Tag: Christ

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When You See No Light

Have you ever had a time when people were talking about how great it is to know the Lord and how comforting it is, and you just thought, “No way. I don’t feel that at all.”

When you are in great suffering, to hear people talk about hope and how good the Lord has been can feel hollow and make you feel even more isolated. Who are these people, you think, who have no real struggles?

That’s one thing I love about the Psalms. They are made for people with struggles. They contain great declarations of faith, but those declarations are often made after deep struggles with the hard realities of their situation.

On the other hand, sometimes you just can’t see the light. You struggle. You pray. You process. And you still can’t see the light. Psalm 88 tells us of one such person.

Psalm 88 begins like many other psalms. “Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you” (Psalm 88:1). However, as the Psalm develops, he says, “I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death” (v. 3). It never moves to a high point from there. It simply concludes. “You have taken from me friend and neighbor—darkness is my closest friend” (Ps. 88). And that’s the end.

It’s rather remarkable that there is a song like this in the Bible. It’s not really what a person might expect. I love our worship songs and hymns, but you wouldn’t guess that this would be one of the songs in the Bible based on what we sing in church. It’s a really dark psalms that speaks of a person who is overwhelmed and struggling with the toughest things in life.

So, what are we to do with this “dark” psalm?

First, we should remember that people feel this way sometimes. We should remember that not everyone can easily see the light. We should be patient with them and allow them to process their darkness without being “miserable comforters,” as Job called his friends.

Second, you may feel that way right now. This is a Psalm for you. You can pray this psalm or something like it and present your feelings exactly as you are to God. Even if your feelings aren’t this strong now, it shows you that you can bring your struggles to God. Even if they aren’t that strong to day, it’s good to think of the future and how you may use this psalm later.

Finally, they point us to the suffering of Christ. The psalms tell us of ourselves, and they also tell us of Christ. Christ said while he was on earth, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Ps. 26:38). When we are struggling, we are dealing with a God who has experienced what it means to have “sorrow to the point of death.” That’s why the author of Hebrews tells us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:15–16).

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Photo by Cherry Laithang on Unsplash

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5 Important Marriages Lessons from Psalm 45

In spite of some questions and debate about it, marriage is still a huge driver in our civilization. People in large numbers keep getting married. In Pigeon Forge, it is a multi-million dollar industry. This is because God created marriage. It is something that God has established as a blessing for this world. It is rooted in the world that He created. But marriage also has a higher purpose.

In Psalm 45, we have the story of a marriage. It speaks of the groom in this way: “You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever” (Psalm 45:2). Then, it calls on the bride, “Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention: Forget your people and your father’s house. Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord” (Ps. 45:10–11). In order to understand this passage, we need to know who this king is. This king is none other than the eternal Son of God. “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom” (Ps. 45:6). This is confirmed by Hebrews 1 which cites this passage and applies it to the Son of God. The spouse is humanity restored and cleansed from her sin, the church of Jesus Christ. This opens our eyes to several important truths about marriage.

1. Marriage is first and foremost a pointer to Christ and His Church. The goal of marriage is not the marriage but the glory of God. We cannot make marriage the end of our lives. Glorifying Christ is always first.

2. Marriage is glorious, but this glory tempts us to make marriage more than it is. Marriage is a beautiful and wondrous thing. It can be the best of human relationships in many ways. That’s why the Psalmist can describe it in such a noble way. However, this very glory can make it tempting for us to think that it solves all our problems of loneliness, security, and meaning. This is one of the most common mistakes of marriage. We take a good thing and exalt it beyond measure. That’s the root of a lot of the bitterest fights in marriage.

3. Marriage is a priority. This passage reminds us that marriage is about a new home. The relationship with Christ and His Church becomes the priority over all other relationships. So, marriage has a priority over our relationships with our parents, our friends, and our children. Now, we need those relationships, too, but marriage always needs to have a priority. That’s why our text says with some hyperbole: “Forget your people and your father’s house” (Ps. 45:11).

4. We have a new family. If we are part of the church, we have a new family. It’s easy to let our activities center around our biological family. It’s easy to become tribal. We must be open to the church. This means the bride of Christ in general as the family of God and not just our local church. Local churches can become just as tribal as families. Our new family means that we have an openness to the family of God. It’s our new family.

5. We have a husband and a marriage. Sometimes people really want to be married and for various reasons can’t be. People in that situation should remember, “Your maker is your husband.” They may not have the earthly copy of marriage but they have the heavenly original of marriage. As often as they struggle, they should go back to this truth.

Christ transforms marriage. The perspective of the world is that marriage or a two person love relationship is the be all and end all. This is one reason why these relationships often end so badly. They are not made to function that way. The world is about God Himself, and marriage is one of His gifts. When we realize that, we can accept marriage for what it is, a tremendous blessing from our Lord that points us back to His eternal goodness.

