"Pray for Deliverance" Sermon: Isaiah 37:1-20 (manuscript)

“Pray for Deliverance”

February 9, 2020 YouTube

[Isaiah 37:1-20]

            We remember, Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, decides to conquer Jerusalem, so he sends a massive army headed by the Rabshakeh – a high-ranking officer.  The Rabshakeh tries to weaken the resolve of the leadership of Jerusalem by reminding them that King Hezekiah sinned by making an alliance with Egypt – trusting in their power and horses and chariots instead of trusting in God alone.  And the Rabshakeh goes further, pronouncing two lies of the devil:  The God of Jerusalem cannot be trusted, and there is no difference between the God of Jerusalem and all the other gods of the nations.

            King Hezekiah stays in Jerusalem while three of his officials meet with the Rabshakeh and hear his taunts and lies, and they return to King Hezekiah and tell him everything the Rabshakeh has said.

            And we see first, we are to abhor our sin, repent, and pray God will deliver.

            The men Hezekiah sent out came to him with their clothes torn, and as Hezekiah hears what the Rabshakeh said, he tears his clothes and puts on sackcloth and Eliakim and Shebna and all the senior priests of the Temple cover themselves with sackcloth as a sign of abhorring and repenting of their sin – recognizing the desperate place their actions have brought them.  They acknowledge that Egypt and horses and chariots cannot save them.  But as it appears that Jerusalem will be ruined, they do what they ought to have done all along – they pray to God for deliverance.

Hezekiah sends Eliakim and Shebna and all the senior priests to the Temple to find Isaiah to ask him to pray to God for Jerusalem – for the deliverance of Jerusalem.

Here again how Hezekiah describes their situation:

“This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.”

            “Isaiah, this is a day of distress for Jerusalem – a day of rebuke for our sins – a day of disgrace before the nations of the world that we did not trust in God, our God, alone.  It is as though a pregnant woman goes into labor and pushes and pushes and then runs out of strength and is unable to deliver the baby.”

            What an image!  It is probably more horrifying and desperate an image for any woman who has given birth – thinking of the birth pangs, remembering all the strength and pain to push the baby through the birth canal and into the world.  And now think that she pushes and pushes and then falls back as though dead – with no strength left in her – but the baby is stuck in the birth canal – unable to move.  That’s how Hezekiah rightly understands their position with the army of the Assyrians upon them.

            Have you ever gotten yourself into a situation where you felt like that?  Have you ever sinned, and the sin brought forth fruit for you in such a way that you felt trapped?  As though the walls were closing in around you and there was nothing you could do?  As though you were stuck in a tube and could not move forward or back?  As though you were losing the ability to catch your breath as you realized this is all your own doing and you start to panic?

            We sin.  And any sin can blossom into a situation where we find ourselves feeling crushed, in pain, immobile.  And the first thing that we must do is acknowledge our sin, and repent of our sin, and bemoan and wail about our sin, confessing first and foremost that we have sinned against our God – the One True God – and we must repent – swearing never to follow after sin again – God help us.

            And then, we pray for God to deliver us.  Hezekiah says, “Maybe God heard the blasphemy – the lies about God – that the Rabshakeh spoke.  Maybe God will rebuke the Rabshakeh and take vengeance upon him.  Maybe God will save His remnant.”

            Now, Hezekiah knows very well that God will hear him and – in His time – take care of the lying Rabshakeh.  He prays in this way to acknowledge that God acts according to His timetable, not ours, though Hezekiah would very, very much like God to act now!

            David praises God after acknowledging His attributes, saying, “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.  He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy” (Psalm 145:18-20, ESV).

            And Paul assures us, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, ESV).

            And that is true!  God is working everything together for the good of those who love Him – Hezekiah – you – me.  But the promise does not give us a time or a day or even say that all will be worked out for our good in this lifetime.

