Christ’s Sufferings, Noah’s Parable, Our Victory
This past week was quite a doozy as far as the passage goes. It has 180+ interpretational variances, entire books written on 2 of the verses, and plenty of heated debates surrounding it. I've got admit that it is by far the most strenuous prep work I've done for a passage in my short life as a preacher.
But oh how many riches there were to be found! The rich imagery that the story of Noah brings to mind in relating the opening idea—Christ's sufferings on the cross for our sin—and the closing exclamation—that Jesus is now at the right hand of the Father, owning everything and everyone—is absolutely breathtaking.
If you couldn't make it this past week (a good few of you were out), then I'd encourage you to check out the podcast. There is a lot that I go through in it, and being that it was so much content, I go through it pretty fast (and thus somewhat sloppily at various points). That being the case, here are my basic notes that I went from so you can study them, the podcast, or the two side by side.
I hope you benefit from Peter's difficult words as I have the past several weeks.
Sabbathing
Polly and I are driving to a wedding in Natchez, MS, which is right on the edge of the Mississippi and Louisiana state line. In honor of the late Michael Jackson, we're listening to his number one hits album. If you enjoy good, 80's pop music, then there isn't much better to listen to; I thoroughly commend it, but I digress.
We stopped to grab some gas and swap driving. Right before pulling out my laptop to work on some sermon prep, "Bad" came on. If you haven't heard it, MJ just repeatedly says that he's bad ("You know I'm BAD, I'm BAD, etc."; Bad MP3). My immediate thought was, "I'm tired..." No longer driving, I was thinking a nap sounded like a good idea, but knew that I needed to do some more prep work. Then I was reminded of something that I've been thinking on and have been convicted of lately: poor sabbathing.
Even as I write this I'm yawning like a bear ready for hibernation. This week I ended up taking a day and a half off of work because my body was literally shutting-down, or at least it seemed and felt like it. I usually sleep pretty lightly, but this week I've slept through dozens of alarms. Thursday morning was almost impossible for me to get out of bed. Had it not been for certain tensions in the office place (that would have blown up again perhaps had I not come in that day), I wouldn't have bothered getting up. But I did. I ended up, thankfully, leaving half way through the day however. Friday I didn't even bother going in for the half day because I didn't feel much better despite the 4 hour nap and early bed time I gladly partook of on Thursday after coming home early.
All that to say, along with Michael Jackson, I've been "bad" and, as a result, am now exhausted. So what's been bad? Working? Nope. Providing for my family? Nuh uh. Planting a church? Not in the least. What's been bad is that in the midst of all of that I have not lived according to my doctrinal statements, namely my trust in the coupled rock solid goodness and sovereignty of God. I've heard it jokingly said that we can "sleep like Calvinists." I haven't.
God tells us repeatedly to "not be anxious", to "not worry about tomorrow", to "come to [Jesus]" if you are "weary or heavy laden" and "find rest." From the beginnings of our new lives as Christians, God does the decisive workings. He did what was necessary by sending his Son, by dying on a cross, and by resurrecting. He then does the decisive work of calling us, regenerating us, and subsequently sanctifying and glorifying us. We are told that we are "made to sit with Christ in heavenly places" (Eph 2). The entry point of our Christian lives is one of sitting in and resting in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Only when we have done that are we later told to "walk as children of light" and "stand" (Eph 4, 6).
The Sabbath was the day of rest. It is a freebie, really. God tells us to trust and rest in him in a plethora of ways throughout the Scriptures and the Sabbath is a free chance every week for us to do so. It's a day where we can stop working, stop fighting, stop wrestling, stop tilling, stop whatever-ing and just finally and fully rest in the work of God.