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It’s About the Kingdom

Back in Spearfish, SD, I had so many friends who were pastors. There was a real sense that we working together. The evangelical pastors in the area had been meeting for years. We did activities together. It was a real blessing.

I’ve never been able to reproduce that feeling here. I’ve tried to get groups together. I’ve tried to get together with pastors and get churches together. I fee like a lot of my work has been frustrated. I’ve often felt like giving up.

Psalm 2 made me realize that I should not do that. You know why? Because it’s about the kingdom. It’s not really about me. It’s about what God is doing in the world to glorify His chosen king, Jesus. It’s in the interest of the kingdom to get churches working together and having a sense of being a part of the kingdom. The world knows who God is through the love that Christians have for one another.

All kinds of people are opposing Him, but God is working out His plan and building up His kingdom. “I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession” (Psalm 2:7–8). So, the kings of the earth and everybody else needs to get on board. “Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling” (Ps. 2:10–11). God is doing something big in this world, and everybody needs to get in line with it. The kingdom is coming whether we like it or not.

The first psalm looks at the individual and how he flourishes. The second psalm points us to the bigger picture. It points us to the work of God through Christ establishing His kingdom throughout the world. This is the second theme we will consider as we look at the psalms. In one sense, all of the psalms are about Christ, but there are some in which the theme comes out more clearly than others. Consider, for example, Psalms 2, 22, 45, 72, and 110. These all point us back to the fact that our first prayer should be hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done.

This passage also tells us that the kingdom is good news for us, too. We are made to be part of something bigger, and what we see here is that God wants us to be a part of it. More than that, he wants to bless us in the work of His kingdom. The psalm concludes, “Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (2:12). That’s the blessing of meditating on God’s kingdom and His King. That’s how this psalm can both challenge us and be a refreshing stream for our soul, pointing us back to the true meaning of life and who is really in charge and in whom we will find our blessing.

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Psalm 1: A Vision of a Flourishing Life

If you look at the end of the Psalms, you will find a series of Psalms called the “hallel” psalms. They are psalms that focus on praising God. If you think about it, this is how you might expect the book of Psalms to begin. However, the Psalms do not begin that way. They begin, “Blessed is the man . . .” They provide for us a song about a righteous man. If I were to write a book of songs for the church, I’m not sure that I would do that. Yet that is what we have in our Scriptures. It’s remarkable.

Why is this the case? God wants to give us a vision of what it means to live a life rooted in Him. He wants us to see that the way of blessing is rooted in Him. He also wants to warn us that if we go in another direction, then there will be terrible consequences. We and the universe are not made in any other way than to glorify God and rejoice in Him. So, He gives us songs to help keep that vision in front of us. “Blessed is the man . . .”

In this passage, we have two key elements of what that vision is. First, the righteous man is rooted in the law of the Lord. This means that He meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree that is planted by the rivers of water. In every situation, He has a refreshing stream from the law of the Lord that blesses him and provides him with what he needs. Whether he is seeking guidance, is struggling with anxiety or anger, or rejoicing, the law of the Lord is an unlimited resource.

This rootedness leads to activity. “Whatever He does prospers” (1:3). He is active in good works, and these works are blessed just as the righteous man is. “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever . . .” (Psalm 112:9). As they work, they reflect the goodness and compassion of God and attune themselves to the universe.

This is in contrast to those who do not root themselves in the law of the Lord. They are just like chaff that the wind blows away. Whatever they do is destined to perish, and they are destined to perish. It is only in the rootedness that God provides in His Word that we find the blessing and flourishing life God intends for us.

One interesting thing about this passage is that it says “Blessed is the man . . .” That is the literal rendering, though “they” is not wrong because it refers to any human. But the way the original Hebrew reads make us think of both an original man and all the people who may be like this. As we read this, we recognize that we have not always been fruitful, and we have not delighted ourselves in the law of the Lord as we should. However, there is a man who did! That man is Jesus Christ. He is the truly blessed man, and we are blessed in Him, and we are made active and fruitful in Him.

This is just what Jesus said in John 15. “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (15:7–8). This is the vision that God has for us. He wants it to go deep down in us. He has given us a song to remind us. Let’s keep singing it, praying it, and meditating on it, seeking the fruitfulness that redounds to our Father’s glory through Jesus Christ.

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Fellowship with God & Man, Part 2: What If We Sin? (1 John 1:4–2:2)

[Listen to an audio version here]

I’ve seen it so many times. Someone has been struggling with sin for a long time, and then they make the resolution. They are going to walk in the light and turn away from the darkness. They know they have done wrong. They are committed to doing right. They are excited. It’s a new way of life. They are moving forward. They have put the old way behind them.

Only, that’s not how it works out. They go back. They fall into the same old sin. They are devastated and begin to despair. How could this happen when they had resolved to do what was right? They feel shame because they failed again. And again. And again. And again.

