Labor for the Rewards of Grace

           Here is a section of my sermon notes from Sunday. I preached on Matthew 19:27-20:16.  This passage follows directly after the rich young ruler, pictured at the left. 

Sometimes the Bible emphasizes our need to do our duty without an eye towards rewards. For example in Luke 17:7-10 Jesus says that after all we have done we are just unworthy servants. So we understand that rewards are not deserved. They are the rewards of grace. However, the Scriptures still frequently put the theme of rewards before us. It is a constant in the Old Testament. If you keep my covenant, I will reward you. Sometimes this reward is the land. Sometimes it is victory over the enemies. The ultimate reward was always God and his city. (Hebrews 11:13-16). But rewards are recurring note in the Old Testament

            This does not change in the New Testament. Let me say that one more time, just so we get it. Rewards are held out before us just as much in the New Testament as in the Old Testament. Even in Matthew we have already seen this over and over again. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Why? Are we supposed to poor in spirit just because God says? No! If we are poor in spirit we shall obtain the kingdom of heaven. If we are meek we shall inherit the earth. In chapter 6 Jesus tells us to not do our good deeds, such as giving of alms and praying, before men. Why? God will reward us if our deeds are done secretly. At the end of Matthew 10 Jesus says that even a cup of cold water given to a disciple will be rewarded. He will say something very similar in a few chapters when he says those who fed and clothed the least of these will inherit the Kingdom (25:34-40).

            We could go to other parts of the Scriptures, such as I Corinthians 15:58 where we are told our labor is not in vain in the Lord. Or the letters to the churches in Revelation where the churches are promised certain rewards if they overcome. Why would we follow after Jesus if there was nothing in it for us? Some of you may feel this is crass and ungodly. But you are doing battle with the Bible not with me. The Bible is clear. We follow Jesus because in the end it is best for us. The sacrifices we make in this life for our Lord will be rewarded a hundredfold in the next life. 

            In Matthew 19:27-29 Jesus is telling us to labor for the rewards of grace. 

Broken Reeds

Here are some of my sermon notes from this past Sunday.  If you would like to hear the sermon you can go to christchurchofmorgantown.org

1.       We should rejoice in Christ’s ministry to us.

a.       First, Christ is the only one who meets our needs. There is no hope for us outside of Christ.  It is easy for us to believe that hope lies outside of Christ. In real life we tend to depend on other things. Christ is the delight of the Father.  Beloved is only used in two other places in Matthew, chapters 3 and 17.  Do you want the Father to delight in you? Then you must be in the Son. 

b.      Second, Christ’s ministry to us is ordinary. He avoids worldly pomp and show.  He is not like the rulers of this world, who crush and destroy the weak.

                                                              i.      Who in Matthew is most likely to have a ministry opposed to Christ? It is not Rome. It is the religious leaders.

                                                            ii.      Does our ministry look like the oppression of the Pharisees or the liberation of Jesus.

c.       Third, Christ will not destroy us.  He is here to redeem us, to save us, to drag us up out of the pit. Christ delights in healing broken people. Christ is not going to crush you.  You are a bruised reed. You are a smoking wick. Guess what? Christ is not going throw you in the ditch.

                                                              i.      To rejoice in Christ’s ministry we must recognize our need. We must realize that we are broken. We are bruised. We are useless.  You have nothing to offer Christ.  We are all bent and broken. Illustration: David’s travelling companions. I Samuel 22:1-2. Jesus’ choice of the twelve Apostles, Paul in I Corinthians 1:26-31.  We tend to nod our heads and go yes, yes, that is how Jesus works. But then we don’t put ourselves in that category.  We think of ourselves as the exception to the rule. Yes, Jesus you normally work through losers, but I am the exception. Your bruises should drive you to Christ.

d.      Fourth, Christ’s ministry to us is effective. He will lead justice to victory. He would bring justice to the nations. The point is not that the Messiah will not win. Matthew is not saying all is lost. He is saying all will be won, just not how men expected.  By his gentleness and sacrifice he would win the world.

e.       Fifth, Christ’s ministers to us through his Spirit, his Word, and his people.  Jesus is gone, but his ministry extends until the end of time. But how? Where do we find our Lord?  How do we meet with Christ as those people did 2, 000 years ago?

Sermon Notes: Hebrews 12:18-29

What should new covenant worship look like? I gave a brief answer on Sunday.

1.       New covenant worship is decentralized on earth. We do not all have to be in one physical location to worship. No matter where saints are gathered, South Africa, Pensacola, FL. or Morgantown, WV, if they are in Christ they are worshiping on Mt. Zion. 

2.       To refuse new covenant worship is to sit on the door while the feast goes on inside. It is to choose mud over steak. It is to live in the slum instead of the mansion. There is no greater sin than this. (c.f. Matthew 22, I Cor. 5:8) Refusing grace is to refuse glory and feasting and joy and gladness. The primary gospel message is not believe in Jesus Christ so you won’t go to Hell. It is believe in Jesus Christ so you won’t miss the feast.

3.       Our worship should be filled with the Word of God. God still speaks. We must still listen. God has not stopped speaking. 

