"Forgiveness and Restoration" Sermon: Isaiah 44:21-28 (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi1jZmoqyEI&feature=youtu.be

"Forgiveness and Restoration" Sermon: Isaiah 44:21-28 (manuscript)

 

“Forgiveness and Restoration”

[Isaiah 44:21-28]

September 27, 2020 YouTube

            Last week we saw God present Himself as the One God and showed that idols are made by humans – who can’t create something greater than themselves – and the idols are made out of the very creation that God made.  So, idolatry is foolish as well as sin.

            This morning, we see, first, reconciliation is achieved by redemption.

“Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.”

God commands Israel and Judah to remember three things:

First, Israel and Judah are the servants of God.  God chose them to be the people who obeyed God – through whom God gave the Law and the prophets and according to human generation the Savior.  Remember that.

Remember, Christians – all believers – you have been grafted into the vine that is Israel so we might also be Israel through faith and obedience.  “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree,” (Romans 11:17, ESV).  Remember that.

Second, unlike the humans who formed idols out of the creation that God made, God formed us and gave us breath to live, salvation through Jesus, the Savior, to live forever with Him, and made us His people as a witness to the world.  Remember that.

And third, God will never forget those who genuinely believe savingly in Jesus the Savior.  God gifts us the ability to repent and believe – as Israel and Judah did in their captivity in Babylon – and all those who genuinely believe and repent are forever God’s sons and daughters.  Since we are saved by God, He will never allow us to fully fall away.  We will never become so lost in our sin that our salvation is negated.  As Jesus says, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28, ESV).

Some of Israel and Judah believed and repented in captivity, just as some of humanity now repent and believe savingly in Jesus and receive His salvation.  So, how does this happen?

Paul reminds us:

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:1-3, ESV).

And what is a dead person able to do?  Is a person who is spiritually dead able to do spiritual good on his own?  Is a spiritually dead person able to choose the spiritual good of believing savingly in Jesus?

God tells us:

“I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.”

God tells Israel and Judah and us – God is the One Who chooses to blot out our transgressions – God makes the payment of the debt that is owed for our sins to Him.  Like a passing cloud or the morning mist, God removes them from our sight and reveals blue sky.  God does not wait until we are able to pay the debt for our sins – which we could never do – God pays the debt for our sin – through the Savior, Jesus, and we are forgiven.

Notice, God says it is after God blots out our transgressions – it is after God redeems us – that God tells us to return – to be reconciled to Him.  Another way to express this is regeneration precedes faith.  Since we are born dead in sin, we cannot have the faith to receive Jesus until the debt for our sin has been paid and we are given the ability to receive Jesus through faith – then and only then – are we able to be reconciled to God – to return to Him – to live a life of obedience to Him.

The result of God redeeming us through the work of Jesus is that we are reconciled to Him, and since we are reconciled, He calls us to obedience – not to pay Him back or to merit anything – but in thanksgiving and love for what He has done for us.  As the Scripture tells us:

“For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness” (I Thessalonians 4:7, ESV).

“for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8, ESV).

“that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,” (Philippians 2:15, ESV).

Our reconciliation with God is achieved by God’s gift of redemption.

 

Second, the Creation rejoices in God’s gift of salvation.

“Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it!       For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel.”

God has redeemed Jacob and will be glorified in Israel.  God has redeemed all of His people – His elect – through the work of the Savior, and He will be glorified in the work that He has done in redeeming us – all of His people.

This is announced to the whole creation – the skies, the earth, the depths, the mountains, the forest, and all the trees, and God commands them to shout and break into singing.  Why?

There is a popular misunderstanding that Brian Fikkert calls “evangelical Gnosticism.”  What this means is there are some in the modern Protestant church who view the earth and the material world as something we are to do what we want with and use to achieve our best life now, because when we die, it will be destroyed and we will only live on as spirit beings.

That is not what the Bible teaches us.  When we die, our bodies and souls are separated for a time, but when Jesus returns, our bodies and souls will be reunited and perfected and made holy – as will be all of the creation.  Everything will be like it was before Adam and Eve’s sin, but it will be impossible to sin.

Paul writes, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now” (Romans 8:19-22, ESV).

What is Paul saying?

The entire creation was punished – corrupted – warped – because humans sinned, and the creation will suffer and not be what it was first created to be until Jesus returns and reunites every humans’ soul with their bodies, and the elect – all those who ever believe – will be received into the perfected earth to live forever in the Kingdom.

So all of the creation – somehow even the inanimate objects – are looking forward with great expectation to our being perfected and being made holy at the end of the age, because, at that time – the creation will be set from for its suffering and be made perfect forever – no more to suffer.

            So, our redemption is a joy to the creation.  And if a joy to the creation – if it is waiting patient with pent-up joy – we should also find ourselves patiently waiting with pent-up joy until Jesus returns to make all things new – to restore and perfect the creation and His people.

            Third, the power of God confirms His promises.

            “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb:”

            Remember, we said the word, “LORD” in this context is the Name “YHWH” that most personal Name of God that He gave to Moses in the burning bush.  This God, YHWH, is the Redeemer of those who believe – He is the One Who saves His people by Himself and for Himself with no help from us.  This God is the One Who formed us in the womb.  Using the same word that is used for the forming of our first father, God made us who we are in the womb – it was not by chance or merely genetics, but by the Hand and the Will of God that we are who we are – that we grow in the womb and become who we are.

            David writes, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;   my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (139:13-16, ESV).

And “Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God” (Psalm 22:9-10, ESV).

            Our conception, growth physically and mentally, and every moment of our lives was decided by God and He made us and sustains us until the day He has ordained our death.

            God also made everything in all of existence:

“I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,”

God did this all with no help from anyone, because before anything existed, God is and nothing else.

Now and on the last day, God, Who cannot lie and hates lies, puts down liars and fools who make themselves out to be wise, astrologers, and He takes the wisdom that He gave them from birth and twists it so they are exposed in their deceit.

 “who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish,”

God is He Who confirms the word of the prophets and their counsel.  God proves His Word delivered by the prophets to be true, because He is God and His Word is true. And a truth of God delivered by the prophets as the Word of God is that the inhabitants of Judah will return and Jerusalem will be restored, and God will cause all of this to come to pass because His Word cannot fail.

“who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins’;”

And in 515 B. C., the Second Temple in Jerusalem was completed.

God reminds Israel and Judah of His power, signaling back to their being freed from slavery in Egypt and God’s powerful deliverance of them through the Red Sea when God caused the waters to divide and flow up so that they walked on dry land to the other side.

“who says to the deep, ‘Be dry; I will dry up your rivers’;”

And then the prophet Isaiah says something that would have made absolutely no sense to them at the time.

“who says of Cyrus,”

“Who?  We don’t know of any Cyrus.”

That’s right, Cyrus is not going to be king of the Medo-Persian empire for about one hundred and seventy years.  He hasn’t been born yet.  But God has chosen his parents, and God will cause him to be knitted in his mother’s womb, and God will cause him to be the man that he was to become, and God chose him – all these years before – to be the man who freed Israel and Judah from the Babylonian captivity.

And because they saw God’s power in the Red Sea and in their own conception and in all the other things that God did and promised, they believed with sure hope that Cyrus would be born, that he would become the king of the Medo-Persian empire, and he would free Israel and Judah from the Babylonian captivity, and the Temple in Jerusalem would be rebuilt.

Do we not have plentiful reasons to believe everything God has said about Jesus, our salvation, and the life to come in the Kingdom?

Who is this Cyrus?

“‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

Cyrus, a pagan king, is the one God will use to shepherd the people of God, to care for them and protect them even as if his life is at stake, to send them home, to promise that they will rebuild and the Temple will be rebuilt.

Brothers and sisters, do you believe that Jesus has forgiven you and restored you before God our Father?

Hear these words:

“But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, ‘I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven’” (Matthew 26:63-64, ESV).

“’But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:8-11, ESV).

“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen” (Revelation 1:7, ESV).

Let us pray:

Almighty God we thank You for these words to the people of Israel and Judah as they prepare for their exile in Babylon.  We thank You for showing them that this was not an end for them, but only the discipline of their loving Father.  Help us to receive these words as well, as You are our loving Father.  Help us to understand that reconciliation is achieved through redemption – You save us!  Help us to believe and look forward to seeing the Creation rejoicing in God’s gift of salvation in the restoration of the Creation.  And let us take Your Word to heart believing that the power of God confirms His promises.  Come, Lord Jesus, Amen.

Review: "Frankenstorm" (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZtiUFf_rV0&feature=youtu.be

Review: "Frankenstorm" (manuscript)

 

            Frankenstorm by Ray Gorton is a fun book recommended by Stephen King.

            There is a massive hurricane heading for the West coast of the United States.

            There is a compound that is said to be working on vaccines but is actually using homeless people as guinea pigs in an effort to create a virus to be used as a chemical weapon.

            There is a veteran who cares for the homes who figures out what is going on and breaks in with a bunch of other men.

            There is a man trying to get his son back from his drug addicted ex-wife

            And there is a sheriff who says he’ll help the man, but it turns out he is an insane murderer.

            And these things are all happening at the same time.

            The edition of the book I read came with a bonus story about what can happen when you seek vengeance.

            I enjoyed the book and the story, though I was thinking it would be more frightening.  It is very well written, and the characters are believable.

            Enjoy.

            [This review appears on my blog, my YouTube channel, Amazon.com, and Goodreads.com.]

Review: "A Field Guide to Becoming Whole" (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqrBy6IDtWA&feature=youtu.be

Review: "A Field Guide to Becoming Whole" (manuscript)

 

            I actually read these books backwards.  There is the book, Becoming Whole by Brian Finkert and Kelly M. Kapic, followed by their book, A Field Guide to Becoming Whole:  Principles for Poverty Alleviation Ministries.  I am reviewing the latter here.  At a later time, I will review the former.

            In the Field Guide, Finkert and Kapic look at twenty principles for ministry with the goal of poverty alleviation (13).

            The draw a fascinating distinct between “tradition religion” – in which the participants believe the world is controlled by spiritual forces, “Western Naturalism” – in which the participants believe the material world is basically all there is (24), and “historic Christianity” – in which the participants believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  There are other perspectives that mix two or more of these perspectives – and extremely popular right now is the mix of Western Naturalism and historic Christianity which morphs into what the authors call “Evangelical Gnosticism” – the believe that  we should live the “good life” now and we will enjoy a purely spirit life in Heaven after we die (25),

            From there, they discuss the five causes of poverty:  false gods, destructive practices, broken systems, broken people, and demonic forces.  The twenty principles are divided into these five causes (30).

            At the end of each principal, there are questions for discussion.  So, this book could be read alone or in a group setting.

            The book ends with endnotes – which are always helpful.

            I found numerous ideas and passages which could be helpful in addressing the needs of those poverty.  However, near the end of the book – where they are addressing things outside of the person that case poverty, they mention “systemic racism” as a problem (163).  I was crestfallen.

            Do I believe that there are racists?  Yes, I do, and they should be called out and stopped from racist action.

            Do I believe there are racist systems?  Yes, a system like Jim Crow was racist and was rightly done away with and outlawed.

            Do I believe that every system in all of the United States is racist?  I do not.  And that is where the expression “systemic racism” comes down.

            I am disappointed the authors put this forward.  It taints the whole book, so I cannot recommend it – unless you are willing to filter through it for the helpful things.

            [This review appears on my blog, my YouTube channel, Amazon.com, and Goodreads.com.]

"One God" Sermon: Isaiah 44:6-20 (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX4K2d3z_8I&feature=youtu.be

"One God" Sermon: Isaiah 44:6-20 (manuscript)

 

“One God”

[Isaiah 44:6-20]

September 20, 2020 YouTube

            Last week we saw God comfort Israel and Judah and give them hope.  He told them that they did not have any reason to fear their discipline due to the fact of Who God is and the promises He made to them.  And, whether they died in captivity or not, they had the promise of a blessed future.  All who believe in Jesus for salvation have that promise.

            In this morning’s text, God continues His condemnation of idols and idolatry.  Before, God looked at the idols and compared them to Himself.  Now, God gives a portrait of Himself and then compares Himself to the idols.

            We begin by seeing there is One God.

“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:”

God addresses His people by telling them Who He is with a variety of titles.

He is the Lord – He is YHWH – the God Who spoke to Moses in the burning bush and delivered His people from slavery in Egypt.  The God Who is personally involved with His people.

He is the King of Israel.  He is the True Ruler – the Sovereign over His people.  He is the One Who governs His people in righteousness – seeking their best in Him.

He is the Redeemer of Israel.  He is God Alone Who provides a gracious salvation for His people – for all who believe – God promised and sent the Savior to earth so salvation has been accomplished.

And He is the Lord of Hosts – the YHWH of Hosts.  He is the ruler over every created thing that has and does and will ever exist.

“I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.”

God speaks of His eternality – telling Israel that He existed before anything ever existed, and He will always be.  He is the utmost to the uttermost – in fact, there is no other god in all of existence – no one else who claims to be a god is a god – all the other gods are false gods – idols.  And God knows that because He is and was and is to come, and all things were created by Him.

Having said this, God continues:

“Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.”

God puts forth the challenge – is there anyone like Me?  Is there any being in all of existence that can claim to be the Being that I am or like Me?

This is, of course, a rhetorical question.  God knows there is no god like God and there cannot be since God is the Creator of everything.  In order for there to be another god even comparable to God, he would have had to exist with God from all of eternity past.

Also, God chose a people – Israel – the descendants of Abraham – to be the people through which God gave His Law and guided the prophets to inform the people of Who God is and what God will do.  Is there any god who has done anything like that?

And, as we have seen before, God asks if any idol can tell what will happen in the future.  Is there any god who can tell what will happen?  God, the True God, can and does.

God shows Who He is in the context of Israel, so there is no excuse for their idolatry – their sin.  God displays His Glory in the context of His relationship with Israel and tells them there is no excuse.

More so, we who know Jesus Christ – the Promised Savior – Who we know has come in history and we can point to and say He came at this point in history and did these things and accomplished salvation for us – so our understanding of God and His work with us and in us is far better than that of ancient Israel – we have even less of an excuse to sin

We commit idolatry when we sin – when we put anything in the place of God – when we know that God has said to do something or not to do something and we believe we have a better idea or want something that God has forbidden – we put whatever that is on God’s throne – and that is blasphemy – that is idolatry – that is sin.

We know there is One God.  We have seen so much more of His Glory.  We know so much more about Who He is and what He has done.  Let us focus on these things and be amazed – and then obey Him in faith and obedience, and we will have joy – even in suffering and captivity – and Covid – we will have joy in Him.

God says, “Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it?”

God tells His people not to be afraid – not to fear – because the idols are nothing – in reality they are nothing – they are not gods – they are the sinful creations of humans.  And so, God calls on His people to witness for Him – to show Him if He is wrong and idols are really gods comparable to Him:

“And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

God tells them that they are His witnesses to the fact that He Alone is God and there are no other gods.  God asks if they know of any other god – if they know of any other rock – any bastion of strength and security.  And God answers His question with full tongue in cheek, “I don’t know of any.”  “I have always been God and always will be God, and I have not met any other god – a real god – have you?”

Then God turns to the craftsmen of idols and the material they are made of to show how infinitely lesser they are than God – they are not gods – there is only One God.

Second, idol-makers are not ignorant of what they are doing.

It only takes a moment of thought to see that idolatry is ridiculous – that it is sin and not anything based in the reality of the world.  It only takes a moment to stop and look at what you are about to do and ask yourself if it is sin – if it is what God wants of you – and then decide whether or not to stop and take a different course.

“All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.”

One of the rules of logic is that you cannot create something that is greater than yourself.  A cat cannot create a human, a human cannot create an angel or a god.  The best any human or any creature can do is create something equal to himself.

And the idol-maker knows this.  God says that everyone who makes an idol understands it is nothing – it is a human creation – it does not and cannot rise to the level of a higher being.  They delight in nonsense – in things that can’t do any good for anyone else.  And since the idols they make cannot see or know anything – the reality is that idol-makers are put to shame.  What they have made is not worthy of praise, but ridicule and shame.

All sin is doing something that we know in our hearts and minds is less than what God would have for us – whether it be idolatry out-right like Israel was engaging in or another form of idolatry in which we do not obey God – it is always settling for less – and God will not have it.

“Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.”

God pushes the point that the idol-makers are humans – they cannot create something that is greater than they are – and what they have created is profitable for nothing – idols cannot do or know anything.  If you gather all the idol-makers together – they will all be ashamed of what they have created – they will be terrified as they consider that there is a real God Who will not give His glory to another.

And that’s what we do when we worship an idol – when we put anything in God’s place.  When we hold onto our rabbit’s foot or any other lucky charm in the hopes that it will bring us luck – or our lucky numbers or our lucky underwear – elevating humans beyond sainthood to someone to be worshipped.

And here’s what they do – here’s a formula for making a god – an idol.  (We don’t normally worship statues – though some people do – so consider the ways that we have made other things in our lives idols – how we have imbued them with powers they do not have.)

“The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.”

The craftsmen work with iron and wood and make them into the shape of a human being.  They decorate it and make it look like they think a god should look, and when they are finished, they are exhausted, but the god is done and it can sit on someone’s coffee table or in a church.

 The craftsmen aren’t ignorant about what they have created – it is no more a god that the planter they made for someone else.  Humans cannot create a being greater than themselves.

We know that plaster statues and the foot of a dead rabbit or the lucky stone we carry around can’t really do anything.  And if we think about it, we know we are attributing power to something that can do nothing and knows nothing.  We’re not ignorant.  When we don’t have time to read the Bible, but we do have time to read the latest Stephen King novel – we know what we have done.

Let’s not pretend that our sin is Christian liberty or to the glory of God.  We know what we are doing. Let’s take a breath and step back before we act – not trying to fool ourselves – but acting in faith and obedience to the One God.

Third, idols can’t be gods because they are made of what God created.

“He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it.”

Picture this:  A man cuts down a cedar or an oak tree in the forest and loads it up to bring back to his home or shop.  And being a good ecologist, he plants a tree to replace the one he cut down and it grows as God waters it with the rain.

And the man unloads the tree:

“Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, ‘Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!’ And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, ‘Deliver me, for you are my god!’”

The man takes the tree and cuts it up.  Half of the tree he cuts up and uses as firewood to heat his home.  Half of it he uses in his oven where he cooks a rabbit for dinner – except for the feet, which he has cut off to sell as lucky charms.  And the final half, he carves into an idol, and when he finishes making the idol, he falls down before it and worships it and asks it to deliver him from his problems.

From the same tree – a tree that God created and grew – this man made a fire to warm himself, filled his stove to cook dinner, and carved out a god – out of the same piece of wood – the same tree.  Why wasn’t the wood he threw in the fire a god?  Why wasn’t the wood he used in his stove a god?  Why was the other wood a god when the same piece of wood was also used to light two different fires?  Do you see how absurd this is?

What can the piece of wood that was made into an idol do that the wood that was used for the fires cannot do?  The material is the same.  And God made the material.  It cannot be a god.  It cannot save us.

And the government won’t save us.  Our bank account won’t save us.  The lottery won’t save us.  Your lucky penny won’t save us.  Only God, the One True God can save us.

“They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, ‘Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?’ He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, ‘Is there not a lie in my right hand?’”

God emphasizes how crazy it is to believe that a block of wood can do anything or understand anything or bring salvation to anyone.  Not only is it insane – like considered a pile of ashes to be a healthy meal – the idolater’s heart is deluded – so much so that he doesn’t even realize he has embraced a lie.