What are they supposed to do? How does such a person live in joyful fellowship with God and man? This person may sound familiar. If so, it’s because anyone who has been a Christian for a long period of time has probably experienced falling into sin in spite of his resolution. So, the question is, what is that person supposed to do when he falls into sin? What are we supposed to do?

I want you to fix this passage in your mind because it is a resource that you can go to again and again and again when you find yourself overcome by the darkness and falling into sin. This passage is a refuge for those who’ve failed and who feel shame and condemnation.

Walking in the Light
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). What a beautiful picture of God. It’s so clear that it hardly needs explanation. He is the one who is light without any darkness. It’s a powerful image that shows how blessed, how wise, how holy, and how joyful God is. God is absolutely perfect without any imperfection whatsoever.

So, what does this mean for fellowship with God? The conclusion should be relatively obvious. If we want to have fellowship with Him, then we must walk in the light as He is in the light. In fact, as John says, “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth” (1 John 1:6). It is one thing to claim to have fellowship with God. It is another thing to actually have it. Many people claim it, but not all of them have it. If we have this fellowship, then we must walk in the light as He is in the light.

Now, what does it mean to walk in the light? To walk in the light means something similar to what it means for God. First, walking in the light means that we find our light, joy, and life in God Himself and in His Son Jesus Christ. This is what Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” So, to walk in His light is to be enlightened by Jesus Himself.

Second, walking in the light means that we seek to know the truth that He has revealed to us and to walk in His wisdom.

Third, walking in the light means that we seek to walk in holiness and purity. We should try to have everything in our lives aligned with God’s purposes. That’s what purity means. That’s what holiness means.

Fourth, walking in the light means that we also have fellowship with one another. Notice: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another . . .” (1 John 1:7). Those who walk in the light not only enjoy fellowship with God but open up the door to fellowship with human beings. We will explore this more in later sermons.

Does walking in the light mean that we have no darkness in us at all? No, we still have sin, but Jesus cleanses us and purifies us from all sin. “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, purifies us from all or every sin” (1 John 1:7). “All” here does not mean every sin intensively as if we have no sin at all, as we shall see, but rather all extensively. What that means, please note, is that there is no sin so great that the the blood of Jesus cannot cleanse it.

And from there, John leads us to a greater consideration of the darkness that still remains in us.

Confronting the Darkness
John believes that we can walk in the light and still have darkness present with us. In fact, if anyone say they have no darkness within them, they are completely deceived. Listen to what he says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. . . . If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8, 10). John firmly shuts the door on any sort of perfectionism. Anything else we study in this book has to take into account this truth: sin still remains in the believer.

This is such an important truth for us to recognize. It should humble us, but we can easily forget it. People are always shocked to find that there is sin within the church as well as outside of it. Some of this comes from the fact that there are people who say they know God but actually are still in the darkness. However, even if the church was composed 100% of true believers, there would still be sin within the church. There is always some corruption in this life. We should never look at where we are and say that it can’t be better, but we should also never look at where we are and say that we have arrived. We are always on the way. There is always some imperfection and some sin remaining within us.

We have to especially be on guard when there is some obvious sin in the world like abortion, racism, or sexual immorality. It’s easy to look at clear sins outside of us and compare ourselves to other people. We must always remember that darkness remains within us, and the fact that others walk in darkness greater than our own in no way excuses our own darkness. That’s what we have to be really careful about in our polarized situation in our nation. It’s easy to become focused on the sins of the other side.

So, what are we to do? We should confess our sins. That means we should acknowledge our sinfulness in general and in particular. I have been using the Book of Common Prayer as an aid to my devotional life. I highly recommend it. There is a form for Morning and Evening Prayer services. At the beginning of each one, there is a confession of sin and a declaration of forgiveness of sins. Every morning. Every night. It’s worth thinking about. This is what Jesus encourages us to do when He tells us to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

And what happens if we acknowledge our sinfulness and confess our sins? Here’s the glorious message: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). What a glorious word!! Praise be to God. All we have to do is acknowledge it, and it will be dealt with. As one friend said to me when I confessed a sin to him one time, God will not bring it up again. It’s over.

Our Hope When We Sin
And how is it that God can forgive us so easily and readily? Because we have an advocate with the Father. We have someone who pleads our case.

Notice what John says so beautifully in 1 John 2:1. He says, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.” We should do all in our power to avoid sin and constantly seek God’s grace that He would lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. We do not want to sin.

However, we know that we will fall into sins, sometimes terrible sins. Then, what are we to do? “But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” We have someone to plead our case. Now, I want you to pay very careful attention to these words. Fix them in your minds and hearts. Get what is said here. Think about it. What would we expect it to say? If anyone does not sin, THEN we have an advocate with the Father. That’s what would make sense. That’s the case that Jesus would want to argue, it would seem to us. But no, it says this: if we do sin, if we commit the crime, THEN we have an advocate! How in the world can this be?

