For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE
If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.
Ever heard of George Fuechsel? Probably not. Popularly, he is credited with coining the phrase: Garbage in, Garbage out. Around 1958 or 1959 while teaching at class at IBM. We’ve all heard it.
As the age of the computer was beginning, it was quickly learned that you only get good data out, if you put good data in. In fact, the first time the term – which is so common to us today – was ever used in print was in the Times Daily of Hammond, Indiana – Nov. 10, 1957. Before anyone ever heard George say it.
But Scripture addressed that very same issue when it comes to our hearts and minds millennia before the Times Daily or George Fueschel.
I’m Reid Ferguson, and this is Through the Word in 2020.
In Luke 6:45, Jesus emphatically stated that out of the abundance of the heart, a person speaks. Lots of stuff comes out of us – especially in our communications with others. And it is worth the Christian’s effort from time to time to survey what’s been coming out of us. It may be a great indicator of what we’ve been taking in. And 1 Peter 2 demonstrates that dynamic.
vs. 1 sets it up: Put away all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander. Now those things don’t exist in a vacuum. They are demonstrations of our inward corruption. But like cancers, they can be fed. And when fed, they grow more noticeable and are expressed more readily. The more you think on or repeat those thoughts or put them into action, the more frequent and natural they become. The more prevalent they will show themselves to be. So if we are used to caving into wickedness, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and – oh yeah – especially discourse about politics and other things with slander – guess what? That is what we’ll talk about most too. If we take in a diet comprised of those things – well – garbage in, garbage out.
So it is vs. 2 gives us the contrast and the cure. Instead of feeding our souls on stuff like recorded in vs. 1 – “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk.” It is by that that we grow up into salvation. Not by drinking in the garbage stream of the World’s information sewer line.
Have you tasted the goodness of God? Then train your appetite to desire more and more of Him. And begin to go after it like newborns do their mother’s milk.
Milk in the Scripture is often a picture of God’s blessings. It’s why Canaan is referred to as the land of “milk & honey.” In 1 Cor. 3:2 Paul likens the Gospel to milk – it is the single, most basic life giving provision of God. In Heb. 5:12 milk is the “basic principles of the oracles of God.” And in 5:13 it is that upon which we as babes find perfect sustenance as we grow to take in the stronger “bread” of the Word which is not just the good news about Christ, but more of Christ Himself. That then also becomes our meat in due season.
Christ at the beginning. Christ as we grow. And Christ the fullness of God for us. This is John’s point in 1 John 2 where he writes to “little children”, young men” and “fathers.” We all grow in and by Christ. That never changes at any stage of life.
Let your hearts taste Him often and your souls be drawn out after Him. Let the taste of His sweetness spoil you for everything else.
Oh Father – feed us upon Christ every step of the way. Holy Spirit, break Him to us today as our daily portion – and let us be filled with Him!
For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE
If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.
It’s a pretty observable phenomenon in our culture today that short-range thinking predominates. How can I get pleasure -now? What is the shortest track to success? Instant wealth. Even social connections via social media seem aimed at getting instant or immediate responses. Texts, emails, Tweets, news, you name it. Things like waiting in line are considered almost abusive. Currently the threshold of how long someone is willing to wait for a web page to load is 2 seconds. One report I recently read said that 53% of mobile site visits are abandoned if it takes any longer than 3 seconds to load.
Out of our 4 texts today Jeremiah 5:14–8:17; Psalm 122 and Luke 22:31–34 – 1 Peter 1:3–12 shows us that this tendency is nothing new. And calls us to consider again the long view. To wait for the glories of the Resurrection, of eternal satisfaction rather than immediate gratification.
More on that today on Through the Word in 2020. I’m your host, Reid Ferguson.
As Solomon once said, there is nothing new under the sun. It’s true. So it is Peter has to remind even 1st Century Christians that being born again is not the end. It is only the beginning. We are born TO – a living hope. Hope beyond this life, and stretching into the full eternity of the next. He has made us into new creatures that we might be inheritors of what He has stored up for us.
Sadly, it is easy for us to be influenced by the World’s grasping after having all we can get now – even as Christians.
The so-called Prosperity Gospel is nothing other than a baptized version of get rich schemes. And others get caught in a web of trying to bring about Heaven on earth. Trying to gain power in society, promoting some sort of Christian rule over the secular world. And this sort of thinking proliferates whenever we feel powerless or marginalized. We hate feeling helpless. And the pinch of the immediate robs us of our vision for what God has called us to place more before our eyes.
So Peter writes to a people who are both elect in Christ, and exiles on earth. He sees no contradiction in those twin realities. For we are both of those, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, as part of how we are set apart from the World by the Spirit, so as to obey Christ above all, and to know His cleansing from our sin in His blood.
So if we can’t necessarily look for power or prosperity in our present lives – what can we look forward to? To a living hope, secured by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So that we might one day obtain an inheritance that is:
IMPERISHABLE – Can NEVER die or end. Has no temporariness to it.
Is UNDEFILED – possessed of absolutely no corruption whatever – nothing which makes it less than absolutely perfect in every way.
And is UNFADING – perennially fresh and new. Never losing its luster and shine.
