ResponsiveReiding

The 5 Solas – Sola Scriptura

September 18th, 2017
The Reformation – Part 1

Sola Scriptura

2 Timothy 3:16-4:4

Isa. 8:19-20

Psalm 119:9-16

Psalm 19

AUDIO FOR THIS SERMON CAN BE FOUND HERE

Having finished the first part of our study in the book of Revelation –it seemed good to me take a short detour for 2 reasons.

First, we’ve been very concentrated in our study and a little shift can bring some refreshment.

2^nd, this year marks the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation achieved its momentum on the occasion of then Catholic Monk Martin Luther – nailing his famous 95 theses on the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg Germany on Oct. 31 1517.

The act itself was unremarkable. In Luther’s day, this was a standard way of sparking academic debate.

Someone would publicly post their ideas, and this would open the door for others to respond. No big deal.

But in this case, Luther’s stated concerns struck at the heart of the corruption that had crept into the then Church.

I want to be clear that there were many in what we would call the Catholic Church at that time, who were severely grieved by the state of the church morally and corruption. They were seeking to see the Church repent and reform – the way Jesus was calling upon 5 of the 7 churches we’ve just studied in the book of Revelation.

But instead of repenting and seeking reform, the Church hierarchy doubled down.

Church historian Phillip Schaff makes an important and helpful distinction in his writing on the Reformation when he separates Catholicism from Romanism. Without getting too complex,

Catholicism was at that point the most visible form of Christianity globally – however defective.

But Romanism is the result of the resistance of Catholicism to reform, and codified itself in the Council of Trent in 1545-1563.

Phillip Schaff writes about the situation when Luther posted his theses: “Theology was a maze of scholastic subtleties, Aristotelian dialectics and idle speculations, but ignored the great doctrines of the gospel. Carlstadt, the older colleague of Luther, confessed that he had been doctor of divinity before he had seen a complete copy of the Bible. Education was confined to priests and nobles. The mass of the laity could neither read nor write, and had no access to the word of God except the Scripture lessons from the pulpit.

The priest’s chief duty was to perform, by his magic words, the miracle of transubstantiation, and to offer the sacrifice of the mass for the living and the dead in a foreign tongue. Many did it mechanically, or with a skeptical reservation, especially in Italy. Preaching was neglected, and had reference, mostly, to indulgences, alms, pilgrimages and processions. The churches were overloaded with good and bad pictures, with real and fictitious relics. Saint-worship and image-worship, superstitious rites and ceremonies obstructed the direct worship of God in spirit and in truth.

Piety which should proceed from a living union of the soul with Christ and a consecration of character, was turned outward and reduced to a round of mechanical performances such as the recital of Paternosters and Ave marias, fasting, alms-giving, confession to the priest, and pilgrimage to a holy shrine. Good works were measured by the quantity rather than the quality, and vitiated by the principle of meritoriousness which appealed to the selfish motive of reward. Remission of sin could be bought with money; a shameful traffic in indulgences was carried on under the Pope’s sanction for filthy lucre as well as for the building of St. Peter’s Dome, and caused that outburst of moral indignation which was the beginning of the Reformation and of the fearful judgment on the Church of Rome.”

While for many the Reformation is at best a dim concept today, the reality is the reason why you and I sit here today praying directly to God the Father in Jesus’ name instead of Mary or the Saints; the reason why we enjoy the assurance of our salvation based upon the finished work of Christ on the cross rather than our own merit or good works; the reason why our consciences are not bound by anything other than Scripture itself; and the reason why we do not go through an endless set of rites and rituals to somehow be right with God – is because Evangelicals – theologically, not politically – are heirs of the Protestant Reformation.

At the very bottom of the need for and the meaning of the Reformation was the Gospel itself. And I hope to be unpacking that more in the next few weeks to come.

Amazingly the Reformation broke out virtually simultaneously in Germany and Switzerland – then quickly blazing through France, Scandinavia, Holland, Hungary, Bohemia and eventually Scotland and England.

As the Reformation progressed, those identifying themselves with this movement took up 5 watchwords or slogans that framed their ground and purpose.

Due to the day in which this took place, the slogans were all in Latin – and I’d like to take a week to look at each one separately.

The slogans are: Sola Scriptura; Sola Fide; Sola Gratia; Solus Christus; Soli Deo Gloria

And the first of these – Sola Scriptura, is what came to be known as the “formal” cause of the Reformation.

What is meant by using the term “formal” here is that this 1^st idea is the one from which the rest are formed. Once this concept is in place, the “material” cause of the Reformation – justification by faith alone – the material which is woven from the “form” – then helps define the rest. We’ll unpack that more as we go.

The bottom consideration for us at this point is this: All that comes out of the Reformation has as its starting point – this idea: That the ultimate and final authority in all of life and practice for both the Church and the individual Believer, is the Scripture.

Contrary to the Romanist view, and that of every other religion and cult as well, is this – the Bible: No man, no organization, no council – even in Church history, no other writing or institution, influence or source has the right to bind the conscience of any human being in how one understands and serves God – above the Bible. NONE!

The Bible as our ultimate authority for faith and practice.

Put another way: The Bible alone can determine what can or cannot be required of people in order for them to be Christians, to be right with God.

Nothing less than the Bible.

Nothing more than the Bible.

Nothing other than the Bible.

Now this does NOT mean we reject all other things as utterly useless or that we read nothing else.

Church history has a great role for us in seeing how generations of Christians past understood the Scriptures. The Reformers were keen observers of Church history and the great preachers and commentators who came before them.

Those who have studied and been taught in the original languages, ancient cultures and sound principles of interpretation can also be of use. In fact, the Bible itself tells us that God has by His Spirit given the gifts of teachers and preachers to us, to help us in this regard. And to ignore His gifts is to reject Him and His wisdom and His provision for us.

So we read in Ephesians 4:11–14 “And he [JESUS] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”

But we are all then responsible to study the Word for ourselves, and to test what is taught to us. To hold fast to that which is good, and to reject what is not.

The Apostle Paul noted this reality when he commended the people in the city of Berea for how they responded to his bringing the Gospel to them. Acts 17:10–11 “The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

Hence we have our key text before us this morning.

2 Timothy 3:16–17
1. “All Scripture is breathed out by God”: It is from this word that we get our idea of the Bible being INSPIRED. In fact, the word here more literally means EX-PIRED. You IN-spire when you in-hale. You EX-pire when you breathe out. God BREATHED OUT His Word to us. We didn’t conjure it up in brilliance or cleverness, we had it given to us by Him Himself.
We do not hold that the Bible is inspired in the sense that it is brilliant or admirable or exceptional – but in that it is God’s own mind breathed out for us to take in. It is Divinely given.

But given for what? Why did God speak to us at all?
1. “and profitable for teaching”: To instruct us in what He appointed as most necessary for us to know.
To know about Him.

About Humanity.

About why the world is the way it is.

How it came to be.

The purpose of all things – of life itself.

How to live with God in proper relationship in His universe.

It is not given to tell us how to fix our motorcycles, marriages, psyches, finances or society.

All that He reveals can and will impact all of those, but first and foremost, it is meant to teach us those things are most essential to know as being made His image-bearers and to carry out His plans and purposes in the world.
1. “for reproof,”: In the OT, this word had the idea of testing things. But in the NT it is narrowed and boils down to showing us what is WRONG. For if we accept humanity, this life and this world as normative, and not as fundamentally flawed, we’ll approach life in a totally different way than what reality from God’s point of view looks like.
If humanity is just fine and natural the way we are, then there is no need of a Savior. No need of salvation. But the Word of God comes crashing into our world announcing to us that we are hopelessly and fatally in a fallen, sinful and rebellious condition against our God. It opens our eyes first to our need – so that we will seek the remedy.

So Romans 5:20a starts: “Now the law came in to increase the trespass”

Because it is our natural tendency to think well of ourselves, and because one of the by-products of The Fall is to make us insensible of our sinfulness, God’s Word brings that knowledge of that sinfulness into the full bright light so that we see it and ourselves as God sees us.