The answer: because Jesus has taken it upon Himself to deal with that sin. He is a propitiatory sacrifice. His sacrifice turns away the wrath of God because the punishment He suffered is more than adequate as a substitute for the punishment we deserve. It is fully sufficient to cover our sin and indeed the sin of the whole world, as John says. There is no sin too great that it could be so bad that the blood of the Son of God could not cover it. That’s the amazing truth! He pleads our case. As Charles Wesley put it so well:

Five bleeding wounds He bears,
Received on Calvary;
They pour effectual pray’rs,
They strongly plead for me:
“Forgive him, O forgive, ” they cry,
“Forgive him, O forgive, ” they cry,
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”

That’s what Jesus is doing before the throne of God.

And, so, dear friends, we are called to walk in the light. We do not want to sin. That should always be our heart.

But if we do? This is what I want you to do with this sermon. I want you to take the truths of this passage and keep them with you. When the weight of sin comes upon you, I want you to remember that when you sin, you have an advocate! Not when you don’t sin but when you sin! That advocate is Jesus Christ the Righteous One! I want you to remind yourself of this, and I want you to remind others of this truth when they confess their sins to you.

The glorious truth is that no sin whatsoever can keep us from walking in the light and experiencing God’s love because He is faithful to His promises and completely righteous. He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Hallelujah! Amen.

Benediction: My friends, our goal this week is not to sin. We want to walk in the light just as He is in the light.

But when the darkness comes upon us, and we sour sin, remember! We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One! He is pleading our case, taking into full account our sins against Him.

Because of His propitiatory sacrifice, we can stand completely forgiven and righteous before the throne of God! So, go in peace. Your sins are forgiven you. Your faith has saved you. Amen.

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The Joyful Fellowship of God and Man (1 John 1:1-4)


[Listen to an audio version here]

Humans are made to connect with God and other people. We need this fellowship, and it is hugely important.

If there is one thing that we have learned from this past year it is that people need fellowship. It’s easy to take it for granted. But when we lack it, we can really feel it. Last year, I went to the Billy Graham Training Center in October with my wife. Several people had not been in a public worship setting since March. They said, we didn’t realize how much we missed it, how good it is to be in fellowship with other people.

We need people, and we need to experience them face to face. It is fine to make calls and write letters and texts when we need to, but it is that face to face fellowship that is especially crucial and important.

The Proclamation of God Come in the Flesh
That’s the sort of fellowship that John had with Jesus. He proclaimed Jesus who was the one “which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched” (1 John 1:1). When I hear this, I am reminded of Jesus sitting with John at the last supper. At the last supper, John was reclining right next to Jesus. In the Middle East, people often eat sitting or reclining on the floor. John was right next to Jesus eating with him. That’s how real Jesus was and is. He says, “we have heard . . . we have seen . . . we have looked at and . . . have touched.” Jesus was and is a real human being.

The most amazing thing is that they believed that this Jesus was something much more than a mere man. He existed from the beginning. They believed that this Jesus whom they touched, saw, and heard had existed long before He ever became a human being. He had always been there. Before He became a human being, Jesus was “with the Father.” He did not begin to exist when He was born, but the one who already existed “appeared” in time and became a human that people could see, touch, and hear.

John has two words that He uses to describe Him here. The first is the “Word” or the logos. For many of the ancient philosophers, logos was the eternal principle of reason in the divine mind that every person shared in to a degree. It was the principle of creation. It was the pattern of everything. The Jews also used this word and had a similar concept. They saw the logos principle in that God spoke and creation came into being. So, when the early Christians looked for a way to think about who Jesus was, they realized that logos or “the Word” could be one helpful term to explain who Jesus is. Continue reading “The Joyful Fellowship of God and Man (1 John 1:1-4)”

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Better Than I Deserve

Steve Bain was a man who loved to study the Bible and know more about God. But he wasn’t always that way. He didn’t grow up studying the Bible, and, for much of his adult life, he didn’t have much interest in God.

So, what led him to change? His wife. She came to a crisis that led her to realize that the only thing that could give her meaning was a relationship with God. It was really God working with her that led him to Norcross Presbyterian Church. When he got there, he found that there was more to the Christian faith than he ever realized. He saw that it was really meaningful and helpful. At Norcross, he gave his life to Christ and became a follower of Jesus.

After that, Steve wanted more and more. When he went to Perimeter Church in Atlanta, he enrolled in the multi-year course, Theological Foundations for Leaders. He told me many times how helpful this was in his life. He was always active in small groups. When I first came here, he was involved in a group that was studying Henry Blackaby’s book, Experiencing God. He kept going, though. He got involved with Bible Study Fellowship. I would often ask our elders at our meetings, what is God teaching you these days? Steve would give an insight from the book of Joshua or another book that he was studying. I always appreciated that about him.

