"Love God" Sermon: Mark 12:28-34 (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLcCVDR6E-Q&feature=youtu.be

"Love God" Sermon: Mark 12:28-34 (manuscript)

 

“Love God”

[Mark 12:28-34]

November 29, 2020 YouTube

            Today is the first Sunday of Advent.  We have entered a liturgical season of anticipation – the anticipation of the remembrance of the Incarnation of the Son of God – the birth of the baby, Jesus.

            As we begin our shopping and hanging of wreaths and lights and garland, and picking out a Christmas tree – as we send out Christmas cards – I got my first Christmas card this week – put on the Christmas music, make eggnog and hot chocolate and all the goodies of the season, let us remember Who we are anticipating – not Santa, not Saint Nicholas, but Jesus, the Incarnate God, Who has come to earth and will return again.

            This morning, we are looking at a question Jesus was asked and the answer He gave.

            First, love God.

“And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, ‘Which commandment is the most important of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”’

We know from the Gospels that many of the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, and scribes hated Jesus and were looking for any way they could trip Him up so they could accusing Him of some sort of sin and get rid of Him.

In the passage before this one, the Pharisees and Sadducees (who normally hated each other) gang up on Jesus and ask Him if a woman marries a man and he dies, and then she marries each of his numerous brothers, and they all die, and then she dies, who will she be married to in the Kingdom.  Jesus tells them if they had ever taken the time to read the Scripture, they would know there is no marriage in the Kingdom.

There was a scribe who heard this interchange, and he was impressed with Jesus’ answer, and that brings us to this morning’s text.  This is one of the rare times when one of the leaders of Israel comes to Jesus to ask Him a serious question that is not a trap.  The scribe really wants to know what Jesus’ answer is.

And the scribe asks Jesus, “Which is the most important commandment?  Which commandment of the over six hundred in the Scripture should be my main focus?  If I were only to keep one, which should it be?”

The scribe is asking Jesus, “Which of the commandments has the greatest weight and dignity?  Which of the commandments is fundamental to obedience?”

Jesus quotes a well-known and important text from Deuteronomy: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, ESV).

These words are initially directed to the nation of Israel, but apply to all believers

The text begins by calling to believers – announcing to them that the Lord God is One God.  This is reminiscent of the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”  Why?

There is only One God.  We know that to be true and we believe in Him Alone.  This sets Israel and us apart from the rest of the world who embrace idols.  God is the Omnipotent – He has all power and authority and ability.  No idol can do anything.  Only God creates.  Only God sustains and gives salvation and judges the world at the end of the age.

And this goes into the second commandment as well, “You shall have no graven images.”  This does not mean that pictures and statues are wrong – it means that worshipping anything other than God is a sin.

Isaiah speaks of the insanity of idols -- manmade gods – gods that are no god – they are not real.  They are impotent.  He says of a piece of wood a man has gathered, “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!’” (Isaiah 44:16-17, ESV).

These pagan notions continue to this day – as the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, recently said that global warming is occurring because the earth is angry with us.  No, the earth is not a being.  The earth is not a god.  It has no emotions.

“And you shall love the Lord your God.”  This is not the Beatles, “all you need is love.”  This is as Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15, ESV).  Love of God is obedience to God.

“with your heart and soul and mind and strength”  The first and most important commandment, the foundation of all the commandments, the root of all the commandments is this:  we are to love God – we are to obey all that God has said – all of His commandments – with the totality of our spiritual being, with the totality of our emotional being, with the totality of our intellectual being, with the totality of our physical being – with everything that we are, we are to obey God’s commandments in every way possible which is loving God.

In worship that means that we obey everything that God has commanded us to do in worship.  With everything we are, we are to worship God as He commands us to worship Him – with the totality of our spiritual being – with everything that believes in Jesus and strives to become holy and in thanks for our salvation – with the totality of our emotional being – with our emotions – showing how we truly feel in joy and sorrow before God knowing that He Alone can satisfy us – the totality of our intellect – thinking through what we are singing and all that is in the liturgy – looking to understand the Scripture and understand everything the minister is preaching – using our minds to the fullest extent – the totality of our bodies – singing, sitting, standing, speaking, drinking, eating, touching each other in greeting and compassion.

We love God when we use everything, we are to strive to do everything He has commanded – which is the love of God.  If we love God, we will focus everything we are in every way to the fullest extent to glorifying Him – telling Who He is and what He has done.

Love God.

Second, love neighbor.

“The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.’”

You may have thought that loving God seemed familiar – one God, no idols, proper worship.  These are the first four of the Ten Commandments – called “the first table.” 

The “second table” is about loving others: honor your parents, don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t bear false witness, and don’t covet other people’s stuff.

Jesus says the second commandment in His list of two is to love your neighbor as yourself.  How do you love yourself?  Do you want to be honored if you are a parent?  Would you rather not be murdered?  Would you rather your spouse not commit adultery?  Would you rather not be robbed?  Would you rather people not lie about you?  Would you rather people not covet your stuff?  The answer to all of these is “yes,” isn’t it?  You love yourself in the way that God says we are to love others.

So, we ought to obey God by loving others in the same way that we love ourselves, and, if we obey God in this, we love God.

And we may wonder about that creepy person – or the person everyone knows did something horrible and unforgiveable – whatever it was.  Do we have to love them?

In addition to obeying God – showing God we love Him by loving others – as we find in the Ten Commandments and elsewhere – we ought to remember that every person in existence is created by God.  Do we have the right to not love someone God creates?

Every person that God creates is a bearer of the Image of God.  So, not loving them would be spurning the Image of God.  We may not like everyone or what they have done, but we must love someone who bears the Image of God – or be acting against God.

We are also called – as believers – to glorify God by telling people Who Jesus is and what He has done to secure salvation for all those who will believe.  We are commanded to go throughout the world – in love of our neighbor and God – to let them know that God came to earth in the person of Jesus on that first Christmas, that He lived a perfect life – meriting and giving us His righteousness, died for the sins of everyone who will ever believe, rose from the dead, ascended back to the Father and reigns from His throne over all and has promised to come again as Judge and to bring His people into His everlasting Kingdom.  That is the greatest way we show love to our neighbor.

Third, a proper understanding of the Old Testament prepares the way for Christianity.

“And the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’”

The scribe hears Jesus out, and when Jesus is finished explaining that the weightiest and root commandment is to love God – the second being love neighbor (which is actually another way we love God) – he agrees with Jesus.

“You’re right, Teacher.  There is only One God – idolatry is madness – we are rightfully set apart as the people of God.  And to love God with all of our heart and mind and soul and strength is the greatest of all the commandments – and to love your neighbor as yourself.”

And then he draws a conclusion from this that is profound – and we need to remember that the entire culture of Ancient Israel was centered around the Temple and the offering up of sacrifices to God.  The scribe says that to love God with everything in our being and to love our neighbor as ourselves is greater – more meaningful – more weighty – gets to the root of what God wants from us – “than all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

This is a revolutionary statement – a revolutionary understanding.  Despite the fact that the burnt offerings and sacrifices were central to the lives of Ancient Israel, there is something greater that God wants – that God expects from us love, which leads to obedience, and obedience, which reveals love.

The life of Jesus on earth is the passing of the Old Testament to the New Testament.  It is the passing of shadows and symbols.  The author of Hebrews shows that a proper understanding of the Old Testament prepares the way for Christianity:

“Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.  For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:23-28, ESV).

The author of Hebrews explains that the Old Testament sacrifices are fulfilled in Jesus and Jesus’ Sacrifice is better and of more worth than the burnt offerings of the Old Testament.  Why?

In the Old Testament, the high priest went into the Holy of Holies once a year to ask for the forgiveness of the people of God.  Now, Jesus is in the Holy of Holies and we have direct access through Him to the Father and forgiveness all the time.

In the Old Testament, sacrifices had to be offered constantly and repeatedly, but Jesus offered up Himself for the forgiveness of sins once, and no other offering needs ever to be offered.  All the sins of the believer are forgiven through Jesus.  Period.

And just as we learn in the Old Testament that each person lives, dies, and is judged by God.  In the New Testament we learn that each person lives and dies, and each person who believes in Jesus will not face judgment for his sins, because Jesus has already paid the debt for them.

Can we see, then, if we understand how the Old Testament sacrificial system works – for example – we can look at what Jesus did to save His people and see how obvious that the Old Testament sacrifices are shadows or types of what Jesus would do – so that someone who properly knows the Old Testament should find himself prepared to hear the Gospel and believe?  (And Christians can understand Who Jesus is and what He did and look back at the Old Testament and see how God prepared the people for Jesus’ coming – and ways we might explain the Gospel using the Old Testament – especially to our biblical Jewish friends.)

Anyone who properly understands the Old Testament will be prepared for Christianity, and, if God is willing, he will believe – understanding how Jesus has fulfilled all that God has said.

“And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.”

Jesus is impressed by the scribe’s understanding – he was not a believer yet – but, Jesus said he is well on his way to believing – and, Lord willing, he did come to faith in Jesus.

As we go through these forty days of anticipating reimbering the coming of God the Son in the person of Jesus, let us remember that the people of God waited for four thousand years for God to send the Son, and in that time, God gave His people the Old Testament, and everything in it points to Who Jesus is so He would be known and believed.

Let us love God with everything that we are and love our neighbors in the way we love ourselves, and for both reasons, let us tell people the Gospel.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we thank You for the gift of Your Son for our salvation.  We thank You that He told us that to love God and our neighbor are the greatest commandments, and we thank You that Jesus lives that out for us in the pages of the Bible.  We thank You that all of Scripture points to Who Jesus us, and we ask that the Holy Spirit would prepare us and open our mouths that we would love You and others by proclaiming the Gospel, for it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

"The King of Kings" Sermon: Revelation 1:4-8 (video)

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

"The King of Kings" Sermon: Revelation 1:4-8 (manuscript)

 

“The King of Kings”

[Revelation 1:4-8]

November 22, 2020 YouTube

            Today is Christ the King Sunday.  It is the day on the liturgical calendar when we remember that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is the Sovereign Ruler, the Lord, and King of the universe.  It is a time when we remember that a war is going on between the Kingdom of God and the sinful world.  And it is a time when we remember that King Jesus is victor over all evil and sin, and He rules now Almighty, King of kings and Lord of lords.

            We know there is a difference between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of humans.  We live in a world of sin – of contested elections, of leaders who mock each other and slander each other and tells lies about each other.  Our leaders even kill each other and make wars against each other and force the people of their kingdoms to do horrible things.  Which is exactly what God told Israel would happen.  But that’s another sermon.

            This morning we are looking at some of the opening verses of the book of Revelation as we think about Christ the King.

            We see first, the Triune God is the Universal King.

“John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace”

John addresses his letter to seven representative churches in the province of Asia – what we now call Turkey.  This – as letters were in those days – is a letter to be shared and read in multiple places – and in the case of the Scripture, to be read in every church and by every Christian.

And John asks that the Grace of God – that giving of a gift when no gift is deserved, and the Peace of God – that satisfaction in and holy obedience to God – that these would be for the people of God who receive and read this letter.

And then, John writes of the Absolute Sovereignty of the Trinity – and let us remember:  there is One God and God exists in Three Persons, and though we speak about the Three Persons, They are not Three gods.

“from him who is and who was and who is to come,”

In English, we recognize that John is using the form of the verb “to be” in this description – and this should immediately resonate with us – we should automatically remember Who this is referring to and where it is first expressed.

Moses is out caring for the sheep, and he comes upon a burning bush that did not burn away, and Moses speaks to the bush and asks Who he is to say is sending him to free Israel from slavery in Egypt, and God responds, “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: ‘” I AM has sent me to you”’” (Exodus 3:14, ESV).

God the Father is YHWH – “I AM” – He is the source of all existence.  All being comes from God the Father.  All kings exist because God has called them into existence and God has set them to be kings for the good or the discipline of their people.

As Daniel confesses:

“Daniel answered and said: ‘Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; (Daniel 2:20-21, ESV).

