Law and Order

Posted by Chris on September 23, 2007 under Sermons

Code of Hammurabi

6th century King of Babylon – Hammurabi is known for the set of laws called Hammurabi’s Code, one of the first written codes of law in recorded history.
1810 – 1750 BC
He received the Babylonian Law code from the gods of Babylon
The Law Code is engraved on a stele and placed in public
Offenses receive specific penalty
Law greater than King

Sample Codes
#25 – If fire break out in a house, and some one who comes to put it out cast his eye upon the property of the owner of the house, and take the property of the master of the house, he shall be thrown into that self-same fire.
#108 – If a tavern-keeper (feminine) does not accept corn according to gross weight in payment of drink, but takes money, and the price of the drink is less than that of the corn, she shall be convicted and thrown into the water.
#127 – If any one “point the finger” (slander) at a sister of a god or the wife of any one, and can not prove it, this man shall be taken before the judges and his brow shall be marked. (by cutting the skin, or perhaps hair.)
#196 If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.
#200 is tooth for tooth.
#218 – If a physician makes a large incision with the operating knife, and kill him, or open a tumor with the operating knife, and cut out the eye, his hands shall be cut off.

Ancient Law Codes

Law Code of Ur-Nammu (2100 BC)
Codex of Eshunna (1930 BC)
Lipit-Ishtar of Isin Code (1870 BC)

Two Types of Law
Apodictic law is the kind of law that we have in the Ten Commandments for example. It is not conditioned on anything. It is unconditional, it is general, it is unlimited, it may be expressed in the positive or the negative, but the “you shall not laws” are among the things that keep people out of trouble.

The Casuistic laws, on the other hand, are what might be called case law, where an instance of something is cited. In effect, an example or sample is cited, so these are conditional. These do not usually apply absolutely to everyone. They apply only when the conditions described in the law are met. They are very specific as guidelines rather than being universal.

Decalogue and Law

Exodus 20:1-17 are the Ten Words
Exodus 20:22 – 23:19 are Laws
The Laws are both Apodictic and Casuistic
The Decalogue is extremely Apodictic (See Deut. 5:22-32)
The Decalogue is unique in that none of the ten words carry a penalty or charge. They are apodictic, but even more so. They are behavioral and ethical. They have to do with character and relationship

Decalogue Structure
Words 1 – 4 describe the relationship with God.
Words 5 – 10 describe the relationship with one another.

Greatest Commandments
Love God with all you heart, soul, strength, and mind.
Love your neighbor as yourself.

The First Word

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

There’s not a lot to brag about when it comes to flying on Southwest Airlines. The planes are high mileage. There’s in flight service is basic. Forget about movies and in-flight radio. There’s no formality. The flight crew is super-casual. You typically fly into the older, less used airports. Southwest is all about no frills bargains. It’s the Wal-Mart of airlines.

But Southwest Airlines has a way of making me feel great about flying on their planes. After the plane lands, a flight attendant grabs the mike and after announcing all the gates for connecting flights she will say, “We hope you enjoyed your flight today. We know that you have choices when you travel and we thank you for choosing Southwest Airlines.” Southwest Airlines may not give me the greatest airline snacks, but they recognize that I have the power to choose and they respect that. They make me feel good for choosing them instead of Delta, American, or Continental. Southwest knows that I am a customer and they are so thankful and appreciative of me. And they had better appreciate me – or I may just fly Northwest!

Perhaps God could learn a lesson from Southwest Airlines. You see, God has always been in competition with other gods. In ancient times there were dozens of gods to choose from. Really neat gods and goddesses with cool names – they went on adventures and had magic powers.
Well, we’re supposedly enlightened now and grown up past such beliefs. But there are still choices. Today one can choose different types of spirituality. One doesn’t even have to have a god in order to be spiritual. So, God isn’t the only option. God might think about the choices that people have and try to respect that. Maybe he should do more to greet us when we come to worship him and then send us out with a word of thanks saying, “I hope you enjoyed your worship today. I know that you have choices when it comes to a Supreme Being and I thank you for choosing God.”

But God isn’t listening to Southwest or their marketing agents. No, God has the audacity to make the following statement: Exodus 20:2-3 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. You must not have any other god but me.”

How on earth can God make such a statement? People do have choices, right? So why does God have to be so absolute?

God isn’t a retailer, he’s a relator. There’s a relationship here when God says: I AM the one who delivered you. The Israelites who first heard these words at the base of Mount Sinai, had been slaves for generations in Egypt. God had delivered them from slavery. No other god. No other power. God was the one who had saved them, fed them, nurtured them, and protected them.
God is still delivering people from enslavement. People are enslaved to fear, worry, hatred, addiction, pride, poverty, loneliness, and despair. People are dehumanized and demeaned by oppressive powers of sin. But God is more powerful than the powers. What other God died for us and redeemed us? What other God made us into a people with purpose. What other God brings us hope? Before we ever thought about choosing God – He chose us!
Because of that relationship, there are certain claims established. God is our God and we are his people. It’s like a marriage. You have a choice in who you marry, but once you marry that relationship is exclusive. So God is all-inclusively exclusive. God knows that there are choices. I suppose you can choose another god, but once you choose God, it’s exclusive. Anyone can come to God. God can deliver anyone. But once you enter into the relationship – it’s you and God. It’s us and God. The relationship is established.
This is why the first word in the Ten Words is so important. You have to get the first one right or the others won’t follow. [Buttoning my shirt in the dark.] The other nine words don’t have the same effect when they are out of alignment without the first word. When that happens, and it often does, the “Ten Commandments” are like gems that have fallen off a chain. They may sparkle and shine on their own, but you cannot tell how the jeweler put them together as a whole.
There are numerous books and articles from different perspectives that appeal for a return to the ethics of the Ten Commandments, but they stop short of returning to the God who spoke these ten words. Without that relationship, the other words lose their impact because they are no longer personal. You have to get this one right or the others won’t follow.