            Hezekiah knows he sinned against God.  He knows the character of God.  He knows it is right to wholeheartedly repent and pray to God for deliverance.  And then he – and we – must wait until our loving Father acts in the right time – the best time.  We just don’t know when that will be.

            Second, nevertheless, we are not to be afraid, because God is mighty to deliver.

            Isaiah prays on behalf of Jerusalem, and God answers:

            “Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”

            God – through the prophet – tells Hezekiah not to be afraid of Sennacherib’s threats or his blasphemy for God is going to send a spirit to possess Sennacherib, and Sennacherib will go home and die there.

            God tells Hezekiah not to be afraid.  God knows exactly what’s happening, and God is going to take care of it right now.  God is going to send the Assyrian army away, and God is going to have Sennacherib murdered.

            As we read, “Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword. And after they escaped into the land of Ararat, Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place” (Isaiah 27:37-38, ESV).

            God promised to send Sennacherib away and have him murdered, and we read that his own sons murdered him in the temple of his god.

            Have you ever sinned?

            The Christians musician, Larry Norman, says that he has asked people about sin and gotten this response: “Sin?  Yea, I’ve heard of it.  I even know people who have done it.”

            John tells us, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (I John 1:5-10, ESV).

            When God decides to act regarding sin is His business.  He promises that all will come together for the good of those who love Him.

            We are to confess our sin and pray for deliverance from the results of sin that we have brought upon ourselves.  And we have this promise for all those who believe that Jesus is God the Savior:  by His life and the shedding of His blood, He will forgive us each time we confess our sins.  He will cleanse us from all our unrighteousness.  We are forgiven in Him when we truly confess our sin, because He is faithful – always.

            As we confess our sins and go to God in prayer and study His Word, we see we are not to be afraid:  He is faithful and we are forgive to the uttermost, and God is the Sovereign Almighty Who is mighty to deliver – today, tomorrow, and always to His glory.

            While Isaiah prays to God and delivers God’s message to Hezekiah, the Rabshakeh takes the army and goes to Libna to help Sennacherib fight against the Egyptians and the Ethiopians who allied together in a failed attempt to conquer the Assyrians.

            Sennacherib sends a letter to King Hezekiah, and Sennacherib has the Rabshakeh read the letter to Hezekiah as well:

“Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?”

            Sennacherib understands that Hezekiah has made a turn in his life – he is no longer trusting in Egypt and chariots and horses, but only in the Lord God.  And the word that is used in the letter to Hezekiah telling him not to “trust” God is a word that shows that – it means a strong trust – something greater and more focused than he had had before.

            So, Sennacherib is only left with the lies of the devil that we looked at last week:  you can’t trust your God, and your God is the same as all the other gods.  But it is too late!  Hezekiah learned his lesson – he has repented of his sin, he is praying that God will deliver him, he is not afraid of what Sennacherib will do – even if God does not save the remnant – but he holds on with great trust to the fact that God is the Sovereign Almighty – and if it is His will to deliver Hezekiah and the remnant – and you and me – in this lifetime, He can.

            Finally, we see we are not to be afraid, but to be preoccupied with God.

            Hezekiah reads the letter and he takes the letter and spreads it out before God in the Temple, and he prays:

            Hezekiah prays acknowledging Who God is.

            He begins by praying to God, the Sovereign God, the God of Israel, “enthroned above the cherubim.”  We will remember that the cherubim are one group of angels, and the Ark of the Covenant has a lid on it with a cherubim on each side of the lid.  The space between the cherubim is called “the mercy seat” or “the seat of the atonement.”  It is where God descended on the Day of Yom Kippur to hear the cries of His people and forgive their sin for His sake – based on His merits.  (Despite the sacrifices of Israel, it was never enough – it was symbolic of the Great Atonement – the Great Sacrifice which would be made by Jesus – God Incarnate.)

