Worshiping God for Who He IS [Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q45-47]

First Commandment (Pt. 1)

Puritan pastor,  Thomas Boston, tells us that “knowledge is the foundation of all religion.” The First Commandment distinguishes the nature of worshiping the True God as it separates Him from all other ‘so-called” gods. He is to be worshiped and He alone! He is to be worshiped according to His own prescriptions and not according to our own ideas about who He is or what His worship should look like.

Exodus 20:3  “You shall have no other gods before Me.

Question 45-47 – Lesson Audio

Boston instructs us on the First Commandment as follows;

“Here are the three chief duties of this command. 1. Knowing. 2. Acknowledging. 3. Worshiping and glorifying. That these are required here, is evident: for it is impossible that we can have God for our God, if we do not know him; and seeing the command requires the obedience of the whole man, it necessarily binds us to acknowledge, worship, and glorify him accordingly.”

We cannot worship the God whom we do not know! Boston tells us “And forasmuch as where the end is required, the means also leading thereto are required, so the diligent study and observation of the word and works of God, and all means leading thereto, are hereby required of us; such as praying, hearing sermons, catechising, etc.”

Once we know Him, and know about Him, We can acknowledge Him for who He is and then we are able to worship Him correctly, glorifying Him.

I encourage you to read Bostons works, Vol 2. as He comments on the Westminster Shorter Catechism and the Scriptures that it deals with

I also encourage you to listen in on our discussion of these things   Question 45-47 – Lesson Audio

Get to know God for who He is and your worship will not only be correct, but lively and beautiful. Worship is the proper response of the redeemed heart to God. It is passionate and full. (See previous post on the Catechism Love, Obedience and the Nature of God ).

2 Peter 3:17-18  You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;  18  but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Judging the Gods of Egypt [Exodus Pt. 11]

Judging the Gods

Why is it that God does not want any other gods to be worshiped? Some unbelievers think it is because He is petty and jealous. On the contrary, it is more because He knows what happens when people place their faith in a fraud, they ultimately get hurt and may even lead others to their ruin. Even as Believers, we need to see God love and power so that we can be moved to faith in God alone. In His power and in His faithfulness as he demonstrates what He will endure to keep His promise.

Judging the Gods of Egypt – SERMON AUDIO

The Psalmist writes;  Psalms 115:1-18 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth. Why should the Gentiles say, “So where is their God?” But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; They have ears, but they do not hear; Noses they have, but they do not smell; They have hands, but they do not handle; Feet they have, but they do not walk; Nor do they mutter through their throat. Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them. O Israel, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the LORD, Both small and great. May the LORD give you increase more and more, You and your children. May you be blessed by the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men. The dead do not praise the LORD, Nor any who go down into silence. But we will bless the LORD From this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!

As God delivers His people who are held captive by Pharaoh and the people of Egypt. He destroys the gods of the land. Gods who are not really gods at all. Each of the plagues that God brings on Egypt, not only works against Pharaoh and his stubbornness, but also against the things in which he had put his trust.  The works of God here, show both Israel and the Egyptians who really has the power and who has the will to save His people.

Seven times in the first fourteen chapters of the book of Exodus,  we read these  or similar words, “Then you will know that I am the LORD!”

Exodus 6:6-7  Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.  7  I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

Exodus 7:4-5  But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.  5  And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”

Both Israel and Egypt need to know who the real God is. Though Egypt does not repent and trust in Him, God still shows them who the He is. This makes them accountable in their refusal to acknowledge Him. As for God’s own people, they need to see His power over the false gods they have seen for so long and know that they need to trust in Him ALONE!

John MacArthur covers each of the false gods of Egypt and how God demonstrated their futility through the plagues, in his sermon  God vs. the Gods of Egypt. From their worship of the Nile River that supplied them with food, irrigation and transportation, to their worship of frogs, cattle and even flies, God judged each of their gods as he brought the plagues on them.

Egyptians are not the only ones who worship things that are not God. Even as God’s people, we tend to want to put our trust in things that are not God in order to feel secure, happy or even superior to others. We tend to  believe that the way that we worship God makes us better than others who worship him from a different cultural perspective. “My music style, my Bible translation, my personal holiness, makes God like me better than that guy over there.” God likes you because He chose to like you. Your righteousnesses are filthy rags to Him. Your reliance on anything outside the Promise and Power of God through Jesus Christ will prove to be no more than the gods of Egypt were in the days of Moses.

