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

Sharing Jesus (Part 4)

Posted by David on September 12, 2007 under Sermons

Read with me as we listen to John 8:21-30:
Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ?Where I am going, you cannot come’?” And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning? I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.

To put your thinking in the correct perspective for this lesson, ask yourself this question: "How often have I . . . ?" Have you got the question? "How often have I . . . ?" "How often have I been distracted from my schedule and failed to remember to do something important?" I am a very schedule focused person. I have my "routine" for leaving my home and going to my work. One morning this week something important broke into my routine. Later, I realized I forgot to take my medicine. When my routine was broken, I did not think to take my medicine. Has anything ever disrupted your routine and you forgot?

"How often have I been so focused I failed to see the obvious?" We often refer to such incidents as being distracted. You know well the love affair most men have with the remote controls to the television. The other day I collapsed into my recliner after a demanding day. Out of habit I reached for the remote control as I picked up the paper. (I know it does not make sense to have the TV on while you read the paper–but I do it anyway.) The remote control was not where it was supposed to be. That got my attention quickly! Suddenly, I started searching for the remote control, and I could not see it anywhere. Joyce started laughing–the remote control was on the arm of the recliner–the opposite arm where it never stays! Have you ever failed to see the obvious?

"How often have I been so sure I knew what a person was going to say that I got ahead of the person and was wrong?" One habit I had to break years ago as a preacher was assuming I knew what a person was going to ask before he stated his question. As a result, I found myself answering questions people were not asking. What I thought was a "short cut" (I always was in a hurry) just made a mess. Have you ever thought you knew what people were thinking before they expressed themselves?

For a second reading, I want you to read with me 1 Corinthians 15:1-19.
Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
1. I want to call two things to your attention from this reading.
  1. First, the gospel Paul preached and the Corinthians accepted was person-centered or Savior-centered.
    1. A man who was the Christ died.
    2. A man who was the Christ was buried for three days.
    3. A man who was the Christ was resurrected, brought back to life in a form that was never to die again.
    4. This resurrected man who was God’s promised Christ appeared to a lot of people including Paul.
    5. The reason the Corinthians were Christians was due to their faith in this man.
      1. It was what God did in this Savior that converted them.
      2. It was what God did in this Savior that expressed God’s grace.
2. Second, unless they placed their confidence in God’s resurrection of this man, their faith was useless.
  1. If there was no resurrection of this man, the preaching they believed was useless.
  2. If the resurrection of this man did not occur, the preachers who said it did happen were liars.
  3. If the resurrection of this man did not occur, their faith in this man is without value.
  4. If the resurrection of this man did not occur, they are still hopelessly enslaved to their sins.
  5. If the resurrection of this man did no occur, dead Christians are just dead.
  6. In fact, if the resurrection of this man did not occur, Christians are to be pitied above all other people–through their deception they waste life.
See one point very clearly: the message of the gospel is Savior-centered; it is not religious system-centered.
1. It is too easy for us to assume that everyone believes the Jesus of the Bible is the Christ.
  1. For many of us, the people we associate with believe Jesus is the Christ if they religiously believe anything.
    1. Many of us are simply not accustomed to associating with people who do not believe Jesus is the Christ.
    2. Many are accustomed to the religious emphasis of the South–and in America in the past, the South strongly believed Jesus is the Christ.
  2. For some of us adults, and for most of our children, we associate with people who do not even have Jesus in their faith system.
    1. Rapidly our country is becoming multi-religious–religions not based on Jesus Christ are becoming more and more prominent even in the South.
    2. An increasing number of adults associate and become friends with such people.
    3. Almost all of our children in public schools know and associate with people who are not Christian in their religious perspective.
  3. Within a short time, it will be common for most adults to know as many people who have a faith that is not centered in Jesus Christ as people who do believe Jesus is the Christ.
2. To note the significance of the change religiously, just look honestly at our outreach messages.
  1. Our conversion messages basically are structured for other religious groups who definitely agree that Jesus is the Christ, but who are not in agreement over how a person gets into Christ.
    1. Thus, our "gospel outreach" messages are (a) often designed for people who already believe Jesus is the Christ and (b) are often designed to declare which church is superior.
    2. The result is that the "gospel outreach" messages are far more likely to be church-centered than man-centered.
    3. To see the contrast, ask yourself the question, "What message do we have for people who are religious but do not even know what the words "Jesus is the Christ" mean?
3. Increasingly, we as Christians must deal with the fact that we have to share with people who do not place their faith in Jesus.
  1. Such people are here, a part of our country and society.
  2. The message of Jesus is as relevant to those people as it is to us or to anyone else.
  3. Through the centuries, the gospel of Jesus has been shared far more with people that did not know Jesus than with people who did know Jesus.
  4. To me, the relevant question that honestly acknowledges the world we are part of is this: "How is Jesus good news to people who do not know him?"
There is an object of faith that is more fundamental than faith in the church.
1. In fact, confidence in the church should exist only if the more fundamental faith exists.
  1. The church is what we become when we enter Christ.
  2. It is the result of the more fundamental faith.
  3. Each Christian should be able to say, "I am what I am, I live like I live, I serve like I serve, I do what I do in my life because of this more fundamental faith."
2. What is this more fundamental faith?
  1. It is faith in the fact that Jesus is the Christ.
    1. The man Jesus is God’s reconciliation plan for our world.
    2. He did die for our sins.
    3. He was raised from the dead.
    4. He is Lord and Christ.
    5. All our assurances from God rest in Jesus, what he did, and what God achieved and proved through him.
  2. Jesus is "good news!"
    1. Our purpose as Christians is not to assume that everyone else knows him.
    2. Our purpose as Christians is (1) to know him and (2) to introduce others to him.
We urgently need to be people who share Jesus.
1. If you wish to be evangelistic, allow Jesus to become the basis of who you are.
  1. Act like you act in your marriage because of Jesus’ principles.
  2. Act like you act as a parent because of Jesus’ principles.
  3. Act like your act in your job because of Jesus’ principles.
  4. Treat others as you do because of Jesus’ principles.
  5. As a person, be who you are because of Jesus’ principles.
2. If you wish to be evangelistic, devour the gospels.
  1. Share the man by knowing the man.
  2. Understand what God did for people through his death.
  3. Understand what God did for people through his resurrection.
  4. Know the blessings God offers us through life in him.
  5. People will want to know about your church when they see the Savior changing and guiding your life.
  6. If Jesus is not changing your life in ways people can see and respect, your church becomes irrelevant to those who do not know Jesus.

Jesus once said, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)

Know the man. Let him shine in your life so people will glorify God. By doing so, you will save yourself and others.

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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¹⁵

¹⁶

¹⁷

¹⁸

¹⁹

²⁰

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

Sharing Jesus (Part 3)

Posted by David on August 22, 2007 under Sermons

Let’s begin with a reading this morning. Please take a Bible and read with me.

John 6:31-40 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ?He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’ ” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

To give a gift because the person is moved to give the gift with no sense of obligation is a precious, meaningful act. The more significant the gift is to the giver, the more the giver honors the receiver. May I call a truth to your attention: It is as important to know how to receive with appreciation as it is to give with honor. Those who have the hardest time learning this lesson are those who spend their lives giving.

Let me share an illustration.

Often there is a distinct contrast between a Christmas gift and an impromptu gift. In the Christmas gift there is an unspoken rule: You must have a gift to give the person who gives you a gift. So when the giver receives a gift, the immediate thought is, "What do I have to give him or her in return?"

In the Christmas gift, too often we give with the expectation of receiving. We try to anticipate how much the person who gives to us will spend. We commonly measure what we will spend on our anticipation of what the other person will spend. Often we have as much concern with what we spend as with the gift we give.

Then there is the use of the gift received. We will wear it, or hang it, or display it more out of concern that the giver knows we appreciate the gift than we actually take pride in the gift. In Christmas gifts, there are rules.

In contrast, the impromptu gift is unexpected. It is given strictly because the giver wishes to give. The receiver may feel a sense of embarrassment because he or she was surprised and had nothing to give in return. Yet, the receiver knows without question he or she was given the gift because the giver wished him or her to have it.

Thus, the receiver feels a sense of honor. The gift is cherished because of what it represents.

What God did for us in giving us Jesus literally is beyond human comprehension. God did not act out of obligation, but out of desire. In His gift is life that not even death can rob.

In this lesson, I will attempt to increase our understanding of the incredible thing God did for us in giving us Jesus.

I think Genesis, the Bible’s first book, quickly introduces us to the problem.
1. In chapter one, God creates and is pleased with all He creates, including people, both male and female.
  1. Genesis 1:31 says, "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good."
  2. I think most of us understand that if God is pleased and says something is good, it is truly good.
  3. We understand from Genesis 2 that for people there was no sense of shame, nothing to generate a sense of guilt, consequently no bad conscience, no enemies, consequently no fear, and no human need.
  4. Genesis 3:8 strongly suggests there was daily, personal communication between God and people–there was no need for people to be afraid of God.
2. In Genesis 3, the sin of rebellion is injected into the relationship between God and people.
  1. There are two primary results.
  2. The first is that God’s creation is perverted and can no longer serve its intended purpose.
  3. The second is that God’s relationship with people is destroyed.
  4. By the time we reach Genesis 6, the God who was pleased with the goodness of creation is now grieved.
3. Genesis 6:5-7, Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”
  1. God, upon completion, looked at His creation and said it was good. Now he looks upon His creation with sadness, wishing he never made it.
  2. Why? He did so because of the actions of people.
    1. He made people good; now they are thoroughly evil.
    2. Because of their evil, they perverted all He made.
    3. Nothing served its original purpose.
    4. God’s creation became something He never intended it to be.
4. God faced a dilemma.
  1. Would he destroy everything as a bad idea?
  2. Would he seek to redeem people and seek restoration of His purpose?
  3. Thankfully for us, God choose the route of redemption.
  4. In God’s choice there is the decision to restore humanity to a state of relationship with God.
    1. The ultimate goal is to have people return to being "good" as people were when God made them.
    2. That basically is what heaven will be–people again will be free from sin and in full, immediate relationship with God.
The Bible is the winding road God travels in which God seeks to establish a means to call people back to Himself through a redemption that works by reaching out to all people.
1. God sought to begin again with Noah and his family.
  1. It did not work!
  2. In less than one generation the problem of sin was pronounced.
  3. People just could not handle the problems of sin and temptation (and still cannot).
2. The patient God waited until He revealed Himself to a man like Abraham.
  1. From the childless Abraham, God produced a family.
  2. From that imperfect family, God produced a nation.
  3. From the imperfect nation, God produced a Messiah (Christ).
  4. From that perfect Messiah (Christ), God produced a means for all people to be redeemed.
  5. To me, the incredible significance of Abraham is declared by God as He prepared to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah:
    Genesis 18:17-19, The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.”
3. God’s intent to produce a blessing (the blessing of redemption) for all people is evident from the time of Abraham.
  1. To Abraham, God said:
    To Abraham’s descendants, God said:
  2. When Jesus was presented at the temple as an infant, Simeon read:
    Luke 2:27-32 And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A Light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”
  3. When some of the Jews rejected Paul’s message about Jesus at Antioch of Pisidia, listen to what he said:
    Acts 13:46-48 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, ?I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, That You may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’ ” When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
  4. When Paul offered his defense before King Agrippa, Paul said:
    Acts 26:22,23–"So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”
  5. Paul wrote this to Galatian Christians:
    Galatians 3:16, "Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, ‘and to seeds,’ as referring to many, but rather to one, ‘and to your seed,’ that is, Christ.
  6. God’s intention from at least the time of Abraham was to redeem people through the Messiah (Hebrew language) or the Christ (Greek language).

There are two things I would like for you to see and remember: (1) Our salvation began from God’s decision and God’s patience. Humanity, including you and I, were helpless. There is nothing we could or can do of ourselves to force God to save us. The origin of salvation rests in the fact the God is good, not that we are good. (2) God made an enormous investment in our salvation, and God’s investment began long before He sent His son to die for us.

The opportunity for salvation is God’s gift to us. We cannot earn it. All we can do is accept it with appreciation. Our obedience is never an attempt to earn our salvation. Obedience is our way to accept God’s gift with sincere appreciation.

The issue for us is not what God has done for us. The issue for us is this: Have we accepted the gift? Do we continue accepting it by showing our appreciation for God’s gift?

Sharing Jesus (Part 2)

Posted by David on August 21, 2007 under Sermons

May we begin with this reading:

John 5:19-30, Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

The giving of gifts is an art form in any society. For example, one must understand the value of a gift before he understands the significance of the gift. The significance of a gift is not determined by the receiver but by the giver. Until the receiver appreciates the significance of a gift, he/she is not in a position to appreciate the significance of the gift. If the receiver thinks of the value of the gift only in selfish terms (considering only what the gift means to him), he may miss the significance and value of the gift.

Permit me to give two examples to illustrate the truth of the statement just made.

Years ago, by virtue of opportunity I did not create and circumstances I did not produce, I helped complete a lengthy process that gave the church legal status in another country. The students in the Bible training school in which I taught wanted to celebrate that positive conclusion to a lengthy, uncertain process of questionable outcome. A part of the celebration involved the students laughingly, giddily, dressing me as a chief and presenting me with certain items that looked interesting but rather common to me. A year later I learned by accident the significance of the honor they showed me and the effort they made to obtain permission to present me with what I regarded to be "common items." Only then did I begin to realize the significance of what they did. My appreciation of their gift was immediately transformed.

The second example comes from Luke 21:1-4. As Jesus watched the wealthy place their gifts in the temple treasury to support the temple’s work, he observed a poor widow (the height of helplessness among the helpless) placing two small (we likely would say tiny) copper coins in the same treasury for the same purposes. Jesus stated, "She has given more than the wealthy gave." What a strange statement! How much wood for the sacrifices would her two small coins buy? Jesus explained, "The wealthy gave from their surplus. She gave all she had to live on." One could not appreciate the significance of what she gave until he understood what her gift meant to her.