            As Hezekiah prays to God – the God of the Atonement – the God Who forgives His people based on His Sacrifice of His Son to merit Justification, Hezekiah also recognizes God as the one and only God, the God Who reigns over every kingdom, the God Who created everything that is.  The Sovereign Ruler over Israel and Assyria – the United States – and every other kingdom that has been and will ever be.

            Hezekiah prays to the God of Israel Who is not like the other gods – He created everything, He providentially rules everything, and He alone makes the Sacrifice that makes us able to come into His Presence forgiven for our sin.

            Hezekiah continues by asking God to avenge God’s Name.

            Hezekiah seeks God to see and hear the words of Sennacherib through the Rabshakeh – God cannot be trusted – all the gods are the same.  Therefore, your God will fall, and Jerusalem will fall at the hand of Sennacherib.

            “Lord, do you see and hear Sennacherib – I know you do.  He has taken Your Name in vain – He has mocked you and tried to get Your people to doubt You.  Lord, You know how powerful the Assyrians are.  You know they have conquered kingdom after kingdom.  You know they have taken the gods of the nations and burned them in the fire – which proves they are not gods, but the work of human hands – wood and stone – and that is why they could be defeated.  But not You, Lord, You are the Living God Who is self-existent and cannot be thwarted by any man.”

            Hezekiah concludes his prayer asking God to deliver the remnant from Sennacherib “that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the LORD.”

            As we consider Hezekiah’s prayer, he does ask that Jerusalem be delivered, but it is in the midst of being preoccupied with God.  So, let us lift our eyes from whatever our sin has brought us to – let us lift our eyes from whatever army is taunting us – able to destroy us – unless the One True God says, “no.”

            Let us lift our eyes, repenting of our sin and praying to God for deliverance.

            Let us not be afraid but know that God is mighty to deliver.

            Let us not be afraid but be preoccupied with God.

            Humans can only kill our flesh, but our God is the God of Creation and Salvation.  He sovereignly rules everything now.

            Our God’s Name is Holy, and we should seek to protect it and pray that God will avenge its abuse.

            Our God is able to deliver us, and whether He chooses to in any given moment, let us be a witness to Him so the whole earth will know Him.

            Let us be preoccupied with God and trust Him with our deliverance, because He sits above the cherubim.

            Let us pray:

            Almighty God, in love You elected a people for Yourself, and You will save them and sanctified them and bring them into Your kingdom.  Help us to trust You, to pray to You, to seek deliverance from our sin and evil, holding fast to Your promise to bring all things together for good to those who love You, no matter how things may now look on earth.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

"Pray for Deliverance" Sermon: Isaiah 37:1-20

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"Lies of the Devil" Sermon: Isaiah 36:1-22

“Lies of the Devil”

February 1, 2020 YouTube

Isaiah 36:1-22

As we reach chapter thirty-six of Isaiah, we come to a historical text.  We will remember that King Ahaz is at the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field – just as we read now with King Hezekiah – and King Ahaz is shaken because Israel and Syria are planning to attack Judah.  Isaiah comes to Ahaz and tells him that the Word of the Lord is to do nothing – wait on the Lord – not to seek to make alliances and build up a force to fight Syria and Israel.  We remember that Ahaz does not listen – he makes an alliance with Assyria and Egypt against Israel and Syria.  And the Assyrians defeat Syria and Israel, and they push back the Egyptians, and then they turn their eyes on conquering Judah.  And that’s where we are this morning.

And what we want to understand from our text is the devil is a liar.

Jesus condemned some of the Pharisees, saying, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44, ESV).

After conquering Syria and Israel and pushing back the Egyptians, the Assyrians scrap their alliance with Judah and turn to conquer them.  They lied.  They always intended to lie.  Their father is the devil, because he is the father of lies.  Even though King Hezekiah had rebelled by refusing to continue to pay tribute to the Assyrians – the fact that they had to pay tribute to the Assyrians shows that they lied and are no longer allies with Judah.