You say, “That was Old Testament stuff!” I tell you that the Apostle Paul saw it as a threat to Christians in the New Testament. He wrote to the Colossian Christians for that very reason.

Colossians 2:9-10  For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;  10  and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Do not trust in anything but Christ, His promise and His power to save you and to keep you. It is the tendency of the fallen human heart to create idols to give us security and  identity. To trust in ourselves, our rules or standards, and not ultimately in the God who saves us. Calvin says in Book 1, Chapter 11 of his Institutes of the Christian Religion , ” Hence we may infer, that the human mind is, so to speak, a perpetual forge of idols.” God is in the business of removing the frauds because they are of no value to His people. They lead men to destruction and pollute true worship. It is a mercy that God removes the objects of false worship!

I encourage you to listen to the sermon by clicking on the link below.

Judging the Gods of Egypt – SERMON AUDIO

One last question for you…. What are you trusting in today? I know most who say that they are Christian will say “Jesus!” and yet, I must ask, what makes you feel secure in Him? Your own righteousness? Your style of worship which you have deemed superior to that of others? Your theological school? Anything beyond the Promise and Power of God through Jesus Christ is at least a potential idol in your own heart.

Colossians 2:9-10  For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;  10  and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

In Christ!

Kevin

Love, Obedience and the Nature of God [Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q40-43]

Love, Obedience and the Nature of God

Love, Obedience and the Nature of God, “What do these things have to do with one another?” you may ask. The answer is that they are actually inseparable! In our study of the Christian life as we see it taught in the Catechism we find that the Westminster Divines, thought and taught clearly and biblically as they put it together. The questions and answers that we have been studying for the last few weeks are these;

Q. 40. What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience?
A. The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the moral law.

Q. 41. Wherein is the moral law summarily comprehended?
A. The moral law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments.

Q. 42. What is the sum of the ten commandments?
A. The sum of the ten commandments is, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbor as ourselves.

Q. 43. What is the preface to the ten commandments?
A. The preface to the ten commandments is in these words, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Q. 44. What does the preface to the ten commandments teach us?
A. The preface to the ten commandments teaches us, that because God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments.

Thomas Boston, an English Puritan of the late 17th Century has expounded these teachings in his work An Illustration of the Doctrines of the Christian Religion, With Respect to Faith and Practice.  We have also looked at one of his contemporaries, Thomas Watson in his, Body of Divinity, The Ten Commandments (for this part of the Catechism) and The Lord’s Prayer, Which all cover the Catechism according to its divisions of subject matter. These are priceless gems when it comes to grounding ourselves in the foundational teachings of the Christian Faith.

You can hear the audio of the lessons from our study by clicking on the links below

Questions 41-42 - LESSON AUDIO (Love and Obedience)

Questions 43-44 – LESSON AUDIO (Obedience and the Nature of God)

This is the basic stuff of practical Christian living. I cannot urge you strongly enough to read the material that I have linked to above! I also encourage you to listen to the lessons and hear the discussion as we sit around the table and discuss these truths!

In Christ!

Kevin

Opportunities For God To Show His Power [Exodus Pt. 9]

When Pharaoh Speaks to You...

Exodus is fertile soil for dealing with the subject of trusting God through difficulties! Whether it is through Moses and the People of Israel, or Pharaoh and the Egyptians, we can all learn a significant lesson about our own hearts and how God works in and through trials. That is the time that reveals where we have actually put our trust.

1 Peter 4:12-13 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

Opportunities for God’s Power – SERMON AUDIO

Moses, though he certainly struggled at times, believed God’s promise to redeem and also that He has the Power to keep His promise.  Pharaoh, on the other hand, believed in a god of human invention. He expected that God would allow his sin and selfishness and would always give him what he wanted. When the True God showed up and made demands, Pharaoh could not submit.

Exodus 7:8-17  Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,  9  “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.’ “  10  So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the LORD commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.  11  But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.  12  For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.  13  And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said.  14  So the LORD said to Moses: “Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go.  15  Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand.  16  And you shall say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear!  17  Thus says the LORD: “By this you shall know that I am the LORD. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood.