When we get so involved and persuaded by our own lies – the sins and inventions of our hearts that we put in the place of God, we cover our eyes and ears so we cannot hear or see or return to the right worship of God.  So, it may take captivity or Covid or death to break the spell of sin and get us to wake up and turn back to God in faith and obedience.

Why would we want that?  Why would we play around with things we know cannot do us any good – with things we know cannot be gods?  When God gives us His Son for salvation and we say we have believed on Him, why do we turn to the psychic hotline and horoscopes rather than the Word of God?

Elijah called the people of Israel to choose between God and their idols:

“And Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.’ And the people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, ‘I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.’ And all the people answered, ‘It is well spoken.’ Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, ‘Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.’ And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, ‘O Baal, answer us!’ But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, ‘Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.’ And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention” (I Kings 18:21-29, ESV).

And then Elijah said to the people to absolutely drench his sacrifice with water, and he prayed to God, the One True God, and God sent down fire and burned up the sacrifice, and the altar, and the people believe in God, the One True God, the Only God, and Elijah slaughtered the prophets of Baal.

            Let us pray:

            Almighty God, You continue to speak out against idolatry because You are the Only God and the sinful human heart is an idol factory.  Lord, forgive us for our sin and stir up the Holy Spirit that He would continue to grow us in faith and obedience and draw us ever closer to You as He makes us into the Image of Your Son.  Cause us to hate sin and to delight in You and Your Law.  Teach us anew each day from Your Word.  And we ask this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Review: "Stillness is the Key" (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C52lCYmnLFA&feature=youtu.be

Review: "Stillness is the Key" (manuscript)

 

            Stillness is the Key is the third and final volume of Ryan Holliday’s trilogy, also containing, The Obstacle is the Way and Ego is the Enemy.

            In this volume, Holiday continues with the same style of quotes, historical anecdotes, and pithy commentary.  The book is divided into three sections:  the mind, the spirit, and the body.  Holiday says, “the aim of this book is simply to show how to uncover and draw upon the stillness we already possess” (7).

            In finding stillness in the mind, we must focus on the now – the present – the only reality that exists – and put the past and future away from us.  We need to ask ourselves in every moment, “Is this necessary” (34), and, if not, let it go.  We need to stop overanalyzing and just do the work that needs to be done (39).  We need to seek the wisdom available to us from history (48).

            In finding stillness in the spirit, we seek virtue – moral and civic excellence in our lives (98).  We give up lust (114). We seek spiritual strength by examining each impulse and letting it pass if it is a bad one (118).  We recognize something greater than ourselves (134).

            In finding stillness in the body, we care for our body, we bring it into the forest, we give it ample rest (170), we exercise, have hobbies, commit to causes greater than ourselves (183), learn to say no (189), set a routine (199), gid rid of all the stuff we don’t need (208), and take time for solitude and literal quiet and stillness (219).

            One of the things that Holiday advises we do is to seek out the wisdom of history.  He does that in his books, and I find myself being encouraged and challenged to be a better person as I read his books.  I am changing my life according to the principles he has found – as well as others I have found – and I hope I will have lived my life well at the end.

            Read these books.

            [This review appears on my blog, my YouTube channel, Amazon.com, and Goodreads.com.]

Review: "The Unsaved Christian" (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o4oMbb09sc&feature=youtu.be

Review: "The Unsaved Christian" (manuscript)

 

            Dean Inserra’s The Unsaved Christian: Reaching Cultural Christianity with the Gospel examines a truth that many church folks want to ignore:  not everyone who calls themselves a Christian is a Christian.  Churches are a mixed group – with believers and unbelievers – and that is true even if the unbelievers think they are believers.

            Inserra explains that after seminary, he felt bad that he was returning home to minister in the Bible Belt while many of his classmates were going overseas to minister.  A friend of his set him straight saying that the Bible Belt may be a more difficult mission field because the people in the churches believe they are Christians when they are not – they believe in God, but they don’t believe their sin is a problem or that they need a Savior in the biblical sense (12).

