Around this time of year we have a tendency to look back and to look forward. We look at what happened in 2009 and what might happen in 2010? We, as those who follow Jesus, should always do this understanding that there is no such thing as happenstance. We live in the hands of a sovereign God who not only calls us to himself but also manages all things for the good of those who love him. He has pulled us close, forgiven our sins and absolutely secured our lives – eternally.

John 10:27–28 – My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

The reality of this truth should be absolutely life changing. Money doesn’t need to be the focus of life – God is with us.

Hebrews 13:5–6 – Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

We don’t need to fret the instability of this world – God is with us.

Philippians 4:6 – do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Not only is God with us here and now, we are his forever – nothing can separate us from the love of God. We can live and think and be different here because God will NEVER leave us. We can live as aliens and strangers and risk-taking people here because we cannot die and the best is yet to come – God is with us.

So, as we look forward to 2010 I want to reflect on something I’ve heard over and over again in 2008 and 2009. I have heard many say that they are looking for a reality here that is different from what they see in many churches. In this, I have found that different people are referring different issues. Some are talking primarily about worship, “I want a church that has great worship.” Some talk primarily about outreach, “I want to see the church reach into the community.” Some talk about teaching, “I want good teaching.” Some talk about children’s ministries. Some talk about the friendliness of the people, etc.

I too want this to be a unique place. I want us to be the people God wants us to be. So as I look back and look forward, I’m encouraged – God is with us. As I reflect on all this, a question comes to mind – I can ask you this question too. Do I want to be the person God wants me? CNC will become what God wants it to be only if you become who God wants you to be.

I’d like to look at a passage I talked about a little over two years ago. This is one of those passages we could visit over and over again. This is one of those passages that is VERY challenging and connects directly to CBC being a Christ-exalting church as well as you and me being the people God would have us be.

Hebrews 13:9–14 – Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

The author of the book of Hebrews is very clearly drawing a line between false religiosity and Jesus. The author is also clearly letting his recipients know that they can’t embrace both religiosity and Jesus – it’s one or the other.

Hebrews 13:9 – Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace (God’s kindness), not by foods (ritual/ceremonial meals), which have not benefited those devoted to them.

While we don’t know specifically what type of diverse and strange teachings the author is talking about here, we do see the great contrast here – the contrast between grace and not grace – in this case grace and ritual. In the Greek, the term foods (or meats) can be “bent” to refer to acceptable or unacceptable. This is why many translations use the term ceremonial foods or ceremonial meals – that’s what is referenced here.

The book of Hebrews devotes great energy to pointing out how the grace of God alone in Jesus alone was the fulfillment of the O.T. imagery – all pointing to Jesus. For example: all the O. T. sacrifices pointed to Jesus as the final and perfect sacrifice that would kill sin and secure forgiveness for all who would trust him; the temple is that place where the people met God before Jesus came – the true temple is Jesus – that’s what the building called the temple was all about – it pointed to Jesus. God’s kindness in Jesus and the death of Jesus is the answer to our sin – not food rituals or any ritual for that matter.

As is often the case, we can take something that is meant to show us God and God’s kindness and worshiping that. The rituals of the O.T. never actually forgave sin. It is all about God’s kindness. Don’t worship that which reflects God – worship God! Don’t worship creation – worship the creator, don’t worship the Bible – worship the One who revealed himself in the Bible, don’t worship your job – worship the one who gave you your job, etc.

- – -

Verses 10-12 further amplify the contrast between grace and not grace. This gets to the heart of the matter. creates a second contrast that is critical to understand – the alter and those who are loyal to – the place where the sacrifice for sin is made. In the Old Testament the sacrifice :

Hebrews 13:10–12 – We have an altar from which those who serve the tent (the tabernacle, the image) have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.

Before Jesus, the alter – in the temple – was the place of sacrifice for sin. The animals were killed, the blood was brought before God, and the “unclean” animal was burned outside the city. This place, outside the city, was unclean – don’t go there. Don’t go there – you will be defiled. Don’t go there – no God-fearing Jew would go there. If you want to meet God, if you want to follow Jehovah, come into the city, follow the rules, follow the rituals – we will gladly accept you in here – the alter is in here – it’s safe in here. BUT JESUS IS NOT THERE. Jesus was put on the cross outside the camp were criminals were executed. Jesus, the perfect sacrifice was rejected and murdered outside the camp. There is a great contrast here.

And now a great decision. What will you do?

Hebrews 13:13–14 – Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

For the Jew two thousand years ago, the decision to follow Jesus was absolutely HUGE. Since Israel, generally, had decided to embrace the ritual as an end – since Israel, generally, had decided to build their culture around ritual and NOT what the ritual pointed too – since Israel, generally, had decided reject the grace of God in God/man Jesus, to embrace him meant being an outcast – like he was.

So, what will you do Hebrew? The author, to his recipients, said, “Let’s go.” The city has served its purpose – it’s over. We must go to Jesus and reject everything that is not grace. This city has become just another godless, idol-worshiping place. We must leave. Our hope is not here – our hope is in Jesus – he is the fulfillment of everything Jerusalem represents.

What do you say? Are you ready to leave EVERYTHING that is not Jesus? What would God have you walk away from today?

Matthew 6:19–20 – “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

Luke 9:23 – And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Matthew 10:39 – “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Community Bible Church will become what God wants it to be as we leave the idols of this culture and move “outside the camp”.

God had done amazing things for his people. God freed the people from slavery in a way that only God could and he gave them the wealth of their captors as he did it. God opened the Red Sea as an escape from the Egyptian army and then decimated the enemy. God gave them water when they were thirsty, food when they were hungry, and, in intimacy, he spoke to them through Moses. During the day God went ahead of them in a pillar of smoke and at night in a pillar of fire. As God’s treasure he had freed them from slavery and was taking them home to the Promised Land – their destiny.

Genesis 15:18 (ESV)
¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

Genesis 50:24 (NIV)
²⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Exodus 3:8 (NIV) God to Moses
⁸ So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey-the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

Exodus 23:29-33 (NIV)
²⁹ But I will not drive [those that occupy your land] out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. ³⁰ Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land. ³¹ “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you. ³² Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. ³³ Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.”

This morning we are going to look at a VERY important story that takes place at a VERY important time – right when Israel is at the door of the Promised Land. This is a heart-wrenching account that is also a warning to us

So here they are and their journey is almost done. God has been with them and they are almost home. After more than two years without a home they are about get out of the desert – what a glorious thing. It’s important to know that the journey was not without its struggles and often, perhaps most of the time, the people were NOT aligned with God’s vision. They often wanted the gifts of God rather than God. They often longed for the promises of God but saw little need be the people of God. Often in the face of God’s miraculous provision and presence Israel would mumble mumbling and grumbling. In fact, today’s passage comes on the heals of bold complaining. While they should be lined up at the border to the Promised Land, ready to go, they were complaining boldly about was the food God had given them – they wanted the food they had as slaves in Egypt. They were complaining about the role of Moses as God’s mouthpiece – “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” (Miriam and Aaron).