The idea of Pharaoh’s heart hardening is woven through Exodus 4-14. It is mentioned some 20 times! Sometimes God is said to harden it, others Pharaoh hardens it himself. The hard heart of Pharaoh consists in his stubbornness in refusing to listen and submit to the One True God.  We can all fall into this attitude! We can justify not listening to God when we don’t like what He is doing. The Bible is filled with God’s people doing just that! When we get uncomfortable, we try to take away the credibility of God’s messenger and then we can, “not listen to His message,” and not feel guilty.

Jeremiah 18:18  Then they said, “Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.”

Mark 6:2-3  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  3  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.

We need to make sure that what we are hearing is God’s Word and that it is given by the one that He has called to give it, then we must submit to God’s Word in obedience. This is not a call to blind obedience to charlatans! But to real obedience to God through His ordained means (in our day, the local church). To seek to destroy the credibility of the messenger and disregard his message is the work of pure unbelief! Pharaoh tried to discredit Moses and Aaron with his magicians so that he would feel justified in his unbelief, Judah tried to discredit Jeremiah in the same way. Jesus’ community heard Him and thought He was great until they realize that they knew his family and that he had not gone to seminary.  In our sinful fallenness, it is our tendency to try and discredit what we do not want to believe. As fallen people, we naturally do not want to submit to God in His authority. We need the power of His Holy Spirit in order to submit.  I really encourage you to listen to the audio for the whole message!

Opportunities for God’s Power – SERMON AUDIO

In Christ!

Kevin

Moses’ Second Coming [Exodus Pt. 8]

Moses' Second Coming

Does God just have a flair for the dramatic, or is there another reason why He would bring such great judgments on Egypt as He brought His people out of their bondage there? Actually, by using this method, God demonstrates both to His people and to those who resist Him, exactly who He is and the greatness of His power. This increases the faith of the faithful and the condemnation of those who will not submit to His authority.

Moses’ Second Coming – SERMON AUDIO

The Apostle Paul says it this way to the Roman Christians;

Romans 9:22-23  What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,  23  and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory…

I realize that most of us do not like to think of God limiting the ability of people, especially when it comes to their choosing to believe or not to believe. Yet, God, being all-knowing and all-powerful, does what He wants to do. Mankind is in wholesale rebellion against their Creator. We are a race of traitors who have no greater desire than the desire to resist and repress God. Even those of us who have come to faith, often struggle with trusting Him. This is the case with the people just before the Exodus.

God could have left the whole world to perish in our rebellion, yet He graciously chose to redeem some. That is what Paul is talking about in Romans 9 and it is also what is demonstrated in The Book of Exodus. The drama of the Exodus, the demonstration of God’s power of that of the most powerful man in the world, serves that dual purpose mentioned above. As Moses struggles with his obedience in the face of his apparent failure, rather than getting angry, God responds to him with grace.

Exodus 5:20-23  Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them.  21  And they said to them, “Let the LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”  22  So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me?  23  For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.”

Moses is struggling here. Things are not going well though God has foretold the events that were happening around him. As Moses complains, what does God say to him?

Exodus 6:1-2  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”  2  And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the LORD.

Moses, this is not about your power of ability, you have done what you could, now step back and watch what I will do! God mentions at the end of verse 2, “I am the LORD.” God’s covenant Name is given as an assurance to Moses and the people. But God does not stop there.  He restates the covenant that He has entered into with Abraham and his descendants;

Exodus 6:3-8  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them.  4  I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers.  5  And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.  6  Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.  7  I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.  8  And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD.’ “

There is a combination of things here that God uses to encourage His people. 1) His faithfulness in the past. More than 400 years earlier, God foretold and promised that He would bring the descendants of Abraham through this very situation (See Genesis 15:13-14); 2) His power to accomplish His promise in the face of overwhelming obstacles (See the rest of the Book of Exodus). God’s past faithfulness and His power are motivators to our future hope as Christians. As The Apostle John writes the New Testament Book of Revelation, he uses the very same method to communicate hope to those saints who are in the midst of the cataclysmic judgments of the end of the world. After the seven seals are opened and the seven trumpets are blown, John sees a vision of historical significance;

Revelation 12:1-11  Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.  2  Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.  3  And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.  4  His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.  5  She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.  6  Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.  7  And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,  8  but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.  9  So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.  10  Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.  11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

The serpent has been persecuting the people of God through all of history, yet God has preserved the people and accomplished His ultimate purpose, the bringing of the Messiah into the world to redeem people from every nation, tribe, people and tongue. God’s plan cannot be thwarted.  Satan’s opposition only increases the display of God’s power and faithfulness! Just as Pharaoh’s Egypt did as a “type” or picture of God’s ultimate plan and purpose in the days of Moses. This display of God’s power and faithfulness increases the faith of the believing people and also the guilt of those who oppose God.