            Inserra looks at a variety of iterations of the cultural believer, where their beliefs fall short of true Christianity, barriers to their belief, and ways that one might bring the Gospel to the most effectively.  He addresses distinct problem with cultural Roman Catholics versus cultural Protestants and gives encouragement for the work of bringing the Gospel to them.

            Finally, he asks the reader if he is sure he is not a cultural Christian.

            Each chapter concludes with reflection questions, and there is a chart and the end of the book showing the various cultural Christians, there issues, and ways to approach them with the Gospel.

            What the author claims is true – I see it in the churches in my neighborhood and in my own extended family.  Christian means a good person to many people – and nothing more than that.  The book is full of anecdotes and is very readable.  The author gets a little repetitive, but one may want to just read certain chapters to address certain issues one sees.  Overall, it is a useful and revealing work.

            [This review appears on my blog, my YouTube channel, Amazon.com, and Goodreads.com.]

"Hope" Sermon: Isaiah 44:1-5 (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9dod9uuhnE&feature=youtu.be

"Hope" Sermon: Isaiah 44:1-5 (manuscript)

 

“Hope”

[Isaiah 44:1-5]

September 13, 2020 YouTube

            At the end of chapter forty-three, God explains to Israel and Judah that they are sinners and God is Holy, so they must be punished for their sin.  They cannot justify themselves – and neither can we.  But God will cause a people to be saved.  God will pay the debt to God for sin and credit His people with righteousness.  God will forgive them for His Own Sake.  We know this happens through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.

            As chapter forty-four opens, God again comforts Israel and Judah.

            First, God tells Israel and Judah not to fear.

            It would be normal for them to fear.  They were going to be attacked and conquered and taken into a foreign country as captives for seventy years.  Who wouldn’t be afraid of that surety? Don’t we fear now as Covid continues to rage and no one really has any answers as to how to stop it or cure it?

            God says as we face war and disease and whatever else, we should not fear.

            Why not?

“But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen! Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.”

God addressed both kingdoms and tells them not to fear the Babylonian exile.

They are not to fear because they are the servant of God. God gave them the high calling of being the people who served God by receiving His Law, witnessing it to the world, announcing the coming of the Savior, and having the Savior come through the people of Israel and Judah as God promised and the prophets foretold.  God chose them to be the people who obey and announce God to the nations.

And so, we should not fear because we live after the coming of the Savior, Jesus, and He has charged all Christians to be His servants and to spread the Gospel to the whole world.  You and I – as the spiritual Israel – have been chosen to obey and announce God to the nations.

Peter writes, “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (I Peter 2:16, ESV).

They are not to fear because they are chosen of God. God chose them as a people to be holy – to be separate – to be strangers in a strange land – to be different – to call attention to themselves for the sake of the Word of God and the promise of His salvation.

We also have this call upon us – as believers – we are to be a holy people, set apart, a people that the world looks at and says, “you’re different.”

Peter talks about the restoration of the world at the return of Jesus and says, “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,” (II Peter 3:11, ESV).

They are not to fear because God made them and formed them. We have seen this language before – that not only was humanity – beginning with our first parents – create by God out of the dust of the earth, but each individual is created by God in the womb, and God made and formed Israel to be the nation through which He gave the Law and the prophets and the Savior.

Of the individual being made and formed, David writes:

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:13-16, ESV).

And of the making and forming of a people for God through which He works and makes Himself and His salvation known, Peter writes:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (I Peter 2:9-10, ESV).

God made and formed His people for Himself and to His Glory and that includes all who believe – you and me.  So, we should not fear – God has made us for Himself.

And they are not to fear because God will help them.

This is a theme throughout the Scriptures, despite the sin of Israel and her need for discipline – and ours as well.

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him” (Psalm 28:7, ESV).

“As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!” (Psalm 40:17, ESV).

“for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy” (Psalm 63:7, ESV).

“My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2, ESV).

John Calvin says that God is never so angry with His Church that He doesn’t have some room for mercy.

And the author of Hebrews tells us, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So, we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6, ESV).