So now we pick up the story. God told Moses to send some men to “explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites”. So Moses sent one man from each tribe.

Numbers 13:25-14:11 (NIV)
²⁵ At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. ²⁶ They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. ²⁸ But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. ²⁹ The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.” ³⁰ Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” ³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” ³² And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. ³³ We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” ¹ That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. ² All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” ⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. ⁶ Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes ⁷ and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. ⁸ If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. ⁹ Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” ¹⁰ But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. ¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?”

If you know the story you will also know that God did not allow this group into the land – they would not follow. They WOULD NOT align with God’s vision. The refused to see God and his glory and his provision and his plan as better than the alternative. They would not trust God and, accept for Joshua & Caleb, they died in the wilderness.

Three simple observations

1) God is not looking for people to follow him in false expectation. Spying out the land was God’s idea. God is creating a people who know the road ahead is difficult – but will trust God to bring about the good. God is creating a people who will move toward his promises – which can only be obtained through faith.

Luke 14:28 (ESV)
²⁸ For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

2) Vss 13:30; 14:7 – People of faith think and act differently. Joshua and Caleb saw the same things the other ten did but they saw them differently – they saw the good that God had promised. They saw the promise of victory because God is faithful to his promises. Joshua was not presumptuous in his faith (if the Lord…) but was committed to follow. Others became frantic and saw the obstacles as insurmountable.

Daniel 3:16-18 (ESV)
¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

3) Verse 11 – Not following God is sin.

Deuteronomy 1:31-32 (NIV)
³¹ and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” ³² In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God…

How do you understand God’s call to live by faith? How do you understand God’s call to live his mission here? How do you understand God’s call to “seek first the Kingdom of God”?

God’s plan is that the people he calls develop a love for him and a faith in him that pushes out every competing loyalty – really! God is better than my house. God is better than my retirement plan. God is better than pornography. God is better than promotion. God is better than…

Psalm 56:3 (NIV)
³ When I am afraid, I will trust in you.

Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

We shall bring our Lord most glory if we get from Him much grace. If I have much faith, so that I can take God at His Word… I shall greatly honor my Lord and King. (Charles Spurgeon)

[there is no audio for this sermon]

Jesus coming into this world followed over fifteen hundred years of preparation. In a sin-filled and dark world God was laying the foundation for this one event that would change everything. He had created a nation, Israel, that was designed to point to this one event. Their history was a living example of God’s salvation. Their worship rituals were full of practices that were designed to point to their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus. The priesthood in Israel pointed to Jesus as the ultimate high priest. The sacrifices pointed to Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice. The temple, that place where God connected with his people, pointed to Jesus – the ultimate temple where God is at home with us. And the list goes on…

God also brought prophets into Israel who, in their truth-speaking, would talk in detail of events that would be perfectly fulfilled hundreds of years later.

The language God prepared for this event (Greek) was full of nuance and precision so that two thousand years later we can still understand the intricacies of God’s plan. This language also helped assure that two thousand years of translation remained accurate.

Even the Roman Empire allowed for easy transport of the message – Rome ruled the world.

Today we’re going to look at a passage about the birth of Jesus from the book of Matthew. Matthew was written as a message to Jewish people. He overtly shows the fulfillment of at least 12 O.T. prophecies and quotes the O.T. more than 60 times.

Joseph, as Jesus’ earthly father, was an important character to Matthew because Joseph was in the lineage of King David and the Messiah needed to be connected to King David. So Matthew opens his gospel with a genealogy to show this and verse 1 summarizes it – A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham

There are some very interesting characters in the genealogy of Matthew one, prostitutes, gentiles, and adulterers – Tamar was a Canaanite prostitute (vs3), Rahab was a gentile prostitute (vs5), Ruth was a Moabite (vs5), Solomon’s mother was an adulterer (vs6). It seems that Matthew was overtly setting up the scandal of verses 18-25 by pointing to the historic working of God through lives and situations that didn’t fit the religious expectation – which brings me to my first point. God is not limited by our religious expectation. Instead, God works in the face of religious expectation. Often we do not draw the right conclusions

Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)
¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus (savior), because he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (Is 7:14) – which means, “God with us.” ²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

It is very important that we understand this story in light of the Jewish community two thousand years ago. A Jewish marriage typically took place over a long period of time and had two stages. The first stage involved the pledge (vs 18). Vows were exchanged before witnesses, and the man and women were considered husband and wife – it would take a divorce to dissolve the relationship at this point. This first stage also involved a long waiting period – as long as 12 months. So, after the vows to each other there was a waiting period with very limited contact between the boy and the girl. Many understand this waiting period as a time of “proving”. Proving that the bride had been chased and is not pregnant – if she was it would become obvious.

This waiting period shows how very, very important sexual purity was to the Jewish culture – it really can’t be overemphasized. To fail here would DEVISTATE and SHAME the families involved and, in the best case, create outcasts of the participants.

After this waiting period there would be a lengthy wedding ceremony – perhaps 7 days. Later in Jesus’ life he was at a wedding where they ran out of wine, if you remember.

It was during the waiting period that Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant. Can you imagine how this news must have landed on him? Being removed, as we are, from this very different culture; I would guess we can barely imagine how this would have devastated the families involved. At this point Joseph was most likely under the greatest stress of his life. Everything he had thought about for Mary and him was not crashing down around him.

God let Joseph experience and struggle with this horrific news before he explained it through a dream. From Joseph’s perspective Mary was unfaithful and had turned her back on God and him, and he could not simply ignore this or excuse it as a mistake. He had two choices. He could initiate a public divorce or he could initiate a private divorce – he chose the private one. He would try to spare Mary as much public humiliation as possible – Joseph was a righteous man. Joseph acted righteously by caring for Mary even though he thought she had dishonored him.

Why didn’t God clear this up with Joseph before he went through the pain? While I certainly can’t read God’s mind here and can’t specifically answer that question in Joseph’s situation,…

So, after Joseph had thought about the action he would take toward Mary, and decided righteously, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and explained the whole thing and give Joseph instructions – so Joseph would know the truth. Knowing the truth, no doubt, was a wonderful thing – Mary was not unfaithful! What a blessing – thank you God! Knowing the truth, however, was the foundation for a deeper call to faith. Joseph would NOT put Mary away, as the cultural demanded – HE WOULD, IN FAITH, CARE FOR HER. He would do what God asked in the face of what would have been public humiliation.

The call of God on your life will ALWAYS lead to faith. It will lead to thinking and actions that moves against the norms of this world. This is the pattern – God works in lives and the outcome is faith. The power of God’s friendship, the forgiveness of our sins, produces freedom – freedom from the slavery of sin and culture. We no longer need be enslaved by culture or upbringing, or the tragedies of the past – we can leave that and move forward.

If you simply look through the Bible you will see this over and over again. Abraham, Moses, the prophets, the disciples, all those who would follow Jesus are called to a new vision of life and a new mission for life.

We don’t know a great deal about Joseph and most people think he died sometime between Jesus’ age 12 and Jesus crucifixion. At age 12 Jesus went to Jerusalem with his parents (Luke 2) and Mary was probably a widow at Jesus’ death because Jesus asked John to take care of her (John 19).

- – -

We can learn much by studying Joseph – but the heart of this passage is all about Jesus, the one who came to make us right with God, the one who would save us from our sins.

The first part of Matthew 1 is there to show Jesus as aligned with King David – very important. Verses 18-25 shows us that this child was divine – “God with us”. Many are willing to accept Jesus as a great teacher who changed the world. It is another thing to believe and embrace Jesus as God – the One who would save from sin.

Two Sundays ago we talked about how Jesus saves us from our sins and how he takes away the power of Satan. Jesus came, in humility, as a man two thousand years ago so he could face life as we do – without sin. And then in death stand in our place before God and absorb the judgment I deserve. How is the power of Satan destroyed? Our sins are forgiven.

By claiming Jesus as my Champion, by trusting Jesus as my hope, I am forgiven.

Last Sunday we saw that Jesus did not come to be served – he came to serve. (Mark 10:45) He did not come to gather a bunch of slaves – he came to create friends (John 15:14-16) who trust him. He came to die and then turn undeserving people, like me, into friends.

Acts 4:12 (NIV)
¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Many people are more than willing to see Jesus as simply a good teacher – even someone who fits into a religious construct. Jesus did not come two thousand years ago to fit into anything. He came to make us right with God. He came to give new life. He came to claim a people that are desperate for help. God is now with us.

Much of the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) is committed to two great things – watching and learning from Jesus’ actions, and listening to his teaching. Luke chapter twelve is an example of how and what Jesus taught in order to move his disciples into the call we all face – the call into the mission, the call to actually live for Jesus. Jesus’ primary goal here is seen in the second half of the chapter (starting in verse 35). He wants his servants to be AWAKE and ready, AWAKE and committed to the mission, AWAKE and working, AWAKE and living in the reality that he will be coming back to finalize this phase of history.

In order to get there Jesus is being VERY practical with his disciples in the first part of Luke 12. He is talking with them about concerns and fears they must overcome as they are ready to pursue the mission.

In verse 4 of chapter 12 Jesus talks about the fear of death and it’s remedy – a bold life for Jesus. If we are not ashamed of Jesus and we acknowledge him publicly, Jesus will personally claim us as his own when we die. This will help us move through fear of death because physical death here brings us glory. Remember what Paul said to the church at Philippi:

Philippians 1:21 (NIV)
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Second – in verse 11 Jesus mentions the fear of not responding well, of not knowing what to say when we face ridicule for Jesus. Not to worry – the Holy Spirit will be there for us. We don’t need to have a PhD in apologetics or a doctorate in Theology – we need to live for Jesus and the Holy Spirit will equip us.

Matthew 10:19-20 (NIV)
But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Then, before Jesus goes to the third fear or worry, which we’re going to talk about, he tells a quick parable to introduce it. This is the parable about the rich man who is so focused on accumulating for himself that he is going to launch a major building project. He is going to tear down his existing barns and build new ones. God has a response to this:

Luke 12:20-21 (NIV)
²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ²¹ “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

And now we move to the third issue Jesus mentions – elevating minor, self-centered concerns while ignoring what we should be doing.

Luke 12:22-34 (NIV)
²² Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. (daily needs). ²³ Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ²⁵ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ²⁶ Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? ²⁷ “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

²⁹ And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰ For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

³² “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Jesus is clearly NOT saying we shouldn’t work to provide for our needs. He’s not saying we should live irresponsible lives – although God’s idea of how we should live a responsible life is clearly different than the world’s idea. He is addressing the issue of worry or preoccupation with the daily needs of live when there are much more important things to occupy us. He is talking about our tendency to focus on or worry about the small stuff which then causes us to neglect what’s most important. This is very easy to do and can easily imbed itself in our thinking so we think this is acceptable and normal – not for a disciple of Jesus. I get this from verse 23 – Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.

John 6:27; 33 (NIV)
^“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”; ³³ For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

Verses 24-28 attempt to show how silly it is to worry this way.

Verses 29-30 approach this from a different angle. To set your heart on what you’re going to eat or drink is to copy the behavior of the world. Rather move toward the kingdom – seek the kingdom first – adjust your life so kingdom is first, food is later.

In verse 32 Jesus seems to take a different tone with the disciples here – a tender, intimate, caring tone. Don’t worry about the cost of following me, God is happy to give you the kingdom, God wants fullness of joy for you, God wants you to be involved in this great reality of Jesus’ victory. God wants the best for you, so loosen your grip on the things that take you away from living by faith.

Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

How do we live as people who have put their lives in the hands of Jesus? This is what we are doing when we trust Jesus as savior – we are giving our lives to him. We are saying, “Jesus, I am a sinful, self-centered person with sinful programming and sinful desires. This leaves me with judgment and not forgiveness, death and not life, separation from God and not friendship. I’m sorry – I will take you, Jesus, as my hope, I am trusting you to act on my behalf before God. I am trusting you to be the righteousness that I need.”

When God calls the sinner to himself, God is creating something new (2 Cor. 5:17) and we should strive to put on this new self (Eph 4:24). So, what does this look like? It means the things of Christ will be paramount in your life. We will be living lives that lift Jesus high.

- We need not fear death, especially if we live boldly for Christ.

- We don’t need to worry about what we must say when the world attacks – the Spirit of God will speak through you.

- We don’t need to live by the world’s rules and spend our lives chasing security here – that doesn’t exist anyway.

- And we don’t need to worry about God’s intention. He wants to give us the kingdom.

It’s easy to read stories about the great Old Testament characters in a way that doesn’t really connect with my world – after all these amazing things happened over 2,000 years ago.  That is a big mistake.  The story we’re going to visit today is your story – it is my story.  The story of Abraham’s call to sacrifice his son is the same call we have on our lives – the very same call.  God is calling each of us to a relationship, a faith, that gives him everything.

Genesis 22:1-19 (NIV)
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.

First – It’s important to know that God tests us but does not tempt us (James 1:13). Temptation is designed to destroy us. Testing is designed to help us become who we were meant to be. While God accomplishes more than we will ever know; I’d like to mention two things:

• Testing is designed to show us who we are

• Testing is designed to “prove” God and move us toward deeper loyalty

Testing is meant to move us into harmony with God’s vision. Testing, experiencially brings us into a walk-by-faith life. As was true in Abraham’s life, testing makes us fit to be used by God to accomplish his work. Testing is meant to move us closer to the image of Jesus. We should know that God’s testing is an act of love, meant for good.

James 1:2-4 (NIV)
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴ Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Notice Abraham’s reply to God’s calling – “Here I am.” Some of you know what’s coming next. God is going to ask Abraham to do the unimaginable. In many situations Abraham has seen that his self-determined actions end in disaster. But here, finally, Abraham has come to the point where he rests in the reality that God is God and he is not. So when God calls, Abraham responds, “here I am”.

² Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah (this location could actually have been the place ch Jesus was crucified) . Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

God is completely aware of what Isaac means to Abraham. Not only does Abraham love Isaac as a son, Isaac is the promised one through whom the everlasting friendship between God and humanity will unfold – and Abraham knows this.

³ Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

Abraham seems determined to follow God’s clear instruction immediately – without hesitation. He rose early the next morning and, when they were close to where they need to be, he told the servants to stay behind – no one gets in the way of the mission.

In the end, following God is NOT a group decision. While we are called to commit to the fellowship of believers and show Jesus as we live in community, we must each, individually, answer a call that will not be supported by the culture. We must each, individually, answer a call that will not be supported by human reasoning.

This does not mean that responding, in faith, to God’s call has a weak foundation – quit the opposite. The foundation of a faith-based decision is trusting a trustworthy God and following.

1 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV)
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife.

Here, in Isaac, we see an image of Jesus about 1,400 years later. He also carried the instrument of his own death

As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” ⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

What a profound response. Abraham knew two things. First, he knew that God would fulfill the covenant of promise through Isaac. Second, he knew that he was going to follow God’s direction – he was going to sacrifice Isaac. What do you do with that? There is no other choice than to end up where we all need to end up. God must work – God must provide.  Abraham did have a thought as to how God might work.

Hebrews 11:17-19 (NIV)
By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” ¹⁹ Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

⁹When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. ¹² “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.

Faith must be lived out for it to be real! One of the most useless thoughts Christian’s have is, “I’m willing to commit – God needs to lead me.”

¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” ¹⁵ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶ and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” ¹⁹ Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

Summary:

God’s testing is always designed to move us to deeper faith – letting go of what this world offers, letting go of self and trusting God. This is good – it is God moving against sin in our lives and developing us as those who can impact others for him. God’s design is much, much more than simply glory when we die, which is amazing – God’s design is God-dependent life with him now!

What is your responce to God? Many times we give the impression that we are faithful, humble, servants of the King; but we don’t act at all like Abraham did, “here I am. You talk, I will listen and obey”. We refuse to see God’s testing (floods, sickness, unemployment, ect.) as a good thing that builds us into his image. The goal of our lives with Christ is that, when God asks, “Are you ready to take the next step?” we say, “YES, the Kingdome needs building, here I am”. Are you ready?

God DOES know and understand how important my misplaced loyalties are to me – he knows everything about me. If I am to be who he wants me to be, he must be my highest loyalty.

Matthew 10:37 (NIV)
“Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

Luke 16:13 (NIV)
“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Humble Royalty – We see in Abraham a wonderful model for us. Abraham was the target of God’s amazing blessing. God was going to do the unimaginable through him – bigger than a “rock star”, bigger than the highest paid professional athlete, bigger than anyone you can think of. And Abraham would be a humble servant who followed in faith. As God moved Abraham into the correct disposition, God’s intention explodes into reality – God gets the glory and Abraham is fulfilled in following the King.

If Jesus is the One you are clinging to this morning as your only hope for life and your only purpose in life – you are the adopted child of God – you are royalty.  Follow the example of Abraham, or better yet Jesus.

God will provide – Cling to the promise and follow God. Our idea of living lives in the center of God’s will IS NOT the same as God’s idea. Often our idea of this does not involve a dependent, faith-filled existence – a life that has abandoned whatever gets in the way of mission. In Abraham’s example, at the point of total obedience came the provision of God – God will provide. This is true for us as well.

We all respond – Many times we give the impression that we are faithful, humble, servants of the King; but we don’t act at all like Abraham did, “here I am. You talk, I will listen. You talk and I will obey.” We refuse to see God’s testing (floods, sickness, unemployment, neighbors in need, ect.) as a good thing that builds us into his image. The goal of our lives with Christ is that, when God asks, “Are you ready to take the next step?” we say, “YES, the Kingdome needs building, here I am”.

Do you believe God will provide?

[Listen to this sermon]

Many of us have heard or read Luke 17:6, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea.’ and it will obey you.” Here’s an opening question for you this morning. What do you think when you hear those words?

Many, if not most of us think something like, “It would be so cool if I could do things like this with my faith!” Some use the miraculous to dismiss the truth of Scripture. Some relegate it to something unique to the time of Jesus. What do you think when you read a verse like this.

We humans tend to approach things from a perspective that is very limited and self-serving. My conclusions are often “bent” toward my own self interest and not God’s glory. Not only do we tend to view things from our perspective and not God’s, often the verse and chapter devisions we’ve placed in our Bibles disrupt the reading or break the context or encourage “proof-texting”.

Today we’re going to look at this verse in its context to see if we might understand it correctly.

Luke 17:1-10 (NIV)
Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin (stumbling blocks) are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. ² It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little (young ones or weak followers) ones to sin. ³ So watch yourselves. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” ⁶ He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

⁷“Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸ Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

Verse 1-4

How we live in a sinful world is a VERY big deal. Jesus mentions two aspects of this that are important. First – the seriousness of our conduct and the reality of our sin causing others to sin. Second – how we respond to those who sin. These four verses are about living faithfully and the impact our lives have on those around us.

Romans 14:13 (NIV)
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.

1 Corinthians 10:31-33 (NIV)
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God- even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

1 John 2:10 (NIV)
Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.

Then we see Jesus focus on two specific things we should do in our role as ambassadors of Jesus. First, he says that when we see a brother (or sister) sin, we should connect with them about it. We should not just let it slide. This isn’t loving or in the person’s best interest. Lovingly, caringly come along side them and make sure they know you are for them – help them. Pray with them.

The second thing Jesus mentions here is forgiveness. We must not break fellowship while those who sin are repentant. God is patient and forgiving to us. We must be patient and forgiving as well.

Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV)
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Verses 5-6

Now, after Jesus shares this very important instruction with them, the disciples respond. They come to the conclusion that they must have a faith-increase in order to do what Jesus was, in a sence, requiring of them. So they say, “Increase our faith” (notice how this wasn’t a request but more of a demand). Jesus then says, “If you have the faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planded in the sea, and it will obey you.’” So the BIG question is, what did Jesus mean by this?

Well I would suggest that after what Jesus said in verses 1-4, the disciples didn’t have the right response. In fact, I think their response was VERY wrong. And so Jesus’ response was actually a rebuke. It’s as if he was saying, “I just told you something VERY, VERY important. Be careful not to cause younger followers to stumble! Make sure you help others with their sin! Make sure you forgive each other! And you respond with, ‘We need more faith’. If you had any faith at all you could do amazing things. Additional faith is not the answer.”

Now, as Jesus so often does, he moves to a story to drive home his point.

Verses 7-10

The disciples had lost their way in the relationship with Jesus. He was their friend. He was also God asking them to obey. The point of the story is that we are still subservient to the God that created everything that exists and gives us every breath we receive. We must not forget that God is God – I am not.