Ten words aren’t simply for anyone to anyone to follow. Living them out begins by accepting that God chose us. And so these ten words are for those who accept God’s invitation to enter into an exclusive relationship – the good news is that all are invited, but living out the ten words is the adventure that awaits those who dare to live in total dependence on God.

The Story of the Ten Commandments

Posted by Chris on September 16, 2007 under Sermons

When We Were Slaves in Egypt

430 years after Joseph, Israel is in slavery
What does slavery do to people?
Contest of Life vs. Death
– Exodus 1-2

Let My People Go …

God remembers his covenant (Exodus 3)
- Israel cannot fulfill God’s mission as slaves
- God vs. Pharaoh – Who is God?
Egypt needs Israel, but not for the reason they think
- Compare Exodus 12:31-32 and 14:5

… So That They May Worship Me in the Desert

Exodus 19 and 20
In Exodus 19 there’s a lengthy description of how God’s people are supposed to prepare themselves for this encounter with God.

Finally they get ready for this long anticipated worship in the desert, but how are they supposed to do it? What is the order of worship? It begins with the Ten Words. Worship is about shaping us into the kind of people God wants us to be.
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
What sort of Worship?
- The Decalogue is Worship

A Holy Nation

The Decalogue is mission
– Exodus 19:4-6
I Peter 2:9-10 is the language of the Exodus

Decalogue Transition

How Much Longer?

Posted by Chris on September 9, 2007 under Sermons

Structure

The Messenger (10:1-11:1)
The Book of Truth (11:2 – 45)
- North and South (11:2-19)
- Seleucid Family Values (11:20-39)
- The End of Evil (11:40-45)
Sign Off and Seal (12:1-13)

Daniel 11:14-20
Cleopatra becomes a loyal Egyptian. Antiochus III gets no real advantage from the marriage. Cleopatra urges Ptolemy V to make an alliance with Rome.
Antiochus grabs power wherever he can. In 192 he teams up with Hannibal the Carthagenian. They threaten to take Europe. Rome attacks Antiochus and defeats his advances beyond Greece. Antiochus loses the Battle of Magnesia.
Now he owes Rome a tribute. In 187 BC, Antiochus is murdered while robbing his own sanctuary at Elam.
The Battle of Magnesia was fought in 190 BC near Magnesia ad Sipylum, on the plains of Lydia (modern Turkey), between the Romans, led by the consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio and his brother, the famed general Scipio Africanus, with their ally Eumenes II of Pergamum against the army of Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid Empire. The resulting decisive Roman victory ended the conflict for the control of Greece.The treaty forced upon Antiochus III by the victorious Romans was crippling, in the Treaty of Apamea Antiochus was forced to pay a huge war indemnity of 15,000 Talents along with giving up significant territory in Asia Minor. The Taurus Mountains became the new frontier. The Seleucid navy was limited by treaty. It weakened the already fractious Seleucid Empire and halted all ambitions of Antiochus III in becoming a latter day Alexander in his own right.
Antiochus III was defeated by the Romans in 190 BC at the Battle of Magnesia.
He died in the East trying to sack the temple of Elymas to get money to pay off Rome.

Antiochus III is followed on the throne by his eldest son Seleucus IV (who loves his father). Seleucus spends the next eight years paying off the debt to Rome. That’s why verse 20 refers to him as a tax collector.
He is assassinated by one of his officials – Heliodorus. (Mentioned in 2 Maccabees 3) Instead of the throne going to Seleucus’ son, his brother, Antiochus IV Epiphanes takes the throne – this is not the normal line of succession!

Daniel 11:21-35

A contemptible person

Forbids Jewish faith

Imposes Greek culture

Sides with opposition that kills Onias III

Defeats Ptolemy VI – the King of the South in 170 BC

Antiochus IV starts out invading Egypt and doing a fine job of it (170 BC). He pushes his nephew Ptolemy VI around. In 168 BC he returns for his second invasion but in doing so he is defying the treaty that his father had been forced to accept.

verse 30 – The ships of Kittim are Roman war vessels. (The Western Coastlands.) Gaius Popillius Laenas was the Roman Consul sent to Egypt to make peace.
He was sent as an envoy to prevent a war between Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire and Ptolemaic Egypt. On being confronted with the Roman demands that he abort his attack on Alexandria, Antiochus played for time; Popillius Laenas is supposed to have drawn a circle around the king in the sand with his cane, and ordered him not to move out of it until a firm answer had been given. The Syrians withdrew. According to Livy,

“After receiving the submission of the inhabitants of Memphis and of the rest of the Egyptian people, some submitting voluntarily, others under threats, [Antiochus] marched by easy stages towards Alexandria. After crossing the river at Eleusis, about four miles from Alexandria, he was met by the Roman commissioners, to whom he gave a friendly greeting and held out his hand to Popilius. Popilius, however, placed in his hand the tablets on which was written the decree of the senate and told him first of all to read that. After reading it through he said he would call his friends into council and consider what he ought to do. Popilius, stern and imperious as ever, drew a circle round the king with the stick he was carrying and said, “Before you step out of that circle give me a reply to lay before the senate.” For a few moments he hesitated, astounded at such a peremptory order, and at last replied, “I will do what the senate thinks right.” Not till then did Popilius extend his hand to the king as to a friend and ally. Antiochus evacuated Egypt at the appointed date, and the commissioners exerted their authority to establish a lasting concord between the brothers, as they had as yet hardly made peace with each other.” Ab Urbe Condita, xlv.12.

Antiochus leaves Egypt humiliated and enraged and he takes it out on Jerusalem.

Daniel 11:31-45
The desecration of the Temple is the crisis in the 2nd century that the book of Daniel is addressing.

Daniel 12 – A Word of Hope

Antiochus IV will meet his fate
Book of Life
1. Resurrection = Vindication
2. How much longer?
Rest, Daniel
1. Seal the vision for the future
Wisdom!