And what else about this inheritance – whatever it might be? Well, it is kept in Heaven for all of us who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Hang on Believer. No matter how diminished you may be at present – this, Christ has guaranteed for you in His death and resurrection. It is waiting for you. Kept for you. Guarded for you. It is in Heaven, not here. And it will be yours in due time.
I was never a Boy Scout. My older brother was. I always thought the uniform and the mess kit and the other stuff was really cool. Not being much of a “belonger” myself, I nevertheless saw the attraction of a group taking on a certain identity and being bound by common bonds. And they had that really cool motto: “Be Prepared.”
In the 1908 “Scouting for Boys” handbook, Lieutenant General Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout Movement expounded that motto by saying it meant in full: “Be Prepared in Mind by having disciplined yourself to be obedient to every order, and also by having thought out beforehand any accident or situation that might occur, so that you know the right thing to do at the right moment, and are willing to do it.”
I have no idea if Baden-Powell consciously took his ideas from Biblical principles. But all 4 of our passages for today – Isaiah 66–Jeremiah 1; Psalm 121; James 5:1–6 and Luke 22:3–13 share something of the preparedness theme.
We’ll talk about that today on Through the Word in 2020. I’m Reid Ferguson.
When God called Jeremiah to be a prophet, He prepared him for the fact that he would face plenty of opposition. He’d be warning God’s people of impending judgment in the face of the amazing revival they were in the midst of. Psalm 121 is one of 15 Psalms carrying the title “A Song of Ascents.” These were Psalms recited especially in preparing the hearts of the worshiper in going up to the Temple at Feast times. James 5 is crafted to prepare the Christian heart and mind to meet God in the final day. And these all reflect the heart of Jesus as He was preparing Himself and His disciples not just for the Passover, but for His betrayal and impending murder.
Like Jeremiah in his day, Christians today need to be prepared. We should not be shocked that we will face not just indifference to our testimony and calling men and women to faith in and fidelity to Jesus Christ as Lord – but outright opposition. We have no “right” to be unopposed or even persecuted in God’s economy.
And how we need to actually prepare our own hearts and minds for genuine and fruitful worship each week. Merely stumbling into Church without any forethought or preparation in terms of purposefully honoring Christ as Lord publicly – and with rejoicing and thanksgiving – turns worship into a mere spectator sport. It neither honors Him rightly, nor truly feeds or encourages our own souls or those we worship with.
And then, when is the last time we gave serious thought to being prepared to face our God in death or Christ’s return. Are you ready Christian? What will you say should He ask why you should enter into the glory of Christ? Is your heart settled that it is because the righteousness of Christ has become yours by faith, and your sins have been fully atoned for in His blood?
I pray your heart is so prepared to meet Him in joy.
And then look again at our Savior. Still preparing. Still seeing to all the details of the moment, even while His own suffering is at hand. Fully aware that His passion is about to commence, He demonstrates how service to God is not curtailed in the least. He will eat with them. Wash their feet. Teach them still. And He and the Father had already prepared to send the Spirit to them when the time was right. How He modeled His trust in the Father by being unhurried, fretful or dismayed. Though He knows the Cross is just before Him.
He, was prepared.
He had made Himself ready.
And He has made full preparation for you and me in His Word, His Spirit, His Church and His promises.
If we look to Him and Him alone, we are truly prepared for anything.
As we come here this morning, my heart is burdened in that I am – both personally and in regard to you all – mindful of the turbulent, troubling, and disturbing time in which we find ourselves. As a nation, and as The Church.
The current complexities and debates surrounding Covid-19 and how it’s to be understood, managed and responded to;
Violence erupting all over the nation and not least of all here in Rochester itself;
Racial tensions at an all time high;
The dreadfully contentious Presidential election just before us, with last week’s spectacle;
Corruption and what appears to be ineptitude in every part of government: National, State and local;
Leaders acting like spoiled children;
Mixed signals from experts and agencies;
Morally failing leaders in Christian circles;
What Al Mohler often refers to as the moral insanity which has gripped our culture;
The truly unpredictable future of the way of life most of us grew up with and assumed would be passed on to those behind us;
Economic instability;
None of these even yet touching on the personal trials, tribulations and challenges each of us faces today.
And all these tensions can even foment divisions among Believers.
The internet is rife with Christians sniping at other Christians over every conceivable difference – destroying the genuine unity we are called to promote and work for.
Where is Christ in the midst of all this chaos?
How are Christians to think and respond to such a chaotic point in time?
And my goal this morning is not to try and formulate a “Christian” perspective or answer to each of the individual things we are facing right now.
It is to back us up for a moment, to gain some perspective. To view all of this through a quite different lens than mere, personal perception. To speak to us not as American citizens, but as Christians, as God’s people living in this present America as we await Christ’s return.
And hopefully to remind you all that God’s people in all the generations before us have faced wickedness, insanity, upheaval, disaster, national and even global chaos before.
That God has always had His people.
That He has been with His people in these places before.
That He will be with us as each of these unfold in our generation.
And that our hope and stability cannot be found in political parties, platforms or personages; nor in movements, legislation, judges, revolutions or even absolute unanimity on every point.