Matthew 11:30 (NIV)
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

1 John 2:3 (NIV)
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.

Revelation 12:17 (NIV)
Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring-those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

1 John 5:3 (NIV)
This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,

Lessons:

Without faith we cannot be saved. Faith is the connection to Jesus that we must have. Faith is that trust that recognizes Jesus as the One who is our only hope if we are to survive God’s judgement. Our rebellion is too deep. Our sin is too massive. We cannot make it right. Jesus came to make it right for us. Saving faith, within the context of my desperate need, believes in Jesus as my only hope in life and in death.

With faith comes obedience. “Jesus, I will trust you in life. I will trust you in death. You are now the One I respond too. You are the one I follow. You are the one I will obey.”

Obediance is faith in action. We must not use a lack of faith as an excuse for disobedience – that’s sin. We must not use a lack of faith as an excuse for being a stumbling block to anyone. We must not use a lack of faith as an excuse to not forgive. We must not put off obedience because we don’t “feel it”. It does not work to search for deeper faith while refusing to obey God’s clear instruction.

This culture would love to see Jesus as friend only. If he is only our friend we can easily not obey. After all he is friend and not master. And he is our deepest friend. Jesus He is also the sovereign God who reigns over everything that exists.

Jesus as Lord will ask for obedience when we may not full understand.

[Listen to this sermon]

If you were on a dark, cold, and stormy sea in a small inflatable life raft and I asked you if you would survive the night, you may answer, “I have faith in this life raft”. But tell me, if you make it through the night, will it be because of your faith or because of the life raft?

We are all deeply trusting something or someone as the purpose of our life. Some have the deepest faith in this country. Some have deep faith in humanity, or a code of moral conduct, or a religion. Many devote their lives to themselves.

Jesus would ask us to do an amazing thing – embrace him as the center and purpose of our lives. Cling to him as our only hope in life and death. In the gospel of John we find a very clear proclamation of how we actually do this – by faith.

John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him (lit. is believing, or believing into) shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:36 (NIV)
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.

John 6:40 (NIV)
For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 11:25 (NIV)
Jesus said to [Martha], “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;

Today I’d like to look at three things. The goodness of Jesus, the power of Jesus, and what happens when we believe in, or have faith in him. This is very important because, again, when you place your faith or your trust in something or someone, it is not your faith that carries the day – it is the object of your faith that is trustworthy – or not. It is the object of your faith that carries the day – not your faith. Your faith is a waste of time if the object of your faith has no integrity.

The goodness of Jesus:

For many today Jesus is someone to align with because he was a “good” person – and he was a good person – he IS a good person. The focus is to see in Jesus the image of who we could, and should be. Jesus healed the sick; attacked the faulty, religious power structure of the day; he fed the hungry; he cared for his mother; he stood between the broken and those who would only judge and not help; he saw humanity in “the enemy” and had compassion;

Mark 10:45 (NIV)
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV)
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

While we should try to emulate Jesus, if you think this is the primary goal of Scripture, as some do, you may as well follow Gahnde.

Hebrews 4:2 (NIV)
For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they (those delivered from Egypt) did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.

The Power of Jesus:

Jesus did many miricles of different types when he was training his disciples and moving toward the cross. The crowds loved it all until he asked them to trust him as God. As God he would ask the people to surrender their lives to his agenda – they would have nothing to do with that.

John 5:18 (NIV)
For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

John 8:55-58 (NIV)
Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” ⁵⁷ “You are not yet fifty years old,” the Jews said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” ⁵⁸ “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

Philippians 2:6 (NIV)
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

Having faith in Jesus carries with it an understanding that you are trusting the One who created all that exists and, interestingly, cares tenderly for his children. God sets the agenda.

So what happens when biblical faith connects us to Jesus:

Our sins are forgiven

Acts 10:43 (NIV)
All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

We receive eternal life:

John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Gain access to God:

Ephesians 3:12 (NIV)
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

If you think about it, trusting Jesus as our greatest value and hope carries with it the reality that trusting ourselves is not the answer. If I was my answer, I would trust in me. Believe me, I am not the answer.

Acts 20:21 (NIV)
I (Paul) have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

Those who have faith in Jesus have a robust, living, all sufficient savior. It’s important that you know him – Jesus longs for this.

1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV)
God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

John 14:23 (NIV)
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

DO YOU KNOW HIM?

by Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)

Faith is the necessary link between our need and the One who can save. Horatius Bonar wrote this masterful piece that can help us not put our faith in our faith.

Our justification is the direct result of our believing the gospel; our knowledge of our own justification comes from believing God’s promise of justification to every one who believes these glad tidings. For there is not only the divine testimony, but there is the promise annexed to it, assuring eternal life to everyone who receives that testimony. There is first, then, a believed gospel, and then there is a believed promise. The latter is the “appropriation,” as it is called, which, after all, is nothing but the acceptance of the promise which is everywhere coupled with the gospel message. The believed gospel saves; but it is the believed promise that assures us of this salvation.

Yet, after all, faith is not our righteousness. It is accounted to us in order to righteousness (Rom 4:5, GREEK), but not as righteousness; for in that case it would be a work like any other doing of man, and as such would be incompatible with the righteousness of the Son of God; the “righteousness which is by faith.” Faith connects us with the righteousness, and is therefore totally distinct from it. To confound the one with the other is to subvert the whole gospel of the grace of God. Our act of faith must ever be a separate thing from that which we believe.

God reckons the believing man as having done all righteousness, though he has not done any, and though his faith is not righteousness. In this sense it is that faith is counted to us for, or in order to, righteousness, – and that we are “justified by faith.” Faith does not justify as a work, or as a moral act, or a piece of goodness, nor as a gift of the Spirit, but simply because it is the bond between us and the Substitute; a very slender bond in one sense, but strong as iron in another. The work of Christ for us is the object of faith; the Spirit’s work in us is that which produces this faith: it is out of the former, not of the latter, that our peace and justification come. Without the touch of the rod the water would not have gushed forth; yet it was the rock and not the rod, that contained the water.

The bringer of the sacrifice into the tabernacle was to lay his hand upon the head of the sheep or the bullock, otherwise the offering would not have been accepted for him. But the laying on of his hand was not the same as the victim on which it was laid. The serpent-bitten Israelite was to look at the uplifted serpent of brass in order to be healed. But his looking was not the brazen serpent. We may say it was his looking that healed him, just as the Lord said, “lily faith hath saved thee”; but this is figurative language. It was not his act of looking that healed him, but the object to which he locked. So faith is not our righteousness: it merely knits us to the righteous One, and makes us partakers of His righteousness. By a natural figure of speech, faith is often magnified into something great; whereas it is really nothing but our consenting to be saved by another~ its supposed magnitude is derived from the greatness of the object which it grasps, the excellence of the righteousness which it accepts. Its preciousness is not its own, but the preciousness of Him to whom it links us.