We pick up our text at the point when Assyria decides it is time to conquer Judah outright.  We read that in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib, the King of Assyria conquers all the fortified cities of Judah.  He breaks down their walls and defeats the armed forces of Judah, and he turns his attention to Jerusalem.

            Sennacherib sends the Rabshakeh – a high ranking military officer – with a large army – to deliver a message to Hezekiah, King of Judah.  And when the Rabshakeh and the great army arrive at “the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field.”  Hezekiah sends three officials out to find out what he wants: “Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.”

            And here we have the first lie:  you can’t trust God.

            “And the Rabshakeh said to them, ‘Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?”

            The Rabshakeh asks them if they think they can rely on the word of Hezekiah to save them – and the answer is “no.”  The Rabshakeh is being truthful is this assessment.  They could not trust the word of the good King, Hezekiah, because Hezekiah is a sinner.

            Jeremiah writes, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land’” (Jeremiah 17:5-6, ESV).

            Jeremiah – on behalf of the Lord – is not saying that there is never a man who does what he promises.  He is saying that every human being fails.  Every human being sins.  Even your pastor will fail you and sin against God.  So, to place any person as our ultimate hope is doomed to failure.

            Likewise, the Rabshakeh says that you can’t trust the army – because the army is made up of sinful humans, and other nations have better armies. A few chapters ago, we read, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD!” (Isaiah 31:1, ESV).

            Isaiah is not saying that it is wrong for a country to have a strong military.  He is saying that if your trust is in your military above God, you will fail.  The greatest army on earth cannot overturn the will of God.  David writes, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7, ESV).  That doesn’t mean “our side” will always win.  It does mean that we must submit and trust our God in all things.

            And the Rabshakeh says one more true thing – you can’t trust Egypt – because the Egyptians are sinners, and because the Assyrians broke Egypt and sent them home.

            All three of these things are true, but then he lies:  you can’t trust God.

            The Rabshakeh’s reasoning is that Hezekiah tore down the high places.

            What is he talking about?

            God authorized worship in the Temple in Jerusalem, but some said they were worshipping God through various “holy” places and shrines in the high places dedicated to other gods.  Hezekiah had these torn down because they were not legitimate places of worship to God.  God was only to be worshipped in the Temple in Jerusalem.

            So, the Rabshakeh has bought into the idea that “it doesn’t matter what you call God, He is still the same God.”  You may have friends that say, “God doesn’t care what religion or lack of religion we follow, so long as we are good people.”

            The problem with that is that God says, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2-3, ESV).

            When Moses came down from the mountain, he found the people worshipping a golden calf.  Yet, listen to what comes before this: “And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, ‘Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.’ And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play” (Exodus 32:4-6, ESV).

            Aaron, the High Priest, says, “We are worshipping the Lord when we bow down and worship the golden calf.”

            God says, “I am the only God and you will worship Me the way I want to be worshipped and that is the end of the story.”

            So, the Rabshakeh is wrong.  God can be trusted.

            Again and again, we read in the Psalms verses like this:

            “In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56:11, ESV).

            Jesus says, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28, ESV).

Paul writes, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39, ESV).

We can trust God because He is our Sovereign Savior Who loves us.

            Then the Rabshakeh mocks them, “I’ll make you a deal – so this is a fair fight:  I’ll give you two thousand horses for you to put warriors on, so you are better able to fight us.  But, oh, you don’t have that many warriors do you.  You trusted in Egypt, and we took them out.  And, besides, your God told me to destroy you.”

            The important thing for us to notice here is that the Rabshakeh is right:  Judah did not have the warriors to fight and God did send the Assyrians against Judah and Jerusalem.

            And we might think, “Wait a minute, didn’t you just quote Paul and say we can trust God because He is our Sovereign Savior and loves us?  How can that God send an evil nation against His people to destroy them?”

            Remember the history of Job.  God sent the Chaldeans to steal from Job and to kill.  And in the end, Job is further along in his sanctification.

            God uses evil people to bring glory to Himself and to discipline and grow His people.