“and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,”

Here we have God the Holy Spirit, the Sovereign King.  He is called “seven spirits” because seven is the number that means “fully, completely” – and the Spirit that has equality with the Father and Christ, the Son, is God the Holy Spirit, Who is fully, completely God.  He is seen – not on the throne – but before the throne, not because He is inferior to the Father and the Son, but because He is ready to go out and be about His work.

As Jesus says, “Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again.” The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit’” (John 3:5-8, ESV).

“and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.”

Here we have Jesus, the Son of God Incarnate, and we are told three things about Him:

He is the faithful witnesses.  That is, Jesus is entirely worthy to be believed.  Jesus is unable to lie and all He says is truth.  Because of His Incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, we have everything we need to know for salvation, and we are certain that our salvation is sure in Him.

He is the firstborn of the dead.  This does not mean that Jesus is the first person to ever be resurrected, because we have accounts of others who were raised from the dead before Him.  Jesus raised several people from the dead before His resurrection.  What it means is that Jesus is the primary and most important One raised from the dead.

He is the Ruler of the kings on the earth.

Paul writes to Timothy:

“I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen” (I Timothy 6:13-16, ESV).

He we have a description of the One God – of Who Jesus is One Person – Jesus is the One God – the Son Incarnate – the One Who pays the debt for our sin and makes us holy.  He is the One Who will return, the Sovereign, the Almighty, the One Who rules over all – the Only Immortal – the Only One due honor – the Only One Who has eternal dominion – rule – kingship –  over everything and every one and every kingdom and every king.

So, even in this brief look, we see that the Triune God is the Universal King.

Second, King Jesus has made us His.

“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Why did God the Son Incarnate in the Person of Jesus?  Because He loves us.  Because He chose to free us from sin – even to be willing to go to the cross and suffer and die – shedding His blood – at the hands of sinful men that we who believe would be welcomed into the Kingdom of Jesus – holy and sinless.

The author of Hebrews explains:

“he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:12-14, ESV).

All who believe in the Savior God sent are now part of the Kingdom of God and King Jesus is our King.  We are the Kingdom of God due to the work of Jesus on our behalf.  And He has made us a priesthood to God the Father.

What does that mean?  Peter explains:

“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).

As the Only Holy King, Jesus chooses us to be His, makes us His, makes us holy, makes us His possession so we will proclaim the Glory of Jesus to the world and glorify Him when His Kingdom has come in all its fullness.

We are tasked now with telling the world that Jesus is the King of kings – He has made the Only Way to be right with God and welcomes all who will repent and believe into His eternal kingdom.  This is the only kingdom and the Only King Who will rule with justice and grace, in holiness and peace.  He will never sin against His people – all is true and right and assured.  He is the Good King, the Almighty King – the King Who determines all that happens in history and all of eternity.  And we carry Christ in us – He is seen in us and through us and we will reflect Him back to Him in the Kingdom where will be in His Presence forever in joy and thanksgiving.

King Jesus has made us His.

Third, He is coming to judge the world as King of kings.

“Behold, he is coming with the clouds,”

We will remember that Jesus ascended back to the Father up through the clouds beyond the sight of the disciples.

“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 1:9-11, ESV).

Just as Jesus was taken into heaven by a cloud, He will come with the clouds on the last day.

What does that mean?  Is it merely a reference to physical clouds? 

Jesus may have been seen to leave by a physical cloud and return with physical clouds, but clouds also symbolize majesty and kingship.  So, just as Jesus ascended back to His throne in majesty as King of kings, He will come in majesty as the King of kings to judge the world and bring His kingdom to earth in all its fulness.

These images are given to us to impress upon us the rank and glory of Jesus over the Creation.  There is no authority higher than Jesus.  Our God is the King over all.  No other king has any claim or just cause against Him.  And He alone rules forever and ever.  As Mary was told:

“And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end’” (Luke 1:30-33, ESV).

Jesus’ return will not be a day of joy for all people:

“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.”

This is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah:

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10, ESV).

John states that this refers to Jesus, “And again another Scripture says, ‘They will look on him whom they have pierced’” (John 19:37, ESV).