Faith is not our physician; it only brings us to the Physician. It is not even our medicine; it only administers the medicine, divinely prepared by Him who “healeth all our diseases.” In all our believing, let us remember God’s word to Israel: “I am Jehovah, that healeth thee” (Exod. 14:26). Our faith is but our touching Jesus; and what is even this, in reality, but His touching us?

Faith is not our savior. It was not faith that was born at Bethlehem and died on Golgotha for us. It was not faith that loved us, and gave itself for us; that bore our sins in its own body on the tree; that died and rose again for our sins. Faith is one thing, the Savior is another. Faith is one thing, and the cross is another. Let us not confound them, nor ascribe to a poor, imperfect act of man, that which belongs exclusively to the Son of the Living God.

Faith is not perfection. Yet only by perfection can we be saved; either our own or another’s. That which is imperfect cannot justify, and an imperfect faith could not in any sense be a righteousness. If it is to justify, it must be perfect. It must be like “the Lamb, without blemish and without spot” An imperfect faith may connect us with the perfection of another; but it cannot of itself do aught for us, either in protecting us from wrath or securing the divine acquittal. All faith here is imperfect; and our security is this, that it matters not how poor or weak our faith maybe: if it touches the perfect One, all is well. The touch draws out the virtue that is in Him, and we are saved. The slightest imperfection in our faith, if faith were our righteousness, would be fatal to every hope. But the imperfection of our faith, however great, if faith be but the approximation or contact between us and the fulness of the Substitute, is no hindrance to our participation of His righteousness. God has asked and provided a perfect righteousness; He nowhere asks nor expects a perfect faith. An earthenware pitcher can convey water to a traveler’s thirsty lips as well as one of gold; nay, a broken vessel, even if there be but “a sherd to take water from the pit” (Isa 30:14), will suffice. So a feeble, very feeble faith, will connect us with the righteousness of the Son of God; the faith, perhaps, that can only cry, “Lord, I believe; help mine unbelief.”

Faith is not satisfaction to God. In no sense and in no aspect can faith be said to satisfy God, or to satisfy the law. Yet if it is to be our righteousness, it must satisfy. Being imperfect, it cannot satisfy; being human, it cannot satisfy, even though it were perfect That which satisfies must be capable of bearing our guilt; and that which bears our guilt must be not only perfect, but divine. It is a sin-bearer that we need, and our faith cannot be a sin-bearer. Faith can expiate no guilt; can accomplish no propitiation; can pay no penalty; can wash away no stain; can provide no righteousness. It brings us to the cross, where there is expiation, and propitiation, and payment, and cleansing, and righteousness; but in itself it has no merit and no virtue.

Faith is not Christ, nor the cross of Christ. Faith is not the blood, nor the sacrifice; it is not the altar, nor the laver, nor the mercy-seat, nor the incense. It does not work, but accepts a work done ages ago; it does not wash, but leads us to the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness. It does not create; it merely links us to that new thing which was created when the “everlasting righteousness” was brought in (Dan 9:24).

And as faith goes on, so it continues; always the beggar’s outstretched hand, never the rich man’s gold; always the cable, never the anchor, the knocker, not the door, or the palace, or the table; the handmaid, not the mistress; the lattice which lets in the light, not the sun.

Without worthiness in itself, it knits us to the infinite worthiness of Him in whom the Father delights; and so knitting us, presents us perfect in the perfection of another. Though it is not the foundation laid in Zion, it brings us to that foundation, and keeps us there, “grounded and settled” (Col 1:23), that we may not be moved away from the hope of the gospel. Though it is not “the gospel,” the “glad tidings,” it receives these good news as God’s eternal verities, and bids the soul rejoice in them; though it is not the burnt-offering, it stands still and gazes on the ascending flame, which assures us that the wrath which should have consumed the sinner has fallen upon the Substitute.

Though faith is not “the righteousness,” it is the tie between it and us. It realizes our present standing before God in the excellency of His own Son; and it tells us that our eternal standing, in the ages to come, is in the same excellency, and depends on the perpetuity of that righteousness which can never change. For never shall we put off that Christ whom we put on when we believed (Rom 12:14; Gal 3:27). This divine raiment is “to everlasting.” It waxes not old, it cannot be rent, and its beauty fadeth not away.

Nor does faith lead us away from that cross to which at first it led us. Some in our day speak as if we soon got beyond the cross, and might leave it behind; that the cross having done all it could do for us when first we came under its shadow, we may quit it and go forward; that to remain always at the cross is to be babes, not men.

But what is the cross? It is not the mere wooden pole, or some imitation of it, such as Romanists use. These we may safely leave behind us. We need not pitch our tent upon the literal Golgotha, or in Joseph’s garden. But the great truth which the cross embodies we can no more part with than we can past with life eternal. In this sense, to turn our back upon the cross is to turn our back upon Christ crucified, – to give up our connection with the Lamb that was slain. The truth is, that all that Christ did and suffered, from the manger to the tomb, forms one glorious whole, no part of which shall ever become needless or obsolete; no past of which can ever leave without forsaking the whole. I am always at the manger, and yet I know that mere incarnation cannot save; always at Gethsemane, and yet I believe that its agony was not the finished work; always at the cross, with my face toward it, and my eye on the crucified One, and yet I am persuaded that the sacrifice there was completed once for all; always looking into the grave, though I rejoice that it is empty, and that “He is not here, but is risen”; always resting (with the angel) on the stone that was rolled away, and handling the grave-clothes, and realizing a risen Christ, nay, an ascended and interceding Lord, yet on no pretext whatever leaving any part of my Lord’s life or death behind me, but unceasingly keeping up my connection with Him, as born, living, dying, buried, and rising again, and drawing out from each part some new blessing every day and hour.

Man, in his natural spirit of self-justifying legalism, has tried to get away from the cross of Christ and its perfection, or to erect another cross instead, or to setup a screen of ornaments between himself and it, or to alter its true meaning into something more congenial to his tastes, or to transfer the virtue of it to some act or performance or feeling of its own. Thus the simplicity of the cross is nullified, and its saving power is denied. For the cross saves completely, or not at all. Our faith does not divide the work of salvation between itself and the cross. It is the acknowledgment that the cross alone saves, and that it saves alone. Faith adds nothing to the cross, nor to its healing virtue. It owns the fullness, and sufficiency, and suitableness of the work done there, and bids the toiling spirit cease from its labors and enter into rest. Faith does not come to Calvary to do anything. It comes to see the glorious spectacle of all things done, and to accept this completion without a misgiving as to its efficacy. It listens to the “It is finished!” of the Sin-bearer, and says, “Amen.” Where faith begins, there labor ends, – labor, I mean, “for” life and pardon. Faith is rest, not toil. It is the giving up all the former weary efforts to do or feel something good, in order to induce God to love and pardon; and the calm reception of the truth so long rejected, that God is not waiting for any such inducements, but loves and pardons of His own goodwill, and is showing that goodwill to any sinner who will come to Him on such a footing, casting away his own performances or goodnesses, and relying implicitly upon the free love of Him who so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son.