            And some of us will say that’s not fair – it’s not just.  And so, we ought to consider whether God’s election of us – His choosing us out of the whole damned race of humans is fair and just.

            Then the three officials of Hezekiah ask the Rabshakeh to stop talking in Hebrew, and to speak to them in Aramaic, because everyone understands Hebrew, and they are going to scare the people of Jerusalem.  And the Rabshakeh says he will speak in Hebrew because the people should know that soon they will be drinking their own urine and eating their own dung.

            And then the Rabshakeh voices the second lie of the devil:

            The God of Judah is no different from any of the other gods.

“Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”

            I’ve already touched on this a little bit, but the Rabshakeh says, “We defeated the gods of Hamath and Arpad and Sepharvaim and Samaria – every god that has been called on has failed to protect his people, and your God is no different.  The God of Judah cannot deliver you from us.”

            Is there any difference between the gods of Hinduism and the gods of the ancient Roman and Greek religions and the God of Judah – the Father of our Lord, Jesus, Christ?

            We’re on Mars Hill, aren’t we?

“So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: “To the unknown god.” What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,  that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for

            “‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

            “as even some of your own poets have said,

            “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

“Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:22-31, ESV),.

Yes, our God is different from all the other gods, because our God created and sustains everything that is and He alone provides the Only Way to be made right with God through the work of His Son, Jesus.

How do the three respond to these lies – that God cannot be trusted, and He is no different from any other god?

Hezekiah had told them to listen and not respond – so they didn’t say anything.  But when they go back to report to the King, they tear their clothes as a sign of distress and sorrow, and they tell the King all that the Rabshakeh has said.  

I suspect that most of us have not had to face down an army and be told lies about God in the form of intimidation – to get us to turn away from God and give in to their threats and demands.

But what if you are diagnosed with cancer?  What if someone tells lies about you?  What if your child or grandchild is in a car accident? What if our President does something you disagree with?

Can we trust that God is able to intervene and bring good out of these events?  Maybe not what we want – maybe not in the time we would prefer.  But do we believe that our God is Sovereign – the One Sovereign God – unlike every other God – Who loves His people and promises, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, ESV).

Can we believe that God is Who He has revealed Himself to be, and trust Him, even if we don’t have any idea how things can be made right, and come to Him in distress, heavy-laden with burdens, and fall before Him knowing that whatever He answers is an answer in love?

It may not be easy, but will you come to our God, trusting Him Alone, crying out, knowing that He will answer in His Fatherly Love?

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we thank You for this example of the Assyrians coming against Jerusalem, knowing that people still come against us, telling lies about You, trying to get us to give in and give up.  Loving Father, strengthen us by the Holy Spirit that in whatever we suffer, we will trust You whole-heartedly, knowing that You are the God unlike any other god – the God Who sovereignly saves and loves us.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

"Lies of the Devil" video

https://youtu.be/xgDrkbyw3_w

Review: "Philippians"

Philippians:  A Commentary for Biblical Preaching and Teaching, part of the Kerux Commentaries series by Kregel, by Thomas Moore and Timothy D. Sprankle has far more in it that the size of the book would lead you to assume.

Herman W. Bateman IV, the series editor, explains that the series attempts to give “a detailed introduction and outline [of the book], a summary of all preaching sections with their primary exegetical, theological, and preaching ideas, preaching pointers that join the original historical context with the contemporary one, insights from the Hebrew and Greek text, a thorough exposition of the text, sidebars of pertinent information and historical background, appropriate charts and photographs, a theological focus to passages, a contemporary big idea for every preaching unit, present-day meaning, validity, and application of a main idea, creative presentations for each primary idea, key questions about the text for study groups, lists of books and articles for further reading” (7-8).

Now, if that doesn’t sound overwhelming, you can’t be overwhelmed!

The commentary begins with an “overview of all preaching passages” including “the exegetical idea, theological focus, preaching idea, [and] preaching pointers.” 