But then, as the Law can only expose sin, can only reveal to us what is wrong – can only reprove, God continues to breathe out to us His Gospel and so the Scripture is also given –
1. “for correction”: How to fix our sin problem. How to be reconciled to the God of all the earth who is absolutely holy and must judge sin. In other words, the Word of God is the sole place where can know with absolute divine authority how to be reconciled to God.
The one offended must be the One who appoints the means of satisfaction and reconciliation.

And so it is we hear that Jesus, the eternal Son of God, became incarnate, lived under the Law of God perfectly fulfilling it in every way – and then died a substitutionary death in our place, taking the wrath due us upon Himself, so that all who Believe God’s Word and trust in the life, death, burial, resurrection and return of Jesus might have all of their sins forgiven, granted eternal life and be indwelt by God’s own Spirit.

We could not know one iota of this Gospel apart from the Bible.

We must be saved by HIS Gospel, according to His appointed means – and not by means and methods invented by us!

Every bit of man-made religion appeals to some other source.

We could never know – as we will see in the weeks to come – that this salvation is all of grace as opposed to human merit, and completely by faith as opposed to ma’s works.

If God had not breathed it out for us, we would be forever blind to it. And lost forever in our trespasses and sins.

And once again, our good and gracious God does not stop there – for God breathed out His word that we might also know how to LIVE for Him once we have been born again.
1. “and for training in righteousness.”: It is on the Bible alone that we learn what things God hates, and what he loves. What He dislikes and what He approves. And above all, how He has provided for us in both His recorded wisdom and the bestowal of His Spirit – how to live our lives as unto Him in an acceptable way.
Or, as the text says: “that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

No, the Scripture does not speak to every situation we may encounter individually or specifically.

And once again, it is not given to make us better employees, or better husbands, wives, children or parents. It is given to make us GODLY employees, GODLY husbands and wives and children and parents. And in pursuing GODLINESS, to bless others and serve God acceptably.

And in its genius, it does this in 3 primary ways:
1. In Prescriptions – Specific commands and prohibitions.
2. In Precedents – As we examine the narrative and see how it is God worked in our forbearers’ lives and circumstances. Example: Ananias and Saphira.
3. In Principles – As larger wisdom and guiding principles the spell out God’s likes, dislikes, etc. Example: If drunkenness from wine is condemned, it is not a stretch at all to apply that to other intoxicants – smoked, snorted, shot, inhaled or ingested.
So when we take the passage we read earlier in Isa. 8:19–20 “And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.”

And couple it with Jesus’ own words in John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,” the utter importance of the Scripture becomes crystal clear – along with the revelation of the good of the God who stooped to our level to have them delivered to us.

But we need to consider one last thing before we close today.

It should abundantly clear given what we’ve looked thus far, how this unfolded in the time of the Reformation and the struggle for Protestantism to rise out of Catholicism and then in direct opposition to Romanism on this critical point.

But it is certainly no less important in our day.

While we may not be facing such systematized religion in addition to or contrary to the Scripture – we face a more subtle and perhaps more pernicious challenge to Sola Scriptura in our day:

For up against the absolute authority of Scripture for what we are to believe and how we are to live have risen two twin threats: Personal Opinion, and Feelings.

The Gospel remains the Gospel, only as God has communicated it to us – and it is not subject to amendment by our likes, dislikes, desires or feelings.

And a righteous life is defined by God’s revelation, not the ever changing morals of a fallen society.

Now, more than ever we need to lift the banner of Sola Scriptura on high in opposition to way our generation has lauded in its place – personal choice and opinion.

Repentance from sin – from what GOD calls sin.

Trust in the substitutionary atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.

Belief in His bodily incarnation, penal death, resurrection and return.

And as Scripture itself declares about salvation in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians: 1 Thessalonians 1:9–10 “For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

Nothing less and noting other than turning from all the idols of self, self-righteousness, greed, personal advancement and pleasure,

To serve instead the Living and True God according to His own revelation

And to wait for His Son from Heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come

Is the Gospel.

And glory to God for His love, mercy, faithfulness and grace in seeing to it we have it preserved for us even to this very day.
Revelation Part 12 / Lessons from the 7 Churches

September 13th, 2017
Revelation Part 12

Lessons from the 7 Churches

AUDIO FOR THIS SERMON CAN BE FOUND HERE

Having spent these past several months carefully working through Jesus’ messages to the 7 Churches in Asia – it seems only fitting to go back and put all we’ve learned into a somewhat more compact package. That is my aim today at any rate.

And I’ve chosen to do that in 3 parts.
1. A Quick General SURVEY of the 7 Churches.
2. A series of general OBSERVATIONS when surveying all 7 churches.
3. The Balance of REPRIMANDS vs REWARDS.
I. General Survey

If were to take Jesus’ repeated admonition at the end of each letter, and boil it all down, what would that look like? – 7 cross-cultural and trans-generational warnings.
1. EPHESUS: Lack of love FOR Christ, is due to a lack of taking in the love OF Christ for lost sinners – seen best at the Cross.
2. SMYRNA: Christians WILL endure trials, temptations and persecutions, and Satan may be squarely behind them at times.
3. PERGAMUM: Sexual immorality is a perennial temptation and problem.
4. THYATIRA: Systematized false doctrine leading to compromise with the World and sin will emerge IN the Church from among its own.
5. SARDIS: Nothing is more deadly to the Gospel, than THE PRIDE OF SELF-RELIANCE
6. PHILADELPHIA: The size of a Church either large or small is neither a guarantee that it is healthy nor a guarantee that it is effective. Believers have an OPEN DOOR to the throne of grace.
7. LAODICEA: The Church’s ineffectiveness is always linked to a shallow relationship with Christ. Personal communion with God.
Ephesus: Loss of their First LOVE, no apprehension of the wonder of Christ’s love anymore.

Smyrna: FAITHFUL unto death – in spite of severe testing.

Pergamum: IMMORALITY tied to idolatry.

Thyatira: PROPHETESS of compromise

Sardis: Deadliness of SELF-RELIANCE

Philadelphia: OPEN DOOR – poor and weak, but an entrance to the Throne

Laodicea: LUKEWARM – lack of fellowship with Christ producing uselessness.

Now we’ll boil that down even more before we’re done – but let’s just look at a number of overall observations that came to my mind as I was reviewing these 7 letters.

II. A Series of 5 Observations

OBS. 1 – Jesus writes to the Angel of each Church

Addressing the whole Church and its issues while calling upon each individual to take responsibility for all that is said.

Not only are they responsible for what is said to their particular church, but to ALL the Churches.

OBS. 2 – If there is anything we have seen so far in this collection of Jesus’ letters to the Churches in Asia minor, it is that there is no such thing as a “normal” Church.

Each of these is unique in its makeup, circumstances, challenges, advantages and culture.

American culture is obsessed with standardizing virtually everything. But real life has a way of bending and warping every constant we try to impose. We love the idea of “one size fits all.”

We want to be able to say: This is what a local church SHOULD look like. We want a template and a pattern in terms of activity, make up, type of outreach, involvements, etc.

And while in God’s economy there are certain norms and constants, nature itself testifies to the amazing variety God’s genius delights in. For all of the basic simplicity of water, still, no two snowflakes are precisely the same. For all the common traits of humanity, each one’s fingerprints are unique. And though all Believers are joined together in Christ’s church by the same Spirit, each one is still wholly an individual, and so are the churches comprised of these individuals in their particular circumstances and environments.

OBS. 3 – What is interesting to note are the things which DO NOT seem to concern Jesus given the other issues. Things which are nevertheless often what motivate people in assessing a Church they may or may not wish to attend or be members of.

We may give much more weight to things Jesus ultimately finds of little concern, while ignoring areas of grave concern.

Note how Jesus makes no positive or negative statements regarding the size of any of these assemblies.

No church is better or worse because it is large, no better or worse because it is small. This is a human consideration, not a Divine one.