And I hope to do so by taking us back to a time when God’s people were under great judgment by God. And how the faithful among His people found their stability and means to live rightly and confidently before Him, in the midst of social, political, religious, moral and military chaos.
Back to the time of Daniel.
Who was Daniel and what was his situation?
Daniel was part of the Jewish nobility taken captive to Babylon in the siege of 605 B.C by Nebuchadnezzar. He is there with 3 close friends, as well as huge numbers of other Jewish people.
Now this downfall of Jerusalem was many years in the making.
They had endured a parade of yoyo leadership. Good kings followed by wicked kings followed by good kings – on and on.
But there had come a tipping point.
After the reign of a very good King, Hezekiah, who for the most part was a godly and powerful reformer in turning his nation back to God from idolatry and all sorts of sins – came his son Manasseh.
Scripture testifies that it was Manasseh’s sin that broke the proverbial camel’s back.
2 Kings 21:1-7
2 Kings 21:1–7 ESV
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever.
After him, the King who led the best and most complete reforms in Israel arose – Josiah. But God had had enough. And even after all his reforms, we read: 2 Ki 23:26–27
2 Kings 23:26–27 ESV
Still the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. And the Lord said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.”
But there’s one more note on that. For the truth is, leaders never sin alone. They have a populace which goes along with their sin. And so it was in this case. Je 16:10–13
Jeremiah 16:10–13 ESV
“And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ then you shall say to them: ‘Because your fathers have forsaken me, declares the Lord, and have gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law, and because you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me. Therefore I will hurl you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’
The people had become a people who held no law above themselves – even the Law of God. Instead, “every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me.”
The plague of personal, human autonomy.
Sounds a bit like today doesn’t it?
Well this is what brought Daniel and his 3 compatriots along with the rest of the exiles into Babylon.
About 3 years into this captivity, the very pagan, brutal and despotic Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream.
He was so distressed by it – he demanded that his counselors not only interpret the dream for him – but actually tell him what the dream was. If not, they would all be killed. Daniel and his 3 friends would be among those killed.
At this point Daniel asks for some time from the king to meet the demands.
And then Daniel & his 3 friends begin to pray to God for mercy to avert this slaughter, and as a result Daniel is made aware of the dream and its interpretation.
Daniel then tells the King his dream is about four world empires (Babylon being the 1st) which are to come. All four will at last be brought to extinction by the advent of another kingdom which is not man-made. That kingdom will last forever.
And all through the book there is a display of remarkable wisdom, nuance and instruction in the way Daniel and his companions responded to this extremely hostile environment into which they were thrust.
There is a passel of them we can’t unpack today. They would make a great study on your own. If you want that list – email me.
How Daniel manages this – and don’t miss this – this is the key point: How Daniel does this is uncovered for us in the prayer recorded for us as he was seeking God in the chaos. The key insights of which we get in here in ch. 2.
It all has to do with the all governing vision of God he had. That he saw and understood God and His ways. That his own thinking was so mastered by this vision of God – that he could be steadied and confident in the face of absolute, chaotic uncertainty.
Not a vision of God in the supernatural sense. The unshakable knowledge of the God of the Bible he has been exposed to in the Scriptures.
So we read: Daniel 2:17-18
Daniel 2:17–18 ESV
Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
And when this prayer is answered, Daniel prays today’s text. This fabulous lesson of seeking Christ in the Chaos. IN a true emergency of life and death.
It is, if you will, a sort of 7 step circle, for it ends where it begins. And its insights could not be more useful for us today in the present chaos of our time and place.
One thought before we unpack the prayer.
You will note how Daniel asked his friends to seek mercy from God in this mystery – in the unknown – in the midst of their chaos.
As Daniel will pray again in Ch. 9 after he understands from Jeremiah’s prophecies that the 70 years is nearly up – although he was probably between 15-17 when captured – note how he owns the sin of his nation as his own: Daniel 9:5-15
Daniel 9:5–15 ESV
we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice. And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
He recognizes that the chaos they find themselves in the middle of – is because of sin.
And that they need mercy for their sin.
And that it is ALL their sin. There is no finger-pointing or saying “but that was all before I was born!” It was their national sinfulness that brought them to such a place.
A massive consideration for our own situation today. One we need to unpack another time.
But oh what a God of mercy He is!
So how does Daniel pray in the chaos?
How can we pray best in the chaos? By praying to the same God revealed in Daniel’s prayer.
1. Worship – He begins with worship.
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might.
God is ALWAYS worthy of praise. No matter what the circumstances.
Christians in the midst of chaos must never abandon worship. Must never stop reminding themselves that they are God’s and we are His and that He remains on His throne.
When this escapes our minds, we can’t help but be thrown by what is going on around us.
We desperately need to remind ourselves that He remains worthy of our praise over and over and over.
When we stop seeing and worshiping a God greater than our situation – we are at a loss to address the world with anything substantive.
We’ll panic like those around us, and fall back upon desperate, human measures to deal with what is at its base – a spiritual problem.
Daniel’s God is unchanged and worthy to be blessed in the midst of the chaos.
2. Ascription – He recalls key attributes of His God.
“to whom belong wisdom and might.”