After dividing the text in this way, there is a chart of abbreviations.

Then an introduction to the book – much along the lines you would find in a study Bible, but in significantly more detail.

Then the commentary begins (44 in this case).  All the facets intended are covered here, ending each preaching section with discussion questions.

Final, there is the list of reading materials.

The good about this commentary – and the series – is that it takes the text seriously, it gives the read extensive information – particularly in interpreting the text in its context, and in this, it is a very valuable series for seminary students, preachers, and discussion groups.

My one qualm is the other side of the coin:  this series gives an extraordinary amount of information – great for the price! – but it even divides the text into preaching sections and tells the reader what the points/themes of the text are.  I am concerned that some will use this commentary to automatically write the sermon without relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  One could easily take this commentary and give eighteen sermons covering the book without thinking about the text or waiting on the leading of God for the congregation the preacher is shepherding.

This is a valuable series, packing an incredible amount of information in a short space.  However, it might be wise for the man of God to read the text and pray prior to opening the commentary, so he will not be lulled into simply giving a summary of the commentary to his people.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

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

Review: "Vintage Murder"

Naigo Marsh takes us on vacation with Detective Alleyn to New Zealand (our author's homeland) for Vintage Murder.

Detective Alleyn is booked on a train with a group of characters who make up an acting troupe -- including the lead actress, who for some reason -- was it money? -- married a wealthy businessman who bought a half interest in the troupe.

At the conclusion of their first round of shows, the cast has an onstage party for the businessman, but things go wrong for all but one person when the champagne bottle trick ends up crushing in the businessman's head.

Which one did it?  A lengthy investigation featuring a green tiki leads to many lies, and finally only one answer.

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

Review: "Insecure"

I wondered what John Perritt would say in his book, Insecure:  Fighting Our Lesser Fears with a Greater One, being someone who is very insecure.  His little book is quite worth the read.

            Perritt notes that some of the content of this book was given at conferences for Reformed Youth Ministries.  In keeping with the audience first in mind, this is a very readable book, though it is not easy – it is bound to make anyone who suffers with insecurity a bit uneasy at times – but for good reason, and with an antidote.

            Perritt defines insecurity as being “self-focused” (19).  Now don’t get your backs up.

Each chapter ends with reflection/discussion questions and a prayer.

            Insecurity – being self-focused comes from the lies that dwell in our hearts (“did God say”) due to Original Sin and sin in our lives (31).

            Insecurity causes fear, judgmentalism, and jealousy.  If you are unsure of this, just talk with most people about theirs views about their social media (59).

            Freedom comes in believing that we are hidden in Christ (74), that we are created in God’s Image and for community – the Church (82).

            “Our insecurities often move us to focus on self.  So, a very helpful practice is getting our eyes off of ourselves.  Getting us to stop focusing in the mirror and start looking out the window [seeing the beauties of God through the Scripture]” (90, italics his).

            The book ends with a reflection on when we should care about what others think – that is, regarding our witness to Christ and His Gospel.

            A second appendix with a quiz to see how social media is affecting you.

            And a third with Scriptures we can say to ourselves to become secure in Christ.

            Each chapter ends with reflections questions and a prayer.

            This book is well worth your purchase, for junior high age and up – for anyone who has ever felt insecure and confesses Jesus as God and Savior.

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

Review: "The 4-Hour Body"

            I really enjoyed Timothy Ferriss’ book, The 4-Hour Work Week.  I was less impressed with his book, The 4-Hour Body.

            In this book, Ferriss addresses several issues, first beginning with both weight loss and muscle building.

            Ferriss has an interesting idea called the “Slow-Carb Diet,” which consists of five points:

1.      Avoid white carbs.

2.      Eat the same few meals over and over.

3.      Don’t drink your calories.

4.      Don’t eat fruit.

5.      One day a week, eat whatever you want (75).

This makes up the first half of the book. And... despite the anecdotes, it seems that something important in nutrition is missing.  I was discouraged and overwhelmed, so I didn’t formulate an argument against what he says, I just dropped it.