He says absolutely nothing about the giftedness (or lack thereof) of its leadership in terms of preaching.

He doesn’t speak about worship styles.

Not a word about programs. Nothing about the order of their worship services, how many songs they might sing and of what kind – standing, sitting, kneeling or recitations.

How often they take the Lord’s supper, or whether or not people raise their hands in worship.

They had no Hillsong, no Sovereign Grace Ministries, no Keith Getty or Stuart Townend, no Trinity hymnal, Isaac Watts, John Newton or Augustus Toplady music. No smoke machines, lasers and no coffee bars. No organ. No worship team. No PowerPoint.

Jesus says nothing about church polity, how many elders or deacons or how they divide up their respective duties.

Whether or not they have pews, theater or stacked seating or no seating at all.

As you might imagine, He said nothing about air conditioning.

It’s a wonder Jesus would call them churches at all!

What we learn instead is that personal fidelity to Christ, the Gospel and living as unto Him are paramount to Jesus both among the people and the leadership.

And beyond that, the Church may look and sound and behave in very different ways in different places.

In fact, this may serve all of us well as we consider our own assembly, and should any one of us for some reason need to move beyond here and look for another Church sometime.

The things Jesus looks for in a Church are the things we ought to look for. It is not a matter of taste or style, as much as it is of substance.

Is the Word of God faithfully taught?

Is the truth of God’s Word upheld contrary to the errors of the age and false doctrine?

Are people directed to the God of the Bible?

Is holiness of life pursued?

Is love and fidelity toward Christ with the whole man emphasized?

Is the Gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone because of the substitutionary death of Christ alone preached, protected and passed on to the following generations?

Are all these rooted in the magnificent love and grace of Christ as the starting point?

OBS. 4 – Note what else is absent in each of the letters. Jesus never tells anyone to leave their defective church and run to another. Even in Laodicea, which was only 10 miles away from Hierapolis and pastored by the venerable Papias, and a mere 6 miles from Colossae.

Even these had some viable options within their general region.

I do not want to stress this too far, and to be fair, as best as we know, there was but one “church” in each of these towns. In that sense, there were no other, viable options. Maybe one couldn’t move from Laodicea to Hierapolis or Colossae.

But at the very least, they were to remain in fellowship with THE Church in the larger sense, and not to split off into merely private devotion or forsake the greater Body of Christ – even when it was in pretty tough shape.

I take it from Christ’s showing Himself as walking in the midst of the Churches that at a bare minimum the Gospel was still being preached despite the other problems that He cited. But where there is no Gospel, we must conclude that whatever it might be, what is left is not a true Church in the Biblical sense.

So Paul can write to the really messed up Corinthian Church AS a church when he notes: “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that 1Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that 2he was buried, that 3he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that 4he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.” They still identified with that, and thus were still a church.

In our generation we’ve seen an increasing tendency among some to say they cannot find a local assembly that comes up to their standards, and so they will just go off and be a sort of little church unto themselves.

But this text seems to omit that as a response to the even very severe problems noted.

In any event, just picking up and moving from church to church is not to be done lightly. 5 of these churches had very serious problems. And yet Jesus never counsels anyone to pack their bags and run. He calls each instead, to focus on their OWN hearing of what the Spirit says to the Churches.

OBS. 5 – All the above said, Jesus DID labor to point out 4 key considerations which apply to ALL His Church(s):
1. The need for keeping ourselves in the love of God (Jude 21).
2. To expect trial and persecution and to endure it by contemplating our eternal rewards.
3. To shun sexual immorality and connections with idol worship and the values of the fallen world around us.
4. To deal with false teaching and false teachers.
III. A SUMMARY OF THE REWARDS

We tend to look at these 2 chapters as mainly negative. But that is to misread it in my estimation. While there are in fact 5 exceedingly serious Reprimands, there are also 17 Rewards! More than 3x’s the number of reprimands!

In each letter, there were also great and glorious promises to those who “overcome” those pitfalls.

Ephesus: Those who seek to feed their souls on Christ’s love now, will enjoy an endless, eternal supply, feasting from the Tree of Life in the very midst of the Paradise of God.

Eden, but better.

Symrna:

Crown of Life. Spared the 2^nd death.

Pergamum:

Hidden manna.

White stone.

New name written on the stone that no one knows.

Thyatira:

Authority over the nations.

The Morning Star.

Sardis:

White garment.

Assurance.

Divine recognition before the angelic host.

Philadelphia:

Public vindication from the persecutors.

Made a pillar in the Temple of God.

The name of God.

The name of the New Jerusalem.

Jesus’ own name.

Laodicea:

Fellowship and intimacy.

Sit with Jesus in His throne.

In all this we see the very essence of the Gospel don’t we?

Sin has taken a heavy toll in these churches and Believers, but Jesus is prepared not only to forgive the sin – but to richly, extravagantly reward the faithful repentant – for doing what it is only RIGHT they do!

Romans 5:18–21 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This is the Gospel in all its power unpacked even more.

Sin was abounding in 5 of these Churches, but Jesus’ grace toward them all far outstrips all of their failures.

Heaps upon heaps of blessings and benefits are extended to each one who will hear His word, repent and trust Him fully.

An endless, uninterruptable and undefilable Eden in His presence.

The Crown of Life. Spared the 2^nd death.

Hidden manna. Secret and absolute satisfaction none but His own can know.

White stone. God’s own vote of His eternal favor before His judgment bar.

New name written on the stone that no one knows – unspeakable intimacy with the Living God.

Authority over the nations. To rule and reign WITH HIM!

The Morning Star. The brightness and fullness of Christ Himself.

White garment. The righteousness of Christ to clothe us and cover all the sin defiled.

Assurance. A steadfast heart in the midst of every storm of life even now.

Divine recognition before the angelic host.

Public vindication from the persecutors faced in this life.

Made pillars in the Temple of God. Absolute security.

The name of God. Marked out as His in some way to define us from all other beings in the universe.

The name of the New Jerusalem. Identified as the place where God chooses to dwell and call home.

Jesus’ own name. Not just Christian’s – but Christ’s own ones – taking His name as our own – as in marriage.

Fellowship and intimacy.

Sit with Jesus in His throne.

All this for failing, sinful but repentant Believers.

All this too for you today if you are still outside of Christ. If you are still trusting in yourself that somehow you’re just good enough to gain Heaven. Not so bad as others, and so you might squeak in.

Or trusting in some rite or religious act like baptism or Bible reading or belonging to some Church – or even trying to make amends for your past sins.

No! The Gospel is a gospel of grace alone or it is no gospel at all.

Philippians 3:4–9 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. ⁷ But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

Believer and even unbeliever here today – above all things is this: To belong to Jesus and to have His salvation and the rewards it brings – we must abandon all self-reliance, and look to Him as our all in all. From justification, to sanctification and on to the resurrection and final glorification.

1 Corinthians 1:26–31 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
A Communion Poem

September 4th, 2017

Last night, as we gathered around the Lord’s Table, we especially visited not rightly discerning the Lord’s Body. In Corinth, the failure to treat all of the Believers with honor in the way the love feast was consumed display a dreadful and dangerous pattern. For we cannot disrespect His Church, without doing despite to Him. But oh the privilege in gathering together around the table, and once again affirming to the observing angelic hosts just what a miraculous thing this blood bought Church is, in displaying the wonder of our marvelous Savior.