This 2-fold ascription is absolutely necessary to a right mind in a world gone mad.
Our God is wise in ALL He allows and brings His people through. Even when our own sin is directly tied to our trials.
And God still has all the power to meet the circumstances. He is mighty.
To the naked eye, Daniel’s circumstance was absolutely beyond the reach of any conceivable answer.
But when they prayed and sought God for mercy, an answer came from the God who remains powerful in the face of the impossible.
Beloved this as true today for you and me in the midst of today’s madness.
Our God remains wise in having brought us to this hour, and He is mighty to work in it the fullness of His plan.
Remind yourself often passages like Proverbs 21:30
Proverbs 21:30 ESV
No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel
can avail against the Lord.
OUR plans, OUR desires, OUR thoughts of how things ought to go might go to ashes – but His cannot and will not.
Daniel entered into worship and ascribed to God the wisdom and power that belongs to Him even in Daniel’s present chaos.
3. Seasons – God appoints and controls the seasons of life in which we live.
“He changes times and seasons”
Kingdoms rise, and kingdoms fall.
Cultures rise and cultures fall.
Ideologies come and gain prominence for a time and then morph or disappear.
Experts divide human history into a number of epochs:
Pre-history – before writing systems.
The Stone Age with about 8 divisions like Paleolithic, Mesolithic etc..
Ancient History.
The Middle Ages.
Modern History and so on.
And God is God in all of them. Over all of them. Moving in all of them.
So much so that Paul on Mars Hill can say to his hearers then and to us now: Acts 17:26-27
Acts 17:26–27 ESV
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
You and I live in this place at this time – in this Nation, State, City and especially at this moment in history with all of its strangeness and complexity specifically to facilitate our seeking out God to know and find Him.
He knows you and knows what is most ideal to drive you to seek Him.
This chaos isn’t random, it is in His hand to make you despair of this world so that you will find your hope and security in Christ and Christ alone.
Daniel had come to realize that his new experience of God was directly tied to his own exile, captivity, probable mutilation, forced service to a pagan King and the 70 year season of Israel’s judgment.
Who knows but that we too – as the Church might be living in the midst of God’s dealing with America for her sins? But that He is the one who changes the times and the seasons, that He is behind the shifts in epochs of human history – is without question.
And so we can trust Him as those who have gone before us did in their seasons.
As Ecclesiastes 7:10 says:
Ecclesiastes 7:10 ESV
Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
We lack the wisdom of knowing how God is the God of history – even our present history – when we imagine the mythical “good old days.”
You and I never lived at a better time than right now to seek the face of God.
Worship, Ascription, Seasons and…
4. Leaders – God appoints all those who come into political and governmental leadership.
“He removes kings and sets up kings”
Now we need to make no mistake here – so let me jump to the most direct application I can: No matter who wins this coming Nov. 3 – It is God who installs or removes leaders.
We campaign and dialog and vote and all of that – which is all right and good and well – but the ultimate outcome has to do more with God carrying out His ultimate plans and purposes than with our short-sighted, immediate understanding and agendas.
Whether that be for more general blessing, or in judgment. And I am in no position say which that is given either of the candidates. I just know God is at work. He never abdicates His position as ruling in the affairs of men in this regard.
As Paul reminds his readers regarding the governing authorities of his day: “there is NO authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted BY God.” (Rom. 13:1 – Emphases mine).
And while we cannot unpack all of the complexities of how we today might interact with our own government, the basic principle here is both powerful and necessary for us to grasp.
On its face, Daniel’s statement needs no qualification.
He knew it well from Israel’s history. The people set up their kings – good and bad, but for Daniel, God was at work. He’s the one who removes and sets them up.
As you read your Bible, especially the Old Testament prophets, take note at how often God addresses the leadership not only of Israel but of many pagan nations.
Cyrus of Persia is called “God’s anointed.”
In Isaiah 10 – Assyria and its king Sennacherib are “the rod” of God’s own anger, though they haven’t a clue that’s so.
In 1 Kings 11, God anoints wicked Jeroboam King over Israel in its civil war against Judah.
In 2 Kings 9 Jehu – another wicked man is set apart by God to rule.
Jeremiah says that Nebuchadnezzer is the means whereby God Himself will fight against Judah in judgment.
And after his humbling Nebuchadnezzar declares: “the most high rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.”
Jesus will tell Pilot that even Pilot’s authority came from God.
This is vital for us to grasp as we are in the midst of this confusing, rancorous, wildly chaotic Presidential election.
Whatever the outcome, God is at work. And we can trust Him in it.
Worship, Ascription, Seasons, Leaders…
5. Knowledge – We are never left without full counsel for what we are to be about.
“He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding”
Wisdom, God’s wisdom Proverbs 1:3 tells us is for the purpose of instruction in righteousness first of all.
God gives us wisdom and knowledge in accordance with how to be about seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, irrespective of what is going on around us.
His chief concern is not wisdom for the voting booth, investments and the like – but in living righteously before Him in the weirdness of the days in which we find ourselves.
Our problem is, we are more interested in straightening out the culture, the political system and societal ills, than we are in growing in the likeness of Christ.