Ten Words to Live By

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

[Note the onstage banners.] What are these? They are the Ten Commandments, but they are also not the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments as we often think of them are a symbol. They are a part of our culture, history, and heritage.

Religious Symbol: The two tablets and the ten numbers are an icon. They are a religious icon perhaps as prominent as the Christian Cross and the Star of David. That icon can be crafted into jewelry, monuments, paperweights, plaques. It is often regarded as a faith symbol and both the Jewish and Christian traditions hold the concept of the Ten Commandments in high esteem

Legal Symbol: Of course the Ten Commandments are not strictly a religious/faith symbol. They are also regarded as representational of legal and civic virtues. They are regarded as the foundation of law. That’s why the image of Moses and the Ten Commandments is above the entrance of the U.S. Supreme Court. And you will also find a symbol of the Ten Commandments engraved on the doors to the Supreme Court. Many of building in Washington DC feature this symbol as a basis of good society, legal foundation, and civil law.

But the distinction between the Commandments as religious and legal is somewhat confusing. That’s why displays of the Ten Commandments have been controversial. The most notable of these centered on the 5000 lb. monument that Judge Roy S. Moore had placed in the Alabama Supreme Court. He was ordered to remove it. He didn’t. So the Federal District Judge had it removed. There was a lot of protest and prayer and even though some like Ken Barnett yelled “PUT IT BACK” and “GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY GOD,” they took the monument out. It just goes to show how much of an impact this symbol has.

And even though they took the monument out of the Alabama Supreme Court, monuments like the one in the Texas Capitol are pretty common. And there are of course private displays like the world’s largest Ten Commandments in western North Carolina. (And have you noticed the billboard on I-40 when you come into Arkansas from Oklahoma?)

Shorthand for Basic Rules: The Ten Commandments is shorthand for “basic rules.” Searching through an on-line bookshop I found that there are books titled “The Ten Commandments of …” dating, marriage, self-esteem, professionalism for teachers, mindpower golf, making money, and for cycling (but it was called the “Ten-Speed Commandments.”) Isn’t it interesting that we regard the Ten Commandments of something as the basic rules or complete guide to a subject. Why is that?

Cultural Phenomenon: The Ten Commandments have been around for over 3,000 years and this simple collection of virtues and laws and the story behind them has inspired drama. Did you know that there’s a musical based on the Ten Commandments?

In 1989 a Polish filmmaker produced a 10 part series on the Ten Commandments. Short dramatic films based on the concepts. And of course, most people think of Charleton Heston. What would Easter be without “The Ten Commandments” on TV?

That’s what we think of. That’s what comes to mind. Ten Rules, Ten Laws, Ten Commandments. A plaque, a monument, a movie. But is that really what the Ten Commandments are? Where are they found in the Bible. How are they presented there?

It may surprise us to compare the typical form of their display with the texts that actually introduce the words that have come to be known as the Ten Commandments. These words are found in their earliest form in Exodus 20. Read the text …

Reading through this text makes us recognize some important facts to understanding what the Ten Commandments are really all about …

God spoke all of this. Ten different statements are recognized and that’s why this text is often called the Decalogue. It sound like a technical term, but it truly breaks down into a simple word. Deca, meaning ten, as in decade. Logue, meaning words, as in dialogue. So it’s reasonable to think of these as “ten words.”
- They are words that God spoke – they aren’t rules or commandments as we often think of them. Why? Because they are not enforceable with penalties and punishments. These are the lead up to the commandments. They are a vision of the kind of people God wants us to be
- They are God’s hope for us. These ten words describe how a people relate to God and how they relate to one another.
In this Decalogue, something is revealed about God and something is revealed about ourselves …
- God is a saving God. He rescues. He is the God who brought his people out of Egypt. He is the God who saves us from sin. He is the God that creates and sustains. He is the righteous judge who responds to sinfulness.
- We see how holy God is and we see how we fall short. If we are self-righteous, these Ten Words show us that we are not nearly as righteous as we think. People often look over these Ten Words and ask, “Which of the commandments have I broken?” But that’s the question we ask if we view these ten words as a set of rules carved in stone, when we understand that “God spoke all of this” then we realize that WE ARE broken.
But the gospel of these Ten Words is that God is not going to leave us broken. God spoke all of this in order to draw a broken humanity closer to Him. Notice what happens after God speaks the Ten Words: Read Exodus 20:18-20.
- The Ten Words are Ten Words to Live By. God really intends for us to live differently. He knows that we can do better and mature. It seems impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Exodus 20 is where these Ten Words are first found. But these Ten Words to Live By are all through the Bible – the Old and New Testament alike. If we take a closer look at the Ten Words to Live By we will not remain limited to Exodus or the Old Testament. Jesus taught us from the mountain. He taught us words to live by and he taught from the words that God spoke.
- “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son …” – Hebrews 1:1-2
- If we live like Jesus then we will live out the spirit of what God spoke at Sinai when he gave us Ten Words to Live By.

Heavenly History Lesson

Posted by Chris on September 2, 2007 under Sermons

Daniel 10 – 12

The final vision
The most important vision
Past, Present, and Future
The date fixes this at 70 years from Daniel’s exile (606 – 536 B.C.)

Structure

The Messenger (10:1-11:1)
The Book of Truth (11:2 – 45)
1. North and South (11:2-19)
2. Seleucid Family Values (11:20-39)
3. The End of Evil (11:40-45)
Sign Off and Seal (12:1-13)

The Messenger

Like description in Ezekiel 1 and Revelation 1
One who looks like a man
“Do you know why I’ve come?”
1. Soon it will be to fight
2. Now it is a message from Book of Truth

Daniel 11:2-4

Battle of Gaugamela 331 BC
Alexander defeats Darius III (Persia)
Empire divided among four generals after Alexander’s death

Map
Take the Regions of Lysimachus and Cassander out of the story. They don’t factor into the upcoming history in any significant way.
Now there are two major empires set up in two regions: Syria (the Seleucids) and Egypt (the Ptolemies)
An ancient “Mason-Dixon Line” (note: there is no sense of a boundary in that age) – this is just for our illustration
Now we understand what Daniel 11 calls the King of the North (Syria) and the King of the South (Egypt)
KON [kingdom of north] and KOS [kingdom of south] become shorthand ways of referring to generations of leaders in both empires. Rather than specifying who, they are all reduced to a single “king.” (Similar to saying – the American President). The actual identity of KON and KOS change throughout the vision.