Eph. 3:7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

Creation in its wonders

In all it’s grand design

Expanse and complication

Reveals God’s art and mind

Each part in self and union

Invisible and seen

Each form and sev’ral function

The grandest and the mean

Beseech from all the sentient

But just and fitting praise

Gifts of the Great Creator

To bless, awe and amaze

That we might live in glory

Beholding mysteries

Of love unknown, unfolding

Conspiring good in these

Yet when this age is ended

Today gives birth to then

The day of endless vision

New made to take it in

Of all His grandest glories

Ordained for all to see

Of all His hidden riches

By all to be perceived

He comes before Creation

And says: “Behold my best

The sum of all my genius

My love and blessedness”

“Behold the Lamb’s Companion

Behold ’tis Christ’s own Bride

For Whom He paid the ransom

For Whom He bled and died”

“Perfected in His image

In His own righteousness

Adorned in sinless beauty

Dressed in His holiness”

“My grandest show of pow’r

Each risen from the dead

The crown of My own glory

Look! rests upon Her Head”

“Plucked out from sin’s corruptions

The signet of My grace

To be with Me in glory

To see My unveiled face”

“None other so expounds Me

As Jesus Christ My Son

None other so reveals Him

The Bride His work has won”

“If you would know My glory

And plumb My depths of pow’r

My grace, My love, My mercy

My all in fullest flow’r”

“Then gaze upon the wonder

My craft of saving grace

My blood bought Church in glory

Redeemed from Adam’s race.”
Another of the Olney Hymns

August 30th, 2017

This past Lord’s Day, we sang the old hymn “Nearer My God To Thee”. I mentioned then that the band leader aboard the Titanic had asked that hymn be sung at his funeral someday. He made that request before the voyage. Tho some dispute it, one of those rescued from the sinking ship said until her dying day that that hymn was being played by the ship’s orchestra as she was being rescued and the ship sank – with all of the musicians.

But there is no doubting the sentiment of needing to draw nearer and nearer to God is one that finds purchase in the heart of every true Believer in Christ Jesus. Indeed, how we lament the reality that our hearts often stray so far from the safe harbor of His dear presence. We can be so distracted by the most mundane and even profane of things.

Such was the burden upon the writing team of Newton and Cowper when they penned these words inspired by Genesis 5:24 “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” In it, I find the 5th stanza particularly poignant for my own soul today. Enjoy!

1 OH! for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heav’nly frame;
A light, to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!

2 Where is the blessedness I knew
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul-refreshing view
Of Jesus, and his word?

3 What peaceful hours I once enjoy’d!
How sweet their mem’ry still!
But they have left an aching void,
The world can never fill.

4 Return, O holy Dove, return!
Sweet messenger of rest;
I hate the sins that made thee mourn,
And drove thee from my breast.

5 The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be,
Help me to tear it from thy throne,
And worship only thee.

6 So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb.

John Newton and Richard Cecil, The Works of John Newton, vol. 3 (London: Hamilton, Adams & Co., 1824), 309–310.
Revelation part 11 – Laodicea

August 28th, 2017
Revelation Part 11

Laodicea

Rev. 3:14-22

Matthew 14:14-21

Finding out there’s something worse than garden variety sin

AUDIO FOR THIS SERMON CAN BE FOUND HERE

One of the most fascinating features of this letter of Jesus to the Church at Laodicea is finding out there is something worse for the Christian, worse for the Church, than what we might call garden variety sin – the things we most often focus upon.

There is something so problematic, so dire, that Jesus uses truly shocking language to in order to grab their attention and ours – to what isn’t most obvious.

We read nothing of their having lost the sense of God’s great love for them as the Ephesians did.

There wasn’t the sexual immorality and compromise with idolatry of Pergamum or the systematized false teaching of Thyatira.

They weren’t professing to be alive when dead like Sardis.

Outwardly they looked and sounded great!

But these alone were in such a state that they nauseated Him.

Jesus calls it being lukewarm. What that really means, and how to deal with it, is the subject of Jesus’ last letter to the churches.

And it’s a doozy.

I. (14) Reference to the Ch. 1 Vision / “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.”

There are 2 parts to Jesus’ introduction here.

1. Jesus announces Himself here as The AMEN, The FAITHFUL and TRUE WITNESS:

In doing so, He is drawing from 2 sources. First, as with all the letters, from Rev. 1 (5) “and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness”. But the idea of being “the amen” is drawn from an old testament concept. It comes from Isa. 65 where God identifies Himself as the God of truth – the word “truth” there being the word AMEN.

The idea is that what God says or promises, He guarantees. He is the divine “So be it!” If He has said it, it is so.

2. The BEGINNING of God’s Creation – arche – First cause, and/or Ruler

This doesn’t imply Jesus was the first thing God created – but is most likely a reference to something the Laodicean Church was already quite familiar with as a title for Jesus in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Colossae was only 10 miles away. The Church at Colossae was begun by Paul’s companion Epaphras, and he is most likely responsible for 1^st carrying the Gospel to Laodicea as well.

In fact, the 2 churches were so closely tied together that Paul can write in the early 60’s – 30 years or so before this letter of Jesus, in: Colossians 4:16 “And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.”

There we read of Jesus that: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Col. 1:15–17

In other words, He is pointing to His own pre-eminence. Something which is key as to how we understand the rest of this letter.

So, Jesus wants them to hear Him as a faithful witness to what He sees, as one whose vision is clear and admits of no error or correction, and who is also the ultimate authority with whom they have to do.

It is from that platform He then gives His…

II. (15-17) Declaration of Insight. / “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

As you can imagine, this must have been quite a startling statement to them. It is certainly shocking to our ears all these years later.

Here is the faithful and true witness, the unerring final Word of God in all of His majestic pre-eminence telling one of His churches that they make Him sick!

And what is it that He cites as being so sickening to Him? They are neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm. And just what that means will take a bit of unpacking.

Many take this statement as though Jesus is referring to their spiritual temperature so to speak, and that He would rather they be either outright cold toward Him or hot toward Him instead of lukewarm.

But why would Jesus say He would rather they be either cold or hot, if the reference here is to spiritual life or vitality toward Him?

He can’t be saying I’d rather you have no affection for me or spiritual fervor at all – than to have at least some.

That doesn’t really make much sense.

In fact, that is not what He is referring to.

What happens here is that Jesus draws from their topography to make His point.

Due to its Location in the Lycus valley, Laodicea had no useful water source of its own.

They had gone to great lengths to pipe water in from a long distance, but the water was so full of calcium carbonate, and being piped in through stone pipes in the hot sun the water would be nauseating to drink. It was both lukewarm and too mineral laden.

Ancient sources from the day tell us that to drink it would make one throw up.

It worked fine for watering crops, but was utterly useless for drinking. Laodicea was famous in the ancient world for this sad condition.

But as you can see on the map, Laodicea was just 10 miles away from Colossae. And in contrast to Laodicea, Colossae was known for having the some of the best drinking water in the entire region.

At the same time they were only 6 miles away from Hierapolis – a city known for its hot springs – natural hot mineral springs where people suffering from all kinds of ailments would go to what people used to call “Take the cure”. i.e. go soak in the hot springs for their health.

The idea then is that Colossae had cold water which could refresh and nourish, and Hierapolis had hot springs which people could soak in for their health – but Laodicea had nothing to offer by way of blessing to others! They were spiritually useless to others.

Oh, they could brag about their wealth – and indeed, they were the wealthiest city in the entire region – even richer than Sardis. They were so rich, that when the city was leveled in the earthquake of 60-61 C.E., they boasted about not needing any imperial money to rebuild. They put plaques up saying this building was built and donated by so-and-so, and this one by another – etc. They were excessively self-reliant. And it appears they took their outward well-being as a sign that all was well with themselves spiritually too.

In fact, there were 3 streams accounting for their fabulous wealth:1. As a famous banking center. The famous Roman politician/Orator Cicero noted that when traveling he did his money exchanges here. 2. They had the corner on the market for a particularly desirable black wool. It was exceedingly durable, soft and glossy and it was sought for all over. And 3., as if these weren’t enough, some ingenious past denizen had invented a formula for an eye salve that was remarkable for relieving all kinds of eye infections.

These 3 things together made them the wealthiest city in the greater area – and made them very arrogant – but above all, and this is key – a self-sufficient group.

So, it appears from Jesus’ words that the Church had taken on this very same attitude. The Church was filled with rich or at least comfortable people, steeped in the trades that made them wealthy and they thought themselves quite complete!