4.       Our worship should be shot through with gratitude. Gratitude is rooted in humility.

5.       Our worship should be shot through with awe, fear, and reverence. Again this comes from humility before the God who made Heaven and Earth and who redeemed us from the pit.

6.       In worship we come to the same God as the Israelites on Mt. Sinai.  We come to the same consuming fire. God has not changed. He does things now just as he did then. Except the priests and sacrifices and temple were all weak and have been replaced by the greater Priest, Sacrifice and Temple.

7.       Our worship should give equal access to all Christians. The table is for all.  That is why all Christians can eat and drink with us. That is why our baptized children come to the table. They are part of this new covenant. Anyone we consider a Christian needs to be included. There is no longer a veil.

8.       Our worship should be bold because of Christ. (Hebrews 4:16, 10:19-23) The foundation of our worship is the shed blood of Christ. The most amazing thing is not that God is a consuming fire, but that you can stand in the presence of this consuming fire.

9.       Our worship should shake the world out of us.  Christ came to shake the world. (c.f. I John 2:17) The world is passing away. The world is transient. The nations are transient.  America is a shadow. There is stone filling the earth. A kingdom whose dominion shall be from shore to shore. A King to whom all kings will bow. This means part of worship is to show us where we have compromised with the world.  And our worship is to remind us that the kingdoms of this world are a drop in the bucket. (Isaiah 40:15)

10.   Our worship should focus on the unshakeable Kingdom of Christ. The great realities of the cross, redemption, sin, worship, etc. should dominate our worship. This will not make our worship irrelevant. It will make the whole world relevant for us. 

Sermon Notes: Ephesians 6:5-9

Here is the application portion of my sermon from this past Sunday. 

1.       This passage makes all of our jobs holy. It breaks down the divide between secular and sacred. It means you can honor God typing in data just as much as you can honor him in prayer. In the Kingdom the man is holy because he is united to Christ. Thus his vocation becomes holy.

a.       O’ Brien: Any and every task, however menial, falls within the sphere of his lordship and is done in order to please him.

b.      Why is the view that there are levels of holiness so deadly for the Christian life?

                                                              i.      It creates 2^nd class citizens in the Kingdom. There are the less holy ones who are auto-mechanics and the more holy ones who are missionaries. It drags us back to the Old Covenant.

                                                            ii.      It leaves the world to the Devil. Both the dominion mandate and the great commission go unfulfilled.  Journalism, medicine, art, politics, building cars, etc. are all part of the world. We tolerate these things, but they are not really spiritual or holy. Thus we leave them to Satan. Which means the whole world is left to Satan except my devotions and Sunday worship.

                                                          iii.      It creates a spirit only view of the Christian life.  The Christian life becomes something primarily internal. It can be the life of the mind or the life of the heart, but what it is not is a life of the body.  Thus our Christian life is not worked out in making casseroles, building houses or mowing lawns, but primarily in Bible study and prayer.

c.       We should not assume that more Bible reading and prayer will make us holier. Even in our free time we should not assume this. Yes, we should read our Bibles and pray. But then we should live. We should build houses and fix cars and write briefs and cook meals and read books and make movies. This passage makes the whole world our workshop. There is no area of human endeavor where we cannot honor Christ.  

d.      We do not need to continually add more “spiritual disciplines” to our lives.  God has called us to work, to labor, to a vocation. Our calling is to productive labor. There are biblical disciplines that should be cultivated. But too often we add extra disciplines, such as fasting or personal evangelism or numerous Bible studies, to our lives. God wants us to honor him with productive labor in our vocations.

2.       Christ is honored when we are skilled in our labors and productive for your employers. We do this because it is right not because we are trying to manipulate the system.  Everyone here should be striving to do their jobs better. If we are working for the Lord then we should want to do our best. Wives in your homes there should be regular evaluation of your labor.  Are there things you could do better? Is your home a place of joy? Why not?

3.       External obedience is not enough.  We must throw ourselves into our vocations with joy and vigor. Paul, indeed the Bible, never leaves us with only external obedience.  In our work, we are to honor Christ by doing our jobs with our whole being.  This includes a heart that is sincere, joyful, and seeks to please God in all things.

4.       There are rewards for obedience.

Quick Sermon Outline: Ephesians 4:28-30

My Translation

Let the one who is stealing, steal no longer

            But rather let him labor hard by means of working with his hands

                        So that he might have something to share with the one who has need. 

Do not let any corrupt/foul word come out of your mouth, but only what is good

            To build up according to the need

                        In order that it [the word] might give grace to the one who hears

      And do not grieve/pain the Holy Spirit of God

                        By whom you were sealed to the day of redemption

Points from verse 28

1. We earn through hard work, not from theft or chasing pipe dreams. 

2. We earn more so we might have more to give. 

3. There are often legitimate needs in the Body of Christ. Just because someone has a need does not mean they were lazy. 

4. The first line for meeting needs is the individual members of the body, not the deacons. 

Points from verses 29-30
1. Words are powerful. See Proverbs 18:21
2. Our words are to meet need of the moment. This requires wisdom, which in turn requires listening. 
3. Corrupt words grieve the Holy Spirit. One excellent way to not grieve the Spirit is to biblical language. This does not guarantee that your words are not corrupt, but it will help.

Sermon Notes: Ephesians 4:25-28

Exordium

            Coming down from the mountain can be painful. Remember Moses. He spent forty days in the glory cloud, surround by the Shekinah glory of Yahweh.  had to come down from the mountain. He had been up there with God, getting the Ten Commandments. God’s glory shone all around him. But then he had to come down.

Paul moves from the lofty and abstract, putting off and putting on, to the “nitty gritty specifics of the Christian life.” (J. Stott)

Exegesis

Paul does not just tell what we shouldn’t do, but also what we should do.  We must put off and put on. The absence of weeds does not make it a garden. If you do not put on what is right, while also working putting off the sin, you will not win the battle.

a.     Illustration: Catechism questions

 

As a church we want to be connected with one another. One aim and goal at Christ Church is that there is deep fellowship with one another. It is the explicit vision of the leaders of Christ Church that you are involved in one another’s lives. We want to hear about you eating with one another. Playing games with each other. Working over at one another’s houses. Why? Because this is the vision of the Scriptures.  This entire section assumes close contact with other believers. It assumes an interconnectedness with one another.  But his interconnectedness does not mean less problems it actually means more.

      Think about when you got married or maybe when you became close friends with someone. From afar people are often a lot more lovable than they are close up.  It is not until we close to someone that we see the warts.

     Do not lie, but instead speak the truth. (Zech 8:16)

a.       Reason: We are members of each other

A Second Helping of Ephesians 4:1-16

Pastors are collectors. We collect books, notes, anecdotes, quotes, oddities about the Greek/Hebrew text, etc. Most of this collecting is done during sermon preparation. However, when we preach a lot of this collected data gets left at home.  It seems a shame to let it go to waste. So here are some additional notes on Ephesians 4:1-16 that I scavenged while preparing to preach. If you would like to hear the sermon you can go here.

1. Verses 4-6 have a Trinitarian shape. There is one Spirit, one Lord, one God and Father of us all. This Trinitarian shape is why we can have unity (verses 1-6), but a diversity of gifts (verse 7).

2. Charles Hodge on the unity of the Spirit. "As hatred, pride, and contention among Christians cause the Spirit to withdraw from them, so love and peace secure his presence. And as his presence is the condition and source of all good, and his absence the source of all evil, the importance of the duty enjoined [unity] cannot be over estimated."

3. Verses 11-12 are  some of the most debated verses in the New Testament. Two problems are presented. Is verse 11 talking about 4 offices (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor/teacher) or 5 offices (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor, and teacher)? Second, is verse 12 talking about three things the teaching offices do or one the teaching office does (equip) and two things the saints do (the work of the ministry and the building up of the body)? It is interesting how interpretations shift over time. In the reformation era the 5 office view and teaching offices doing all three were the dominant interpretations of the verses.  Today the ground has shifted to exactly the opposite.

4. A diversity of gifts does not harm the Body of Christ, but on the contrary makes it healthy.

5. The only other verse in the New Testament where word for "tossed to and fro" is used is James 1:16. 

6. "Speaking the truth in love" in verse 15 is talking about speaking doctrinal truth. It is connected with verse 14. It is not talking just about lying, but rather about false teaching.  Paul uses "truth" in a similar way in 4:21.

7. The body is built up/edified when each part does its share. (verse 16)

Sermon Outline: Matthew 6:12

Sometimes sermons take on a life of their own. My outline for this past week's sermon is below. However, if you hear the sermon you will find that at times I deviated from the outline.

Christ Church of Morgantown
7th Sunday of Trinity
July 31st, 2011
Sermon: The Lord’s Prayer: Forgive Us Our Trespasses
Matthew 6:12, 14-15

Exordium
When things are familiar to us we tend to take them for granted. When I was growing up my father loved to do things with us. He would play soccer with us in the yard. He would play football with us. He worked construction. One day a concrete truck got the wrong instructions. So here you have a concrete truck half full with no place to the put the concrete. So my dad bought the concrete cheap and poured us a concrete pad to play basketball on. I think it was twelve by twelve. Anyway, my dad loved to do things like that. Every time a friend would come over and spend the night or play with us they would always comment about how great my dad was. They would say how neat it was that he would play with us. They would tell me how great my dad was. Of course, I rarely thought this. I thought every father played football and basketball with his boys. I took it for granted what my dad did for us. We do this often with familiar things. We see them so frequently we become dull to how amazing they are.
So it is with the our subject his morning. The Kingdom we needed teaching on. The holiness of God we needed teaching on. Our daily bread we needed teaching on. But the forgiveness of sins, I have that one down pastor. I don’t need a sermon on that.

Exegesis

We sin daily.
Q82: Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God?
A82: No mere man since the fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God,[1] but doth daily break them in thought, word, and deed.

Note here the underlying assumption is that we sin and will continue to sin. It won’t be the same sins, but this portion of the prayer argues against the notion of perfection. We carry sin in our hearts until our death. Perfection is not an option.

What we tend to say is, “We don’t sin like those people.” We look at the sins of others and think we are pretty good people. But the standard is not other people. The standard is God. The standard is not my neighbor.

There are two different types of sin that our fathers talked about, sins of commission and sins of omission. Sins of commission are doing those things which we ought not to do. For example, lusting, stealing, getting angry at my children or spouse, and disobeying my parents. We usually think about sin in this category.

But when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was he didn’t tell us what not to do, but rather what to do. Love the Lord your God… We sin when we do not love with all our heart. We sin when could have helped our wife, but chose not to. We sin when we could have honored our parents, but chose not to. We sin when we could have glorified God in the work place, but instead shrunk back.

There are two areas we sin, internally and externally. Again we tend to think externally only, that which people see. But sin begins in the heart. Why do we do what we do? Here is the great question. Jesus is teaching us in this large section (Matthew 6:1-18) that we can pray, fast, and give alms and be sinning. How? Our hearts are fixed upon the world.

Love the Word
God’s Word does many things for us. It can comfort when we are downcast. It can encourage us when we have done well. It can show God and his mercy. It tells us the story of God and his Messiah sent to redeem fallen man. But the Bible also shows us our sin. It exposes us to God and his character and his law. Do you read the Bible for information or for transformation? Do you read the Bible so you can see what others are doing or to shape your own life? How often does your Scripture reading

God Grants Forgiveness
Here is where we have to decide if we are going to bored with the same old story or rejoice in the same old story. It should amaze us every time we confess our sins that we are forgiven. Every time we come and plead the blood of Christ is should cause us to wonder. What good reason does he have? Why should he forgive us? What can we give him that he should take away our sins?

His forgiveness is continual. We get so tired of forgiving others, don’t we? Our children come back with the same sin and ask forgiveness again. But God doesn’t. His forgiveness is continual. Matthew 18:21-22

His forgiveness is complete. I John 1:8-9. He does not partially forgive. It may be worthwhile to ask here, what is forgiveness.

His forgiveness is unconditional. That means all we have to do is ask. I remember this movie “The Mission” where Robert DeNiro plays a soldier who is converted to Christianity and decided to join a monastery in South America. The head priest decides to make DeNiro show is allegiance by hauling a cross up a mountain. It is a thought provoking movie and worth your time. However, the point I want to make is that we don’t need to haul a cross up a mountain. God does not forgive because of what we do. We don’t get in because do this or do that. We get in because God draws us and we request forgiveness.

Love the Cross-Sometimes I get tired of people who talk about the cross and nothing else. Why? Because that is not what the Bible does. The Bible talks about a lot of things. It talks about sheep and goats, parenting, wisdom and chariot wheels with eyes. But if someone rarely talks about the cross, if Jesus’ death is an afterthought then their theology is warped. Something has gone awry in their thinking. The cross must be something we glory in. Why? Because at the cross our sins were forgiven.

We Should Forgive Others Daily
We should expect to be sinned against.

Does this mean we must forget the sins of others? Does God forgive and forget? If this is the criteria then we cannot forgive because it is hard to forget. But that is not the point. God does not forget. Forgiveness is not holding someone’s sins against them anymore.

Does this mean we earn forgiveness?
Why can this not be true? Jesus seems to be saying here that God will forgive us, if we forgive others.

Our debt is too large. Your sins are so numerous that you could spend thousands of years seeking to earn your way in and still not atone. Your sins are not just many they are against God.
If we do that undermines the entire Gospel. Why because the Gospel is the forgiveness of our sins?
Alas and Did My Savior Bleed- But drops of grief can ne’er repay the debt of love I owe

Forgiveness is free, not earned. Paul makes this explicit throughout his epistles, Romans and Galatians. Romans 6:23 is a great example. Ephesians 1:7 is another example. Titus 3 is another example.

We can never forgive exactly as God forgives. If what Jesus is saying is that you must forgive just like God does then we are hopeless.

So what does this mean? Christ is telling us here that one of the clearest proofs of our own salvation is our willingness to forgive others. He is telling us that if we want to know whether we are saved or not, whether we understand our salvation or not we must look at how we forgive others.

WLC Q105: What do we pray for in the fifth petition?
A105: In the fifth petition, which is, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, we pray, That God, for Christ's sake, would freely pardon all our sins;[2] which we are able to be rather encouraged to ask, because by his grace we are enabled from the heart to forgive others.[3]

HC Q: 126. Which is the fifth petition?
A: "And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors"; that is, be pleased for the sake of Christ's blood, not to impute to us poor sinners, our transgressions, nor that depravity, which always cleaves to us; even as we feel this evidence of thy grace in us, that it is our firm resolution from the heart to forgive our neighbor.

Sermon Outline: Matthew 6:11

Christ Church of Morgantown
6th Sunday of Trinity
July 24th, 2011
Sermon: The Lord’s Prayer: The Fountain of All Good
Matthew 6:11

(The audio can be found here.)

Exordium
So far our Lord has led us through the most mighty aspects of our prayer. We have ascended the heights and looked out. What do we see? God name’s should be a great priority in our prayers. We see his mighty Kingdom and we give thanks that we are in it and pray for it to grow through evangelism and discipleship. Finally, we saw that God’s will should be a great priority in our prayers. We saw that are many obstacles to God’s will being done. When we pray, “Thy will be done,” we are praying that these obstacles would be removed. We pray that we would renounce our will and seek that which pleases God.

It is easy after these first three petitions to fall into a trap of thinking that God is so high and mighty that he does not care about our daily existence. His name is so holy that he has no time for us. His Kingdom is so great that we are a but a particle of dust in the great and mighty Kingdom of Heaven. His will so perfect and good that we are mere mortals who cannot compare. This feeling is good. God is Mighty and exalted.

But we run the risk of forgetting he is also our Father. He has drawn near to us. He dwells with us. He cares for us. The next petition Christ gives to us reminds us that God is not just a King, but he is also a Father.

Remember as we move forward that we are not leaving God behind. We are not leaving God’s name and Kingdom and will behind us and now focusing on our needs. We begin with God’s name and kingdom and will and then the requests we make must fit into what we have already prayed.

Example: Give me my daily bread in a way that hallows your name, builds your kingdom and accomplishes your will.

Exegesis

Theological foundations/assumptions for this prayer request. (Prods to prayer.)

Our Father Cares About the Most Mundane Aspects of Our Lives
Nothing was as normal as bread in Israel. It was the staple food.

Bread [is a symbol] for everything necessary for the preservation of this life, like food, a healthy body, good weather, a house, home, wife, children good government and peace. Martin Luther

The early church fathers felt this too mundane and thus interpreted this as referring to the Lord’s Supper. But this surely misses the point, not just of this verse, but of this entire chapter.

Psalm 104
I Peter 5:7

Our Father Cares for Us Continually.
His attention to our lives does not waver and does not grow slack. Day by day he looks down upon us and provides for our needs. His eye never wanders from us.
Illustration: Losing sight of my children.
Illustration: Psalm 139

We may not feel like his care for us is continual. We may feel that he has forgotten us, but that is why God’s Word directs us not our feelings. There is never a moment when God is not overseeing our lives.

Our entire life from beginning to end is dependent upon God.
God alone sustains our lives. Not men, not money, not possessions, nor our bosses, but only God keeps us. This fact is easy to forget because our lives are so easy.

John Calvin: It is indeed the true proof of our faith when we ask nothing but from God, and not only acknowledge him to be the only fountain of all blessings, but feel that his fatherly kindness extends to the smallest matters, so that he does not disdain to take care even of our flesh.

Our prayer life will grow as our dependence upon God grows. If we think we earn things. If we think our bank accounts and health are there because we have earned them. If we think that our next paycheck is dependent upon us then we will not pray.
Illustration: George Mueller

We pray daily because we so easily forget the kindness of God. If Christ told us to pray for our yearly bread, we would forget God. And we do don’t we.

What if God takes away our daily needs, such as food, money, health and home? What if God does not answer this prayer?
Remember your daily necessities are gifts, not rights. You are not owed them. You have no right to them. God can and does take them away.

But why? Why would God remove these most basic necessities? Well, if God takes away one gift from his children he intends on giving them another. God removes something from our lives to give us something better, usually a deeper walk with Him. God never removes things to tear us into pieces. His point is never to destroy.
1. Josh’s bike accident.
2. Job and the Apostle Paul

We pray daily that God would provide for our needs.
This is not a prayer for luxury. It is not a prayer for mansions and cars and big, fat bank accounts. It is a prayer for our daily needs. When we understand who God is then will not fear bringing before him our needs. You should never be ashamed of asking God for things that you need. If Christ tells us to ask for our daily bread then all else is there for the taking. What do you need day by day? Bring it before his throne. He wants to hear and provide for you. He wants to see you depending upon him.
Proverbs 30:7-9
Here is a great difference between our God and the gods of the ancient world.
As your learn to pray do not neglect either aspect. Do not forget the great aspects of the Christian life. Pray big prayers. Teach your children to pray great prayers. But also learn to pray for the normal things of life. God wants us to pray for both.

We daily thank him for his provision.
Americans are notoriously ungrateful. We have so much, so very much. Our homes are outfitted with things the Emperor could not have imagined. Yet we grumble, we complain. Why? We think it is earned or deserved instead of a gift from God. If we are dependent upon God for our daily bread then we are dependent upon him for everything. But we don’t view things that way.

Thanksgiving and gratitude will flow naturally when we know that all things from his hand. He is the fountain of all good.

WLC: Q104: What do we pray for in the fourth petition?
A104: In the fourth petition, which is, Give us this day our daily bread,[1] we pray, That of God's free gift we may receive a competent portion of the good things of this life,[2] and enjoy his blessing with them.[3]


HC Q: 125. Which is the fourth petition?
A: "Give us this day our daily bread"; that is, be pleased to provide us with all things necessary for the body, that we may thereby acknowledge you to be the only fountain of all good, and that neither our care nor industry, nor even thy gifts, can profit us without thy blessing; and therefore that we may withdraw our trust from all creatures, and place it alone in you.

1st Sermon on Joel

Here is an outline of my first sermon on Joel.

Sermon: A Repentant People
Joel 1:1-20

I. Explication/Exegesis

Introduction to Joel
Joel never mentions any specific sin. He only mentions God’s judgment upon Israel for their sins. We also have no idea when Joel was written. There have been various guesses from 700 to 300 B.C. But John Calvin rightly says that we have no idea. Joel is generic. God in his providence has given us a book that walks us through repentance and the fruits that come from that repentance. It is as if God said, “Give my people something to use anytime I bring my judgment upon them, anytime my wrath rains down upon them.”

Joel is structured into two main sections with those two sections each divided into two sub-sections.
Joel 1:1-2:17 Israel is being judged by God and needs to repent.
Joel 1:1-20 A locust plague has come as judgment from God. Israel needs to repent.
Joel 2:1-17 The army of the Lord is coming. Israel needs to repent.

Joel 2:18-3:21 When Israel repents God will pour out his blessing upon her.
Joel 2:18-32 When Israel repents God will restore the land and pour out His Spirit.
Joel 3:1-21 When Israel repents God will judge the nations and restore Israel to her former glory.

II. Joel is telling us what a repentant people look like. This is a corporate repentance, not a private one.
a. A Repentant People have woken up to God’s judgment.
i. God wakes us up by His Word. (vs. 1)
ii. God wakes us up by taking away his blessings. (vs.
iii. God wakes us up by taking away true worship (vs. 9 & 16)

b. A Repentant People grieve over their sin.
i. Shame is key sign of a grieving over sin. Understanding we are exposed before God, that all our thoughts and desires are laid bare before his eyes.
ii. Lamentation is another sign of true grief. Here we have weeping like a young bride whose husband has died. A young bride who looked forward to long life and many years with her spouse, but in a blink the spouse is gone. The future forever changed.
iii. Wailing is the final picture Joel gives us of grieving over our sins.
iv. Emotion not a requirement. Too often those things which are commanded in Scripture are things we think should show up spontaneously. Rejoice Paul says. But we say I do not feel like rejoicing so if I rejoices I am being untrue. One of the great lies of romanticism is that we only do what we feel like doing. If we do what we don’t feel like doing we are being untrue to ourselves.

c. A Repentant People cry out to God.
i. The people are called upon to cry out. (vs. 14)
ii. Joel cries out to God. (vs.19)
iii. Even the beasts cry out to God (vs. 20)One of the primary places we cry out to God is in the worship service

Sermon: Micah 4:1-5

Here is my sermon outline from last Sunday. If you want to listen to it you can find it here. (As you can see I have not yet figured out how to indent.)

Christ Church of Morgantown
4th Sunday of Easter
April 25th, 2010
Sermon: The Kingdom of Christ
Micah 4:1-5

Exordium
What is the Kingdom of Christ? If I was to ask you to describe it, what would say it looks like? What characterizes the Kingdom of Christ? Can we even bring the Kingdom of Christ into the present age?
All of the Christian life and the life of the Church can be grouped into three different phases: definitive, progressive and final. Here are some examples.

Personal Salvation
Definitive-Justification
Progressive-Sanctification
Final-Glorification

Corporate Salvation
Definitive-Church was saved at the Cross
Progressive-Church is being saved throughout the ages
Final-Church will be saved when Christ returns

The Kingdom of Christ
Definitive-The Kingdom came with Christ (Matthew 10:7, 12:28)
Progressive-The Kingdom comes in history (Matthew 6:10)
Final: The Kingdom will come when Christ returns (Matthew 25:31-34)

Therefore we must not push what we read here in Micah 4-5 into some future heavenly state. Yes it will be perfectly realized in the new heavens and new earth. But we are to drag the future into the present. We are to make the Kingdom incarnate among the nations of the world. This will never be perfect on earth, just as our sanctification will never be complete on earth. But we are still to pursue our sanctification. So too, we are still to pursue the building of the Kingdom of Christ here on earth.
So Micah gives us some characteristics of the kingdom here at the beginning of chapter 4. We are to take these characteristics and weave them into the life of our church and in our homes.

Exegesis
1. The Kingdom of Christ is glorious (vs. 1)
a. A great reversal from 3:12 to 4:1. In 3:12 the Kingdom is plowed under and destroyed. Here is 4:1 it is lifted up above all mountains. The kingdom has been raised from the dead.
b. Do we value the Church as we ought? Do we despise the glorious kingdom which God has set up?
c. Are we grateful for our inclusion in this glorious kingdom? Do we realize that our adoption in Christ has brought us into the greatest kingdom? Do we take this for granted or feel as if we deserve it?

2. The Kingdom of Christ is centered on God’s Word (vs. 2)
a. The picture here is of a people who hunger and thirst for God’s Word. This is not a people who see God’s Word as a duty or chore. God’s Word is their delight.
b. They are not going to learn God’s Word so they might have more information. They are going to learn God’s Word so they might “walk in his paths.” The goal is obedience.
c. Do we long for God’s Word? Is this what we hunger for? Do we simply know about the Bible? Or do we obey it?

3. The Kingdom of Christ is community (vs. 2, 5)
a. Note the language in this section. It is not “I” am going up to God’s house. It is “let us go to the mountain of the Lord.” And then in verse 5 “we will walk in the name of the Lord our God.”
b. We need to see ourselves not as individuals going to worship God. Or as individuals trudging through the Christian life. We need to see ourselves as belonging to the throng of God’s people who ascend to Mt. Zion. Even when we are alone, we are still united to our brothers and sisters in Christ by the Spirit. Our first identity is not “I,” but we.
c. Illustration: One of the few failings of Pilgrims Progress, is that the picture given of the Christian life is that of an individual pushing his way through the Christian. The Biblical picture is normally that of a group/community

4. The Kingdom of Christ is Peace (vss. 3-5)
a. Because Christ reigns (vs. 3a)
b. Because all members work for the welfare of the other members(vs. 3b)
c. Because God provides for His people (vs. 4)
i. cross-reference Philippians 4:6-7
d. Because our hearts are undivided (vs. 5)
i. Verse 5 gives a picture of a people who are fully devoted to God and refuse to be pushed off the path of righteousness.

Final Application
Do those who see us see an accurate picture of the Kingdom of Christ? It will never be perfect on earth. Are our homes and churches filled with the peace of Christ? Do we live in community? Are we developing community? Is the Word of God our life, our bread? Finally, do we realize that we belong to the most glorious Kingdom that has ever existed?

Foreign Women, Stupid Men

I am preaching a series from Proverbs. This past Lord's Day I preached on the harlot and the various defenses we can use to protect ourselves from her. You can find the entire sermon here. Here is a brief sermon outline.

There are four sections in the early chapters of Proverbs that deal with this theme; 2:10-22, 5:1-23, 6:20-35 and 7:1-27. Solomon clearly felt this was a major issue in the life of young men. No other subject, outside of wisdom itself, dominates Proverbs 1-10 like the issue of adultery and the foreign woman. Reading the four sections one can see a pattern to how Solomon addresses the problem.

I. Wisdom Precedes Holiness-This is seen in the following verses; 2:10-11, 5:1-2, 6:20-23 and 7:1-5. Solomon begins his discussion of sexual sin in the same place he began the discussion of wise living (Proverbs 1:7), the fear of the Lord. All the practical hedges in the world will not a protect a man who does not walk in the wisdom.

II. The Harlot is Attractive-This is seen in the following verses; 2:16, 5:3, 6:24-25 and 7:10-21. Solomon does not pretend that the harlot is ugly woman with four teeth, who cannot string two words together. She is beautiful and flattering with her speech.

III. Her End is Destruction-This is seen in the following verses; 2:18-22, 5:4-14, 6:26-35 and 7:21-27. This destruction can be poverty, an angry husband or father and loss of reputation. Whatever it is, the man who indulges his lusts is sure to pay the price.

How to Protect Yourself
1. Stay far away from her-Proverbs 5:8 and 7:25-26. Notice that the man in Proverbs 7 went near her house. Also notice that in 7:26 all that she slew were strong or mighty men. If we hang around a woman like this we are sure to fall eventually.

2. A vigorous married life-Proverbs 5:15-20. Delighting in the marriage bed is a very helpful deterrent to adultery. We must not be Victorian. God expects us to enjoy sex with our spouses. He intended it to be good. The section in Proverbs 5 uses the word for intoxication. This should describe the marriage bed.

3. Remember the eyes of the Lord-Proverbs 5:21. We easily forget that God is always in the room. He always in our minds. He sees all the way in. Every second glance is seen by the Lord. We should be quick to repent when we do sin and strive to be more faithful.

4. Guard your eyes-Proverbs 4:25-27. How many sins in the Scripture came through the eyes? Eve, Achan, David and Ahab taking Naboth's vineyard. A vast majority of sins can be trace directly back to coveting and lust.

5. Guard your heart-Proverbs 4:23, 6:25 and 7:25. Jesus tells us very plainly in Matthew 15:16-20 that all our sins come from the inside out. One of the key ways we guard our hearts is by memorizing Scripture. (Psalm 119:11)

Sermons on Worship

If you attended our worship service you would notice that we do things different from most contemporary evangelical churches. Our services are more liturgical with responses, confession of sin on our knees, singing of psalms, weekly communion, the Lord's prayer, and the Apostles' Creed. I am often asked why we do what we do. So this past Lord's Day I preached the first part of a two part series entitled Why We Worship the Way We Do. This past week I covered the basic structure of the Lord's Service. Next week I will dig into some of the details.

For those who have visited our church and would like to know, on a basic level, why our worship looks the way it does I encourage you to listen to these. You can download the sermon at the link above. If you have not visited with us and are unfamiliar with liturgical worship, I would recommend you look at our order of service before listening to the sermons.

Sermon Outline, November 2, 2008

My sermons can now be downloaded online from our church website. I have been preaching a series on the Church entitled Images of Zion. This week's sermon was on the Church as the family and household of God. It can be found here.

Here is the outline of the sermon with some extra Scripture references.

The Doctrine Expounded
Christ emphasized that all biological relationships were secondary to a man's relationship to Christ and the Church. This seen in several passages from the Gospels.

Matthew 10:34-37-The context of this passage is the sending out of the twelve as sheep among wolves. Verse 21 is important as Christ notes that with His coming families will be torn apart because one member chooses Christ and another does not. In Verses 34-37 Christ tells us that despite being the Prince of Peace, peace is not always the result of the preaching of the Gospel.

Mark 10:20-35- Here Mark sandwiches a story of Christ being harassed by the scribes (vs. 22-30) inbetween a story of Christ being harassed by his family (20-21 & 31-35). It is clear from this passage that one's biological relations were trumped by one's relationship to God. The one's who do God's will are the true family of Christ.