Faith is the acknowledgment of the entire absence of all goodness in us, and the recognition of the cross as the substitute for all the want on our part. Faith saves, because it owns the complete salvation of another, and not because it contributes anything to that salvation. There is no dividing or sharing the work between our own belief and Him in whom we believe. The whole work is His, not ours, from the first to last. Faith does not believe in itself, but in the Son of God. Like the beggar, it receives everything, but gives nothing. It consents to be a debtor forever to the free love of God. Its resting-place is the foundation laid in Zion. It rejoices in another, not in itself. Its song is, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but by His mercy He saved us.”

Christ crucified is to be the burden of our preaching, and the substance of our belief, from first to last. At no time in the saint’s life does he cease to need the cross; though at times he may feel that his special need, in spiritual perplexity or the exigency of conflict with evil, may be the incarnation, or the agony in the garden, or the resurrection, or the hope of the promised advent, to be glorified in His saints, and admired in all them that believe.

But the question is not, “What truths are we to believe?” but, What truths are we to believe FOR JUSTIFICATION?

That Christ is to come again in glory and in majesty, as Judge and King, is an article of the Christian faith, the disbelief of which would almost lead us to doubt the Christianity of him who disbelieves it. Yet we are not in any sense justified by the second advent of our Lord, but solely by His first. We believe in His ascension, yet our justification is not connected with it. So we believe His resurrection, yet we are not justified by faith in it, but by faith in His death, – that death which made Him at once our propitiation and our righteousness.

“He was raised again on account of our having been justified” (Rom 4:25) is the clear statement of the word. The resurrection was the visible pledge of a justification already accomplished.

“The power of His resurrection” (Phil 3:10) does not refer to atonement, or pardon, or reconciliation; butte our being renewed in the spirit of our minds, to our being “begotten again unto a living hope, by the resurrection from the dead” (1 Pet 1:3). That which is internal, such as our quickening, our strengthening, our renewing, may be connected with resurrection and resurrection power, but that which is external, such as God’s pardoning, and justifying, and accepting, must be connected with the cross alone.

The doctrine of our being justified by an infused resurrection-righteousness or, as it is called, justification in arisen Christ, is a clear subversion of the Surety’s work when “He died for our sins, according to the Scriptures,” or when “He washed us from our sins in His own blood,” or when He gave us the robes “washed white in the blood of the Lamb.”

It is the blood that justifies (Rom 5:9). It is the blood that pacifies the conscience, purging it from dead works to serve the living God (Heb 9:14). It is the blood that emboldens us to enter through the veil into the holiest, and go up to the sprinkled mercy-seal It is the blood that we are to drink for the quenching of our thirst (John 6:55). It is the blood by which we have peace with God (Col 1:20). It is the blood through which we have redemption (Eph 1:7), and by which we are brought nigh (Eph 2:13), by which we are sanctified (Heb 13:12). It is the blood which is the seal of the everlasting covenant (Heb 13:20). It is the blood which cleanses (1 John 1:7), which gives us victory (Rev 12:11), and with which we have communion in the Supper of the Lord (1 Cor 10:16). It is the blood which is the purchase-money or ransom of the church of God (Acts 20:28).

The blood and the resurrection are very different things; for the blood is death, and the resurrection is life.

It is remarkable that in the book of Leviticus there is no reference to resurrection in any of the sacrifices. It is death throughout. All that is needed for a sinner’s pardon, and justification, and cleansing, and peace, is there fully set forth in symbol, – and that symbol is death upon the altar. Justification by any kind of infused or inherent righteousness is wholly inconsistent with the services of the tabernacle, most of all justification by an infused, resurrection-righteousness.

The sacrifices are God’s symbolical exposition of the way of a sinner’s approach and acceptance; and in none of these does resurrection hold any place. If justification be in a risen Christ, then assuredly that way was not revealed to Israel; and the manifold offerings so minutely detailed, did not answer the question: How may man be just with God? nor give to the worshippers of old one hint as to the way by which God was to justify the ungodly.

“Christ in us, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27), is a well-known and blessed truth; but Christ IN US, our justification, is a ruinous error, leading man away from a crucified Christ – a Christ crucified FOR US. Christ for us is one truth; Christ in us is quite another. The mingling of these two together, or the transposition of them, is the nullifying of the one finished work of the Substitute. Let it be granted that Christ in us is the source of holiness and fruitfulness (John 15:4); but let it never be overlooked that first of all there be Christ FOR US, as our propitiation, our justification, our righteousness. The risen Christ in us, our justification, is a modern theory which subverts the cross. Washing, pardoning, reconciling, justifying, all come from the one work of the cross, not from resurrection. The dying Christ completed the work for us from which all the above benefits flow. The risen Christ but sealed and applied what, three days before, He had done once for all.

It is somewhat remarkable that in the Lord’s Supper (as in the passover) there is no reference to resurrection. The broken body and the shed blood are the Alpha and Omega of that ordinance. In it we have communion (not with Christ as risen and glorified, but) with the body of Christ and the blood of Christ (1 Cor 10:16), that is, Christ upon the cross. “This do in remembrance of me.” “As oft as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He come.” If, after we have been at the cross, we are to pass on and leave it behind us, as no longer needed, seeing we are justified by the risen Christ in us, let those who bold that deadly error say why all reference to resurrection should be excluded from the great feast; and why the death of the Lord should be the one object presented to us at the table.

“Life in a risen Christ” is another way of expressing the same error. If by this were only meant that resurrection has been made the channel or instrument through which the life and justification are secured for us on and by the cross, – as when the apostle speaks of our being begotten again unto a lively hope by the “resurrection of Christ from the dead,” or when we are said to be “risen with Christ,” – one would not object to the phraseology. But when we find it used as expressive of dissociation of these benefits from the cross, and derivation of them from resurrection soley, then do we condemn it as untrue and anti-scriptural. For concerning this ‘life” let us hear the words of the Lord: “The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51), “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him” (John 6:53-56). This assuredly is not the doctrine of “life in a risen Christ,” or “a risen Christ in us, our justification and life.” I do not enter on the exposition of these verses. I simply cite them.. They bear witness to the cross. They point to the broken body and shed blood as our daily and hourly food, our life-long feast, from which there comes into us the life which the Son of man, by His death, has obtained for us. That flesh is life-imparting, that blood is life-imparting; and this not once, but for evermore.

It is not incarnation on the one hand, nor is it resurrection on the other, on which we are thus to feed, and out of which this life comes forth; it is that which lies between these two, – death, – the sacrificial death of the Son of God. It is not the personality nor the life-history of the Christ of God which is the special quickener and nourishment of our souls, but the blood-shedding. Not that we are to separate the former from the latter, but still it is on the latter that we are specially to feed, and this all the days of our lives.