The scariest part of Exodus 6 is that when God spoke to Moses and Moses spoke to the people, we read that;

Exodus 6:9  So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage.

The people of Israel could not hear the Word of God because their focus was too much on the difficulties of the times that they lived in!  So, I have to ask you, Christian, Where is your focus this day? On the PROBLEMS of life? or on the POWER and the PROMISE of God?  Hold to the Promise! God is faithful! He is able! Don’t listen to those who point to the power of the enemy, who instill fear rather than faith. Look back upon the faithfulness of God and look ahead in hope to the completion of His plan! We will go through great difficulty before we come to our final rest. If there were not difficulties in life, there would be no heroes! God is the ultimate Hero! He does not bring difficulty to us just to show off.  He is not an egotist! He does it because we need to believe Him, to trust Him. He is God and we are not! It is for our benefit that affliction comes. It moves us past our blindness and self-deception to the place where we can see God for who He is!

Moses’ Second Coming – SERMON AUDIO

In Christ!

Kevin

Obedience and the Christian [Westminster Shorter Catechism Q39]

Untying the knot of Faith and Works is not exactly easy. What role does obedience play in the Christian life? If you have a concordance or searchable Bible software. look up the words “obey” and “obedience” and read the texts where they are used, especially in the New Testament! Obedience is tied to faith throughout the Bible from beginning to end. So much so that the Apostle, as he writes to the Hebrew Christians in the The New Testament Letter to The Hebrews, he draws on the experience of the Old Testament Saints and says this;

Hebrews 3:14-19  For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,  15  while it is said: “TODAY, IF YOU WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS IN THE REBELLION.”  16  For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses?  17  Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?  18  And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?

What was the cause of their disobedience? We read in the very next verse;

Hebrews 3:19  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

What we do is always based on what we believe. We can claim to believe many things, but the reality is that Truth embraced is Truth lived! So much so that the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews can say that disobedience is  the same as unbelief

Several months ago we began to go through the Westminster Shorter Catechism as a church on Wednesday evenings. We took a break last May and studied our way through the New Testament book 1 Timothy and now we are picking back up with the Catechism at Question 39

Q. 39. What is the duty which God requires of man?
A. The duty which God requires of man, is obedience to his revealed will.

Obedience – LESSON AUDIO

As we study the catechism we are using a resource that dates back to the 16oo’s. Written by an English, Puritan Pastor Named Thomas Watson, we began with his first volume explaining the catechism called A Body of Divinity. Having made it to the next part of the catechism we have moved to the second work in the series called The 10 Commandments.

Realizing the importance of our obedience, it would be negligent of  we who call ourselves Christians to overlook the study of it as it is given to us in the Bible. I encourage you to listen to the audio of the lesson and to read Watson’s works on the Westminster Shorter Catechism. It is all very biblically based truth from a several pastors who were well versed in the Christian Faith. It is not meant to become a substitute for the Bible, but to aid us in understanding and applying its truths. Listen to the lesson and see what I mean!

Obedience – LESSON AUDIO

In Christ!

Kevin

Tribulation and the People of God [Exodus Pt. 7]

Tribulation and the People of God

“I don’t deserve this!!” I don’t know how many times I have heard these words. God’s job rating seems to be much like that of the president. Most people seem to think,  “if I am not comfortable and happy, He must not be doing His job.” This is so contrary to reality!  This is not to say that trials or difficulties in life are ever easy,  If they were we would call them “easies” and not “difficulties.” Yet the attitude that we bring to them will greatly affect the way we endure them, or not.  

 Tribulation and the People of God  – SERMON AUDIO

We often begin with the attitude that God owes us happiness. This is a far stretch from the Biblical data on the subject!  Every kid that has been in Sunday School knows Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. “The wages of sin is death.” That means God owes it to us. It is what we have earned as sinners. Anything less than hell is God’s mercy to us. In his goodness God does give us good things, not as a testimony to our deserving  it, but as a testimony to His goodness.

Acts 14:15-17  We… preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

God’s goodness is multiplied by our sin. He does not have to do this for us. We have earned our wages and goodness is not among them! Due to the sinfulness of our hearts, we would stand in judgment over God who is good, and claim that He does not measure up to our standards. What hypocrisy! “What does all of this have to do with the Book of Exodus?” you ask. God foretold exactly how the whole situation was going to go.