The next section looks at how to improve sex.

Then, how to improve sleep.

How to reverse permanent injuries.

And ultra-endurance.

These sections are things I am not up for, and he also looks to have you get tests and do things that most people, it seems to me, won’t do.  Such as going to another country for less expensive tests.

Meh.  Just skip this one.

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

Biblical Preaching on Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9sUBCE5YAY&t=2s

Review: "The Book Your Pastor Wishes You Would Read (But is Too Embarrassed to Ask)

            I suspected what Christopher Ash’s book, The Book Your Pastor Wishes You Would Read (But is Too Embarrassed to Ask), and I was right – in a good way.

            Ash begins by introducing us to ten ministers – pastor who sin, who have insecurities, who get overwhelmed, and so forth.  The point being that “pastors are people too.”

            Then he asked why a parishioner should want to care for his pastor.  The answer is found is Hebrews 13:17 – if your pastor is overburdened, he won’t be of any benefit to you.

            The bulk of the book is “seven virtues of church members that impact our pastors.”

1.      Daily repentance and eager faith.  Come to your pastor with your struggles and sin and be desirous of instruction from God’s Word and tell the pastor when he has done or said something right or helpful.

2.      Committed belonging.  We are not primarily consumers, but providers in our local church.  So, as often as possible, we are to be involved in everything our church does, including the worship service.

3.      Open Honesty. Be open and honest between church members and the pastor, and as much as possible, face to face.

4.      Thoughtful Watchfulness.  We are to keep a concerned watch – not a watch seeking to see the pastor fail – over the pastor’s life and doctrine.  Not just inquiring of him and listening to his sermons, but allowing him time to read, to go to conferences, to have a study leave, a day(s) off, and vacations.

5.      Loving kindness.  The ministry takes a toll on a person.  Our care for the pastor should reflect in his pay and housing.

6.      High expectations.  We ought to expect and example of striving after holiness and the presentation of biblical doctrine from our pastors.  God holds them to higher standards and so should we.  We out also protect them from false accusations.

7.      Zealous submission.  We ought to zealous follow our pastor’s lead (so long as it is biblical).

Ash then recommends that several people in the congregation self-consciously get to know the pastor and his family – befriend him – be a sounding board – people to have times of casual acquaintance with.  In this chapter, he includes several questions that someone in the congregation should be able to answer about their pastor.

In the final chapter, he suggests that some churches will respond well to his thoughts, and others will rebel or be angry.  For the latter, the pastor may find it time to move on.

This is both a sobering and encouraging book as I considered what I have done well and not well and how I perceive the same in my congregation.  I will never forget – not to long into my ministry – when I asked the congregation to pray for me and for my striving after holiness during the sermon – and one dear woman, who I know cares for me very much, came up to me after worship and said, “I never thought about praying for you.”

There is a misperception of pastors being anywhere from sluggards to social workers to holy men – all of which are wrong.  We need to fight for a correct understanding of the ministry, fight, as pastors to be holy and good undershepherds, and to teach our congregation how to care for us and why it is necessary.  This book is a great place to start.

Interestingly, he says that most people should never know what the pastor’s salary is because that could cause unrealistic expectations (79).  I’m not sure what I think of that.  My salary and benefits have always been broken down in detail in our budget.

Read this book.  Think it through.  And then consider getting it for the congregation – even if it causes you some embarrassment.

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

Review: "Laughing at the Days to Come"

            In the final chapter of the book of Proverbs, King Lemuel instructs his son on finding a woman who is worthy of marrying, and he writes, “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. (Proverbs 31:25, ESV).

            Tessa Thompson, the author of Laughing at the Days to Come:  Facing Present Trials and Future Uncertainties with Gospel Hope argues that being able to laugh at the days to come is essential for the godly woman (and person, I add).