Daniel 11:5

KOS: Ptolemy I Soter (323 – 285 BC)
KON: Seleucus I Nicator (305 -281 BC)

They start out as comrades, so in 312, Ptolemy and Seleucus both invaded Syria, and defeated Demetrius in the Battle of Gaza.

Seleucus went to war against Lysimachus (281 BC). Seleucus now held the whole of Alexander’s conquests with the exception of Egypt.

Daniel 11:6

KOS: Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 BC)
KON: Antiochus II Theos (305 -281 BC)

Ptolemy II makes an alliance with Antiochus II. He offers his daughter, Berenice in marriage. The arrangement was that Berenice’s children would be the rightful heirs to the Seleucid throne. And they have a son. And this gives old Ptolemy a connection to the Seleucid Empire.
There’s just one problem: Antiochus was already married. So he ditched his wife Laodice. He honored his agreement with Ptolemy up until Ptolemy died. At that point, he went back to his first wife Laodice.

And Laodice was so grateful that Antiochus took her back after ditching her and denying her children the right to rule that she welcomed Antiochus back and poisoned him. And she wasn’t done there. She killed Berenice and her son. She didn’t want anyone threatening her child’s claim to the throne.

Daniel 11:7-8

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KOS: Ptolemy III Euergetes (246-222 BC)
KON: Antiochus II Theos (305 -281 BC)

Ptolemy III Euergetes, (246 BC-222 BC) is the third ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt, he was the eldest son of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. He came to power in 246 BC upon the death of his father. He is most noted for his invasions of the northern kingdom of Syria which he commenced upon the murder of his eldest sister Berenice; during this war, the Third Syrian War, he occupied Antioch and -as a recent cuneiform discovery proves- even reached Babylon. Ptolemy III was also the ruler who promoted the translation of Jewish scriptures into Greek as the Septuagint.

Third Syrian War (246-241 BC)
Antiochus II left two ambitious mothers, his repudiated wife Laodice and Ptolemy II’s daughter Berenice, in a competition to put their respective sons on the throne. Laodice claimed that Antiochus had named her son heir while on his deathbed, but Berenice argued that her newly born son was the legitimate heir. Berenice asked her brother Ptolemy III to come to Antioch and help place her son on the throne. When Ptolemy arrived, Berenice and her child had been assassinated.
So, Ptolemy declared war on Laodice’s newly crowned son, Seleucus II, in 246 BC. He won major victories over Seleucus in Syria and Anatolia.

Daniel 11:9-13

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Antiochus III started the fourth Syrian War in an attempt to reclaim lost territory. He recaptured Palestine. This led to the The Battle of Raphia, between Ptolemy IV of Egypt and Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Fought on 22 June 217 BC near modern Rafah. Ptolemy had 70,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and 73 war elephants (largely African Forest Elephants). Antiochus had 62,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and 103 elephants (Mainly the large Syrian Elephants).

Ptolemy IV won, but he didn’t press his advantage. So, Antiochus came back in about 14 years.

Daniel 11:14-20

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Antiochus III comes back to attack Ptolemy V of Egypt. He achieves a pact by giving his daughter Cleopatra to marry Ptolemy V. But, Cleopatra becomes a loyal Egyptian. Antiochus III gets no real advantage from the marriage. Cleopatra urges Ptolemy V to make an alliance with Rome.
Antiochus III grabs power wherever he can. In 192 BC he teams up with Hannibal Barca of Carthage. They threaten to take Europe. Rome attacks Antiochus and defeats his advances beyond Greece. Antiochus loses the Battle of Magnesia.
The Battle of Magnesia was fought in 190 BC near Magnesia ad Sipylum, on the plains of Lydia (modern Turkey). The Romans are led by the consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio, against the army of Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid Empire. The resulting decisive Roman victory ended the conflict for the control of Greece. The treaty forced upon Antiochus III by the victorious Romans was crippling. In the Treaty of Apamea, Antiochus was forced to pay a huge war indemnity of 15,000 Talents along with giving up significant territory in Asia Minor. The Seleucid navy was limited by treaty. It weakened the already fractious Seleucid Empire and halted all ambitions of Antiochus III had of becoming a latter day Alexander the Great. In 187 BC, Antiochus III is murdered while robbing the sanctuary at Elam.

Heaven and Earth

Refer back to Daniel 10.

Nothing happens by chance.
Nothing happens until it is time.

Casting Our Nets on the Right Side

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Armchair Quarterbacking and Postgame Coaching staff. We’re back in business with football season. We always know better than the experts. We know better than coaches, doctors, ministers – and we think we could all run Congress better.

Poor doctors; it doesn’t matter how many years of training or experience he or she has had. It doesn’t matter how many lives he or she has saved. There’s always someone who thinks they know more than the doctors … [Restaurant story.]

Is this how Peter felt when Jesus told him how to fish? Jesus is an awesome teacher. He is a skilled carpenter, but he’s not a fisherman. Not like Peter. Peter’s not some weekend angler with a rod and reel. He’s a commercial fisherman. He has a crew. He has resources – nets and a boat or two. They know more than Jesus. They’ve been doing this without Jesus. They know that they’ve fished the lake without success.

Nevertheless, Jesus has hired their boat. (See, he needs their resources – they think.) And when he says head out to the deep waters and cast your nets over there they do it. And they are amazed when the nets fill up. But then they very quickly get anxious because the catch is so great that it threatens their investments – their nets are about to break and they have to get the other boats to carry the catch and even then it threatens to sink their boats. Either of those problems with nets and boats would be a disaster financially and physically.

You would think that Peter and his crew would want Jesus around with his ability to detect the best fishing spots, but instead Peter wants him to go away. Jesus is too holy. Fishing is a risky enterprise as it is, and he certainly doesn’t want it to get any riskier by having a holy man on board. Peter would like to go back to the fishing he knows so well.

But Jesus is doing some fishing of his own. Jesus is making disciples. This is Peter’s call to discipleship: to be a disciple and to make disciples. But it is also a call to discipleship for everyone who reads the gospel. Notice what Luke has done by putting this text where he did …

When Jesus begins his ministry in Luke 4 he starts teaching and preaching and he does so in the traditional manner – in the synagogues. He’s in Nazareth reading Isaiah: the reading goes well, but they don’t care for the sermon. Then he’s in the Capernaum synagogue and he does very well there. He even casts out an unclean spirit. He continues his ministry among the community there healing and casting out demons. And all through Judea he teaches in the synagogues. That’s standard method. That’s the way it’s always been done.

Yet, after this wondrous fishing trip notice what Jesus does: He heals someone of leprosy – that a very different from healing Simon’s mother-in-law from a fever. Leprosy is a social disease. Those with leprosy are outcast. Then Jesus is healing is questioned by the religious authorities when he equates healing with the forgiveness of sins. It’s fine for Jesus to heal, but he goes a step too far when he forgives. Jesus truly breaks from the standard method when he calls a tax collector to be his disciple. The man is a traitor, an outcast but now he has been gathered into Jesus’ ministry. And when Jesus is questioned about the untypical behavior of his disciples, he answers with the parable of the wineskins: which is to say, the work of the kingdom will not fit your categories. The religious authorities had equated their methods and practices with the work of God, but the work of God is embodied in Christ and his disciples.

So, Luke is telling us that following Jesus and making disciples may not always fit our ways of doing things, and it may even be risky.
Here we are reading this text. Where will Jesus take us? Do we really want to go where he takes us? Are we willing to accept the risk? Let’s be honest, evangelism and discipleship are risky endeavors and it isn’t a good idea for us to be so confident that we assume that we have it all figured out. If there really was a simple, risk-free, method for making discipleships then why aren’t we doing it? Well, because we are like Peter and the others in their boat. We have two anxieties:

One is that we will work so hard and gain nothing – we’ve tried every technique we know and some days you just have to say, the fish aren’t there.
The other is that we will be overwhelmed. And so we get anxious … What if the nets break? – What if our unity and our community starts to unravel? A lot of new people, different people, that can change things. Some of these new disciples don’t know our ways. It can get hard to shepherd all those sheep. It can get hard to be a sheep. What if the boats sink? – We have a lot of resources, and too many disciples too soon means it will get hard to manage that or they might get ruined.

All that anxiety causes fear to replace faith. Instead of being faithful to Jesus and letting him guide us to the deep waters, in our anxieties we let fear rule us and, though we don’t like to admit it, we ask Jesus to go away. And we can still pay homage to Christ and honor evangelism as a good thing to do but we do it on our terms and reduce it to an activity or task and tame it down to the level of making it a sales technique or recruitment. That’s easy to manage … but it never satisfies because we haven’t really done anything about our fears and anxieties. We are like Peter in the boat calling ourselves unworthy sinners and telling Jesus to keep his distance. We worry that we don’t have the sort of results we think we ought to have. Maybe we’re even worried that God isn’t going to be happy with “our catch.”The result is that we get weary of evangelism and maybe even a little resentful of having to do it. But we grit our teeth and try it again. We keep using the same techniques, maybe with a new twist. Or maybe we get to the point that we try something entirely new. But the Bible doesn’t seem interested in giving us techniques. There’s no endorsement of a particular technique or process for evangelism.

Rather, the Bible teaches us – as Luke 5 does – that evangelism and disciple making may be risky but it isn’t our project. When faith replaces fear, we follow Jesus and all the things we worry about will never come to pass. The nets do not break. The boats do not sink.

The good news about sharing the good news is that Jesus is in charge. Even when we are evangelizing – God’s power is at work among us and he is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine. The good news about sharing the good news has always been a part of what we call the great commission, but we may have overlooked the most important part of it.

As you’re going along, whether that Australia or across the street, downtown or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Fort Smith or the Faroe Islands … make disciples – How? Baptize them and teach them. (Teaching is part of the Good Commission. I am still being taught. Our worship and preaching today are part of the process of disciple making – it’s Good Commission stuff.) I AM ALWAYS WITH YOU – “And lo” means “hey!”, “By The Way”, “Now get this!” Let’s listen to Jesus. He will captain our ship. He’ll catch the fish. Don’t fear; be faithful.

Back to School Blessing 2007

Posted by Chris on August 26, 2007 under Sermons

This is the fourth year for the Back to School Blessing at West-Ark. I am so thankful that we take the time for this event. I appreciate the fact that students and teachers and school workers report that they feel blessed not only from this event, but from knowing that someone is praying for them all year long. [On your way out, please pick up a refrigerator magnet that contains the name of a student, teacher, or support person. Pray often for them.]

Words of blessing are so rare in our times. In our society we often give awards; we praise achievement and accomplishment. But that is not the same as a blessing. A blessing pronounces God’s favor on another simply for the sake of the other. To speak a blessing is to seek the good of another simply for the sake of the other.

God blesses in this way …

God intended to bless Abraham so that through Abraham and his descendents all people might be blessed.
God instructed Aaron in the way of speaking a blessing upon the people.
When Jesus began his ministry (Luke 4) he read from the scroll of Isaiah: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. To proclaim release to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jesus opens his Sermon on the Mount by proclaiming God’s favor on those who had not earned it or achieved it, but simply on those who were the recipients of God’s gracious blessing.

We have a choice as to how we will live under the blessing of God. Certainly cursing is not an appropriate choice …Cursing is more than saying bad words. It is much more serious than that. Cursing is the opposite of blessing. It seeks the downfall and promotes the harm of another. Sometimes the purpose of the curse is to humiliate or condemn another. Curses are spoken out of anxiety, fear, and anger – not the grace of God.

The people of God are called to be a source of blessing, not curses.

Blessing of Students

Blessing of Teachers/Workers

For Students:
We love you and we ask the Lord to bless you. We promise to pray for you …Someone will be praying for you this year when you are having fun at school, and even when you’re not having fun. Some one will pray for you when you are sick and can’t make it to school. Someone will be praying for you if others are acting mean toward you. And they may be praying for you when you’re not acting as nice as you should. Someone will be praying for you when you feel left out, and also when you have the chance to make a new friend.

Sometime this year someone will be praying for you when you’re taking a test, when you’re playing sports, when you’re performing. Sometime this year someone will be praying for you by name when people are saying bad things about you for no reason, when you’re on a date, whenever temptation is strong. Sometime this year someone will be praying when you are praying on a retreat, when you are reading your Bible, when you are thinking about your place in God’s church.

For Teachers, School Personnel, PTA and PTO, and Tutors – –
We wish to bless you because you have such a wonderful mission. The one who gives a blessing must know that he/she is blessed. To all of you who serve as teachers, principals, school workers, counselors, and in many other ways I don’t even realize I offer you this pledge: someone will be praying for you when you have those victorious moments and the children “get it!” Someone will be praying when it seems they don’t. Someone will be praying for you when you’re convinced that this is your last year, and when it really is your last year. Someone will be praying when you wonder what you are going to do about a student in trouble. Someone will be praying for you when an opportunity to minister open up before you and you feel the awesome responsibility of the moment. Someone will be praying for you when a red-faced parent blames you for their problems, and someone will be praying when a student shares with you his or her dreams and thanks for what you have done for them. We will all be praying as a student gets closer to Christ because of your influence, whether you know it or not. We lift you up before God as our partners in healing this land.

a. Charge the church to be in prayer
b. Give them instructions about the prayer magnets

God’s Power at Work within Us – Ephesians 3:20

The Prayer of a Righteous Man

Posted by Chris on August 19, 2007 under Sermons

Daniel 9: Three Parts

Daniel’s Study (9:1-3)
Daniel’s Prayer (9:4-19)
Gabriel’s Reply (9:20-27)
1. Response to Study and Prayer

Daniel’s Study

“This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the LORD. – Jer. 25:11-12

Seventy Years

The duration of the Babylonian Exile is for a single generation’s life span
Seventy is 7 x 10 = Completion
Two ages in view – 6th century and 2nd century

The Prayer

Affirmation of God’s righteousness
Acknowledgment of sinfulness
Appeal to God’s righteousness

Similar to prayers in 1 Kings 8, Ezra 9, Nehemiah 9, Psalm 79

Apocalyptic Faith

In apocalyptic literature, the faithful are always subject to two forces: persecution and compromise. In Revelation, the threat to the faithful comes from the beast (persecution) and the harlot (compromise)

Seventy Weeks

Seventy sevens are decreed . . .
To finish transgression and put an end sin
To atone for wickedness and bring everlasting righteousness
To seal up the vision and anoint the holy one

Seventy Weeks = 490 Years

No chronological schedule fits
The phases of the 70 weeks are more important than the historical chronology . . .
7 weeks, 62 weeks, 1 week (and half of that week)
Jerusalem and Temple is the focus

Phase 1 – 7 Weeks

Begins with the word going out to restore Jerusalem
Jeremiah’s prophecy
Cyrus’ edict (Ezra 1:2-4)
Artaxerxes permit to Ezra
The coming of the Anointed One
Zerubbabel and Jeshua

Phase 2 – 62 Weeks

In this phase, the city is rebuilt in detail but in troubled times
This phase ends when the Anointed One (the high priest) is “cut off and will have nothing.”
The agents of the “ruler who is to come” destroys the city and temple.

1 Maccabees 1:11-15
In those days certain renegades came out from Israel and misled many, saying, “Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles around us, for since we separated from them many disasters have come upon us.” This proposal pleased them, and some of the people eagerly went to the king, who authorized them to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles. So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom, and removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil.

2 Maccabees 4:7-15
When Seleucus died and Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, succeeded to the kingdom, Jason the brother of Onias obtained the high priesthood by corruption … When the king assented and Jason came to office, he at once shifted his compatriots over to the Greek way of life.

Phase 3 – 1 Week

Onias III, the last faithful high priest, is killed in 171 BC
The new leaders corrupt the Temple and bring in Greek culture [The anti-covenant]
In 167 BC, Antiochus Epiphanes IV further ruins Jerusalem and prohibits Jewish faith
Antiochus desecrates the Temple (1 Macc. 1:54-59 and 2 Macc. 6:1-2)
The desecration of the Temple last about 3.5 years (The middle of the week)
The Temple is rededicated in 164 BC – about 7 years after 171 BC

So What? [The Message of Daniel 9]

Scriptural perspective on history and circumstances
Corporate sin: The people suffered for their lack of faithfulness and righteousness
Prayer appeals to God’s righteousness
Hope in God to set things right

Additional Notes:

What are the number of years according to Jeremiah? The devastation of Jerusalem? (9:1-2)
1. Apocalyptic meaning of 70 – 7 x 10. Completion and augmentation
2. Daniel is studying Scripture.
3. Jeremiah 25:11-12 and Jer. 29:10 [See also Isa. 40-55]
4. The message of Jeremiah and the 70 years is: “None of you are going home. Make a life in exile. Your descendents will return.
How did Judah and Jerusalem sin? What is the curse and oath written in the law of Moses? (vv. 11-13) See 9:3-14
Note the structure of Daniel’s prayer – Affirmation of God’s nature; affirmation (confession) of sin; appeal for forgiveness; appeal to God’s nature and righteousness. [Other examples of prayer – 1 Kings 8:46-53; Ezra 9:6-15; Neh. 9:6-37; Psalm 79; Baruch 1:15-3:8; Prayer of Azariah 1-22; Prayer of Manasseh]
1. Note the admission of sin. Another feature of apocalyptic is to hold accountable those who have been seduced or lost hope. It is not enough to promise the defeat and destruction of the persecutor. The persecuted have to be made accountable. (In Rev. chapter 18 functions in this way as do portions of the seven letters).
2. The use of OT history is important in Daniel 9. It hasn’t been used like this before in the book
3. Daniel’s prayer refers to the covenant, prophets, kings, law of Moses, Exodus. This is the history of God’s work among his people. It is core to Hebrew faith. If God has acted like so in the past, then we can count on him to be consistent in the future.
4. The prayer of Daniel is similar to the prayers of 1 Kings and Ezra and Nehemiah and Baruch- they are a reaction to the fall of Jerusalem and the Exile. The Jewish people had to come to grips with this cataclysmic event just as we have had to come to grips with 9/11. One of the ways they interpreted the event was to accept it as God’s judgment and refinement.
The concern of the prayer is the destruction and desolation of Jerusalem. Why is this a problem (in the 6th century)? Why is this a problem (in 2nd century)?
1. For someone in Daniel’s time (6th c.) the 70 years is expanded to seventy “weeks of years” or seventy seven’s = 490 years. [Think decades being turned into definite periods – the 60’s 70’s 80’s etc.; one of their important multiples was 7] This could be depressing to the 6th century
2. But the message is for the 2nd century and it promises change in their own day
3. Sabbatical years (7 year cycle) and Jubilee years (49 year cycle)
4. Israel continues to suffer because their sinfulness continues. [What was going on in the 2nd century?]
What are the seventy weeks? [Note all that will be done in the 70 weeks] 9:24
1. Gabriel is responding to Daniel’s concern to understand Jeremiah’s 70 years. The 70 years are redefined as 70 weeks. This is a common apocalyptic technique.
2. Six things happen through these 70 years:
  1. To finish the transgression
  2. To put and end to sin
  3. To atone for iniquity
  4. To bring in everlasting righteousness
  5. To seal both vision and prophet
  6. To anoint a most holy place
3. 7 weeks [49 years?] – Word goes out to restore Jerusalem and anointing of a prince
4. 62 weeks [434 years?] – rebuilding of Jerusalem in a troubled time
5. After 62 weeks – the anointed one is cut off, troops of the “prince who is to come” shall destroy city and sanctuary, end shall come with flood, war, desolations decreed
6. 1 week [7 years – 3.5 years for half a week] – He makes strong covenant with many (for half of that week he makes sacrifice and offering cease and desolates with the abomination) All until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.

Interpretation of Daniels’ Seventy Weeks

Attempts to make it fit a chronology are unlimited.
None of the reasonable attempts fits well and none are widely accepted.
There is no clear reference point for the 62 weeks. It is expanded time to account for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple
The first seven is a little less vague – It could be Jeremiah’s prophecy. It could be Artaxerxes – In 458-457 BC Artaxerxes gave Ezra permission to return to Jerusalem with exiles. This interpretation ends in the lifetime of Christ (though not with precision – 25 to 32 AD), but it doesn’t account for the final week. The anointing of a prince may fit the anointing of the high priest Joshua (Ezra 3, Haggai 1:12 ad 2:2 and Zech 3) – Joshua/Jeshua is Hebrew for Jesus
The final week is the least vague of the references and it makes sense for it to fall into the second century – [And if you back date the 490 years you end up in the mid 7th century which is long before the exile and it doesn’t make sense to send out word to restore Jerusalem before it has even fallen]
The 70 weeks of years has no interest in corresponding to actual chronology -This is an allegorical, heavenly, visionary view of time. [The ancients were not as concerned with chronology as we are.]
The final week:
1. Onias III, high priest in Jerusalem is killed in 171 BC [2 Maccabees 4:34-38] See also 1 Macc. 1:20-35 and 2 Macc 5:11-21
2. The strong covenant is between Antiochus and the “reform party” (Hellenistic Jews) which gave Jerusalem a charter as a Hellenistic city and introduced Greek institutions such as the ephebeion “guild of young men,” the boule council of elders, and the gymnasium 1 Macc 1:11-15 and 1 Macc 4:9-15]
3. Ultimately, Antiochus proscribed the practice of Judaism and the sacrifices in the temple. He even desecrates it. 1 Macc 1:54-59 and 2 Macc 6:1-2
4. The temple is rededicated in 164 BC (seven years)
5. 3.5 years is an incomplete cycle. A short time. The time of the desolation was about 3.5 years.
6. The message is that Daniel’s readers are in the last week (or right after it) and its all going to be ended soon and the six things promised will take place.
7. The message is that there will be an end and everything that has taken place is under God’s watch and it is the consequence of the sin of God’s people (they are all guilty and culpable as a people).

Crossing Boundaries

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

[Read Acts 10-11.]

Acts 10 is a tale of two cities. More so its an account of two men, Cornelius and Peter, who were divided not only by distance but culture. Under any other circumstances, the paths of these two would not have crossed in any significant way. But God is active in crossing the boundaries and barriers that kept them apart …

Caesarea – Cornelius is military. He’s been deployed to Palestine. He has status and rank. He is among the auxiliary troops that provided stability in Palestine. Cornelius is far from home. He’s from Italy. He is a stranger in a strange land. He stands out. He’s clean shaven with cropped hair. He dresses different. He eats different food. But he is also a religious man. It’s not just show. He is devout and godly – (maybe even godlier than some of the chosen ones in this land.) He respects God. He leads his household in honoring God. He keeps a routine of prayer. He gives money to the poor. But even though he’s a godly man he’s still an outsider in Palestine.

And then one day during his regular routine of prayer, God responds to the prayers of a Gentile … an un-baptized, uncircumcised, unclean Gentile.

Joppa – If anyone is an insider, it’s Peter. He is one of the leaders in Jerusalem. He is one of the Twelve. He is one of the “three” with James and John who accompanied Jesus to the mountain of transfiguration. The apostle Peter is hungry. He’s resting on the roof of Simon the Tanner’s house waiting for supper and he falls into a trance. God knows Peter is hungry, so he spreads a picnic blanket for Peter and decides to serve up some barbeque. The catch is Peter has to catch it and kill it. But more than that. There’s game being served up that is clearly un-Scriptural. Pork, shrimp, crab may taste good grilled with sauce – but it’s a Jewish no-no. And even though God is being quite gracious with the picnic, Peter stands on tradition. Peter protests noting that he’s never even soiled his lips with the taste of unbiblical food. It’s unclean and Peter refuses to eat this gentile food! In fact Peter refuses it three times – (he’s good at triple denial.) But before God leaves with the picnic blanket and the wild game he leaves Peter with a lesson: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.”

Just then three Gentiles show up at the door. If Peter thought his vision might have been a fainting spell, the Spirit makes it clear that Peter should welcome these Gentiles and go where they want him to go. So Peter offers hospitality to these strangers — these Gentiles.

Meanwhile back in Caesarea, Cornelius has gathered his family, his relatives, his business associates. Really the sort of people you wouldn’t find in the typical Jerusalem synagogue. There must have been an odd sort of tension when Peter, the Hebrew religious leader, entered the house of Cornelius, the unclean foreigner. This bunch is so odd, they don’t do things the right way. Poor Cornelius doesn’t know whether to shake Peter’s hand or bow down and worship him. And Peter feels sort of awkward when Cornelius does bow down. Jew and Gentile and the first meeting couldn’t have been any more awkward.
But Peter decides to break the tension. After all, he learned a lesson from God just the other day: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” And so Peter breaks the tension … Read 10:28-29.

It was starting to become clear that God had set up a blind date of sorts. He told Cornelius to send for Peter, but wouldn’t tell him what Peter knows. He told Peter to go Cornelius’ house, but wouldn’t tell him why. There’s God setting it all up so that these people from different nations have to depend on each other. Even Peter the insider has to ask questions to get the full story. When Cornelius tells Peter that he has been acting on behalf of God, Peter gets more insight into what God is doing … Read 10:34-43.

Before Peter can finish his gospel sermon, God breaks in. The Holy Spirit moves among these Gentiles in the same way it did in Jerusalem. Yes, even in this house of unclean, uncircumcised, Gentiles the Holy Spirit showers approval. And no one is more surprised than Peter and company. They just stand there bewildered and ask “So what do you think – should we baptize them?” They do. And then they really break with custom and tradition by staying a few nights as the guests of Cornelius.

This is good news, but it’s also offensive. Things don’t seem to happen in the proper order. Things don’t happen with decorum and decency. Social and religious customs are just tossed out the window. There’s no concern for purity. There’s no concern for the ways of the past. I am sure there were a lot of really good reasons that God’s people typically didn’t socialize or associate with the unclean people from other nations. After all, how can you teach people the laws if you abandon them yourself?

Well, Peter faces this line of questioning when he gets home. Everyone has heard the news that the Gentiles have received the gospel. But Peter hasn’t been back in Jerusalem for any time at all when some of the concerned brethren approach him. They’re upset. “Peter!” they say, “You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!”
So what’s Peter going to say? It’s true. He did that. And that’s a no-no. It’s just not done. So Peter tells them the story from the beginning … Read 11:5-17.

Who are any of us to stand in God’s way? The good news of this story is that God is offering eternal life to people who aren’t just like us. That’s good news, but it’s also sort of offensive. Rick Atchley tells the story of a woman who was looking at photos of African Christians on a church bulletin board. They were photos sent by missionaries. The woman spoke to the folks around her and said, “I really wish they wouldn’t baptize so many of those dark-skinned people. I don’t like the thought of all them in heaven.” When this woman heard that heaven was a gated community she got the wrong idea. And that’s what God did in the first century and what he still does today. He really doesn’t have much respect for the boundaries and distinctions that we consider so important. As Peter said, “God doesn’t show favoritism.” No, he doesn’t. God is more concerned that a person respects him and does what is right. And God isn’t offended by that person’s family, or race, or financial status, or even what that person may have done in his/her past. In the future that God has in mind, there will be peace and he will not only save our souls, he will save our relationships with one another.

The good news of this story is that God is out there offering eternal life before we even decide to act. That’s good news, but it’s also sort of offensive. It’s offensive because God doesn’t ask us for permission. This is humbling – and it ought to be humbling because if the apostle Peter had to catch up to God’s activity, who are we to think we are in the position to bring anything to anyone? [Story about missionary to San Francisco]

The good news of this story is that God is saving and redeeming people that we might not think about. That’s good news, but it’s also sort of offensive. We might be like the believers in Jerusalem and get concerned about other things. But there’s more good news for us if we’re willing to hear it. The good news is that God is also at work saving and redeeming us, just as he did with Peter. He taught Peter not to call unclean anything that God makes clean. And the concerned believers in Jerusalem, when they heard Peter’s story accepted it too. They didn’t consider Cornelius and his clan to be “the Gentile members.” They accepted them as brothers and sisters. They stopped objecting and started praising God.

Who’s converted in this story? It’s not just Cornelius and his kin. Peter is also converted. The believers in Jerusalem are also converted. Because Christ is Lord over all people he is reconciling us to himself and to one another.

When God’s power is at work among us, we may be surprised at what God will do. It may even make us concerned at times, but who are we to stand in God’s way. If we can accept what God is doing then we may find we are out of objections and we will simply praise God.

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