Genesis 15:12-14  Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.  13  Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.  14  And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

Exodus 4:19-21  Now the LORD said to Moses in Midian, “Go, return to Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead.”  20  Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.  21  And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.

Yet when Moses finally gets up the courage and is ready to go and speak to him, things get more difficult.

Exodus 5:1-9  Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ “  2  And Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.”  3  So they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.”  4  Then the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your labor.”  5  And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are many now, and you make them rest from their labor!”  6  So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying,  7  “You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.  8  And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’  9  Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.”

This led the people to run to Moses and complain while Moses ran to God and complained.

Exodus 5:20-23  Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them.  21  And they said to them, “Let the LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”  22  So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me?  23  For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.”

One of our greatest problems is that we tend to believe what we want to about God rather than what He has actually said. Faith that is not in what God says about us, Himself and our relationship, is not faith, but folly! Moses and the people had other expectations and so their faith was challenged even though God was clear about what to expect.

So, “Why did God put them through all of that?” you ask. To increase His glory and move the people away from trusting in themselves and toward trusting in Him. Not due to personal vanity, but because it is what we need as human beings. We need to trust in Him but we naturally want to trust in our own abilities. God had to prove that He is the ultimate power and that we are best off when we trust in Him.  Trials do this for us.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.  8  Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  9  And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

It comes down to the question, “In whom or what do you trust?” If it is in your own goodness or ability, you will believe that God owes you. If you are trusting in God and His promise through Jesus Christ, you will understand His amazing Grace!   To get the whole concept, I encourage you to listen to the audio of the sermon by clicking on the link below.

Tribulation and the People of God  – SERMON AUDIO

In Christ!

Kevin

Guarding Our Faith and Love [1 Timothy Pt. 22]

Guarding Our Faith and Love

Some people can be really hard to love! As Paul instructs Pastor Timothy to lead in the Church at Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3), he seems to be dealing with some cranky church members who are causing disruptions there; proud people who try to manipulate the church to their own advantage. This is nothing new if you find yourself in a similar church. Yet Paul gives Timothy instructions on how to correct the situation.

Guarding Our Faith and Love – LESSON AUDIO

First he calls attention to their behavior and character:

1 Timothy 6:1-5  Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed.  2  And those who have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather serve them because those who are benefited are believers and beloved. Teach and exhort these things.  3  If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness,  4  he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,  5  useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.

Slaves are given as an example of humility and service. Paul is drawing a parallel to all of those who profess to know Christ. We are His salves. (Paul begins his letter to the Romans, the Philippians and Titus by calling himself a “bondservant” or slave of Jesus Christ.) Just as a slave has no right to make excuses or manipulate to his advantage in his work, we who are in the Church should be submissive and looking out for the welfare of others without complaining or manipulating our local fellowship for our personal advantage! See previous post, Obsessed With Disputes. The problem is that when we are around “those kind of people” we tend to get an attitude and find it difficult to live as we ought as Christians. The primary goal of Christian teaching as it pertains to those who embrace the Faith of Jesus Christ is to create “love from a pure heart, from a good conscience and from sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5) And so, the solution to pastoring in this environment or to being in this environment as a fellow servant is;

1 Timothy 6:11-16  But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.  12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.  13  I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate,  14  that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing,  15  which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,  16  who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

1. Get away from the bad attitudes and pursue the fruit of the Spirit! it is going to be a battle! (Vs. 11-12)
2. Remember that the God who gives you life and saves you is watching! (vs. 13)
3. He is also your example, Jesus stood firm in His conviction as He stood before Pilate who condemned Him to death. (vs. 13)
4. Keep, that is obey and protect “the commandment.”

• The “commandment” is the body of doctrine that is the Christian Faith.  Bible commentator and Greek scholar, Marvin Vincent says of the word “commandment” verse 14: “Usually of a single commandment or injunction, but sometimes for the whole body of the moral precepts of Christianity, as 2Peter 2:21; 2Peter3:2. The reference may be explained by ἡ παραγγελία the commandment, 1Timothy 1:5, meaning the gospel as the divine standard of conduct and faith. Comp. 2Timothy 1:14. The phrase “

•  ”The Commandment” here is the Christian Faith. It is to be kept, even in the face of opposition, even by those who profess Christ and do not act in accordance with what they say they believe. That is, when their doctrine does not accord with godliness! (See 1 Timothy 6:3) There is support for this view further on in chapter 6.