One thing Steve understood, though, was that the foundation of the Christian faith was a simple message. You have it here in 1 Timothy 1:15. “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” Now, I want you to see three things based on this passage: Steve’s Savior, Steve’s example, and Steve’s praise.

Steve’s Savior
All around the world, you will find a surprising symbol. A cross. It was an instrument of capital punishment and even torture in the Roman Empire. Yet millions upon millions look at it and see hope. Why? Because on that cross was the man whom Steve called Savior and Lord, Jesus.

Christianity begins with a message that God created the world good and created human beings for harmonious fellowship with Him and with one another. However, humans have gone their own way and become alienated from God, one another, creation, and even themselves. They have sought to make themselves the center of the universe rather than submitting to God. Continue reading “Better Than I Deserve”

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Present to Guide Us in Living Well (Matthew 28:19–20a)

[Listen to an audio version here]

In times of crisis, how are we going to live? How do we find help, strength, and comfort in the midst of sickness, job losses, political division, and death? In such circumstances, we can often turn to religion in order to help us.

But what about when the crisis subsides? What happens if we are in good health, are reasonably well off, and enjoy relative peace? Then, what are we going to do with our lives? What is our life really for? Put another way, if you didn’t have to worry about securing your life, then what would you do with your life? If you knew you were secure to live, then, what would you do to live well?

That’s one of the big issues of our time. Industrial farming and manufacturing and the growth of capitalism have provided for the people of this planet like never before. All over the world, poverty is being reduced. The middle classes are growing. Free time and leisure are increasing. The nations of the world are beginning to enjoy the prosperity of the West.

So, the question arises for more and more people, now that we have leisure and relative prosperity, what are we supposed to do with it? Where can we find a guide to help us live lives of lasting meaning and purpose?

The answer in our text is that Jesus has not only given us guidance, but He is actually present with us to guide us in times of peace and in times of crisis. Jesus will teach us the way to live and live well. We simply have to be ready to follow Him as He leads us. That’s what our text teaches us today. I want you to see three things. We will see, first, Jesus’ guidance of His followers while He was on earth; second, Jesus’ plan for making more followers while in heaven; and third, His presence to guide His future followers.

How Jesus guided His followers while He was on earth
In order to understand what Jesus is saying in this passage, it is helpful to look at how Jesus guided His followers while He walked on this earth.

Consider how Jesus met Peter, James, and John. They were fisherman, and so they were out fishing. Jesus told them to follow Him. What did this mean? It meant that they would literally and physically be with Him. They left their nets, and they followed Jesus.

Another example is that of Matthew, whom the Holy Spirit inspired to write this book that we are reading. Matthew was a tax collector. He was working for Rome, the foreign power that had conquered Israel, and doing very well with it. In the eyes of His people, he was a traitor, and they despised him. That didn’t seem to bother Jesus. Jesus saw him at the tax collector booth, and He said simply, “Follow me.” We learn from the text that Matthew got up and followed him (Mt. 9:9).

Jesus asked all sorts of people to follow Him like that. It didn’t really matter who they were or what they had done or how people viewed Him. He just collected followers. The tax collectors were part of a group of people who were scandalous to the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. But Jesus told them, He was all about gathering all sorts of people to Him, anyone who needed healing and restoration. Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:12–13). It was truly remarkable. Jesus accepted followers from every type of people in society with every type of background.

But following Jesus wasn’t merely about being with Him physically. He would teach them. He would explain to them what the way to eternal happiness was and how they could live in a right and good way, and they would put what He said into practice. They would hear His words and do them. Some people, though, would follow Him physically, but wouldn’t put into practice His words. So, Jesus said to them, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).

So, following Jesus was about being with Him, going where He went, listening to His words, and putting them into practice.

We should not suppose, however, that this was merely something they would do on their own. This is what Jesus explained to His disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). It was living fellowship with Jesus that would enable them to put His words into practice and live a very fruitful life. And how would they live in fellowship with Jesus? Through His Word! “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (Jn. 15:9). He said, “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love” (John 15:9). Note, it was through Jesus’ words and commands that they would experience a living fellowship with Jesus and thus with His Father and Spirit as well. The words were alive!

This is what Jesus explained to His disciples after He had given the strange command that people were supposed to eat His flesh and drink His blood! Many of His followers turned back at this time. He tole the twelve disciples, though, that this was not meant to be taken in a literal, physical sense. He said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life” (John 6:62–63). Then, He said, “Do you also want to go away?”

Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

Jesus’ plan for making more followers while in heaven
What Jesus told the eleven disciples in Galilee was that He was going to continue to make followers, even though He wasn’t present on earth. How? They, the disciples, were going to turn people into followers! This had to require a radical reorientation in their thinking. They were going to make disciples of Jesus without Jesus’ physical presence.