But that was just the problem you see. Self-sufficient and self-satisfied, they in fact had nothing of any real spiritual significance to offer to anyone else. Outward blessings are no sure indication of one’s spiritual condition.

They couldn’t cool the thirst of the one seeking after eternal life, nor minister to the soul ailments of those suffering the ill effects of sin.

They were useless in ministering to others, even though they were so “blessed” in their own eyes.

So, Jesus says –You consider yourselves Rich, Prosperous, and in need nothing – when in fact – answering to their 3 streams of wealth: you are Wretched and Pitiable – which He defines as: Poor, Naked and Blind.

Jesus wasn’t saying I wish you were either spiritually cold toward me or spiritually hot toward me – rather, I wish you had something to offer those who are in spiritual need – of either something cool and refreshing or hot and healing!

But for all you have – you have nothing to add to anyone else of true spiritual value. You are lukewarm and quite frankly useless to anyone else in the things that really matter – nauseating. And I am going to spit you out of my mouth.

So, what does this look like? Something like this…

They were professing Christians, they weren’t godless. As we said above, they do not appear to have been bound up in all the other sins noted in the other letters.

They would say “Oh, I need Jesus to save me from my sins.”

“I need Jesus to avoid the judgment of God and Hell.”

“I need Jesus when I’m REALLY in trouble – but I don’t really need HIM day to day for anything.”

I need some of what He can do for me, but I don’t really need – HIM, for Himself.

He is merely the cosmic panic button.

But beyond that, we’ve got financial wealth and stability, we’re clothed in the black woolen fashion of the day, and we’ve got the eye-salve the world clamors after. So Jesus, thank you for being our Savior, but beyond that, we simply don’t need you. Things are good. If there’s an emergency, we’ll let you know. But until then, we’re quite content to just be nice, basic Christians.

And as a result – they were in fact bankrupt from God’s point of view, naked in their self-reliance and worst of all – blind to their own condition.

Why is this state of affairs so bad? Because it hearkens back to the Garden of Eden.

There, Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and were banished from the Garden and most importantly, the Tree of Life.

Now in Salvation, we’ve been brought back into the Garden, the flaming sword of judgment has been removed and we’re invited to feast on the Tree of Life again, and instead of eating that precious, life-giving fruit – which is Christ Himself – for day-to-day sustenance, we’re content with everything else He has provided — but the most needful and precious of all!

We see that more clearly in the Call Jesus issues.

III. (18-21) The Call. / I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

We can verify our assessment based upon the call to repentance Jesus gives them.

Just like in Jeopardy on TV, sometimes you arrive at the real question, once you hear the answer. So in this text. Jesus’ answer to their problem is what brings out the real nature of the problem itself in greater clarity.

So, He says first of their wealth – I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire.

Having material wealth in this world means nothing to me. And the gold you really need, the true wealth, must be had from me and me alone. There is a wealth that functions on an entirely different standard. Wealth as God counts wealth, not as the world does. And you’ve not been seeking it.

And the black wool you are all so proud of – it covers nothing. It looks good to the human eye, but what does it cover in terms of how the soul is dressed – if we can use that term.

We don’t need outward appearance, we need to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Which Jesus appeals to here again as something which must be obtained from Him. How does He see us? How do we look in His eyes?

And then too – the need to see their real condition and need as from Him, and not through their own eyes. Oh, how good we can look to ourselves, especially when we compare ourselves to others. But as James notes: James 1:23-24 “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.”

POOR, NAKED and BLIND! In His faithful and true assessment – that is what they were. Self-reliant and self-sufficient, they had nothing, and hence did nothing of any significance for anyone else.

What a stinging rebuke.

But then – Oh how sweet and good and wonderful He is here. How His grace comes pouring through on the heels of this blistering review.

For in His very next breath He tells them 3 additional things.
1. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
I’m not just venting my spleen and leaving you in the dust. I come to you and I open these things up to you BECAUSE I STILL LOVE YOU!

Yes, you make me sick, but no, I have not cast you off! Come and be restored. Repent, turn from this broken way. If I didn’t love you and cherish you, I would let you go. But I DO love you and I DO cherish you and so I am unwilling to leave you in this miserable condition.

What does that look like? What is the very core of everything He has been driving at and where this all needs to go? It is summed up in the remedy He specifies, which also answers the question of how they got here in the first place:
1. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
You have left off needing Me – for Me. You do not come to me to be with me and to fellowship with me and to know me and delight in me. You just see me as the salvation machine – and I want to come in and fellowship with you.

This is key to their being so useless and so to their restoration.

At the beginning of the service today, we had the portion read from Matthew where Jesus feeds the 5K with the few loaves and fishes.

And in it, He sets forth a most important principle for us – it is in the latter part of Matt. 14:19 “Then [Jesus)] broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.”

Why were the Laodiceans so lukewarm and unable to bless anyone else? Because in leaving off fellowship with Christ, they had stopped receiving anything at His hand, and thus had nothing to give to anyone else.

And beloved this is where all of this comes home for you and me as well.

If we too have become self-sufficient, so that we need Jesus as our salvation agent but have precious little time to spend having Him break the bread of His word to us in time alone with Him, reading His Word – hearing Him speak to us in it, and in prayer – responding back and in meditation on it – then it is no wonder if we have nothing of any spiritual good to contribute to anyone else.

This is lukewarmness. And there is no other cure than to be in regular communion with Christ through His Word and Prayer. No other remedy.

The call isn’t to become sage theologians or Bible scholars. It isn’t to give up everything and go on the mission field. It isn’t to make great sacrifices and do BIG works in Christ’s name – it is a call to have regular fellowship alone with Him. So simple! So doable! And so neglected.

This is the Believer’s lifeblood. And lack of it is why our conversations with people never go beyond mere life-stuff, and get down to feeding each other the good things we’ve received from Him.

But look at what else He says: – I AM knocking. I AM at the door. And I WILL come in to all who open to me.

This is not a verse about people coming to saving faith in Christ, it is about Christians being brought out of spiritually ineffective lukewarmness, into spiritual vitality that ministers to others.

And if you are blind to the need to be of use in the spiritual life of others, of having something of Christ’s to give to someone else – then listen to Him – He is knocking at your door today – calling to you, and promising that if you will open to Him, He will come in, and the two of you will dine together. What a precious and intimate picture that is! And oh, how He calls to you right now to open and meet with Him.

Believers we still need the Gospel! And here it is on display, isn’t it? When we are at our worst, the mercy and grace of God in Jesus Christ shows itself in its most profound wonder.

It was at the Cross that mankind and even religion was at its very worst: Crucifying the very Son of God rather than giving Him His due and coming to Him for reconciliation to God.

So here: Here is the Church and Christians at their worst. But here is Christ Jesus in the wonder of His love and mercy and grace saying Here I am – I haven’t forsaken you – open the door to Me again.

And for those who do he then says thirdly –
1. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
The one who hears, and opens, and restores fellowship and intimacy with me, will not only NOT be spit out, but they will enjoy the highest privileges which can be afforded any creature in all of creation – to rule and reign WITH HIM IN HIS OWN THRONE!

An unimaginable position and privilege.

All tied to a life of fellowship with Him here, that spills over into our ability to bless others, with the blessings He joyfully and willingly pours out upon us when we take the time to be with Him, hear His voice in His word, and respond to that voice in prayer. THAT is where we get broken bread – from His hand – and then we have something to give to others.

Seek communion, fellowship, personally drawing to Him; that we might have something for our own souls, and something to give someone else.

Establish it as a habit to never read your Bible without asking yourself, have I come away with something for myself, which is then something I can pass on to another?

IV. (22) The Reminder. / Oh beloved – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation Part 10 – Philadelphia pt. 2

August 21st, 2017
Revelation Pt. 10 – Philadelphia- b

Rev. 3:7-13

Isaiah 9:1-7

Audio for this sermon can be found HERE

Everyone who has come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ wants to serve Him.

We are born again it seems, with an innate desire to glorify the One who saved us, and to be of use to Him in His plans and purposes in the world. To have some sort of ministry.