“Christ, our passover, has been sacrificed for us.” Hence we rest, protected by the paschal blood, and feeding on the paschal lamb, with its unleavened bread and bitter herbs, from day to day. “Let us keep the feast” (1 Cor 5:8). Wherever we are, let us keep it. For we carry our passover with us, always ready, always fresh. With girded loins and staff in hand, as wayfarers, we move along, through the rough or the smooth of the wilderness, our face toward the land of promise.

That paschal lamb is CHRIST CRUCIFIED. As such He is our protection, our pardon, our righteousness, our food, our strength, our peace. Fellowship with Him upon the cross is the secret of a blessed and holy life.

We feed on that which has passed through the fire; on that which has come from the altar. No other food can quicken or sustain the spiritual life of a believing man. The unbroken body will not suffice; nor will the risen or glorified body avail. The broken body and shed blood of the Son of God form the viands on which we feast; and it is under the shadow of the cross that we sit down to partake of these, and find refreshment for our daily journey, strength for our hourly warfare. His flesh is meat indeed; His blood is drink indeed.

[Listen to this sermon]

I’ve often heard Christians say, “While we need to trust God, we don’t want to act foolishly.” As those who want to follow Jesus we need to be VERY careful how we think about that issue. For us, being foolish means we don’t trust God when he asks us too – we refuse to walk by faith. If we adopt our culture’s definition of what it means to be wise, and prudent – we will never walk by faith. Our culture would focus on being independent, God is pleased when we are dependent.

When we read Scripture we can “see” how Jesus moves people toward deeper faith. Jesus took hold of a group of absolute misfits and outcasts, and turned them into warriors who served God to the end. The training ground for this is turmoil – the conflict, in us, between our need for security and God’s desire that we rest in him.

Today we’re going to look at the story of Peter walking on water. We’re going to see that one way God builds faith is by proving himself trustworthy in the middle turmoil.

The context of this story is pretty interesting. It takes place right after Jesus feeds five thousand people from five loaves of bread and two fish. In John’s version of the story (John 6:14-15) he tells us that this miracle is so impacted the crowd that they were, by force, going to proclaim Jesus as their king. All those around Jesus seem to be convinced that he really is the Messiah. But the timing of the crowds was not God’s timing – so Jesus “shut down” their effort and made them disburse.

Matthew 14:22-32 (NIV)
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.

• Jesus exerted force in getting the disciples into the boat and on there way. In the Greek, the word we see as “made” in verse 22 is a term of force. We might say Jesus compelled them or even pressured them to get into the boat and head for the other side of the lake.

Why did Jesus need to press the disciples to obey him? If we look at the text, I think the answer is fairly apparent. It seems that there was the possibility of real danger in Jesus’ idea. I think the reason the disciples resisted going out on the water was that bad weather was already there or they could see it coming. The wind was blowing and night was fast approaching. This was not something to take lightly. It seems like Jesus was pushing them into turmoil.

No one likes to, knowingly, move into the unknown. In this story there is more at stake than changing jobs or moving to a new community. Jesus is “asking” the disciples to put themselves in danger. Jesus is “asking” them to move against conventional wisdom and prudence do what he asks. The disciples had been in rough waters before (Matt 8). That time, however, Jesus was in the boat with them and the storm came suddenly. This time it is different – or is it?

Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Jesus NEVER leaves his children. If you believe that, you are ready for the next point.

• Peter had a wild, wild thought. Peter, with his bold, throw caution to the wind personality thought of something that I’ll bet the other disciples had never considered – and probably thought was crazy. It wasn’t crazy to Jesus. Jesus wanted Peter to experience what it actually meant to function in faith. The result – Peter was walking on water.

John 15:7 (NIV)
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

This life is very, very short. If you are living it based on the values of this world you will never walk on water. If you give yourself to Jesus and his vision he will pull you into a life of faith. It really is an adventure. Like the disciples in this story, there will be times of fear and uncertainty, but God is always good.

• Peter was way outside his sphere of control. When he lost contact with his lifeline he sank.

Anyone who would live a life of faith is living in a realm he/she doesn’t control

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

• Can you imagine the exhilaration Peter must have had? I’ll bet he didn’t sleep for a week after this experience.

This is the life of faith. God is working around us, and hopefully through us. We may not always respond the way we should – but we can see God working. Do you see God working? Are you responding IN FAITH?

If you have structured your thoughts toward a life of comfort, you are moving in the wrong direction…

[Listen to this sermon]

The story of Rahab is very important – in many ways. It takes place during a critical transition of the Hebrew experience. The, once slaves, were about ready to move into the next phase of their relationship with God.

So, first, the people were in slavery for 400 years – beaten and exposed to gods that were not God. Next, Jehovah orchestrated a miraculous delivery from Egypt – the exodus – salvation. Then, instead of moving directly into the land they had been promised, they had 40 years of wilderness life where God taught them and rewired their thinking. They grew to understand more of the true God and God’s expectations. A new generation grew up with a new way of thinking. And now, finally, it was time to move into the land. Jehovah would ask them to actively be involved as he defeated the enemy. This was not like their deliverance from slavery. No, Jehovah wants to conquer the enemy through them. God will win the battles as they fight. And so, we have the story of Rahab – 1300 BC.

Joshua 2:1-15 (NIV)
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. ² The king of Jericho was told, “Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” ³ So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.” ⁴ But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. ⁵ At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” ⁶ (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) ⁷ So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut. ⁸ Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof ⁹ and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. ¹⁰ We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. ¹¹ When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. ¹² Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign ¹³ that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death.” ¹⁴ “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.” ¹⁵ So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall.

• I think there is one BIG, main point to the story of Rahab. It comes through in two other references to her in the New Testament.

Hebrews 11:31 (NIV)
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

James 2:25 (NIV)
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction.

Rahab was a prostitute! Arguably the most “unclean” person in the Hebrew mindset. God granted faith and a vital role in his plans to one who was steeped in sin. God often chooses who we might consider “unlikely” to carry out his purposes.

• It’s important to remember that the story of Rahab takes place within a bigger story. God is working to build a faithful people for himself. He showed not only the Hebrews, but all those who were in the land how powerful he was. He split the red sea and made food fall from heaven each morning. He showed the world that he could defeat any foe – from the pharaoh of Egypt, to cities with fortified walls, to nations, to Satan himself. And in the path of God’s victory, stories of how God moves “freely” abound – people we might discard express faith and are saved. We must be VERY careful that we don’t discard the very people God wants us to connect with.

• God’s reputation through his work can bring others into the Kingdom. Do people experience God’s victory through your life?

• Rahab is in the lineage of Jesus – God is pleased to adopt the most vile sinner as his child. Jesus can save anyone. Rahab in faith acted and we read about her over 3000 years later.

Luke 1:50-53 (NIV) – Mary’s song
[God's] mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. ⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. ⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. ⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

Can you identify with Rahab in this story? God is, without failure, working an amazing plan that will save the lost and bring great glory to his name. Is that the reality you would like to be involved in?