Podcasts about first chronicles

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 1 Chron 16; Ps 106; