Jesus Christ: Son of God, Savior

Posted by Chris on February 25, 2007 under Sermons

1. Jesus Christ the Son of God
   1. James Cameron’s Press Conference scheduled for February 26th to announce the discovery of the tomb and body of Jesus and his wife
   2. Ichthus – Ancient Christian symbol – Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior
   3. Father, Son, Holy Spirit — The significance of “Son of God” is to fill out the trinity
   4. But Scripture means much more when the term Son of God is used

2. Jesus Christ
   1. Jesus – Yeshua (He Saves)
      1. Jesus of Nazareth
   2. Christ – The Anointed One
      1. Messiah and Savior

3. The Gospel of the Son:
   1. John 3:16 – Too bad it has been connected with fanatics, sports fans, and wrestling
   2. Reading John 3:12-21 — I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven–the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.

4. The Son SHOWS us God – No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven–the Son of Man. (John 3:13)

   1. The Unseen Glory of God:
      1. Exodus 33:15-20: Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
      2. God is pleased with Moses, yet Moses never saw the Face of God.

   2. God has revealed himself to us in his son:
      1. John 1:14, 18: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth … No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.
      2. Hebrews 1:3: The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
      3. Colossians 1:15: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

   3. More than a messenger or representative:
      1. The Son is God: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” (John 14)
         1. Recognized by his enemies — John 5:18: For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
         2. Philippians 2:6-7: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
      2. His teachings and actions are in synch with the Father:
         1. John 8:38: I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.
         2. John 5:19: I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

5. The Son is SENT from God – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son (John 3:16)

   1. God loves us, so he sends the one who can best express that love:
      1. John 14:23-24: If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
      2. John 15:9: As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

   2. Jesus is obedient and trustworthy:
      1. He is sent to do God’s will
         1. John 8:29: The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.
         2. John 12:49-50: For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.
      2. He is sent to do God’s work
         1. John 4:34 — My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
         2. Philippians 2:8 — And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross!
         3. He was sent to save the world

6. The Son SAVES the World – God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17)
   1. The Son Has Life and Authority:
      1. John 5:21, 26-27: For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
      2. Who is the Son of Man?
         1. Daniel 7:13-14: In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
      3. Life or Judgment?
         1. John 3:18: Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
         2. John 12:47-50: As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
         3. The Son, as judge, has come to “sentence us to life” through the grace of God. He would judge in our favor. But if we reject the Son sent by God to save the world, we condemn ourselves.
         4. 1 John 5:11-13: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

7. Savior:
   1. Savior – Children of God:
      1. The Son of God has invited us into the family, set the slaves free!
         1. John 1:12-13: Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
         2. Galatians 4:4-7: But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
      2. Why don’t we realize we are his children?
         1. The girl in Nicaragua:
            • Setting: the meeting. We talked about her hopes.
            • Then she mentioned her Father who owns all the land and wealth …
            • My first reaction was “Why doesn’t he pay for it?”
            • Then I realized she was talking about God!
         2. Why are we so reluctant to live dependently upon God – like little children!
         3. 1 John 3:1: How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
         4. This should give us …
   2. Confidence:
      1. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. – 1 John 4:15-17
   3. When you answered “Yes” to the confession question [“Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?”] … Do you rely on the love of God? Do you depend upon the life in the Son of God? The only other option is self-dependence, which is self-condemnation.

Welcome to the Table of the Lord

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Review: We worship God because he created us to worship him. He equips us to worship him. In the everyday realities of time and matter, God gives us ways to worship him. The rituals and rhythms of worship have been passed on to us, but each generation must claim them and make them their own.
Throughout the ages God’s people have gathered together to praise him in song and petition him in prayer. Why? Because he made us to worship him.
They have gathered by the waters to be baptized. Why? Because he made us to worship him.
And so also, God’s people have gathered around a table. Just because God made us to worship him. There has always been some sort of Lord’s Table. Eating and drinking in the presence of God has roots that extend back through all the festivals of Israel to that simple meal of bread and wine between Abraham and Melchizedek. We shouldn’t dismiss these festivals as mere ceremony of symbolism. As I hope we can understand today, ceremony and symbolism are critical to being human and being God’s people. Worshipping God is more than a mental exercise. It is a living activity. And the symbols and practices of our worship are alive. Done rightly, they are part of our worship to God – and after all God created us to worship him.

I Corinthians 11:23-26
²³For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Paul was passing on a living participation in a real event that held significance for the past, present and future. At the time he writes this to the Corinthians, the Lord’s Supper communion was already quite established in the practice of the Christian community. In fact, Paul is writing this because the Corinthians participation in the Lord’s Supper had become something of a disgrace. They weren’t paying proper attention to the symbols …

When it comes to the table of the Lord and the Lord’s supper there is much historical debate about the meaning of the elements: bread and wine. It won’t do us much good to get into all of that now. Besides, it really misses the point to try and dissect how symbols work. Why can’t we just understand how we engage and respond to symbols and the realities in which they (and we) participate …

• The flag – The fabric and dye and that makes up this flag isn’t sacred, but we show reverence. We stand when it is presented. We salute and sing our anthems. And what about flag burning? The ire of multitudes is raised when the U.S. flag is burned. But when an old tattered flag is taken out of service it is burned. What’s the difference? Attitude, reverence, the way in which people regard this banner. The flag becomes an embodiment of concepts and beliefs that are particularly real and meaningful.
• Wedding rings/ceremony – A lot of energy and investment goes into the wedding rings. There is a good amount of ceremony and special words that go along with the exchange of rings at a wedding ceremony. There’s nothing necessarily biblical about it, but we regard these rings as special. We even regard the ceremony as meaningful. Why? Because the ceremony and the rings embody something that we deem meaningful and important. The very fact that we show up is a witness to and participation in something we regard as more than real. At every wedding, done rightly, we are saying to everyone that marriage is a reality much larger than just this couple, but we invite them to participate in this special covenant. And the way we communicate and experience this is through ceremony and rings.
• Can you see how the tangible symbols of our faith engage us in a reality much greater than us? The water of baptism becomes an embodied participation in the gospel. Songs and hymns become embodied experience of the spirit of God.
• Think of the Cross. This is one of the most incredible symbols of our faith. What is it? What does it mean? The people of God did not invent this symbol. We co-opted it and changed it through and through – thanks to the work of God. It belonged to the Roman Empire. For them it was a symbol of fear and domination. But when Christ surrendered himself to the cross he exposed the corruption and depravity of human ambition and our need to be in power and in control. His sacrifice exposed our illusions and deceptions about ourselves. One of those illusions was the illusion of the cross – that it equaled punishment and power. God transformed it into a symbol of atonement. It became God’s embodied participation in reconciliation (Col. 1:20). Through Christ’s sacrifice there is peace between us and God.

Which brings us to the Table of the Lord: In the worship festivals that God’s people have participated in throughout the ages there is often a rhythm of sacrifice and thanksgiving. Through sacrificial love God provides reconciliation and redemption. A new hope is made real and the opportunity of new relationship between Creator God and his creation is established. And that relationship is important to worship.

When we come to the Table of the Lord and eat the Lord’s Supper of bread and wine we need to understand that this is a thanksgiving meal. This is a supper of peace and reconciliation. The war has been fought. This is the table of peace. (Just as it was with Abraham and Melchizedek). God has defeated the enemy at the cross. Sin has been atoned for. Because of that, we are welcomed to God’s dinner table.

Consider what this means as we participate in these symbols that embody this very great and life-transforming reality:

• The Lord’s Supper is not a funeral. It was never intended to make us suffer for our sins. The brutality of sin and shame was left at the cross. This supper is God’s way of embodying the reconciliation he so dearly desires.
• So, when we exclude ourselves from the Lord’s Supper, we are rejecting God’s invitation to come and eat with him. “But doesn’t 1 Corinthians 11 say we ought to examine ourselves and not partake if are unworthy?” No, it doesn’t. It cautions us not to eat and drink in a way that is unworthy of this very special supper. [Recall that the Corinthians were turning the Supper into a drunken glut-fest]. None of us are ever worthy of coming to the table! That’s why the cross precedes the table. But to eat the bread and wine in a worthy manner is to eat with thanksgiving and gladness and in loving fellowship with one another. The cross accomplishes that – the Lord’s Supper celebrates it!

Read Luke 24:28-36.

So, welcome to the table of the Lord …

Focus on the Bread:
When those disciples at Emmaus sat down for a humble meal of bread, they recognized Christ when he broke the bread and gave it to them. God is located very near us. He is as close as the food we need to survive. The bread is the body of Christ broken for us. It embodies a reality that we hold dear and sacred. Receive this spiritual food with thanksgiving and in response to God’s desires that you share this meal with him and with one another. He is here in the breaking of the bread.

Focus on the Cup:
When those disciples at Emmaus knew that they had been in the presence of the Lord, they were moved from being downcast to being excited. This cup is a cup of thanksgiving. It is a festive celebration that our brokenness cannot keep us apart from God’s love. Receive this spiritual drink with thanksgiving and in response to God’s desire to share in this festive drink and look forward to the day that we will drink a new cup with him in the kingdom to come.

God the Father

Posted by Chris on February 18, 2007 under Sermons

Psalm 68:5
Malachi 2:10
John 5:17-18

1. God the Father:
   1. Jesus came to give us the proper view of God.
   2. His message: GOD IS GOOD.
      1. To the rich ruler (Luke 18, Matthew 19, Mark 10): “Why do you call me good? There is one who is good!”
      2. Parables: The caller at night, the persistent widow. God will do right.
      3. Lessons from Fathers: (Luke 11:11-13)
         1. If we can be good fathers, then God is much better!

   

2. The Parable of the Good Father (Luke 15):
   1. Jesus is teaching about the love of this good God – his concern for the lost.
      1. He tells of a shepherd looking for a lost sheep.
      2. He tells of a woman looking for a lost coin.
      3. But the best illustration of God is that of a loving father waiting for a wayward child.
   2. Tell the Story:
      1. A man had two sons, the younger insults the father demanding his inheritance.
      2. The son squanders his wealth so shamefully!
      3. He finally ends up feeding unclean animals.
      4. He was hungry and craved the slop. No one had compassion on this young fool!
      5. He decides to confess his sin, and submit himself to his father as a slave.
         

         “The Forgiving Father” by Frank Wesley (1923-2002)

      6. The father notices the son far off.
         1. He has compassion.
         2. He runs to his son!
         3. He kisses him!
         4. He has a banquet for his son!
      7. The elder brother is so disgusted with his father’s reaction.
         1. He never got a party!
         2. But that sinful wretch gets treated like a prince!
         3. Remember: He had sex with prostitutes! He disgraced himself! He is unclean! He has polluted his body! He wasted the money!
      8. The Father to the elder son:
         1. “You are always with me, and all I have is yours!”
         2. He is saying, “I would be just as good to you. Even if you had done what he did, I would be good to you.”
      9. But the elder son doesn’t look for goodness in his father! He wants DISCIPLINE and JUSTICE!
         1. Looking for these, the elder son missed out on his Father’s goodness.

      10. What do we expect from our Heavenly Father?
   3. Jesus says look at this father and you understand something about God:
      1. The son asks for his inheritance. An insult! But the father gives the son what he asks for. [God is gracious when he has every right to punish.]
      2. The son squanders the money and comes to his senses. He realizes how good his father was to him [God has blessed us richly.]
      3. The son humbly returns to his father. He finds his father waiting. [God is patient.]
      4. His father, disregarding the indignity, lifts the folds of his robe and runs to his son. [God has suffered shame for us.]
      5. He receives the boy back before formal apology can be given. [God is forgiving.]
      6. The father accepts the boy back graciously. [God is love.]
   4. This view of God is a challenge!
      1. What about Justice! What about Punishment! What about Trust!
         1. We can’t get soft on this foolish kid!
      2. God is Just, Holy, Disciplining, but …
         1. Discipline without love is cruel.
         2. Holiness without goodness is vanity.
         3. Justice without mercy is compassionless.
      3. God is High, Holy, Awesome, Mighty, Exalted, Unique, Powerful …
         1. but we are comforted by the fact that he is good!
3. THE GOOD FATHER:
   1. Because God is good:
      1. He doesn’t play games with people.
         1. He doesn’t cause tragedies (fire?)
         2. He doesn’t torture and punish vengefully (angered)
      2. He can work in tragedies to bring about good. (Romans 8:28)
   2. Because God is good:
      1. You can go out this week knowing that God is on your side!
      2. God is good. He is for us. Are we for him?

Shall We Gather at the River?

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Most of the key civilizations in human history formed around rivers. The Middle Eastern nations formed between the Tigris and Euphrates – two rivers that supplied the Garden of Eden. The ancient and modern Egyptian culture is centered on the Nile River. The city of London is formed around the Thames. Midwestern civilization in our own country formed along the banks of the mighty Mississippi.

Living waters, rivers, are critical to forming a people. The river supplies many needs: it gives life, it nourishes the land, it is needed for cleansing and health, and it connects people all along the river.

The people of God are a civilization of sorts who gather around a river. There is a common river, an artery of life, which flows through our community. Did you notice it in the songs we have been singing? These are songs we often sing around baptisms, yes? Did you notice our common river flowing through the stories of the men we have recognized this morning as possible shepherds? It stretches from Encardio, California, all the way out to Carrolton, Kentucky. Along the way it winds through Fayetteville and Judsonia, Arkansas. Here are four men with different stories and from different places but united with each other and all of us through a common river – the waters of baptism.

There were all sorts of people gathered around the banks of the River Jordan that special day long ago. Sinful people were there trying to find hope and forgiveness. The poor were there because they heard that God was doing something wonderful. Tax collectors and soldiers who made their living by extorting others had gathered there – perhaps to find a way out of the life that made them victims as much as the people they victimized. Wealthy and respected religious leaders had gathered after hearing the news about a prophet claiming to announce the arrival of the kingdom of God. Of course there were probably ordinary people there just going about their business scrubbing out pots and jars and doing the laundry. Then Jesus came and submitted himself to baptism. The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world submitted himself to the washing away of sins – and yet he was without sin. Even the baptizer, John, protested and declared that he needed to be baptized by Jesus. But Jesus insisted. Why?

Jesus knew that God’s work to save all humanity was culminating in that river. He knew that God was working in him so that all people everywhere and in all ages might gather at the river of baptism and be baptized into Christ. But how could any of us unite with Christ in baptism if he himself didn’t gather at the river with us?

When Christ is lifted out of the water, heaven breaks open. The voice of God affirms that Jesus is his son. The spirit of God descends upon Jesus. The unity of Father, Son, and Spirit is visible to all the earth at the baptism of Christ. There’s the source of the mighty river that forms our church civilization. The ancients said that when one is baptized, Christ meets them in the water. Perhaps they were building on an idea that Paul expressed in Romans 6:5 – If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

We believe that those who are baptized are baptized into Christ. We participate in his death, burial, and resurrection. We believe that sins are washed away and the rule of death and sin in our lives is broken. We believe that Christ gives his spirit and a new humanity is formed in the believer.

We do not believe that those who are baptized are baptized into the church, but we believe that God adds them to his church. It makes sense because if we are all united with Christ in baptism then we are also united with one another, right? “One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:5-6)

Consider what this means for us. Some of us are very much alike. We have a lot in common. We share cultural values, we know the same people, we have the same interests, we have similar experiences and we have the same needs. Some of us are very different. We come from very different backgrounds. We have different opinions. We have been through experiences that we may not even understand. But all of this similarity and difference is submerged and engulfed in the great river that flows over us and makes us one – the Baptism of Jesus Christ.

Our Lord graciously allows us to extend the invitation to all to gather at this river of life. We believe that those who are baptized into Christ are his disciples. This claim is exclusive insofar as we believe this is the way to be united with Christ. But it isn’t exclusive in the sense that we forbid any from being immersed into the baptism of Jesus. All are invited to gather at the river.

The river of baptism is branch of the river of life that flows from the throne of God. As we follow the flow of our baptismal river, we will one day find ourselves on the shores of the river of life.
Shall we gather at the river? Yes, let’s gather with all who’ve come to be cleansed of their sins
Shall we gather at the river? Yes, let’s gather with those who’ve heard what God is doing
Shall we gather at the river? Yes, let’s gather with all who are anxious for justice and hope
Shall we gather at the river? Yes, let’s gather with all who are burden by the oppression of false gods and corrupt rulers.
Shall we gather at the river? Yes, let’s gather with all who are changing their ways and have come to share what they have with those who have nothing.
Shall we gather at the river? Yes, let’s gather with all the other saints who have met followed Christ into the river and found peace by the throne of God.
Shall we gather at the river? Yes, let’s gather with Christ.

God Is

Posted by Chris on February 11, 2007 under Sermons

1. How do you explain God?

   1. A nine-year-old perspective
   2. Yet some would say that God is just a myth for little children
   3. And the Psalmist says that those are the words of a fool – Psalm 14:1
   4. Anselm: An 11th Century monk, wrote a book called the Proslogium [Ontological Argument]
      1. “Even the fool is convinced that something exists, in the understanding at least, than which nothing greater can be conceived.”
      2. “That, than which nothing greater can be conceived, cannot exist in the understanding alone. For … then it can be conceived to exist in reality; which is greater.”
      3. In the late 20th century, there seems to be a growing interest in the existence of God, in the understanding at least …
   5. Aquinas: Cosmological argument
      1. Unmoved mover
      2. Uncaused casuse

2. Signs of the Times:
   1. An increasing interest in religion and faith
      1. Many claim belief in God
      2. Our nation still holds on to its Judeo-Christian traditions
   2. A declining importance in God
      1. But that belief seems to make no difference
      2. God has become inconsequential
         1. This is not to say that God is inconsequential.

   3. Aren’t these two trends contradictory?

3. The Weightlessness of God:

   1. “Those who assure the pollsters of their belief in God’s existence may nonetheless consider him less interesting than television, …
   2. … his commands less authoritative than their appetites for affluence and influence, his judgment no more awe-inspiring than the evening news, …
   3. … and his truth less compelling than the advertisers’ sweet fog of flattery and lies. That is weightlessness.” — David Wells, God in the Wasteland
   4. We live in Athens:
      1. “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. – Acts 17:22-23
   5. Our Pantheon of Gods
      1. Not of gods, but God-perspectives
      2. The Atheist God – the God who isn’t (faith is still involved here)
      3. Generic God – All-purpose, inoffensive
      4. God of Convenience – There when needed, not there when not needed
      5. Rational God – Predictable and manageable. Complicated, but understandable with study.
      6. The Personal God (yet this is all of the above), and all are idolatry — which is self-centeredness)
   6. It can get confusing and overlapping when you have a pantheon

4. `Eyeh asher `Eyeh
   1. Exodus 3:
      1. Moses investigates the burning bush and is caught up into the will of God.
      2. Moses wants to know more about God
      3. God gives him a name that reveals, but also demonstrates the mystery of God
         1. He cannot be defined by any mere name or concept
   2. The Name of God:
      1. YHWH – An awesome name (unlike nouns, Lord or God, etc.)
         1. Likely derived from the verb meaning “to be”
         2. Not spoken by readers of Torah (Instead they read “adonai”)
         3. Written with a fresh pen by Scribes
   3. The Names of God:
      1. Adonai = My Lord
      2. El or Elohim = God
      3. Jehovah is not a Hebrew Word (Not known until 1520. The result of reading YHWH with Adonai vowels)
   4. What the name means
      1. I am who I will be/I will be who I am
      2. When God speaks his name (I am YHWH) it is assurance of his
         1. Power: God is above all else, under no authority, unique
         2. Promises: God can be trusted. He is the God of A, I, and J.
      3. Yet no name is sufficient
         1. No one names God
         2. He is not rendered by a mathematical formula or title
      4. If the name is awesome, then how much more the God!

5. God Is …
   1. High:
      1. Sovereign, Holy, Transcendent, Above all else
   2. Near:
      1. Compassionate, Moved with concern for his creation, Love (initiates relationship)
   3. One:
      1. Unique, Almighty, Worthy (nothing else, no one else is like God)

6. God is High
   1. Exodus 3: Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
      1. What Moses was curious to investigate now strikes him with awe.
   2. Isaiah 6: I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs … and they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
      1. Because the Lord is so high and holy, those who encounter him are struck with awe and fear.
      2. God is transcendent, yet he graciously approaches us …

7. God is Near
   1. Exodus 3: The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians.”
      1. The Lord is moved by concern for his people.
   2. Genesis 28: He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
      1. The stairway: God has stepped in to our world to do business. He cares about what happens.
      2. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.
      3. “God is in it with us.”

8. God is One
   1. Exodus 3: 20 – So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them.
      1. The Lord is moved by concern for his people. So he does the impossible …
      2. He is always doing the impossible!
   2. Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, `Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.”
   3. Exodus 20: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol.
      1. Because of his power and one-ness, he is worthy of obedience.
      2. Yet God’s people have always wavered between obedience to God and the idols.
   4. 1 Kings 18: Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.

9. Who Am I?
   1. Exodus 3:11 – But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
   2. In God’s Presence we cannot remain unaffected
      1. Moses was changed in appearance – his face shone!
      2. Moses’ life was also changed.
      3. We too are transformed by encountering the Living God!
         1. We remain unchanged because we withdraw.
   3. When we encounter God we respond with:
      1. reverence
      2. awe
      3. humility
      4. worship
      5. and love
   4. The Greatest Commandment

      1. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
      2. It begins with a word about God, a call to know God!

         2. Hear, O Israel, The LORD is our God, The Lord is One!
         3. I learned about the presence of God when I changed the focus from me to God. When I considered those words: “The “I AM” is our God. The “I AM” is one.
      3. This is what Christianity is ultimately all about!
         1. not the church
         2. not evangelism
         3. not salvation
         4. not even Christ!
         5. but ultimately it is about GOD! (This is the pre-requisite for all else)

Singing

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

“Lord, I Lift Your Name On High”
“Great Are You Lord”
#238 – “You Are the Song That I Sing”

Psalm 95 – Responsive Reading

Children’s Song and Devotional
(All children to the front for time of singing and devotional thought)
Sing – “I’ve got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in My Heart!”
#474 – “Thank You, Lord”

#587 – “Sing and Be Happy” (vs. 1, 2, 3)
#121 – “Come Let Us All Unite To Sing” (vs. 1, 2, 3)
#258 – “The New Song” (vs. 1, 2, 3)

Song for Responses#674 – “I Have Decided To Follow Jesus” (vs. 1, 2, 3, 4)

#781 – “Thank You, Lord!”

Communion
Offering#458 – “Redeemed” (vs. 1, 3)

#608 – “He Gave Me A Song” (vs. 1, 2, 3)

Sending Out Prayer by an elder

The War and Me (part 2)

Posted by David on February 6, 2007 under Sermons

Failed expectations are the graveyard of personal faith. When Christians look for the reasons [there are more than one!] that the conversion rate is lower than it was fifty years ago or the church is not growing as it did fifty years ago, they tend to blame everything but themselves. They see evil ghosts lurking behind every bush. They blame a society that no longer favors expressions of Christian faith. They blame changes in social views. They blame the justice system. They blame globalization. They blame radical conservatives. They blame radical liberals. They long for the past and seek to revive it.

They fear the future and the additional changes it will bring. As they cry about change and blame everything that frightens them, the one thing they never blame is themselves.

In the past Christians counted on their children becoming "the next congregation of Christians." No more.

Why? Again, the are many contributing reasons. Those reasons include: the destabilization of marriage so some parents inconsistently behave one way in private and another way in public; the disassociation of the family unit–the family rarely spends time together as they learn to enjoy each other [everyone is busy doing "my own thing"]; the desire to follow a path that produces what "I" define to be pleasure; the surrender to material ambitions; the conviction that the most powerful influence in life is money; the tendency to regard Christianity as a religion of habits rather then a life; the substitution of faith in Jesus or God for faith in a movement; the death of faith.

There are many reasons for this enormous generational transition. Those just mentioned are some of the more obvious factors. May I focus you on a cause that I regard to be in my top five reasons for so many children rebelling against the convictions of their parents. That reason is failed expectations.

Faith in God does not produce the results that Christians often say it will. When something wonderful happens, we quickly call it a miracle and cite the happening as proof of divine intervention. When something terrible happens, we often ask, "Why? Why did God refuse to act on my behalf?" We go into shock when bad things happen to people we regard as good people.

1. May we begin with Jesus at the end of his earthly life.
   
   1. Matthew 26:36-46 gives an account of Jesus’ Gethsemane prayers he prayed just before his arrest.
      
      1. Basically, he prayed the same request three times–persistence.
         
      2. His request was simple: "If there is a way to achieve Your will without my having to die, please go the other way; but your will be done."
         
      3. Please understand this is a request made by an obedient son to his Father.
         
         1. This is a request made by a son who always did as his Father requested (see John 5:19; 6:38; 8:28; 12:49, 50; 14:10; etc.).
            
         2. This is a son who also prayed a lot (see Mark 13:5; Matthew 9:18, 28 14:23; Luke 5:16; 6:12).
      4. I doubt that anyone of us would think that his or her faith in God even compared to Jesus’ faith in God.
   2. God can answer our prayers in at least one of three ways.
      
      1. He can grant our request.
         
         1. This is our preference.
            
         2. We typically regard our desire as "the best way to go" when we urgently pray about a matter.
      2. He can give us the strength to cope with the situation.
         
         1. When we cope, our lives continue as if the problem did not exist.
            
         2. We feel the irritation and inconvenience of having the problem, but our lives do not reflect the problem.
      3. He can give us the strength to endure the problem.
         
         1. When we endure the problem, the problem generates situations that change our lives.
            
         2. He gave Jesus the strength to endure his arrest and death.
            
         3. He gave Paul the strength to endure his thorn though this miracle worker asked three times for the thorn to be removed (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
      4. Commonly, we are not wise enough to know what is in the best interest of our eternal salvation.
         
         1. Many American Christians are prone to see only the immediate rather than the future.
            
         2. Many of us react to the inconvenience of the moment thinking only of the material rather than the spiritual.
            
         3. God took the horrors of Jesus’ crucifixion and sealed the defeat of evil plus guaranteed all blessings found in Jesus–God took a crucifixion and made an eternal Savior.
            
         4. Are you not grateful for all God does through Paul’s writings?
            
         5. God did not respond as they requested, but He responded.
            
         6. Their ultimate best interest resulted from His response.
2. The irony to me is this:
   
   1. Christianity is founded upon suffering from its very beginning.
      
      1. Jesus predicted that faith in him would result in unthinkable suffering and rejection in Matthew 10:34-39.
         
         1. While Christ extends internal peace to those who struggle inwardly (Matthew 11:28-30), accepting his peace may result in external hardships!
            
         2. It certainly did among the first century Jews!
            
         3. It also created stern reactions from first century idol worshippers! (see Acts 19:23-28)
            
         4. The peace is real and internal, but the suffering took the forms of rejection, persecution, injustice, and hostility [including martyrdom] (see Hebrews 10:32-35).
      2. Death was often the price of faith.
         
         1. Christianity is founded on the death and resurrection of Jesus!
            
         2. Stephen was martyred (Acts 7:58-60).
            
         3. James was executed with the sword (Acts 12:2).
            
         4. Historical records indicate all the apostles but John died violent deaths.
            
         5. Paul certainly anticipated execution (2 Timothy 4:6-8)
      3. Have you read 2 Corinthians 11:23-33 lately?
         
      4. Revelation indicates the Christians in Asia Minor questioned the survival of Christianity because opposition was so severe.
         
      5. The irony: how can American Christians expect Christianity to be a religion that does not experience struggle when it began and spread by Christians’ reaction to struggle?
   2. Are we more concerned about our physical desires than about our eternal salvation?
      
      1. Do we want God to yield to our material desires if it would cost us our eternity with Him?
         
      2. Do we not realize how determined Satan is to cause us physical hurt because we choose to reject him and find hope in Jesus?
         
      3. Satan is no amateur!
         
         1. None of us are a match for him if we seek to oppose him alone!
            
         2. It seems he is continually confronting us and asking, "Do you trust Jesus this much?"
      4. Though Satan opposes us, God will always be there for us.
         
         1. 1 John 4:4 (in context)
            You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
            
         2. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (in context)
            No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
            
         3. Romans 8:28-39 (in context)
            And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
            
            1. God can use anything Satan does to us for our eternal salvation!
               
            2. We are God’s property–He will take care of us eternally!
               
            3. Satan cannot accuse us as He did Job!
               
            4. Justification!
               
            5. Intercession!
               
            6. We cannot, without our consent, be taken from God’s love!
         4. 1 John 1:9 (in context)
            If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
      5. Our salvation is not without opposition, but it is ours by God’s promise if we keep our faith in Jesus Christ.
3. The how do I prepare for opposition from Satan?
   
   1. I grow in awareness of where the opposition can originate.
      
      1. Ephesians 6:12
         For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
         
      2. I do not expect life to be easy if I place it in Jesus Christ!
   2. I prepare for the onslaughts of Satan.
      
      1. Ephesians 6:13
         Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
         
      2. I expect Satan to attack me, cause me pain, and test my commitment to Jesus Christ.
   3. I am personally serious about my devotion to Christ.
      
      1. Ephesians 6:18
         With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
         
      2. I am not in this battle alone! The rest of the family also faces opposition!
         
      3. Never is there any question of where my loyalty lies.

Expect Satan to be angry with your faith in Jesus Christ. Never blame God for the work of Satan. Never expect God to do for you what He never promised. Always know God will never abandon you. Try to constantly see God at work, and when you do not see it, never doubt that He is at work.

Back To The Bible

Posted by Chris on February 4, 2007 under Sermons

Prayer

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Call to Worship

Jesus encourages us to pray. If we can be known for anything, then let us be known as a people who pray without ceasing. Let us pray not only for ourselves, but also for one another and for the sake of the world.

Jesus teaches us to pray. [Read Luke 11:1-4.] We call this the “model prayer” and yet how often do we conform to the model? This morning, we are modeling our worship on the model prayer. Our movements in worship are based on the petitions of Jesus’ prayer lesson. So let’s follow the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ who encourages us to ask, seek, knock, and to pray. The prayer is given to us in plural form – notice how often it says “our and us.” Let us pray this prayer together by reading it now, and let this be our entry into our service of worship …

Congregational Reading of Luke 11:1-4

#2 – “We Praise Thee, O God” (vs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
#15 – “Step By Step”

Prayer
#797 – “Lord We Come Before Thee Now” (vs. 1, 2, 3, 4)
#704 – “Bind Us Together”

Prayer
#525 – “He Knows Just What I Need” (vs. 1, 2, 3)

#357 – “Bethlehem?Galilee?Gethsemane”

All around the Lord’s Supper the humanity of Jesus Christ is obvious. His love and concern for his disciples. His anxiety over the impending crucifixion. His forgiveness and compassion even for those who mistreated him. Our Lord displays his humanity through his prayers. Jesus prays often during the gospel event. He gives thanks for the bread and cup. He prays in the garden and asks for another way, yet he submits himself to God’s way. He encourages his disciples to pray with him and for him and for themselves. He prays on the cross and intercedes for those who are caught up in the frenzy of accusation and judgment. Jesus prays. If you will read John 17 you will find that he even prayed for you and me!

Perhaps this should teach us that we are very much like Christ when we pray. Perhaps this should teach us that we are most human when we pray. We come to the Lord’s Supper as anxious souls hungry for the bread of life. We pray, “Give us today our daily bread.” And our Father, who knows what we need, gives to us even Himself and His own Spirit.

Prayer at the Lord’s Table
Communion

Prayer for Offering & Ministry
Offering

#660 – “People Need The Lord” (repeat)
#800 – “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” (vs. 1, 2, 3) [Dismiss to Children’s Worship]

#810 – “Listen To Our Hearts” (vs. 1, 2)

Prayer

#413 – “Lord Be There”
#390 – “Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah” (vs. 1, 2, 3)

Invitation to Prayer and Baptism

A simple man once said that “Life without adversity would be … well, it might be kind of nice.” True. But adversity seems to be a part of life. Every one of us has known some form of it.

When we pray to God “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We acknowledge that we do not live in a perfect world. We live in a broken world – sure there is still much that is good in this world, but it is not what God intends for it to be. So we live in a world where there is adversity.

Adversity is no indicator of how much or how little God loves us, even though it can seem that way. Adversity is no indicator of how righteous we are, even though our own actions can bring adversity into our lives – and yet if we are trying to find fault and blame we can get into a never-ending spiral of cause and event that would take us back to the Garden of Eden.

Rather, it is our response to adversity that ought to concern us: This week I have had many occasions to reflect on just how the Evil One works. Do you know what Satan’s name means? It comes from the Hebrew word for “accuser.” The evil one seeks to accuse us – especially in our adversity. As he tried to do with Christ in the desert, the evil one comes to us in our time of trial and aims to convict us without hope and draw out our worst and most sinful nature.

Watch out for his schemes! What shall we do with our anxiety and anger? What shall we do with our fear and sorrow? Rather than deny that we are human, let us turn to Our Father in heaven in prayer. Let us ask for wisdom. Let us ask, seek, and knock and trust that the love of our Father in heaven is greater than the accusation of the evil one.

Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Every Sunday we offer an invitation. It is an invitation to be delivered from the evil one. Christ invites us to the waters of baptism so that we might be delivered from evil. Baptism and repentance are entwined seamlessly – if you have been baptized then understand that your baptism is a death to sin but you are alive to God in Jesus Christ (Rom. 6). If you are considering being baptized then repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins.
The invitation is also an invitation to prayer. Are any of you in trouble? Are any of you sick? Then pray and the Lord will lift you up (James 5).

#791 – “On Bended Knee” (vs. 1, 2)
[During this hymn you may meet with elders in Room 100 for prayer or come to the front and share your request for prayer or baptism]

#539 – “Higher Ground” (vs. 1, 2, 4)

Sending Out Prayer by an elder

There Is A War Going On (part 1)

Posted by David on February 3, 2007 under Sermons

In my opinion, Christians are constantly amazed at the escalating attack on Christian values and Christian views in this country. Many things that were appreciated and revered by those who did not even pretend to be Christians in the middle 20th century are under deliberate attack in the early 21st century. That which was regarded to be a part of this nation’s strength is now often considered a part of this nation’s weakness.

This process gives no evidence of coming to an end. By the year, the attacks are becoming bolder and more open.

As I begin, I want to be as clear as possible. I do not wish to make a political statement in this lesson. The concern expressed transcends politics. This is a statement that concerns the values that compose the moral fabric of a people.

I do not wish to suggest that all concerns that declare themselves Christian are in fact Christian. There are many issues that masquerade as a Christian concern that are fundamentally, in basic nature, economic or personal perspectives or group agendas.

Nor do I wish to suggest that all Christians act or express themselves wisely in the spirit of Jesus Christ. Too often those who so despise being victims of control wish to victimize others through their control. It is too rarely a concern for forgiveness and too often a desire for revenge.

If (1) our model is Jesus Christ and (2) he sought no revenge for horrible injustice, (3) how do we conclude we further his objectives through vengeance and forcible control?

The things I share with you today are a personal view. I do not ask you to adopt my view. I merely seek to stimulate you to think. My hope is that by your thinking you will reflect seriously on the basic nature of Christianity. What you consider to be an appropriate expression of Christianity will affect in a basic way what you consider to be Christian values.

All I ask you to do today is think rather than react.

1. There is a continuous war going on that is a very old war, that has gone on for centuries.
   
   1. Basically that war has been and is the conflict between the source of good and the source of evil.
      
      1. The Christian understands this to be a war between God and Satan.
         
      2. The war is over in regard to which will be the victorious "side" (that was determined in Jesus’ death and resurrection), but it is not over in the sense that it has ended.
         