But what if circumstances find us in a place where we can do precious little? Poor health. Few contacts. No transportation.

What if we have little or no money to give?

No identifiable work to join ourselves to – no clear task to be a part of?

What if we are not gifted like others and don’t seem to have anything really concrete to offer? Can’t teach or preach. Physically disabled. Weak, sickly or whatever.

Can we still serve God acceptably? Can we still advance His kingdom and glorify Him?

Jesus’ letter tells the Philadelphians that indeed they can – and just how.

And it is simpler than they thought – and perhaps than you or I think.

Here, we find out just what Jesus meant in Matthew 11:28–30 when He said: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Last week we looked a bit at Philadelphia’s history, and the glorious encouragement of Jesus to them in the opening sentence of His letter.

I. Appeal to the revelation of Ch. 1: 7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

To a Church living in a place of poverty, continual upheavals due to earthquakes, victims of governmental flip-flops and mismanagement and, persecution by the local Jewish community.

Jesus reminds them – He is: The HOLY one; The TRUE one; Who has “the key of David”; And who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one will open.

That because of Who He is, they stand in a much different place than their external circumstances might make it seem.

Though they have no access to the throne of political power in Rome; are suffering due to their location, and labor under the whims of foolish and sinful leadership – their situation must be understood in far different terms than just the surface facts. No matter what things might look like on the surface, the reality is far different once the place of Christ in the whole matter is considered.

They must know that Jesus the Christ, their Lord and King – King over the Caesar, King over creation and earthquakes, sovereign over circumstances and certainly over His own people – this Jesus has the full authority of Heaven.

And above all – He opens for them a door of access to the very throne of the Living God that no one can shut for them.

II. Declaration of insight – 2 Parts: To the Church, and to their persecutors. 8 “I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.

PART A: a. I know your works.
1. I’ve set before you an open door
2. I know you have little power
The implications are plain:

What little “work” you CAN do, I notice. Little strength is no bar to service. They are still a “working” people!

Little strength is no bar to full entrance into the Kingdom of Jesus. He has set before them an open door no one can shut.

Little strength is no hindrance to real effectiveness.

Why? How is it that being poor, having no power is no detriment to serving God well?

“I know you have kept my Word and not denied my name.”

What does it take to be a faithful servant of Christ? 2 Things He mentions here – coupled with the open door He has already referred to –
1. Keeping His Word – Knowing, Cherishing, Obeying, Preserving & Proclaiming His Word.
SUM: Believing and Trusting His Word, so as to live your life by it.
1. Not denying His name – Refusing to compromise on Who Jesus Christ is: His deity, humanity, substitutionary death on the Cross, ascension to power, coming Kingdom and exclusivity.
Living the Christian life AS A Christian. As publicly His. Not backing down from bearing His name.

PART B: 9 – “Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.”

To unpack this well, we need to be reminded that Scripture delineates 2 very different kinds of “Jew”: The “inward”, and the “outward” Jew.

Paul explains these in Romans 2:28-29 / “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”

What the New Covenant reveals to us is that there is “A” People of God – Ethnic Israel (Jews) whom God chose out of all the peoples on the earth, to be His, and the means through which He both kept ongoing communication to the World, and through whom the Messiah would come.

And while they were (or are) truly God’s people, they were also a TYPE or a picture of the FINAL and SPIRITUAL People of God. They were not all that is wrapped up in being God’s People.

So we are taught in Ephesians 2:11-22 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time 5separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

Now there is an amazing scriptural irony here. And once again, Jesus assumes the Philadelphians will make a critical Old Testament connection and do that in light of the radical transition that has taken place since Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection.”

The Church doesn’t replace Israel as so many have errantly suggested, but rather the Church is the FULFILLMENT of Israel – it is the fulness of what Israel began and typified. Israel was the root, but the Church is the full flower. THE People of God – both Jews and Gentiles, who are born again by the Spirit of Christ and are reconciled as Christ’s people to the Father by His blood.

There is a perennial problem with us taking things God has done as temporary or has put in place as types or shadows, and trying to make the final substance out of them.

A good example would be what happened in case of 2 Kings 18 and Nehushtan: He (Hezekiah) “removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan)”

The same thing happened with the ephod that Gideon made after vanquishing the Midianites. What was a memorial to God’s victory on their behalf, became an object of worship. Judges 8:27 – “And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.”

So in Jesus’ words here, the very promise originally given to Israel about her persecutors, will be fulfilled in an ironic twist by the Jews themselves, having rejected Jesus as Messiah and Lord – and finally bowing down to acknowledge the true Israel of God.

There are 3 references to this this idea in Isaiah: Isaiah 45:14; 49:23 and 60:14. The 60:14 portion is of particular interest here: “The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low to you, and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet; they shall call you the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.”

What a fulfillment of this prophecy! And how it is transformed in the age of the New Covenant.

These Jews who were persecuting the Church – precisely how we do not know, but perhaps by saying that the Christians have no part in the promises and Kingdom of God because these belong only to the ethnic “Jews” – these are now styled “the synagogue of Satan.” And by their attempt to close the door of salvation to any but themselves – find themselves fulfilling this prophecy, but on the wrong end! They are the ones who in time will have to come and bow down before these Christians and acknowledge that THEY are the “City of the Lord.” So in vs. 12 – Jesus actually says He will write on them “the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem.” Believers – Jews and Gentiles are the citizenry of that new city. NOT mere ethnic Jews.

III. The Call: 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

Promise of”keeping”. “I will keep you from the hour.”

Some have interpreted this as implying that those who hold fast to Jesus’ name and Word will be raptured and kept from the Great Tribulation. I cannot go into that topic now, will tackle it later – but what it DOES state is that regardless of what faithful Christians might have to endure, they will be KEPT by God.

Perhaps this is more in keeping with the type of Noah. How he and his family were kept THROUGH the flood, not FROM the flood. So when God causes His judgment to come on the earth in a final tribulation, He will keep His own safe and secure. The only other place in the NT where this same construction is used is in John 17:15 “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.”

Promise of His soon coming. So keep looking forward to the promise, rather than seeing the here and now as the final word. The idea of soon here is not so much in terms of how His return is related to their particular point in time – but that there is no delay going on. All is going according to schedule and nothing will delay it.

Hold fast to retain your crown. Stephanon not diadema. The crown awarded those who finish a race.

In a marathon, there is only one winner, but all that finish are recognized. It isn’t about those who started, but those who FINISH! And this is the way it is in the Christian life. Christ has WON the race, but all who go on to finish, receive recognition as having finished the course.

So Jesus mentions the faithfulness of “keeping His Word” and of “patient endurance.”

Since Philadelphia was also the site of many early contests and Olympic like games – this would have really resonated with them.

What does it take to hold fast? To “conquer” in their situation?

Holding on to what they had: His Word, and Upholding His Name. And entering in through the open door He has provided.

This is Jesus’ easy yoke and light burden. And for those who do finish by keeping His Word and Upholding His name – He gives a 3-Fold Promise:

In direct contrast to the literally shaky ground on which they live in this earthquake ravaged region: they will be Made a “pillar” – Not going “out” any more – No more earthquakes.

What did one do when an earthquake struck in their day? Run outside so as not to be buried in the rubble. And what will they receive in Christ? Absolute – never ending SECURITY! Freedom from all upheaval. Eternal, absolute stability.

Bearing the name of God – Christ’s name. Once again, it would appear that Jesus is making allusions to a repeated Old Testament motif and how God often promises to put His name on His people.

But there is one place in my estimation which outstrips them all – Isaiah 9:6–7 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”

His “name” shall be called – not His nameS – plural. One, glorious, hyphenated NAME: Pele-joez-el gibbor-abiad-sar-shalom. Wonderful, counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. A name above all other names. Ultimate supreme authority and power in ruling and reigning over all.

We will be known as those bearing His name – Not Rochesterians, or Philadelphians, or even Americans but Pelejoeselgibborabiadsarshalomians!