 1 Timothy 6:20-21  O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge– 21  by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.

The word Guard is uses by the Apostle as he instructs Timothy on how to “keep” that commandment. Protect your faith by protecting your attitude as you are exposed to this lack of love and concern for true godliness which is a demonstration that those people have not embraced the Faith in sincerity.  This is a very difficult place to be! But it was not unforeseen by God and it is noting new in the Church of Jesus Christ. The most important thing we need to take away from this is to ask ourselves the question, Does 1 Timothy 6:3-5 describe me? Am I making excuses for my bad attitude? Am I on a fault-finding mission against people in my church? Am I excusing my lack of love and manipulating my situation to make myself more comfortable? If the answer to these questions is yes for you, its time to reevaluate the reality of your faith.  Its time to seek the Lord while He may be found. I will close with the words of the Holy Spirit as He inspired the Apostle to write to the Hebrew Christians in the first century.

Hebrews 3:7-15  Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “TODAY, IF YOU WILL HEAR HIS VOICE,  8  DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS IN THE REBELLION, IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS,  9  WHERE YOUR FATHERS TESTED ME, TRIED ME, AND SAW MY WORKS FORTY YEARS.  10  THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THAT GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN MY WAYS.’  11  SO I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.’ “  12  Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;  13  but exhort one another daily, while it is called “TODAY,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  14  For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,  15  while it is said: “TODAY, IF YOU WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS IN THE REBELLION.”

I encourage you to listen to the audio and pray that the Lord would reveal to you where your heart is.

Guarding Our Faith and Love – LESSON AUDIO

In Christ!

Kevin

God and Hard Hearts [Exodus Pt. 6]

Hard Hearts

Most people hate to hear the words, “I will harden his heart” as God speaks to Moses in Exodus 4:21. Yet we know that God is perfectly just in all that He does. Pharaoh did not need God to do anything mystical to make his heart hard. We are all born in sin and rebellion against God. All God had to do was assert His authority and take away Pharaoh’s toys and he threw a fit like any toddler would do under the same circumstances. We often fail to recognize the state of our hearts before God goes to work in them. Our hearts are just like Pharaoh’s because we are all sons of Adam and children of rebellion. As such, God could rightfully allow all of our hearts to grow harder and harder as He exercises His providence in our lives, giving and taking away as He sees fit. He is the Creator and Ruler of all that is and we would continue to resist His power and authority if we were left to ourselves.

Pharaoh’s Hard Heart – SERMON AUDIO

Following what Paul tells the Romans in the first chapter of his letter to the Christians there, Pharaoh has rejected God and set himself up as the ruler of his own domain. As a result, God’s judgment has come upon him, and allowed him to move himself further away from God’s rule and authority.  God’s judgment for those who want no part of Him, or who reconstruct Him to fit their own comfort level, is to give them what they want;

Romans 1:18-24  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,  19  because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.  20  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,  21  because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  22  Professing to be wise, they became fools,  23  and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man–and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.  24  Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves….

The more we reject the true God and make our own gods who fit our personal comfort and accept our sin, the more God “gives us up” to what we want. Pharaoh had taken this to an extreme level as he was considered a god to the people of Egypt and as he tried to consume the people of God for his own selfish ends.  The only thing special about Pharaoh is that he held great power, power which God gave him. He used his power against God in his arrogance.

When Moses came to him to ask, (very politely, I might add) to let the people of Israel go, Pharaoh got snooty with him right off the bat;

Exodus 5:1-5  Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ “  2  And Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.”  3  So they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.”  4  Then the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your labor.”  5  And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are many now, and you make them rest from their labor!”

God know just how he would react and used it to His own advantage and to the advantage of the rest of the world since He free Israel and through them brought Jesus into the world so that He could redeem people from every nation, tribe and tongue. Ultimately, it was God’s love and faithfulness that won the day! He overcomes the hard hearts of people every day. The big question for all of us is this, Does God exercising His sovereign authority in our lives make our hearts hard or does it break them and cause us to fall on His mercy? We need to pray that God will overcome our hard hearts through His mercy and grace. Left to ourselves, we would only continue to harden them when God exercises His authority in our lives. Listen to the audio  of this morning’s sermon and pray that the Lord would soften your heart as you see His power and faithfulness and realize the great mercy of His sacrifice of His own Son to redeem the hard hearts of the rebels who don’t really want to know Him in truth.