      3. Could God end it? Yes!
         
         1. The question is not could God end the war.
            
         2. The issue is this: is God willing to endure the cost of ending the war now?
            
         3. Thus far the answer has been, "No!"
            
         4. God is fighting the war because He wishes to rescue and regain people.
   2. Consider:
      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. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
      (2 Peter 3:8-10)
      
      1. Peter affirms these facts:
         
         1. The Lord is not concerned with time as He wages this war.
            
         2. Repentance of people is more important to the Lord than time.
            
         3. It is not the Lord’s desire for any to perish, therefore the patient Lord is providing people maximum opportunity.
            
         4. However, "the day of the Lord" will happen!
      2. Judgment (sentencing, not trial) will happen.
         
         1. However, the patient Lord will maximize opportunity for human repentance prior to ending the war.
            
         2. The Lord does not wish to destroy people!
            
         3. The Lord wants people to escape the consequences of evil by repenting.
            
         4. The primary reason for this war as far as humans are concerned is repentance.
            
         5. Had He wanted to, God could have "cut His losses" when the first human rebellion occurred in Genesis 3.
   3. The primary theme of the Bible is about divine recovery from human rebellion, not divine punishment of human rebellion.
      
      1. Surely those who willingly yield themselves to evil will endure the consequences of their choices.
         
      2. However, that is not what God wishes!
         
      3. He does not wish for human rebellion against Him to be subjected to punishment.
   4. Consider a statement Paul made about Jesus Christ and God in 1 Corinthians 15:20-28.
      But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.
      
      1. For humans, there was a time when God the Father was "the all in all."
         
         1. For us that would have been the period following creation when all things were in subjection to God.
            
         2. God reigned over this creation, including people.
            
         3. For a period nothing opposed His rule.
      2. Jesus potentially rectified all that humans perverted and made rebellious when they through rebellion perverted creation in Genesis 3.
         
         1. Jesus was the first to be permanently resurrected in the conquest of death.
            
         2. Our hope of resurrection is vested in what God did in raising Jesus from the dead.
            
         3. All who find life in Jesus will be resurrected to life just as Jesus was.
      3. Jesus Christ reigns right now, and will continue to reign until he returns.
         
         1. The objective of his reign is to defeat all the forces that oppose God.
            
         2. Through the current reign of Jesus Christ everything that opposes God being (again) the "all in all" will be defeated.
            
         3. That which Jesus seeks to defeat includes rules (reigns), authority, power, and death.
            
            1. None of these rebellious forces advance the original objectives of God.
               
            2. They result from influences of evil and its deception, not from God’s intent.
               
            3. God’s desire was not for humans to be rebellious.
               
            4. The choice of our ancient ancestors made rebellion a part of human nature.
      4. When Jesus defeats the last of the forces that oppose God being the "all in all" [the last force being death itself], he will submit everything [including himself] to God so He will be restored to the position of the "all in all."
2. Please consider two things regarding this war that opposes surrender to God.
   
   1. First, I ask you to consider this graphic.
      1. When we were created, God was the "all in all."
         
      2. Rebellion, produced by evil’s deception, perverted creation, and it began with the beings God made in His own image and likeness.
         
      3. With rebellion against God came a desent into complete evil in humans–a total rebellion against God.
         
      4. In only the first 6 chapters of Genesis people go from God’s pronouncement of "very good" (Genesis 1:31) to His disgust of rejection (Genesis 6:5-7).
         
      5. Yet, God whose character includes patience and grace, refused to give up on humans even when He was sorry He made people (Genesis 6:8).
         
      6. God’s journey to (a) the recovery of His status of the "all in all" and (b) the salvation of people involved a lot of patience and a lot of time.
         
         1. First, He found a man who would trust Him enough to allow God to work through this man–that was Abraham.
            
         2. Second, He worked through Abraham to produce a nation of people who were supposed to be God’s people in this evil, rebellious world (consider Deuteronomy 7:6-11; 9:4,5).
            
         3. Through that nation God brought the Christ.
            
            1. The nation of Israel was merely God’s vehicle, not God’s destination (consider Isaiah 42:6; 56:6, 7 as an expression of God’s interest in all people).
               
            2. The Bible is not a record of all God’s acts, but a record of how God brought the Christ [His solution to human rebellion] through His work through Israel.
         4. Jesus was sent by God (Philippians 2:5-8) to serve as the world’s guide back to God (John 3:16-21; 8:19, 28, 29; 14:6, 10; 10:14-18; etc.,)
            
         5. With the judgment, God will again be acknowledged by everyone as the "all in all."
   2. Second, I ask you to focus on Paul’s admonition to the Ephesian Christians in Ephesians 6:10-13.
      Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
      
      1. We on our own are no match for Satan and the deceptions of evil.
         
         1. We must draw strength from God.
            
         2. We must wear God’s protection.
      2. Opposition to God then took and now takes many forms.
         
         1. Rulers
            
         2. Powers
            
         3. World forces of darkness
            
         4. Spiritual forces of wickedness
      3. We are not to be deceived into believing that spirituality in Christ only involves opposition physically to evil things in this world.
         
      4. There is much more involved in conquering evil than our salvation and our desires.
         
         1. It is terribly easy for us to make this struggle a very selfish consideration.
            
         2. It is terribly easy for us to focus this struggle only on us and our blessings.
            
         3. Our salvation does parallel the restoration of God to His rightful position.
            
            1. However, the primary consideration is the restoration of God’s rule as the "all in all."
               
            2. The wonderful blessings of our salvation are only in a support role in the marvelous restoration of God’s rule over everything.

The question is more than: "Do you see your need as one who has been deceived by evil?" That is important, but it is only the beginning. The essential question is this: "Have you spiritually matured enough to see the right and the glory of properly restoring God to position of the ‘all in all’?"