Bearing the name of the City of God – The NEW Jerusalem, not the old one.

IV. The Reminder: 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Once again Beloved – maybe you have agonized over whether or not you can really serve God effectively or with lasting impact given your situation and or lack of resources, opportunity or ability.

YES! A thousand times yes!

Hold fast His Word.

Uphold His name in a world that rejects His person, work and exclusivity.

And take advantage of the open door that no one can shut. Become a man or woman of prayer. Seek His face on behalf of others – His Church, this nation, the needs of the saints around you – and plead for the return of Christ to consummate His Kingdom in its fulness.

The weakest, most poorly equipped, poorest, and least able Christian can enter into the Throne Room of the Living God and have His ear. And NO ONE NO ONE can keep you out, or render your prayers ineffective.

John Flavel: Prayers; the best office one Christian can do to another.

Spurgeon: Prayer is the never-failing resort of the Christian in any case, in every plight. When you cannot use your sword you may take to the weapon of all-prayer. Your powder may be damp, your bow-string may be relaxed, but the weapon of all-prayer need never be out of order. Leviathan laughs at the javelin, but he trembles at prayer. Sword and spear need furbishing, but prayer never rusts, and when we think it most blunt it cuts the best. Prayer is an open door which none can shut. Devils may surround you on all sides, but the way upward is always open, and as long as that road is unobstructed, you will not fall into the enemy’s hand…Prayer is never out of season: in summer and in winter its merchandise is precious. Prayer gains audience with heaven in the dead of night, in the midst of business, in the heat of noonday, in the shades of evening. In every condition, whether of poverty, or sickness, or obscurity, or slander, or doubt, your covenant God will welcome your prayer and answer it from his holy place. Nor is prayer ever futile…You may not always get what you ask, but you shall always have your real wants supplied. When God does not answer his children according to the letter, he does so according to the spirit.
1. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896).
There is a Fountain – and then some.

August 19th, 2017

The Olney Hymns as they were called, were a joint effort by John Newton and William Cowper. They were first published in 1779. In part, they were to be used as a means of making Biblical truths memorable for those who were less educated and able in Newton’s parish. Set to music, they made sound theology accessible and memorable.

Among those hymns is one ascribed to Cowper, inspired by Zechariah 13:1 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.” We know the poem and thus the hymn as “There is a Fountain Filled With Blood.”

While most of us are familiar with the standard five verses, there were in fact 2 additional stanzas that never made into the sung version we have today.

Here is the poem in full, with its last 2 stanzas included. They are sweet.

1 THERE is a fountain fill’d with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners plung’d beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.

2 The dying thief rejoic’d to see
That fountain in his day;
And there have I, as vile as he,
Wash’d all my sins away.

3 Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood
Shall never lose its pow’r,
Till all the ransom’d church of God
Be sav’d to sin no more.

4 E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.

5 Then in a nobler, sweeter song
I’ll sing thy pow’r to save;
When this poor lisping, stamm’ring tongue
Lies silent in the grave.

6 Lord, I believe thou hast prepar’d
(Unworthy though I be)
For me a blood-bought free reward,
A golden harp for me!

7 ’Tis strung and tun’d, for endless years,
And form’d by pow’r divine;
To sound in God the Father’s ears
No other name but thine.

John Newton and Richard Cecil, The Works of John Newton, vol. 3 (London: Hamilton, Adams & Co., 1824), 392–393.
A Lesson in Context – A Tale from my oft mis-spent youth.

August 17th, 2017

Genesis 31:44–49 “Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me.” So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. And Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore he named it Galeed, ⁴⁹ and Mizpah, for he said, “The Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight.”

When I was a young man, I was dating a girl who was about to go off to Bible College in the mid-west. I was absolutely mad for her. And in a Christian bookstore, looking for a gift to give her, I found a piece of jewelry. It was a heart, cut into two to make two necklaces which fit together like puzzle pieces when side by side. It was almost identical to the picture above.

There was one half for each of us to wear. Jewelry, romantic AND Biblical. A grand slam.

On on the heart – when the two pieces were put together were these words from the text above: “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are out of each other’s sight” – along with the Scripture reference.

But I, like the manufacturer, never bothered to understand the context. That in fact these words are an explicit statement of distrust – and not a statement of fondness and well wishing while apart. For the text goes on to say: “The Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight. If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.”

There was no love-loss between Jacob and his father-in-law Laban. Jacob had deceived Laban and ran off with his wives, children and flocks out of fear and with no little amount of anger and resentment. They made this pact together as a sort of mutually assured distrust of retaliation.

Hardly the “spiritual” and romantic message I was hoping to convey.

One more example of how unthinking we can be in taking verses out of their context, and using them in ways never intended.
Letter to the Church at Philadelphia – Sermon notes

August 14th, 2017
Revelation Part 9 – Philadelphia

Rev. 3:7-13

Psalm 33

AUDIO FOR THIS SERMON CAN BE FOUND HERE

Philadelphia – the “city of brotherly love.” That is what the word philadephia means: love of brothers.

It wasn’t named that because that was the city’s character or out of some sense of wanting a community that represented brotherly love – the name comes from 2 real brothers – Attalus and Eumenes in the 2^nd century B.C.

Eumenes was king over the ancient empire of Pergamum. In 172 B.C.E., Eumenes, sided with the Romans in a major battle, was attacked and reported dead.

Attalus immediately replaced his brother as King and then married his brother’s widow in order to care for her.

A short time later, Eumenes turned up alive. Upon returning home, Attalus divorced the widow he had married so she could return her to her husband, and then ceded the throne back to his brother. And for this display of love and loyalty to his brother, he earned the name Attalus philadephias. And thus this city is named after him.

This city name will play an important role in understanding some of what Jesus has to say to His church in this city as we progress.

And I will say up front that this particular letter is so packed with Old Testament references and allusions, that we’ll have to break it into 2 parts – this week and next.

Which also tells us something about the Philadelphian Church. It tells us Jesus assumed they were so conversant with the Old Testament, that the connections He makes would be readily recognized and accessible to them in a practical way.

It makes me wonder if Jesus wrote such a letter to us today – would we know our Bibles so well, the connections would be as obvious to us as they appear to have been to them?

Historically, Philadelphia had been wracked with violent earthquakes throughout its history. In 17 C.E., it was the epicenter of such a devastating quake that the Emperor Caligula – as insane as he was, still gave them a 5 year break from paying their tax tribute while they rebuilt.

Even to the time of the writing of this letter, they were continually plagued by aftershocks. In fact few people lived in the city proper because the buildings kept falling down.

At the same time they were in the most productive grape growing region in the Roman empire due to its exceedingly rich volcanic soil. That is, until the Emperor Domitian (died 96 around the time this letter was written) decided the Empire needed more corn, and ordered ½ of all the vineyards there cut down in order to grow corn. It totally devastated the local economy. Tho the soil was exceptional for grapes, one can barely grow corn in it at all. They were wiped out by his unthinking plan.

All of these things will factor into the balance of the letter as we progress through it.

Without any divergence from the pattern Jesus has used so far in the previous 5 letters, He begins once again with an appeal to the vision in Ch. 1.

You will recall how the vision there represents Jesus as both a High Priest, and a King, and in purity and power. These ideas are fleshed out even more here – tho not as directly as in some of the other letters.
1. Appeal to the revelation of Ch. 1: 7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.”
Jesus points to 4 things about Himself that are vital for this church who will receive no rebukes and only encouragement from Him. These speak directly to the Church which is living in a place of poverty, continual upheavals due to earthquake activity, victims of governmental flip-flops and mismanagement and additionally, persecution by the local Jewish community.

So Jesus begins –

He is: The HOLY one

The TRUE one

Who has “the key of David”And who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one will open.

And who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one will open.

Lest we miss the point here – Jesus is reminding His people that because of Who He is, they stand in a much different place than their external circumstances might make it seem.

As opposed to the debauched and insane Caligula – King Jesus is the Holy King. He CANNOT sin against them. He cannot do them wrong in any way.