In the Zechariah passage, we are told that those who believe will mourn over the piercing of the Christ – over His crucifixion and death for our sin, but in the Revelation passage, John states the opposite – but equally true understanding of this passage – indicated by these people wailing.

John – in Revelation – is referring to the people who never believe savingly in Jesus – who will see Jesus coming in majesty as the King of kings, and they will wail in horror over Him and be burned in their hearts for the sins that they have committed and be full of self-pity that Jesus is King of kings and they will now suffer eternally for their sin.

Here we have the coming and the consequences of the return of the King of kings:  those who love Him and believe in him will weep with joy for what He has done to save them, and those who never believe will weep that Jesus is the Only Savior and that they will suffer eternally for rejecting Him.

Jesus is coming to judge the world as the King of kings.

“’I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”

            For those of us who believe that Jesus is God the Only Savior, His being the King of kings and His soon coming return are a joy and an assurance of His promises to us.

            Jesus is the Almighty God and Savior.  Under His rule on earth, we will never again live under an oppressive government, or even, simply, a sinful, human government.  We will live under the rule of the King of kings alone – the holy, perfect, just, glorious rule of the King of kings.

            Jesus makes us His people, a people who will worship and glorify Him for all of eternity in His Kingdom.  The Father says of the Son, “But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom’” (Hebrews 1:8, ESV).

            The Deity and Kingship of Jesus assure us that all His promises will come to pass – that everything is occurring according to His Plan, and – at the end of the age – He will come to rule over us in the flesh in Paradise – in a kingdom without sin or end.

            Let us pray:

            Almighty God, we thank You that Your Son loves us and saved us for Himself.  We thank You for revealing that He is the Almighty King of Kings and He is making all things right – preparing us for His Kingdom.  Help us to look to Him and His promises as we bear with the frailties and failures of our rulers – on every level.  Help us to pray that our leaders would turn to and believe in Jesus for their salvation and hope.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

"A Sacrifice of Thanksgiving" Sermon: Psalm 50:1-23 (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC6lfIs27hw&feature=youtu.be

"A Sacrifice of Thanksgiving" Sermon: Psalm 50:1-23 (manuscript)

 

“A Sacrifice of Thanksgiving”

[Psalm 50:1-23]

November 15, 2020 YouTube

            The idea of sacrifice is a common one to us as we remember the sacrifices of the Old Testament and the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf.  But the idea that we are to sacrifice in these days is not one we immediately thing of.

            We are familiar with giving thanks for things done for us and thanksgiving being offered up to God.  And we are familiar with the holiday of Thanksgiving when we break out our pants with the elastics in them and serve up giant birds with sides smothered in butter and desserts full of butter and sugar.

            What do we think of when we hear the phrase “a sacrifice of thanksgiving”?  Does that make sense to us?

            On this Thanksgiving Sunday, we are looking at Psalm 50 – a psalm of Asaph – as we consider what this means.

            And we see, first, God doesn’t need our sacrifices.

“The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.”

Who is our God?

God is the Being Whose dominion is total. God’s authority over and care for the Creation is total.  God is the “I AM” of Moses.  He is the One Who holds all might.  He holds all of Creation in His hands and causes all the laws of nature to function as He has set them.  He rules over the entire earth – and all of Creation from the rising to the setting of the sun – all times and in all places.

And in Zion – in Jerusalem and from the Temple – the perfection of God’s Beauty shines forth – God’s Glory shines forth – He is known for Who He is and what He has done through the Law and the Prophets and finally through the Incarnation of His Son.

As the author of Hebrews writes, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs” (Hebrews 1:1-4, ESV).

“Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest.”

The author of Hebrews also reminds us, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29, ESV).

God is patient, but He never allows sin to go unpunished.  Either we take the punishment of His Fury upon ourselves, or Jesus takes it in our place – there are no other options.  It is important in our thinking about thanksgiving that we understand we should rightfully receive eternal torment for our sin against the Holy God.

Our God has utter dominion, beauty, glory, and He is Holy and will not stand unholiness before Him – all sin will be punished – one way or another.

And we see in the Scripture that all people will be judged on the last day – as Paul tells us:

“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:10-12, ESV).