Pharaoh’s Hard Heart – SERMON AUDIO

In Christ!

Kevin

The Love of Money [1 Timothy Pt. 21]

Love of Money

The main theme in the first letter to Timothy is, “How to conduct ourselves in the house of God,” (1 Timothy 3:15)   Or, How to interact with fellow believers. What does church look like? What should we watch out for or what should we strive to do better? Not as a means of earning our favor with God, but because He has given us His favor though we have not deserved it. One thing we need to make sure of is that we don’t get focused on stuff and fail to care for one another!

Love of Money – LESSON AUDIO

James 4:1-6 tells us;   “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?  2  You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.  3  You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.  4  Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  5  Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?  6  But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “GOD RESISTS THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.’ “

Chasing after material wealth and personal comfort is what James seems to be calling “friendship with the world” here. That is not to say that material wealth is wrong, but living for it is.  In Chapter 6 of 1 Timothy, Paul seems to be showing Timothy the things that cause division and enmity in the local church. Those who value the comfort derived from material possessions over human beings are among the offenders. Some actually use the Church to gain, power, prominence or material possessions. Paul says this should not be so!

1 Timothy 6:1-5  Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed.  2  And those who have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather serve them because those who are benefited are believers and beloved. Teach and exhort these things.  3  If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness,  4  he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,  5  useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.

We should all be humble, submissive and seeking the good of others. Paul uses the slaves of his day as an example of what our own attitudes should be like as we interact with other Believers.  (See the Previous Post, Obsessed with Disputes for more on verses 1-5). The main difference is that we should be looking for opportunities to benefit one another and not to reap personal benefits from our service in the Church. When our goal for serving becomes our personal reward, we lose focus and treat property as though it is more important that people.  This shows that we are trusting in ourselves and what we can attain rather than trusting in Christ and what He has given us in the Gospel. Paul calls covetousness idolatry as he warns the Colossian Believers about its sinful bent (Colossians 5:5).  That is not to say that there is no “gain” in being a follower of Jesus Christ!

1 Timothy 6:6-10  Now godliness with contentment is great gain.  7  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  8  And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.  9  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.  10  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

It ultimately comes down to this, Are you CONTENT with what Christ has given you, the forgiveness of sins, and eternal inheritance as a member of God’s household, intimate fellowship with Him and with the Father? Or do you need material possessions to give you your identity? Which are you trusting in, Christ or your stuff? You say, “That cannot be what Paul is saying!” Jesus taught this very thing;

Matthew 19:16-26  Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”  17  So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”  18  He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, ” ‘YOU SHALL NOT MURDER,’ ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,’ ‘YOU SHALL NOT STEAL,’ ‘YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS,’  19  ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER,’ and, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ “  20  The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”  21  Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”  22  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  23  Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  24  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”  25  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”  26  But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Jesus was not giving a blanket statement for all of His followers to do this here. But He was pointing to where our trust naturally lies. Even as Believers in God, we want to associate His favor with our own comfort level. This is not the sign of His blessing.  On the contrary, contentment is! Yet even the Apostle Paul had to learn contentment. He says to the Philippians as he thanks them for supporting his ministry;

Philippians 4:10-13  But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity.  11  Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:  12  I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  13  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Have you learned contentment? It is an act of God through Jesus Christ that brings us to that place. It is a sign of where our faith truly is! When it is not there, we tend to argue and war among ourselves, to fight for power, prominence and possessions! This is not how we should act as Christians! It makes us use one another instead of caring for one another. Yet we must have possessions in this life. God gives them to us, even as Paul says;

1 Timothy 6:17-19  Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.  18  Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,  19  storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

We can enjoy the possessions that the Lord gives us. We just should not live for them! Part of our enjoyment of them is to share and give them for the sake of the Kingdom of God. To use them to help others and to open doors for the Gospel!. Right use of our wealth demonstrates where our hearts are and where our faith is. I encourage you to listen to the audio of the lesson by clicking on the link below. And I pray that you and I may both learn contentment as we trust in the God who saves sinners and give us an inheritance that is eternal, incorruptible and undefiled, reserved in heaven for us! That He would be enough for us and that we would use the possessions that He gives us for the benefit of others to His glory!

Love of Money – LESSON AUDIO

In Christ!

Kevin