John 9-This the story of the man born blind and healed by Christ. What needs to noted is that the man is kicked out the synagogue for following Christ. When this happens his parents are left behind.

Other Scriptures of note: Matthew 28;10, Luke 11:27-28, Romans 16:1, 23, I Corinthians 16:20, Ephesians 2:19 & 6:23, I Timothy 5:1-2, and Hebrews 2:10-18.

All of these, plus numerous other Scriptures, point us to the fact that the Church is the family of God. The Church is the great family, with God as Father, Church as Mother, Christ as the Brother.

Implications for Biological Families
1. Obedience to Christ and His Word trumps all other authority.

2. Our families are to model the Church, the great family. When someone enters our home they should see the Church in minature.

3. Our children are first and foremost are brothers and sisters in Christ. They are sons & daughters for a time, but we should raise them to stand beside as fellow members of God's household.

Implications for the Church Family
1. We are all here by God's grace. Not a one of us deserves to eat the table or be called sons of God. Illustration: Mephibosheth (II Samuel 9). This should shape how we treat those within the body of Christ. If Jesus is not ashamed to call them brethern then we shouldn't be either. This should also shape who we invite. Illustration-Jonah. Too often because we think a lot of ourselves we are not excited to invite to Christ those whose souls are dark and messy. When we understand that were dead and Christ made us alive, we will cease being proud and bring to Christ all who will come, no matter what problems they bring with them.

2. We should never forget the grand privilege of being sons of God. We call upon our Father in Heaven who hears our prayers and cares for us. One of our primary self-images should be that of children of God.

Marriage as Death: The Wife's Role

Here are some notes from a sermon I preached two weeks ago. These are bare bones. I will try to post some on the following sermon for husbands some time next week.

Marriage as Death: Ephesians 5:22-33

Introduction
Having a good marriage is not simply about studying the “practical” stuff in the Scriptures. Men you want to be good husbands study the life of Christ. Matthew can be as big a help in marriage as Proverbs. Women if you want to be good wives study the Church. Revelation can be a big a help in marriage as Ephesians 5 is.

Context
Here in Ephesians 5:22-33 Paul is expanding on his discussion of what it means to be filled with the Spirit. Paul tells the church at Ephesus that they are not to get drunk with wine, but rather are to be filled with the Spirit. This filling is described by four characteristics.
1. Speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
2. Singing & making melody in our hearts
3. Giving thanks always
4. Submitting to one another

Then under this final category of submitting Paul goes on to give us three specific relationships in which submission is required and how that submission looks.
1. Husbands and Wives
2. Parents and Children
3. Slaves and Masters

Body of the Sermon
Wives and husbands are each given one central command. Wives are told to submit to their own husbands as to the Lord. Husbands are told to love their wives as Christ loved the Church. For wives what is in view is Christ’s office. When they see their husbands they are to see a lord and king, who loves them. For husbands what is in view is the work of Christ. Husbands are to constantly be asking themselves does my work in my wife's life bear resemblance Christ's work in and for the life of the Church.

For many wives this passage is very familiar and therefore we can assume that we know what is being said. More than that we can assume that we are obeying the commands put forth here. With familiarity often comes assumptions. This can be deadly if we do not put our lives under the spotlight. Wives do not assume that just because you know this passage that you are actually obeying it.

It is also very easy to take the edge off of this passage. We like to add qualifiers and “yeah, buts” to Paul’s admonition. But Paul never backs away from what is said here. It is the straight stuff. When a wife hears her husband she is supposed to hear the voice of Christ. She is supposed to listen as the sheep listen to the shepherd. (John 10:4, 27)

A wife by submitting to her husband is protected from submitting to other men who would seek to degrade or take advantage of her. By following the commands given by Paul she is actually setting up a barrier around herself. Too many women do not see this and end up submitting to various people, especially employers, because they do not submit to their husband.

It is important to have a proper view of the Church if we are to have a proper view of women. The picture Paul has is not a meek, quiet woman who is stuck in the corner somewhere why her husband does the important work. The picture of the Church given to us in Scripture is quite different from what we see in many Amish cultures and the like. The Church is glorious, powerful, a queen who has the King of Kings as her groom. She is not to be trifled with. The Church cries out to her Lord and regularly lifts prayers up to Him. The Church in the end will be robed with glory and garments of white. A wife should seek to be a living, incarnate image of the Church. As we will discuss next week, a husband should seek to make sure she becomes that.

Here are a few diagnostic questions for wives to ask to see how they are doing.

Is your default set to yes? Do you regularly question your husband’s decisions? Is your initial reaction to one of his ideas positive or negative? Are you constantly reviewing in your mind the things that could go wrong if your husband decides to go through with it?

Do you see your husband as lord? (I Peter 3:6) We do not live in the Middle Ages anymore, but you still need to see him as a king. More specifically your king.

Do you seek to glorify him? This is a primary purpose of the Church. She is to bring glory to Christ. Are you imaging the Church in this area. Are his vocation and interests central for you? Do you find yourself downplaying the importance of what he is doing? Do you publically lift him up?

Do you make small things big? Do you take minor disagreements and make them into major ones? If you do this is a sign that you are not properly submitting to him.