No doubt, this is where we were made to begin even from the first day of mankind, which purposefully was the day of God's rest. Before we can begin the work God has called us to do (such as Adam's task of naming the animals, working the garden, etc), we must rest in what he has already done and in this area I have already failed miserably. Our church plant has been around for 12 weeks as of tomorrow (07.12.09) and this is most likely the single biggest flaw of mine during those weeks. I will now begin to let go of the rake, shovels, and other garden tools more often, knowing that the garden God has given for me to steward will grow with or without me, since as Paul says, "one plants, one waters, but it is God that gives the growth."
I hope, pray, and am well encouraged that we'll see even more growth as I let God do what he does best by resting in the fact that he is faithful, good, and sovereign. Not just on paper, but in the lives of people.
Facebook, Gnostic Heresies, etc.
I found something interesting today while checking up on my Facebook happenings.
This is the application that is brought about by clicking on the notification that says,
Joel Forsyth just forwarded you his Message from God. Read the message....
Now this isn't pure Gnosticism, but some of the elements are showing up. God no longer speaks to us through these divine revelations (or Facebook apps) he now speaks to us through Jesus and through his other Word, the Bible (Heb. 1:1-2).
So if you want to know what God wants you to know, check out Jesus in this really cool book called The Bible.
May God have mercy on Facebook.
Mind Your Mouth
And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
James 3:6
“Sticks and stones,” we say, but we can all remember a time when words hurt more than any physical injury we could imagine. Words have a way of sinking deep into the core of a person, to the depths of their soul. Of course God intended it to be that way from the beginning. Genesis 1 gives an account of God speaking. Speaking life. Speaking creation. The power behind God’s spoken word created the entire universe. Hebrews even tells us that God continues to uphold the universe by the very word of his power (1:3). There is power in God’s words.
In the Gospel of John, chapter 1, we see that Jesus is literally referred to as the “Word” (λόγος). He is the manifestation of God’s power in flesh. Looking deeper into verse 3 we read that the spoken creation was a work of Christ Himself, as “nothing came into being that has come into being” apart from the Word of God.
What can we take from this? It is apparent that God’s word has power beyond anything that science has ever imagined, but do we have such power in our words? Our lips pronounce life and death, truth or lies, blessing or cursing. Might I remind you that God has chosen your mouth to be the gateway of his power in salvation entering the Earth. We are commanded to preach the Gospel (Mt. 28:19, Ro. 10:14) and to confess it ourselves (Ro. 10:9,10,13). This is an enormous gift of God. We are given a sliver of God’s greatness such that within the words of the Gospel themselves holds the power to salvation (Ro. 1:16). We should also remember that the only unforgivable sin is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. To blaspheme is to speak of or address with irreverence. God values our speech, we should too. Jesus teaches that we will give an account for every careless word we speak, for by our words we are justified or condemned (Mt. 12:36-37). There is power in our words.
With this great power that God has endowed us with comes a great deal of responsibility. We as humans have utterly failed at the stewardship of our speech. James reminds us,
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
James 3:7-10
These verses, along with Paul’s description in Romans 3:13-14, clearly shows us what mankind has done with the power we have been given.
The adage goes, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Though this may be helpful for someone seeking a better position at their job, or perhaps a child on a playground wishing to stay out of trouble, but this simply will not suffice for Christians. Jesus reminds us, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks,” (Mt. 12:34c). Simply damming the overflow of the heart does not prevent the sin. Yes, it may prevent the natural repercussions and may prevent further sin, but once the heart speaks the damage has been done. We must strive to change the roots of the tree to change the fruit, not the other way around.
To help fix this, we need prayer and practice. God will provide the practice every day. Every person that walks by, every person you encounter, every living being on Earth needs the power in the Gospel. The living water that should flow from your mouth (Jn. 7:38) is the nourishment that creation longs to have. Show Jesus to the world with the power of your lips and he will fill your cup till it is overflowing again.
Prayer is the easy part. God does all the work. Pray for a new fountain for words to flow out of. Pray for new roots to bring forth good fruit. We don’t simply pray that God remove the temptations to curse with our mouths, we pray that God remove the curse from our hearts completely and replace it with blessings for our brothers. Change the heart, the mouth will follow suit.