Contrary to the uninformed Domitian – Jesus not only knows all things truly, but is Truth Himself! He will neither deceive them, nor make decisions on their behalf that are miscalculations or harmful.

Having the key of David – He is a present ruler over all as God’s appointed King – and they are under His authority, care and protection – especially in spiritual reality – no matter who sits in the seat of political power.

And as The One who opens and no one shuts, and shuts so that no one can open – He alone determines who gets an audience with God and who does not.

Matthew 11:27 “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

To unpack that last phrase about the open door that He opens and none can shut etc., we need to see where it comes from. For it is a powerful reference to a scene unfolded in Isaiah 22 – that would have spoken volumes to the Philadelphian first readers.

To spare you too much detail, Isa. 22 tells the account of Israel at a very sad point in its history. A point the Philadelphian church could identify with.

Vss. 1-14 Paint the initial picture. The setting is the time of the reign of Hezekiah. Jerusalem had been threatened by Assyria, and Hezekiah thought he had bought the Assyrians off with a large sum of gold. That delayed a siege but didn’t prevent it. As Assyria pressed again, Jerusalem was delivered miraculously. An angel of the Lord killed 185,000 of the Assyrian troops in one night – and they withdrew. This was a result of humble prayer and seeking the face of God on the part of the King. But more was going on as well.

That done, the leadership and the people began to put their trust in making preparations for future attacks by building new walls and fortifications, gathering weapons, diverting their water supply so it could not be cut off by foreign raiders and even tearing down houses to get material to fortify themselves.

Upon completion of their preparations, they broke out into a massive party – thinking themselves now impervious to any further attacks.

Isaiah sees this scene, but his interpretation of it is far different from theirs. There is nothing wrong in being rightly prepared, but their problem was a spiritual one, not just a military one.

And this is key to the Philadelphians as well. For it is easy for us to have a merely earthly perspective on crucial things, putting our eggs into temporal baskets while forgetting the real need and the greater picture as seen from God’s perspective.

While the inhabitants of Jerusalem are partying – reveling in their new found, self-made security – Isaiah thinks about the number of towns and villages that had been decimated in these previous attacks, and the 200,000 plus Jews taken captive. He is weeping and lamenting over them while those in Jerusalem are celebrating their ingenuity and preparedness.

This is no time for revelry in Isaiah’s eyes. And on top of that, he looks ahead to the day when the Babylonians will eventually come and burn Jerusalem to the ground – despite the preparations they think have made them so safe.

They were trusting in their own power and solutions – and not repenting and crying out to God for His continued intervention.

These are two very different points of view.

Vss. 15-26 Narrow the focus down to two men. Shebna and Eliakim.

Shebna was the King’s steward, and the man most responsible for this great defensive campaign they had embarked upon. And once the revelry started, he actually went out to build for himself a monumental tomb – so that he would be remembered as a hero in posterity.

So unfitting were his actions, both in putting his and the people’s trust in their armaments, and planning for his legacy, that God pronounces He will remove Shebna from office in disgrace, and put Eliakim in His place.

And this is where what Jesus says in the letter to the Philadelphians finds it connection. God says of Shebna and Eliakim: Isaiah 22:19–22 “I will thrust you (Shebna) from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.”

Do you see the wording Jesus pulled directly from this passage? He will place on Eliakim’s shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

The 2-fold picture is this: One, who acts with the full authority of the King has the key of the house of David on his shoulder.

In John’s vision of Jesus in ch.1 you will remember Jesus holds the keys of death and of Hell. Holding “keys” is always a symbol of authority in the Bible. That vision is now expanded further.

It is a powerful image to communicate what we read in Jesus’ own words in Matt. 28:18 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

The key speaks of His authority, and that it is on His shoulder depicts His bearing the full weight of it.

But the imagery isn’t, over yet. He goes on to use the phrase regarding opening a door which none can shut, or shutting a door no one can open – as part and parcel of having the key of David or the authority of the King.

What does that mean?

It is common to take this image as indicating that the Philadelphian church had a door of opportunity for witness open to them, even in the midst of their difficult circumstances. And while that idea is certainly true, the question is whether or not that is what is being intended by Jesus appealing to the words of Isaiah 22.

Based upon the Isaiah passage, we come away with a rather different focus. One which was aimed at bolstering the faith and confidence of this diminutive and suffering assembly.

In the day of Isaiah, one who had the King’s key on his shoulder, to act as the King’s direct agent with all of The King’s authority – was also the one who alone granted or prohibited an entrance to gain an audience with the King.

If this guy opens the way – you can get in. If He shuts the door, you have no chance.

Back to Philadelphia.

To a Church with no access to the throne of political power in Rome; who suffer constant uncertainty due to their location; and under whims of foolish and sinful leadership – their situation must be understood in far different terms than just these surface facts.

They needed to be reminded that no matter what things might look like on the surface, the reality is far different once the place of Christ in the whole matter is considered.

They must know that Jesus the Christ, their Lord and King – King over the Caesar; King over creation and earthquakes; sovereign over circumstances and certainly over His own people; – this Jesus has the full authority of Heaven.

And above all – He opens for them a door of access to the very throne of the Living God that no one can shut or keep them from.

You cannot miss the echo of Paul’s words in Romans 5 that Ed preached from last week: Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

They are to lift their eyes above the world around them, to see things as they REALLY are, through the eyes of God!

And then to remember that they have been granted access to the true throne of power in the Universe – the throne of God Himself.

Hebrews 10:19-23 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful

And what a powerful word that is for us today as well isn’t it?

I cannot help but think how many in this last Presidential election began to put their hope and trust in political swing rather than looking to the heavenly perspective?

Looking to Supreme Court Justices and political parties and appointees. Looking to the advent of new policies and direction.

But our great hope doesn’t rest in any of those – as good as they may be in and of themselves.

Our hope is in the Holy one who cannot sin against us…

In the True one who cannot lie or mislead us…

In the One who has the key of David on His shoulder – who has all Royal power and authority over us AND nature AND antagonists…

The Who has opened the door of salvation for us through faith in His name which no one can possibly shut – a salvation that gives us unfettered access to the throne of grace…

The one who alone has the power to shut that door so that only those who are His may have this place and its benefits.

Jesus Christ our Lord.

Why does He care so much that His people in these straightened circumstances focus upon His holiness?

Because if we cannot trust the One who is in ultimate control to be absolutely holy, so as to never sin against us or do anything but what is good, then we will tremble at every adversity.

And why emphasize that He is true? Because we do not know the WHOLE truth until we understand His role in the world around us.

Why emphasize the key of David on His shoulder? That we might know He is the ultimate authority – and no one nor anything else is.

And why emphasize He has put an open door before us that no one can shut? That we might place our trust where it belongs – in the grace and power of the God who gave His Son to die on our behalf – that we might be reconciled to the Father by His blood, and look to Him in every circumstance of life – as our true security, safety and reward.

So that we might join our voices with David’s irrespective of the outward circumstances and say:

Psalm 33:1–22 Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. 2 Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 4 For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. 6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! 13 The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. 16 The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. 18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
As I was reading today – Proverbs 13:22

August 10th, 2017

On the surface, the wisdom here is plain – we are to think of the generations which follow us. And it is right we take this in the first place in terms of leaving a material inheritance of some sort. It need not be much. Simply a token that we had not been a selfish squanderer. Thinking beyond ourselves.

But there are other things which may be left to our children’s children of even greater value. A good name. A reputation of being a wise, godly, loving person. Their experience of us as having been those who set the Cross ever before us and lived as seeking the city whose builder and maker is God. The capturing of our testimony of having come to Christ as a light to them. The fruit of our Bible study and reading. The benefit of laying down the lessons we have learned in life – especially in our walk with Christ. Of their having experienced the love, mercy and acceptance of Christ through us – at our hands and in our conduct toward them and others.

These and more are fabulous things to bequeath those who come behind us. They cost no money at all. And endure to all eternity.