We have the Word of God so as to be taught in the truth as it is in Christ: reproved of our sin, corrected from our sinful errors, trained in walking righteously – defined as being equipped for every good work.
So as Daniel is working through navigating the totally foreign world of pagan captivity – his concern is how to serve God well there – not how to fix “there.”
And may it be so for us.
He gives wisdom. He gives knowledge. For what we need. For what we were designed for. For His ends and purposes.
I don’t assume He will give me the wisdom to understand Covid-19 and all of its ramifications – but I DO expect wisdom on how to be sure I am honoring Him in the strain the current situation brings into my life.
How to keep trusting Him. Resting in Him. Committing the outcome to Him. Worshiping Him. Serving Him. Rejoicing in Him. Growing in Him.
And avoiding contentiousness, resentment, foolishness, carelessness, fretfulness, comfort sins, enmity, strife, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions and “whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.” (1 Tim. 1:10)
The wisdom to place our priority on the spiritual, when the chaos of the day tries to drag us kicking and screaming into the arena of the temporal every second of the day.
Maybe you’re not as tempted to get all wrapped up in the current political madness as I am – to want to rise up and shout back at every idiotic post and news broadcast.
But He has made us for better things. Higher things.
Daniel got wisdom to: Avoid defiling himself with the King’s meat. How to approach his handler when the decree to execute the wise men came down. And above all – to seek God in the face of the impossible.
Worship, Ascription, Seasons, Leaders, Knowledge…
6. Illumination – Light for a reality that transcends the World.
“He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him”
John says that Jesus is the true light, which gives light to everyone.
As we understand Him, His mission, His teaching, His plans and His purposes – He gives us light into deep and hidden things.
He knows what is in the darkness – and if you would really see clearly what is going in in the frenzy of this current moment – you must see it in the light of Him.
Light dwells with Him alone.
How do we explain the current state of affairs? Only as we understand a world in rebellion against God.
Psalm 2:1-3
Psalm 2:1–3 ESV
Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
The word “rage” here includes being in tumult and commotion.
Rest of heart and soul and mind can’t be present while people continue to refuse the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Beloved, don’t look for sanity from this world given this state of men’s hearts. We know what is at the root of the chaos. We know it is the darkness of soul that is the result of rejecting God in Jesus Christ. And we know our response to it all is to plead for the Gospel to have greater and greater effect until the Day Jesus returns.
And we know 2 Timothy 3:12-13
2 Timothy 3:12–13 ESV
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
So what are we to do? Here is light: 2 Timothy 3:14-15
2 Timothy 3:14–15 ESV
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Now I want to be clear here – as Daniel closes his prayer he says: Daniel 2:23
Daniel 2:23 ESV
To you, O God of my fathers,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and might,
and have now made known to me what we asked of you,
for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”
Don’t misread his point.
His rejoicing isn’t in just understanding the King’s dream. It is in understanding what the King’s dream meant.
For in the unfolding of the dream, Daniel comes to understand that God had already set out how there would be these four world empires which would come on the scene – the first of which they were in right then.
And then, regarding that last empire: Daniel 2:44
Daniel 2:44 ESV
And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,
Daniel understood that God was the God of all history – of all governments – of all world empires – and how it would all end in the conquering Kingdom of Christ.
The very same light you and I carry into this absolutely insane hour in which we live.
That Kingdom which was set up when Christ came shall never be destroyed. It shall never pass to some other people – i.e. it will never fall or be conquered. In fact, it will see the destruction of all the kingdoms of the earth.
The Kingdom which Jesus said even the gates of Hell cannot overcome.
The Kingdom to which everyone born again by the Spirit of Christ belongs.
And so, as Daniel will spend the rest of his life in captivity, and in the chaos of Babylon itself being conquered; of stranger and more wicked kings to serve under; and dangers like the lion’s den or his 3 friends going into the fiery furnace – he worships.
7. Worship
He comes full circle. His God is all wise and all powerful.
His God rules the times and the seasons of human history.
His God is the one who determines who will be in governmental authority at any given time.
His God gives him wisdom and knowledge to live uprightly even in captivity, serving a most pagan King.
His God gives him the light of truth in a dark and deceived world. In the very heart of darkness itself with no Temple, and no access to God appointed worship.
He knows where it is all going and how it will end.
And all these are ours too as we find ourselves in the whirlwind of the chaos of our day.
And so, for all those who are Christ’s, we come to the table that demonstrates so graphically these very truths in power.
We do what Jesus called us to in the face of the chaos that took Him to the Cross.
With these simple words as He bid us to take the bread and the cup in remembrance of Him.
He died in the vortex of human chaos – but in the perfect plan of the Father as the substitute sacrifice for our sins.
And He bids us remember that reality – until He comes. We do this as Scripture says to “proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
Since He is the Lord of history – He will consummate it all when He returns. And we trust Him as the Lord of all times and places – to bring it to pass.
By faith in Him coming again at the right time, even as Romans 5:6 says: “at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”
For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE
If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.
According to the United Nations, there are 195 sovereign nations on Earth today. 54 are in Africa48 in Asia44 in Europe33 in Latin America and the Caribbean14 in Oceaniaand only 2 in North America.