Our First Baptism
We had our first baptism this past week after service. Only 11 weeks after our first meeting together we get to celebrate what God has done in the life of a former agnostic. We take great joy in the fact that this baptism is a reminder to the rulers and authorities that God is going to grab ahold of many more people for his glory in the coming weeks, months, and years (Col 2).
First Baptism at Living Hope Church from Living Hope Church on Vimeo.
To this you have been called
Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
1 Peter 2:18-25
Those words hurt bad today. It's one thing to preach something, but it is entirely different to live in it. I suppose that is what incarnational living is all about, eh? Just as Jesus—the Word—became flesh and lived here on earth, so too we—his body—take his words, his truth, himself upon us and in us and then subsequently actually flesh it out, aka 'incarnate.'
Today was one of those days. I preached about the unjust suffering in the work place that Peter details in 1 Peter 2:18-25 about 2 weeks ago. Today it hit with a whole new force, one that took my breath away spiritually, physically, and emotionally.
In the midst of that passage, Peter goes beyond saying that we ought to suffer as Christians. He doesn't just dismiss the Americanized notion of Christianity, one of white picket fences, 2.5 kids, triple digit incomes, etc.—both spiritually and physically speaking. Rather, he looks that lie, that heresy in the eyes and says the exact opposite. When discussing unjust suffering (particularly in the work place), he says that it isn't a slip-up of God or something that flew under the radar of providence. No sir, he says the opposite: it is a "gracious thing" (vv. 19, 20). It is an active favor and grace from God to us. It is not evil that overtakes us apart from God, but favor that is directed to us from God.
He goes further still. Peter says in verse 21 that this—unjust suffering—is what we have been called to as Christians. We have not been called to health, wealth, or prosperity. We have been called to suffering. Not just suffering, either, but unjust suffering.
I know this is review from what I said the other week, but it is definitely something we all need to be reminded of in the context of our comfortable, Bible-belt Christian living. Today I was indirectly yelled at all day, lumped in with a person who dropped the ball at work, and thrown under the bus by that same person even though I tried to defend them in the face of their own blasting.
I really only had two options. 1) Explain what really happened to the parties who were angry, yelling, stomping, blaming, and doing all of that because of misinformation. Or, 2) take it like a person who has been justified.
If the first happens, then perhaps they'd understand, and then all the antagonism would be pointed where it rightly should be and my name would be cleared. If the second route is taken, however, then the possibilities—according to Scripture—are endless.
Endless? Really? Is that an overstatement, John? No. It's not. Here's how.
- Peter says that Christ was our example in his own unjust suffering. Obviously Christ's unjust suffering has had an innumerable amount of effects in the world of today and the world of eternity
- We are to suffer like him. Of course, our suffering isn't one of an atoning nature, but we are in the midst of unjust suffering reflecting the example of Christ into the world that needs to see his atoning suffering, meaning our suffering leads to people seeing Jesus' sufferings which then gets us back to point #1 and its infinite value, worth, and effect.
- Such suffering is what we were called to. The people called are the people who were formerly predestined and are currently (and subsequently from the calling) justified (Rom 8:28-30). Suffering is proof of our calling and it is the spring board by which our calling is propelled from calling to justification to final glorification (v. 30).
- All of that process is described in detail in v.29, namely that we are made to look more and more like Jesus. Looking more like Jesus will bring more people to him, taking us back to point #1 again, and looking like Jesus is our eternal, final (aka 'endless') state of being.
So, yes. The effect and result of taking route #2 today—suffering unjustly—are endless. My prayer is that I would be "mindful of God" in the midst of this and that even though my name may be run through the mud, Jesus' name would be honored and esteemed and that somehow, someway it would end up that people would give me a chance to "make a defense to anyone who asks [me] for a reason for the hope that is in [me]" (1 Pet. 3:15). If that ends up being the case, I will still be able to say our company's slogan with confidence, "it's a great day at TeleVox."