And John writes, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done” (Revelation 20:11-12, ESV).

“He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: ‘Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!’ The heavens declare his righteousness,            for God himself is judge! Selah.”

God, our God, the God Who has dominion over all of Creation, the God Who is Sovereign over all things, the God of beauty, the God of Glory, the God of holiness and judgment, He will gather all people to Himself and judge those who are faithful to the covenant – to the agreement between them – and those who reject God outright and those who claim to have made a covenant but do not really believe.

God is not fooled – God easily judges between the real and the nominal believers – between those who embrace God and His Savior with their hearts and their mouths, and those who merely mouth the words but have no heart-belief in Jesus, the Only Savior. And God will judge on the last day.

Since all these things are true, we can see that God does not need our sacrifices.  Everything belongs to God, so God does not need anything from us.

Second, God wants a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

            “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds.”

            God tells Israel that He is their God.  This is not some foreign god – this is the God Who brought them out of the land of Egypt – the God Who gave them the Law and the Prophets.  This is the God Who chose them out of all the nations of the world and loved them as a son.

            Yet, God testifies against Israel, His people, and He rebukes them.  But look at what God says:  “I am not rebuking you for not making the sacrifices that I require of you – you offer up the sacrifices that the Law says you are to offer up.  You offer up sacrifices constantly.  But I don’t want your bulls or goats – I won’t accept them.”

            Why not?  If they are offering up the required sacrifices, why won’t God accept them?

“For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. ‘If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?’”

God tells them that they are not doing God any favors by offering up these sacrifices.  All the beasts already belong to God to do with as He pleases – and the birds, and everything that moves.  Their offering is of something that God already owns.

Not only that, but they also have a pagan understanding of what the sacrifices are for – God says He would never tell Israel He was hungry, because everything already belongs to Him.  Besides which, does Israel seriously believe that God eats the flesh of bulls or drinks the blood of goats?

They have made God into a creature Who needs their offerings to be able to survive – to have food and drink.

Similarly, God doesn’t need anything from us – as we have just seen.  God doesn’t need money.  He doesn’t need our buildings.  He doesn’t need our programs. (Don’t forget we talked about stewardship last week – but God doesn’t need any of these things to survive or flourish or to be able to fulfill His Will.)

Rather:

“Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

            Outward sacrifice is nothing without inner sacrifice – a heart-devotion – a sacrifice of thanksgiving.  God wants our hearts and souls to be longing for Him and reaching for Him, glorifying Him, thanking Him, recognizing who we were and who we are now in Christ.

            You can go to church every Sunday, you can serve on the board, you can volunteer to lead every group, you can clean the church, you can be a good person and an example of moral living, but if you don’t go beyond the symbolism to the higher things – if you don’t go beyond  to a true heart-devotion that is thankful every moment to God – believing savingly in Jesus, you will go to Hell.  Your greatness in the church is just dead ritual if you are not alive in Christ, directing all glory and thanks to Him.  We must have faith and life and gratitude for our sacrifice to be real.

            Jesus spoke about the Law of the tithe – which is good and right – and how the Pharisees perverted it:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!” (Matthew 23:23-24, ESV).

            If we present our gifts and our obedience as symbolic of our gratitude – of our thanksgiving – they wil be received.

            God wants a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

            Third, God hates unbelieving obedience.

“But to the wicked God says: ‘What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you. If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers. You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you. Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!”

God turns to those people who think if they say the right words and do the right thing – offer the right sacrifices – that God will receive them – no matter what they actually think or believe in their hearts – and whether they are thankful or not.

God says, “Who gave you the right to keep my commandments?  Who do you think you are fooling?  You love sin and encourage people to sin, even as you pretend to care and believe all that I have said.  Because I have been patient and not said or done anything, you think I am a hypocrite and sinner like yourselves.  You have not sought My holiness but have made Me in your own image.  Well, surprise, I rebuke you and charge you now, and if you continue in this path, I will tear you apart and there will be no one to help you.”

Jesus condemned the Pharisees for making everything look holy on the outside, but not dealing with the issues of the heart.  They performed all the right acts, but they had no heart-belief, and they were not thankful.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23:25-28, ESV).