And the Council on Foreign Relations says that there are at least 26 armed conflicts currently occuring globally this very minute.
Millions of people in all sorts of distress due to these conditions. And is God only God over a few? Our reading today in Isaiah 44:6-45 would tell us no. In an amazing display of God’s global involvement, we see something many simply do not realize.
Some chapters in the Bible stand out as containing insight into reality that from day to day escapes us. Such are Isaiah 44-45.
As you might expect, these portions are written primarily concerning Israel and God’s dealing with this singular nation. Singular because He set Israel aside for Himself. It is the only nation He established uniquely as His own. That, despite claims by many others that they are uniquely His. Over the centuries, England, the United States of America and others have claimed similar unique status for themselves. But Biblically Israel stands alone in this regard.
It is all the more surprising then that Isaiah 45 opens with God addressing someone named Cyrus.
Now who was he? Who was this man whom God said He anointed to subdue nations as God’s agent? Well, he was a pagan King – King of the Persian empire. A man God raised up over a foreign throne while the Jews were in captivity under his rule. And the man God used to send His people back to Judea at the end of their 70 years of captivity.
Now the point of all this is simply that no nation, no ruler, King, President, Premier, Prime Minister or despot occupies their role apart from God’s notice, and even His employment.
When Cyrus decreed the Jews could go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, he also sent captives from other nations under his power back to their lands to re-establish the worship of their gods too. It appears he was hoping to build up as much divine favor for himself as he could – no matter what the source. He wanted ALL the gods on his side. Not just the One True God of Israel. And yet, in that action, prophecy for Israel was fulfilled, and God’s people were restored.
God can and will use any and all to accomplish His will. Just because you do not see a leader as the one you would hope for – doesn’t mean God has left off His plan, is sidetracked, stymied or stifled. As Proverbs 21:30 reminds us: “No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord.”
Never forget our Global God Christian. We are His and He is ours. Bought with the precious blood of Jesus. And however God may deal with our own nation, in blessing or in judgment, His people will remain His, and His purposes will yet be accomplished.
Christians in every nation on the planet are called to look to and trust Him in all He is doing. He is absent nowhere. And He has abandoned His own – never. Keep seeking His face.
As Revelation 17:14 and 19:16 remind us – our Jesus is the King of Kings. He is the Lord over all Lords.
For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE
If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.
Misunderstanding things can lead to all sorts of misery.
There is the well know account of Martin Luther in an exchange with Johann von Staupitz, Luther’s confessor.
Before his coming to understand the Gospel and still bound up in the works/salvation Romanism of his day – Luther would confess sins for hours on end trying to rid himself of every little foible. One day, wearied by this behavior Staupitz told him to stop being this microscopic about every little thing and just love God. ‘Love God?’ Luther shot back – ‘I hate him.’
He hated God, because did not understand either God, nor the Gospel. And that misunderstanding tortured him day and night until he at last saw that Believers are justified by grace through faith – with the righteousness of Christ.
And as our readings today include Isaiah 42–44:5; Luke 20:27–40; James 1:2–18 and Proverbs 30 – we’ll find a misreading or misunderstanding in James that has frustrated and discouraged many a Child of God.
We’ll talk a bit about that today on Through the Word in 2020. I’m Reid Ferguson.
Count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds counsels James 1:2. And a simple misreading here can make James’ point onerous and heavy rather than sweet and helpful.
Note first that the text does NOT say, consider trials in and of themselves joyous things. It is not a plea to become masochists and take pleasure in pain. He says count it all joy “when” – or, on the occasion of meeting trials of various kinds.
Many in misreading this have tried to do the impossible and make the trials themselves joyful, only to fail and then imagine themselves as having failed God in it. Soon they come to ignore, or even resent or hate such a passage. But the idea here is not to ignore the difficulty of any trial, but to see that upon entering trials, we have an opportunity before us which is joyous. And that opportunity is at least in part to use our weakness as a place to learn dependence, to experience the sustaining power of God, and to grow in the image of Christ as we look to His Spirit in it. That by His grace we can take advantage even of the most harrowing things.
So the call is not to somehow make pain itself pleasurable. It is to say that in Christ, everything can be redeemed for our good. And that each trial presents new opportunities for that.
Now how to do that in each case, takes a wisdom we do not natively have. But it is a wisdom God delights to give when we seek Him for it. Each trial may require some new insight, some new glimmer of wisdom peculiar to that particular trial. But if we are assured in our hearts that He loves us so and desires to meet us there, we will find the prayer for that wisdom answered in due course.
We must trust our God, His care, power and good will toward us in Christ.
Believer – keep looking to your Savior. He not only redeems your soul, but all of your experiences, trials, temptations and woes. Nothing is beyond His reach. Especially you yourself. And He holds you, in the palm of His nail-scarred hand.
And if you lack the wisdom to live there today – ask. He won’t chide you for it – but gives generously to all in this regard.
For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE
If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.
What do you think of when you hear the word – integrity. If you are like me, you think of the first definition given in most dictionaries: A person of integrity is someone with sound, incorruptible principles. Those who keep to a well defined code of moral values.