Before I explain what that was like, let me explain to you the word that Jesus used to describe His followers. He used the word “disciple.” This word meant “student,” a learner. In those times, the learners or the disciples would follow their rabbi or teacher around, commit their words to memory, and seek to live them out. That’s what disciple means. Notice that Jesus says that they are to teach these new disciples to obey everything He commanded them. That’s exactly what you would expect of new disciples. They would learn what their teacher was telling them, and they would learn to live it out.

How were they to do this? Before we understand the how, I want to explain the “who.” Who would become Jesus’ disciples? Jesus told them to make the nations, the Gentiles, into followers of Jesus. They would do just what Jesus did. They would go to people who were the wrong type of people doing the wrong types of things and living the wrong sort of life, and none of that would matter. Whoever they were, whatever they had done, they could become followers of Jesus. The disciples had a hard time getting this. Read Acts 10. Even though Jesus told them this, He had to sort of beat them over the head with it to get them to go and actually begin making disciples of any Gentile who was interested.

Now, how would they do it? They would do it through a simple rite called baptism and the words of Jesus. They would make Jesus present to them so that they could follow Him by telling them what His words were. They would explain to them the sort of life Jesus was calling them to live. Note this very carefully. They would teach them not simply what Jesus said, but they would teach them to obey what He said.

This is an important distinction. So often we say that people are Christians. This can mean a lot of things that it didn’t originally mean. It may mean something like an outward connection with the Christian religion. It may mean that someone has accepted Jesus as their Savior and is going to heaven. These are not wrong. However, you will notice that the call here is not simply to become “a Christian.” It’s not just a decision that will provide fire insurance. It is the embrace of a specific person as your Savior, Lord, teacher, and guide. It is saying, “I used to do what I wanted. Now, I am going to do what Jesus wants me to do. I’m going to follow Him.”

When someone made that commitment, the followers of Jesus would baptize them. This refers to washing with water. They were to sprinkle or pour water or immerse them in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This meant that they were saying publicly that they were followers of Jesus and devoting themselves to the service of the one, triune God. It also meant on God’s side that He was accepting them as His followers. Whoever they were, whatever they’d done, they were welcomed as one of Jesus’ disciples.

Then, the followers of Jesus would continue to teach them. Those who were already followers of Jesus would help those were new followers of Jesus become the type of people who obeyed what Jesus commanded. That was Jesus’ plan for continuing to make disciples.

Jesus’ presence to guide His future followers
Now, this is a truly amazing thing. We should not miss how wonderful this is. It’s a big task, but it’s also really amazing. Jesus is not physically present in His body on earth, but He continues to be present by His Spirit working through the Word and the sacrament.

We don’t have to wander around not knowing what to do. We have Jesus available to guide us. If we are in a crisis or struggling, Jesus has the Words for us. If we are doing well, Jesus has words to guide us to live a meaningful life and cash in on our health and strength in a way that benefits everyone and glorifies Him.

We can access the power, guidance, and leadership of Christ. We don’t have to make a long journey. We don’t have to beat ourselves. We don’t have to climb a high mountain. We don’t have to go search in the depths of the seas. We don’t have to go digging in the earth. What we need to know to live a happy and blessed life is available to us: in Jesus’ words! They are right here. He is right here! He is guiding, leading, and governing us!

We should not think of the words of Christ as mere words on the page. They are full of the Spirit, and they are full of life! By these words, we abide in Jesus. We experience His power, guidance, and leadership.

What would we do if we believed this? We would seek to get more of His word into us. That means that we would read it. We would make it a priority. We would try to learn it. We would memorize it. We would think about it. If we believed that Jesus is with us through His Word, then we would make it a priority to meditate on it each day. Want more of the presence of Jesus? Get more of His Word!

But if we believed Jesus was present through His Word, we would not only listen to it and read it, we would put it into practice. We would make Jesus’ agenda our agenda. If He told us to stop doing something, we would stop doing it. If He told us to start doing something, we would start doing it. If He told us to be a certain way, we would seek to be that type of person.

Jesus described hearing and doing his word as two types of people. The person who heard His words and didn’t put them into practice is like the person who built their house on sand. When the winds and rains came, it washed away. The person who heard Jesus’ words and put them into practice was like a person who built his house on the rock. When the winds and rain came, the house stood firm.

Let me just give you an example. I often have an agenda for the week. I have lots of things that I want to do. But what would my week look like, if I followed Jesus’ agenda? There are many things that need to change. However, one thing that Jesus has been teaching me is to remember the least of these. If we followed Jesus’ priorities, we would make blessing those who are least capable of blessing us back a priority. It is ministry to the least of these: those who are sick, in prison, outside of our age group, the orphan, the widow, those rejected by society. If Jesus’ words were guiding us, we would not simply connect with our friends or those we were comfortable with. We would go to the new, the outcast, the poor, the weak, to those Jesus called “the least of these.” I think I need to adjust my schedule. I’ve got to think differently about it. And where do I get the strength to do that? All authority and power in heaven and earth has been given to Me, Jesus says. He has the power to enable us to love where we were not loving before and do things we were not doing before.