Knowing what is true and acting as though you believe what is true and follow it is not enough – there must be a heart-belief that produces holy living.  Holy living follows and is an evidence of true salvation.

God states one sin in particular in our text – that being the nineth commandment – you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.  God says they are deceitful, they slander their brothers, and speak against them. 

Whether biological or those of the faith, God emphasizes the sin of lying about what your brother or sister is or did or said.  In doing this, you break the covenant with your brother or sister and the whole community.

God is longsuffering, but He does not approve of any evil or sin, and on the last day, He will gather all our sins together and we will have to give an accounting for them.  We who have believed savingly in Jesus will be forgiven.  Those who do not – and those who have not believed but pretended to be obedient – those who bear false witness against their neighbors – with be ravaged and tortured in Hell forever.

God hates unbelieving obedience.

What does God desire from His people?

“The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”

God says that those who genuinely believe will truly obey God and thank Him for all the blessings He has given – especially that of our salvation in Jesus – and God will be glorified in that thanksgiving.

As Thanksgiving approaches and Covid still looms large, we are tempted to think, “bah humbug” this year.  As those for whom God gave His Son for our salvation – whether we gather in small groups – following the advisories – or have Zoom calls, or telephone calls – let us be truly thankful to God.  Let us give a sacrifice of thanksgiving as those who genuinely believe and know we have so much to be thankful for and strive for holiness in our lives.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we live in a time of turmoil as our politicians fight and the Covid virus and the disrupted economy are ever before us and in our discussions.  Help us even now to look to You – to remember all that You have done for us – to believe with all our heart and mind and soul and strength and also strive after holiness, giving You sincere thanks.  And may You be glorified now and always in each of us.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

 

"Serve Each Other" Sermon: I Peter 4:10-11 (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_1n_PPzp8A&feature=youtu.be

"Serve Each Other" Sermon: I Peter 4:10-11 (manuscript)

 

“Serve Each Other”

[I Peter 4:10-11]

November 8, 2020 YouTube

            On the second Sunday of November, it has been our tradition to talk about stewardship, and many of you are now tuning out because you don’t want to hear another sermon about giving money to the Church.  And while stewardship does include our finances, that is not the main focus of our text.

            Peter is writing to Christians who are being severely persecuted under the rule of Emperor Nero – perhaps the most vicious of the Roman emperors.  And, in this morning’s text, Peter focuses in on the idea that we are to serve each other.

            And we see:

            We are good stewards when we serve each other.

“As each has received a gift,”

Everyone has received a gift – more than one gift – but one is likely the primary gift.

What are we talking about?

Paul writes:

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (I Corinthians 12:4-11, ESV).

All Christians are given gifts – and one dominant gift – by God, the Holy Spirit – wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, distinguishing, tongues, interpretation, etc.  There is more than one list, and the lists are not comprehensive.  They only note a selection of the gifts that God the Holy Spirit gives to Christians. 

And we are told that each gift is given by the same One God and Spirit.  There aren’t a variety of spirits giving out the gifts, they do not come through birth, and the Trinity does not divide up to gifts to give.  God the Holy Spirit gives the gifts. 

And God the Holy Spirit enables and empowers each Christian to use their gift or gifts to the fullest.  If God the Holy Spirit gives you the gift of healing, He will also give you the power and the ability to heal people, and you – in obedience to God – will heal people.

If you have been given the gift of prophecy – that is, preaching – God the Holy Spirit will enable you and empower you to preach, and you will preach in obedience to God.

And we are, specifically, to use the gifts that God the Holy Spirit has given us and empowered us with to serve each other – especially those in the Church – for that makes us good stewards of the gifts that God has given us:

“use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:”

And, as we just saw in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, one of the reasons for the gifts that God the Holy Spirit gives to us is – “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”  And he is referring to the Church.  The gifts we have been given are not primarily for us – they are for the good of the Church.

If you have been given the gift of healing, you are to use that for the Church.  If you have been given the gift of preaching or teaching, you are to use that for the Church.  If you have been given the gift of hospitality, you are to use that for the Church.  If you have been given the gift of wealth, you are to use that for the Church.  Whatever gift you have been given, you are to use it first for the Church, then for others, then for yourself.