Webster’s has two more definitions worth considering. Something has integrity if is sound, or complete. Whole.
When you take all three together, you get a pretty good handle on the theme of the book of James. I’m Reid Ferguson, and integrity is our theme today on Through the Word in 2020 as we consider Luke 20:9–26; Psalm 119:153–160; Hebrews 13:20–James 1:1 and Proverbs 29.
James has always been a controversial book, especially since the Reformation. Martin Luther is reported to have called it an “epistle of straw.” He couldn’t quite wrap his head around its call to right actions when contrasted with the Gospel of grace. I’ll just have to forgive him on that one. In truth, there is no dichotomy between the 2 at all. Not if we think in terms of integrity: That what a person professes to believe and be, ought to be borne out by their actions and lifestyle. That a Christian must have more than his or her theology correct. They need to live it.
Why?
Because there is nothing more demonstrative of Christ Himself, than to be a person of no contradictions. Whole. Entire. Complete.
James has in mind as his audience, Jewish believers who have suffered greatly by being chased out of their native land due to persecution. His remarks are not about mere trials of inconvenience or not getting their preferences. This is about when life as a Christian finds you suffering – really suffering. And, that some of that suffering at the very least – is directly connected to your being a Christian in the first place. It is to such people – not enduring trifles of difficulty, but in some cases bankrupted, robbed of home and possessions, driven from family and all that is familiar, prejudice, denial of employment and for some even physical harm. Truly persecuted, not merely inconvenienced. Those who have been stripped of their rights; with no hope of seeing things set right in their lifetime.
When that is the case, will we live according to our profession – in integrity? Or will we talk the talk, but fail to walk the walk? Is our profession of faith fully integrated into every part of how we think, feel and live?
This is what we see in Jesus don’t we? It is exemplified for us in John 13:1 “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”
Beloved, our entire salvation rests in the perfect integrity of Jesus Christ. For Him to say, think and do nothing other than who and what he was – the Son of God. His sinlessness. To live with no hint of self-contradiction. Living in absolute harmony inwardly and outwardly.
And that dear one is the very image He is in the process of bringing us to by the work of His Holy Spirit. To be like the one Peter tells us: When he was reviled, did not revile in return; and when he suffered, did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
May we show our – His integrity to the World in our generation.
Think about it the next time you plan to respond to a Facebook post, a tweet, a news commentator’s remarks or some politician’s or pundit’s unfiltered utterances. Show your heart really does entrust your wellbeing to the one who “judges justly.”
For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE
If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.
Acting under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Gospel writers arranged their accounts to emphasize different aspects of Jesus and His ministry.
Matthew is bound and determined to prove who Jesus is in the light of the Old Testament. He has been conquered by the love of the King. Once a tax-collector, Matthew wants us to know what a forgiving, gracious, merciful Savior Jesus is to the worst of humanity. No one is too wicked for Jesus Christ to save. Sin has abounded, but in Christ, grace has abounded infinitely more. No less than 12 times he will tell us that Jesus directly fulfilled Scripture prophecies. Jesus’ lineage establishes Him as a rightful heir to David’s throne. His fulfillment of Scripture establishes Him as the promised Messiah. His resurrection, is to His enthronement. And Matthew exposes us to Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom more than any other Gospel. The charge against Him will finally be “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
Mark’s gospel is urgent. His predilection for the word “immediately” jumps off of every page. Jesus is a man, yes, but so much more – he’s the Son of God. He’s not to be taken lightly. He’s not just another religious leader or teacher. He cannot be marginalized. He cannot be ignored. Mankind’s need is urgent. Jesus’ mission is urgent. Jesus’ message is urgent. He acts swiftly, decisively. He has but 3 short years to accomplish all. Eternal matters are at a place of crisis. He calls us to repent and believe with urgency – now!- for “The kingdom of God is at hand” (1:15). The kingdoms of this world are about to meet their end. No one can remain indifferent. He is coming back. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned (16:16). The time – is now!
Luke emphasizes Jesus’ most common way of Jesus referring to Himself: The Son of Man. By it, He is constantly reminding us that He did not take on the nature of angels, but of mankind. He comes in the likeness of sinful flesh though He is sinless. He does not appear like the Adam before the Fall – whatever that glory might have looked like. He comes sharing our weaknesses, our griefs, sorrows, aches and pains. He suffers weariness, hunger, abandonment, misunderstanding, thirst, loneliness and whatever else belongs to the human condition. He is a Priest who can have compassion on us knowing the feeling of our infirmities. He did not insulate Himself from us. What a Savior!
John reminds us that in the beginning, the Word, already “was.” This Word, THE Word, was with God – without need for attachment to the created order about to come. This Word, THE Word – was in fact – both with, and was Himself – God. He is the ultimate and complete revelation and communication of – God. He took to Himself a human nature that He might be among us, without destroying us. His body, was the “veil” the curtain separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies in the Temple. Incarnationally, He tabernacled with us. And since Pentecost He tabernacles in us by His Spirit. But when He returns, He will dwell in the New Temple. He will raise us from the dead and we will become the New Jerusalem. His people in glory. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, even with this much information we have not even begun to imagine what He has prepared for those who love Him. Oh what a Christ we serve!