Conclusion
Think about the disciples. They had experienced Jesus’ physical presence for the past three years. He had been their leader and guide. What were they going to do when He left? How would they connect with Him? Through His words, which were not mere principles or precepts but a power and a connection with the risen, living Christ. And so it is for us. Whatever we are struggling with, in good times or in bad, Christ is here. Christ is present. Christ is risen. His Word is His power and presence available to us and with us, right here, right now, every day, all the time. Amen.

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Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

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He Is Risen! (Matthew 27:57-28:20)

[Listen to an audio version here]

When we think about the world plunged into darkness, World War II is one of those times. The whole world seemed to be engulfed in war, and much of the world was being crushed under the boot of tyrannical government.

We have many stories that demonstrate the tragedy and darkness of World War II. One of the most poignant is that of Corrie ten Boom. She lived in Nazi-occupied Holland during World War II. Her family, trusting in Christ, believed that they needed to help the Jews. Eventually, they were caught. Corrie, her father, and her sister were all sent to Ravensbruck, a German concentration camp. The darkness had gotten deeper.

Jesus’ Burial
Perhaps this is the way the disciples would have viewed the death of Jesus. There was darkness over all the land, and finally Jesus gave up His spirit and died. His lifeless body hung there on the cross. Continue reading “He Is Risen! (Matthew 27:57-28:20)”

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Josiah (2 Chronicles 34–35)

[Note: you can listen to an audio version here]

It is a new year. We have the opportunity to start new. We have a whole year before us. Where should we focus our energies? Today, we go back 2,600 years to a king in the land of Judah, and we will learn what is most important. King Josiah gives us guidance on the most important resolutions we can make.

The Reign of King Josiah
Josiah was born into the royal household of the Jewish nation. The Jewish nation was the unique recipient of God’s revelation. They received the light from God so that they could be a light to the world.

That light had shown brightest under Israel’s two great kings: David & Solomon. Solomon’s reign involved some real problems, and Rehoboam, his heir, refused to do anything about them. As a result, the kingdom split in two. The northern kingdom was called Israel. The southern kingdom was called Judah. The book of Chronicles tells the story of the southern kingdom, Judah.

All of the kings of the northern kingdom did evil in the sight of the Lord. The kings of Judah were a mixed bag. Josiah’s grandfather, Manasseh, was one of the worst. His father, Amon, was close behind. Amon followed the path of his father. They did not follow the Lord, and he turned to other gods. They did abominable things. The people got so fed up that they assassinated him. That was the legacy into which Josiah was born and in which he was raised.

Because Amon was so young when he died, Josiah became king at 8 years old. Josiah did not follow the path of his father. He took a different route. “In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David (2 Chron. 34:3).” Even though he was young, he devoted himself to the Lord. Still, the land was full of idols. You can imagine that this vexed his spirit. Eventually, he felt strong enough to make his move. “In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols” (2 Chron. 34:3b).

Because of the reign of his grandfather and father, the temple, the place where God had said He would dwell and meet with the people, had deteriorated. And so, Josiah put his heart and soul behind repairing the temple. “In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the Lord his God” (2 Chron. 34:8). They began the work in earnest.

As they were repairing the temple, they found something very important.

While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses. Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan (2 Chron. 34:14–15).

“I have found the Book.” God had not only given the temple, He had given His very words to open up the keys to the universe and the way to eternal blessedness. In Judah, where it should have been valued as their greatest treasure, it had been lost.

They brought the book to the king and read it to him. When he heard it, he tore his clothes because he realized that they had departed from the Lord in so many ways and that the Lord had promised disaster if they took His name upon them and yet lived like the pagan nations around them. Josiah, however, humbled himself before the Lord.

The Lord responded by sending him a prophet. He said: “This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people” (2 Chron. 34:24). However, God was going to relent:

Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord (2 Chron. 34:27).

The Lord is merciful and gracious and full of kindness and compassion. He opposes sin, but for those who seek Him, He will be found. As David told Solomon, “If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever” (1 Chron. 28:9).

At this point, the king knew that they needed a fresh start. They needed to renew their resolutions to follow the Lord.

The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book. Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it; the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors (2 Chron. 34:31–32).

We need God’s grace to fulfill our commitments to the Lord, but it’s important that we make them. Josiah realized this, and He took the lead. He led the people of Israel to do the same.

Then, he led the biggest celebration of the Passover in Judah’s history. “The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem” (2 Chron. 35:18). This feast was established by God to celebrate the victory of God over the Egyptians that brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. However, they always remembered that they were liable to death just like the Egyptians. The blood of the lamb had saved them from the angel of death. This was re-rooting their story in the good news. Josiah made sure everyone could celebrate: “Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of thirty thousand lambs and goats for the Passover offerings, and also three thousand cattle—all from the king’s own possessions” (2 Chron. 35:7). Everyone could rejoice in what God had done.