Our tendency is to think of ourselves first, then our family and friends, and then, maybe, other people – including those in the Church.  But that is the complete opposite of what the Scripture tells us.  So it takes seeing that it is the opposite of the way God wants us to be and then praying that God will empower us to steward the gifts He has given us well – rightly and wisely for Him and His Church.

So, how have you been gifted?  Are you using those gifts for your brothers and sisters in the Church?

Something else we need to understand – the job we have may not be the gift that we best use in the Church.  For example, you may be a well-respected architect, but you also love to maintain your property.  It may be that the giftedness you use for the Church and share with others is your ability to care for the property.  We need to pray and think through what we are gifted in and how best to share our gifts with the Church.

This is not socialism.  We are not commanded to give our gifts out equally among all people.  No, we are to wisely use what God has gifted us with and determine how God has gifted us for the good of the Church – and others.  The amount and frequency will depend on a number of factors which we must pray for wisdom about.

Our example is Christ – Who is a healer and teacher and preacher, and so on.  But the gift that He was given that He served the Church with is His body – in obedience and sacrifice.

Paul writes, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20, ESV).

We are good stewards when we serve each other.

Second, we are to serve each other so God will be glorified.

“whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—”

As we have noted, we are to serve each other in the Church – especially – in the ways that God has gifted and empowered us to serve each other.  And we do not do this out of our own strength, but by the power that God gives us so we will be able to serve each other well with the gifts we have been given.

Just as we see that the use of our gifts is for the Church before they are for ourselves, the use of our gifts is first and foremost for the glory of God.

“in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

To glorify God is to show Him to be Who He is and to show what He has done.

We have talked about the difference between microscopes and telescopes before:  microscopes take something that is exceedingly small and blows it up so it can be seen and understood.  A telescope takes something that is huge and brings it down to a level that we can begin to comprehend and understand.

Our glorifying God is done as we act as a telescope for others.  God is far greater than anyone can fully understand or comprehend.  Yet, we are called to glorify God – to make Him known to the world through ourselves and our witness to the world.

One way in which the Church better understands Who God is and what He has done through Jesus – and the world begins to understand Who God is and what He had to do to save a people for Himself – is through our serving each other with the gifts that God the Holy Spirit has given us.

As we serve each other with our gifts, God is glorified – we in the Church better understand Who God is and what He has done through Jesus through our actions towards each other.

As we share our wealth in the Church through our gifts and offerings and through helping individuals in the Church financially, we can see how God has given to us out of the great wealth He has.  As we preach the Word of God, we see that the Gospel is all of God.  When we counsel each other, we see that wisdom comes from God.  When we have excess food and share it, we see that God is the provider of all good things.  Our attitude is to be that God gave us “this and that” and the ability to share it, so we share it.  Not, I’m sharing with you, so you owe me one.

Sometimes it can be difficult for us to be thankful – for a number of reasons.  Maybe we think we are better than that – that we don’t need anyone to share with us.  Sometimes we are prideful and unwilling to accept what others give – when we are cold and are given the ugly sweater that fits us, or hungry and are unhappy that we didn’t receive the exact type of food we prefer, or we hear the pastor preach, and he says something biblical that we don’t want to have be true.

We need to pray that we will humbly and thankfully receive others serving us to the glory of God.  If we do not, we offend God first, and then the person trying to serve us.

So we see that through our serving each other by sharing the gifts that God has given us we glorify God – we show Him to be Who He is and reveal what He has done – as a witness to the Church and to the world.

We are to serve each other so God will be glorified.

So, our duty is to recognize the gifts that God the Holy Spirit has gifted us and be prepared – willingly and joyfully – to share the gifts with the Church – because that is one reason we were given the gifts we have.

Also, we are to serve each other with our gifts because in so doing we reveal Who God is and what He has done in sending Jesus to be our Savior.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, every good gift is from You, our Father.  Help us to understand and be thankful for the gifts You have given us and help us to desire to serve each other with the gifts and to make You known as we serve each other.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.