Yes, war is coming.  Yes, you will be conquered.  Yes, you will be taken into captivity.  Yes, this is My discipline of you. But don’t fear – you are My servant – My chosen people – and you will always be the ones I chose.  I formed you and made you from the womb to be My people and you will always be mine, not matter what you go through.  And even in your captivity and during your discipline, I am your Helper.  I will help you to endure your discipline and come out the other side.

God says this to Israel and to all who believe:  You are My servant – part of My chosen people – the ones I chose from the womb.  I knew you and chose you to be a part of My people before You began to exist.  And I am now and will always be your Helper.  Trust in the promises of God – rely on the promises of God.

Don’t fear.  Endure by the Promises of God.

Second, hope in the promise of a blessed future.

The hope in the promise of a blessed future is another reason for Israel and Judah not to fear – as is our hope in the promise of a blessed future a reason for us not to fear.

God gives Israel and Judah the promise of luxuriant blessing:

“For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.”

God tells them that He will pour out water on the parched ground – He will refresh them with spiritual blessing.  God will cause their dry, desiccated hearts to come to life and refresh them – plump them up – bring them back to life and fill them with spiritual blessing.  He will revive them and cause them to flourish.

And not just that generation, but the day will come when the descendants of these people will not only be spiritually refreshed, but God the Holy Spirit will dwell in them to work the Will of God in them and to grow them to spiritual maturity and into the likeness of Jesus, the Savior.

Peter quotes from the book of Joel:

“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy’” (Acts 2:17-18; ESV).

Blessings shall be poured out on all the people of God – everyone who believes savingly in the Promised Savior.  This is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham:

“I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:17-18, ESV).

You and I – if we believe that Jesus is God the Savior – we are some of the offspring that God promised Abraham He would pour His blessings upon and fill with God the Holy Spirit.

“They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams.”

Albert Barnes explains, “Willows are usually planted in such places, and grow rapidly and luxuriantly. It denotes here, abundant increase, vigor and beauty; and means that their posterity would be greatly blessed of God” (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/isaiah/44-4.htm).

We see this imagery in Psalm 1:

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:1-3, ESV).

God pours out His blessings on the people of God and grows us.  That does not mean we will never suffer, nor does it mean we won’t be disciplined.  After all, our Father loves us.  But it means that we are blessed and will always be the Lord’s and be received into His Kingdom eternally.

“This one will say, ‘I am the LORD’s,’ another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and name himself by the name of Israel.”

God chose the nation of Israel, but not all of Israel was spiritual Israel.  God has chosen the Church, but not every person in the church is a believer in the Savior.  But all those who genuinely believe will confess the Lord with their mouth and believe in Him in their hearts.

The name of the Savior will be written on their hand and their head, and all will know that they are of the Lord.

This imagery is carried into the New Testament as we read in Revelation:

“Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless” (Revelation 14:1-5, ESV).

We don’t need to get tattoos – the writing of the name on our foreheads is symbolic – like the rest of Revelation – it means that they are the true believers.  And the number of people is symbolic of all the people who will ever believe – not merely that small number.

Israel and Judah – the true believers – had nothing to fear – no matter what they were to endure – even death – because God pours out His blessings upon them.  So, we have nothing to fear – no matter what we must endure – because God still pours out His blessings – in His time – as He knows we need them – on every true believer.

And Israel and Judah had hope – because the Promise of God was of a blessed future.  Even if they died – what was that?  They still had a blessed future with God.  So, we have the promise of a blessed future through Jesus, the Lamb of God, our Savior.  All who believe in Jesus will be with Him in Glory forever – whether we die before He returns or are received alive into the Kingdom.

Let us be comforted with these words and let us comfort each other with these words.  As we face a – seemingly more – uncertain future than usual in the Covid world.

We are the servants of God, chosen, made, and formed by Him for Himself, and He is our help, and He has promised us a blessed future.  Have hope in Jesus even if we must weep among the dead of war and be taken into captivity.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, help us to believe everything Your Word says, to learn from what You have done among Your people in the past, and to believe Your promises with hope.  As the world looks on and is dismayed by how strange we react to devastating news, help us to put our hope in You forward that all will know that You are our God and our hope is in You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.