Thirteen years later, Josiah’s life ended tragically. Somewhat ironically, Pharaoh came up to fight along the Euphrates. Josiah stood against him. He even disguised himself to make sure he wasn’t targeted in the battle. It didn’t save him. He was killed. The people wept over such a good king. “Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers commemorate Josiah in the laments. These became a tradition in Israel and are written in the Laments (2 Chron. 35:25).

Applications
I want you to consider Josiah’s life and reign from the standpoint of God’s redemption and from the standpoint of our renewal.

Application to Our Redemption
As we read through these passages, we need to see them as teaching us about God and His redemptive work. God told the Israelites that after they turned away from Him, “The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live” (Dt. 30:6). This passage represents a fulfillment of this promise and His gracious work.

This is also a fulfillment of the prayer of David. When the people gave willingly for the support of the temple, David prayed, “Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you” (1 Chron. 29:18). God heard that prayer and answered it again and again by putting it in the hearts of the people to give willingly to the work of worship.

We should also see these kings as pointers to Christ. David had intended to build a house for God’s name, but God had told him that his son Solomon would build the temple:

. . . you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever (2 Chron. 22:9–10).

Solomon did build the temple, but this passage clearly refers to someone greater. It refers to the one who will reign over the house of David forever, the one whom the angel announced to Mary. They are a pointer to Christ.

The evil kings show us our need for a better king. The good kings show us something of the goodness of the reign of Christ but in their weakness and death make us long for that coming king.

Consider here what we see about Christ from King Josiah. From a young age, Christ seeks to know His Father. Christ confronts and opposes the idolatry of the land. Christ rebuilds the worship of the Lord and establishes a house for His name in the church. Christ loves the will of the Father, and His heart is tender to His Word. Christ provides the Passover for the people, not through providing thousands of lambs but through the sacrifice of Himself, the true Passover lamb. Christ loves His people and does all that He does not merely for Himself but for the sake of others. Christ dies and is lamented by His people, but He does not stay dead. He rises again to reign over the kingdom forever. A King like Josiah but far better!

Application to our Renewal
The kings, however, point not only to Christ. They point to us. There is no question that one purpose of the writing of this history of King Josiah was to encourage the people to be like him. The prophets wanted the people to seek renewal, revival, and reformation just like Josiah did.

As we think about renewal, there are some important considerations about his context. Families set patterns for us that are deeply rooted in our minds and heart. However, we do not have to let these things determine us. We can create new patterns. We should not look at our old life or the pattern of our families and think we are stuck. There is redemption from bad patterns. We should not wait on our families or our country to fix their problems. We need to seek the Lord. Now is the time.

Josiah also began when he was young. We should not wait for the future to seek renewal. Josiah began while he was still young. Now is the time.

Josiah also did what was hard, even though it was hard. We can always put off difficult things. We easily walk around them and look at them. But now is the time to do the hard thing that the Lord is calling us to do.

Josiah also knew that the future would not be easy. He did not let that keep him form seeking the best for this time. He still sought to build something, even though he did not know how it would turn out. Now is the time.

And what did he commit himself to do that we should do?

First, he committed himself to gospel-centered worship. He said that the worship of God in the temple and in his own life was a priority. This is what we are made for. We are made to function well in God, and nothing is right until we are centered in Him. We should resolve to live each day out of a deep sense of the loving providence of the Father, the perfect sacrifice of the Son to pay for all our sins, and the ever present power of the Holy Spirit. This is living out of our baptism and renewing it regularly through the Lord’s Supper. We should make this a priority. There is nothing we have to do that is more central to who we are than this.

Second, he committed himself to help the community. He did not just think about himself. He thought about those around him. At the age of 20, he made an extraordinary effort to clear the land of idols! So, we can pray with people. We can encourage people. We can tell them about Jesus. We can show His love. What can we do for others? Who are the people in our lives? That’s the question Josiah paid attention to. He wasn’t content to simply think about his own spiritual life.

Third, he committed himself to obeying the Lord. To obey the Lord, we need to know what He wants us to do. To do that, we need to know the Lord. Do you need to clean out your room and say, “I have found a book”? Is your Bible buried under a mass of other things? A commitment to obey the Lord begins with knowing His Word, reading it and meditating on it. I call on you to take it up with the intent of doing what it says. That’s what Josiah did, and his example led the whole land back to the Lord.

I read an article that says that many millennials believe that 2020 was basically a wasted year. We don’t need to have any more wasted years, if we will commit to renewal by God’s grace in this coming year that will lead us to worship Him and obey Him and impress this upon the communities of which we are a part. Amen.