The patience of God in producing our salvation is much more than good news–it is incredible news!

From the moment sin began its rule over people (Genesis 3), God began His redemption journey that would culminate in humans having the choice of salvation.
1. In God’s determined pursuit of our salvation, He endured much to give us the choice to be reunited with Him, just as people were given the choice to rebel against Him.
  1. People chose to be rebellious.
  2. God labored to give us the choice to be righteous before Him.
2. The patient God watched as a humanity that began in absolute goodness descended into absolute evil.
  1. When God looked at all He made (including people), he was pleased!
    Genesis 1:27-31, God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food," and it was so. God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
  2. Then God watched as a humanity that was good and pleased Him descended into evil through choices God did not make.
    Genesis 6:5-6, Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
    1. Though only three chapters are involved, a lot of time passed.
    2. In this transition, there were people like Abel, Seth, Enoch, the people who called on the Lord’s name (Genesis 4:26), and the sons of God (Genesis 6:2).
    3. God watched as people made bad choices, and all people such as Seth, Enoch, and the sons of God disappeared.
    4. He watched as people became so wicked that they did not have any good intents–they were inwardly evil as well as evil acting.
    5. He watched until the human wickedness was so great that He was sorry that He made human beings and was deeply grieved at what people had become.
    6. Yet, in all this He did not give up–rather He attempted to begin again.
  3. Yet, God’s attempt to begin again met with failure because, again, a human made a rebellious choice.
3. Even though God’s attempt to begin again was frustrated by human decisions to do evil, God did not give up.
  1. He waited until a man like Abraham existed.
  2. Though Abraham was likely an idol worshipper before he met God, living in a society that looked upon deity with idolatrous views (see Joshua 24:2), Abraham was a man capable of enormous faith in God once God spoke to him.
  3. Abraham, in faith, did things most of us would not seriously consider doing.
    1. Though he was a very obedient man, he is forever known as the man capable of great faith in God.
    2. As an act of faith, he lived as a nomad in a area where evil people coveted what he possessed.
    3. As an act of faith, he was willing to sacrifice his son of promise to God Who made the promise.
4. The patient God waited until the man of faith became a nation.
  1. Have you ever thought about how long it takes a man without children to become a nation?
  2. The patient God waited until the family of Abraham became a mass of slaves in a country that wanted them to be there as slaves, but not as a people.
  3. The patient God prepared them a leader, removed them (with major opposition) from slavery, delivered them at the Red Sea, and led them to Sinai.
  4. Everything they were, and everything they would become, they owed to God.
    1. He rescued them from slavery.
    2. He gave them freedom.
    3. He made it possible for them to have a country of their own.
    4. He provided them the guidance they needed to allow them to become a people like no other people in their time.
    5. Without the acts of God, they would not even exist–they literally owed God everything.
  5. And all God wanted was a people who listened to Him, who lived in His ways, and who were uniquely His people–what God wanted was the source of their blessings!
5. The patient God proceeded toward His objective even when Israel was faithless in its leadership or as a people or both.
  1. He worked with Israel through the period of the judges, even when Israel was faithless.
  2. He worked with Israel in the the period of the united kingdom even though 2 of the 3 kings abandoned Him, and all 3 made inexcusable mistakes.
  3. He worked with the 10 tribes who devoted themselves to idolatry until the Assyrian captivity, giving them repeated opportunities to turn from their evil.
  4. He worked with Judah until, through, and after the Babylonian captivity.
  5. He worked with the returning remnant through the period between the Old and New Testaments.
  6. In all these hundreds of years, Israel was faithless much more often than they were faithful, but the patient God refused to give up until He achieved His objective of creating opportunity for reconciliation.
Finally, God could send His Messiah (Christ) with a realistic expectation that someone would listen to him and make the choice to be reconciled to God.
1. When he was born, the angels announced it:
  And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” (Luke 2:9-14).
2. When Jesus was presented at the temple, Simeon said:
  Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A Light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel (Luke 2:29-32).
3. At 12 years of age, Jesus said of himself:
  “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49)
4. When the man Jesus approached John the baptizer, John said of him:
  “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He on behalf of whom I said, ?After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ?He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God” (John 1:29-34).
5. Years later Peter wrote these words regarding God’s redemptive work in Jesus:
  But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:8, 9).

Have you ever seen the patience of God in your salvation? Have you ever considered how long God endured in order to give you opportunity to be reconciled to God?

Have you responded to God’s patience by making your choice to be reconciled to Him?

None of us begin to know what a great thing the patient God has done for us in our salvation until we begin to understand what God endured to make our salvation possible.

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).

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