            Thompson was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 when she was sixteen years old – when she went deaf.  The disease causes tumors to form on the auditory nerves which brings about deafness.  Tumors can grow in other parts of the body, and it is a disease of chronic pain.  Her father went deaf with this disease in his forties.

            Thompson addresses her book specially to women – though men can certainly profit from her wisdom – and she divides her book into three sections:  Laughter: It’s Definition, Laughter: It’s Doctrine, and Laughter: It’s Doing.

            It’s Definition is found in “liv[ing] a life that reflects what is; namely, the present abiding reality of God” (16).  For, “the gospel promises us that this earthly vale of tears is not the end and our suffering here is fleeting, not final” (33).

            It’s Doctrine is found in Peter telling us that we have “a living hope” (51).  “He [God the Father] desires our highest good, and our highest good is God-glorifying, Christ-exalting, Spirit-enabled holiness” (79).  “But the distinguishing mark of laughter at the days to come is an unwavering confidence that God will carry out His promises and finish what He began” (94).

It’s Doing is found in knowing that we are given doctrine to know what we ought to know and believe about God and the Gospel, and that we would live in the light of those truths (118).

If you think you might suffer, if you are suffering, if you think you might suffer in the future, if you want to be assured that God loves you, Christ has live and died and risen for you, and the Holy Spirit is upholding you day by day, this is a great book to read.  I would put this on my list of books every Christian should read.

If you want insight into what the Bible teaches us about suffering and how we are to live in the light of the truth about God and the Gospel – whether you are a woman or a man – this is a great resource.

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

Review: "Death in Ecstasy"

                Most of us have some familiarity with a church and the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper – and the drinking from a cup – whatever that means. 

            At the up and coming House of the Sacred Flame, five novitiates gather around the sacrament kneeling to receive the cup.  They drink, and one falls dead.

            Enter Inspector Alleyn who has to figure out who these people are, what there relationship is to the deceased, and why she gave all those bonds.

            Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh is another enjoyable mystery which adds the facts up to catch the killer.

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

Review: "The 4-Hour Workweek"

                I inhaled The 4-Hour Workweek:  Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss – and I have put his other books on my wish list.

            To look at the title, you might think it pure fancy or illegal, but it’s not.

            Ferriss argues that it is much more important to do what is meaningful to you than to fill a seat from nine to five.  That sounds reasonable to me.

            The sections of the book spell D-E-A-L.

            Definition:  what do you really want to do?  What is meaningful to you?  What would you want to do if you had no restrictions or limitations on you?  (Legal things, of course.)  You must have a solid idea of what you want and how to get there fulfilling the meaning you seek.

            Elimination:  what don’t you need?  What takes you away from is meaningful?  Excess stuff – excess nuances – anything that is not necessary in achieving what is meaningful for you should be eliminated – whether people, clothes, or your current job.

            Automation:  in the long run – and even in the short run – paying someone else to do what you don’t want or need to do will increase your ability to achieve what is meaningful for you.  Spend your time and effort only on what you enjoy doing on the way to your meaningful goal.

            Liberation:  go.  Work from home, from another country, take min-retirements.

            Ferriss includes many examples and websites to check out.  The book concludes with a selection of his best blog posts and testimonials of those who followed through with what he explains.

            Now, you may love your job.  I do.  But there are things you wish you didn’t have to do, right?  I know there are for me.  See if someone else will do them to allow you to fulfill your call.  Set short term goals and get to them now.

            I am also setting long term goals which begin now, certainly, but things I want to achieve.  I love my job, but there are other things I would like to achieve as well.  And, though I don’t have much interest in going to other countries, I would like to take more vacations at different times of the year to be in the place that I find most beneficial to my achieving meaning.

            Even if you don’t follow everything he says – he is not in favor of reading a lot – I disagree – taking time to figure out what is meaningful and what things would be better out of your life or handled by someone else is a worthwhile activity.

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