bear fruit. Each one has been searched, cleansed, and prepared for ministry. The fruit that the disciples bear is not what they do, but the life of Jesus in them. It is His character reproduced in them and shared with others in love. This cannot pass without the disciple abiding in Jesus, making his home in Him as Jesus makes His home in the disciple. His life is shared with the disciples as their life is given to Him.

The only way we can play a significant role in the kingdom of God is to allow Jesus to live His life in and through us. We can only be grafted to Christ by cutting our attachment to our way of life and its creature comforts just like a gardener prunes bushes to make then grow better. The useless branches have to be removed in order to save and strengthen the stronger ones, much like a surgeon cuts off a person’s diseased limbs in order to save his or her life. Only then can we truly be fruitful and multiply. While apart from Him we can do nothing, in Him we can do anything He calls us to do.

There is one main blight that attacks the branches of the Vine, which, if not severely dealt with, will destroy our fruitfulness. That blight is sin. Sin blocks the free flow of the sap of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Since the Holy Spirit is the One who truly produces the fruit that we bear, anything that grieves or quenches Him affects our fruitfulness.

Branches cannot bear fruit independent of the vine. The fundamental truth of being a Christian is that one must be connected to Jesus. The teaching about unfaithful branches is not a reference to believers losing their salvation; branches that are cast out are nonbelievers whose eventual destiny is fire.

We as the branches are completely dependent on the Vine not only for fruit, but for life. Whether because of pride or fear or some other reason, we as branches seem to struggle with being totally dependent on the Vine. We can overcome this struggle by remaining connected to the vine. All we have to do is rest in our positions and allow the sap of the vine to flow freely through us.

Jesus described this drastic pruning in a believer’s life when He explained that God the Gardner “cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit.” There are times when God cuts everything out of our lives except our relationship with Jesus. He forces us to pay attention to our relationship with Him because that’s all we have. In the process, our connection to the vine is enlarged and fruit is produced. As long as we walk closely with the Lord and keep our lives open to receive the daily filling of the Holy Spirit, our lives will be filled with the fruit of the Spirit.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 1469)
2. Frederikson, R.L.; & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 27: John (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1985, pp. 226-229)
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. Anne Graham Lotz, “Drastic Pruning.” Retrieved from info@angelministries.org
7. Anne Graham Lotz, “The Blight of Sin.” Retrieved from info@angelministries.org
8. Anne Graham Lotz, “More Consistency.” Retrieved from info@angelministries.org
9. Anne Graham Lotz, “The Sap of His Spirit.” Retrieved from info@angelministries.org
10. Dr. David Jeremiah, “A.B.I.D.E.” Retrieved from turningpoint@davidjeremiah.org
11. Joel Osteen, “Remain in Him.” Retrieved from devotional@goto.joelosteen.com
12. Dr. Michael Youssef, “The Fruit of the Holy Spirit.” Retrieved from mydevotional@leadingtheway.org

(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.