For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE
If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.
Do you ever worry about what people might be saying about you? The great preacher C.H. Spurgeon once told his pastoral students: “I have one blind eye and one deaf ear and they are the best ear and eye that I have.” That counsel was based on Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 “Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.”
All those in any way in the public eye get all manner of things said about them. Some positive and some negative. And even as private people we may or may not be privy to something said about us – even as others may or may not be privy to what we may have said about them at any given time. Things we might hope would never be repeated in their hearing as having come from us.
And in this day of social media – an incautious and hasty word about someone might get launched into cyber-space, never to be recovered.
Now we cannot spend all of our time worrying about what other people might say about us. That’s obvious. Nor should we. Learning to use our deaf ear and our blind eye might be the very best way to maintain relationships. Everyone slips once and a while. Best to let it go.
I’m Reid Ferguson, and we’ll talk about that today on Through the Word in 2020.
So the question arises, should we ever be concerned about what others might think or say about me? After all, isn’t it only God’s opinion that counts?
Yes, and no.
Any number of passages throughout the Word speak to doing or refraining from things that are shameful both before God, and the community of Believers. When Paul calls out sexual immorality in Corinth he says he does so “to your shame.” And in Ephesians 5 we are told some things are shameful just to talk about. This, in the context of life with other Christians.
Then on the other hand, we ultimately stand only before God to give an answer for our sins. So in that Day, what anyone else thinks is irrelevant.
“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
And it raises a fascinating question for each of us to ponder: When your pastors or leaders in the Church pray about you, speak to God about you – do they do it with joy, or grief? And are we aware that such reports – if they are negative are of no “advantage” to us? In other words, there are actual consequences to us when our leaders groan about us before God. What those are, the text does not say. It should be enough that it says it. What they think about us and report back to the Father counts.
To be honest, for most of my Christian life, I haven’t given this reality too much thought. I fear to my own loss. Those who have shepherded my soul in years past have no doubt shed some tears and expressed anxiety over my growth, lack thereof, sins, attitudes and decisions.
I would simply ask you today to consider this reality for your own life in Christ. How do those who keep watch over your soul give an account to the Great Shepherd?
And, it makes me wonder how the Great Shepherd Himself gives an account to the Father regarding me?
For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE
If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.
Some of the mystery and the wonder of the Christian life gets lost when we don’t revisit passages like yesterday’s reading in Hebrews 12:1-2.
For instance, does it ever cross your mind that Believers today are bound in a relationship with those who have already gone on before to the presence of God? The word “surrounded” in vs. 1 holds that inference. They aren’t just gone, their lives bear witness to how they wrestled with the complexities of serving Christ in their own generations and contexts. It’s good to remember how they came through. And how we’ll one day be joined to them face to face.
They are – as the text says – a great cloud of witnesses. Not just one or two have endured. There are countless saints who have faithfully endured to the end of their lives on earth. They stand as perpetual reminders of how God keeps His own. No mater what.
But there is one witness above all who we are to look to: Jesus Himself. And just how and why we’ll spend a few moments on today on Through the Word in 2020. I’m Reid Ferguson.
Because I was prevented from being with you yesterday – note where our reading has brought us to. All of Hebrews 12. Psalm 119:137–144; Luke 19:1–40; Isaiah 25–31 and Proverbs 25 & 26 fill our reading plate for both days. But it is those 2 spectacular opening verses in Hebrews 12 that won’t let me go.
Every Christian, if they truly are a Christian, knows the very real pain, frustration and agony of the ongoing battle with our indwelling sin. The more we grow in Christ, the more we come to hate sin. Even though in all honesty, we recognize that to our sorrow, we still love our sin in some way. The torment of that truth is howled out by Paul in Romans: “Wretched man that I am!” (not “was) “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Praise God the next verse answers that question – Jesus!
But that doesn’t imply a passive approach to our sin. Indeed, that is the very point of Hebrews 12:1-2. Since our spiritual fore-bearers have fought this fight – like Paul, we do too. But how? The text says: “Looking to Jesus.” But in what way? There are two cited here.
First, since He is the founder and perfecter of our faith – we look to Him as the One who will complete the work He’s begun in us. We start by resting in the reliability of His promise to finish what He started. The genuine Believer CANNOT ultimately fail, because our success rests in Christ. This He does by giving us His promised Spirit, the counsel of His Word, access to the Throne of Grace in prayer, the testimony of those who have gone on before us, the prayers and encouragements of our brothers and sisters – and above all, His own continuing intercession on our behalf.
Weary Christian – you WILL persevere!
Second, we look to His example. He looked beyond the trials and tribulations He faced – even the Cross – to the joy that He was assured was on the other side. That when all was done in obedience to the Father, our salvation would be secured, and He would rise up to the right hand of the Father to rule and reign forever.
The language here is very descriptive. This looking forward to the joy He would have in resurrection enabled Him to endure the cross, and treat the shame involved in it as a very light thing.
So it is we are given this that we might do the very same with our own present trials.
Look to the joy that is set before you Christian. Fill your heart with the surety of His promises fulfilled in the resurrection. And It will enable you to endure no matter what.
ResponsiveReiding 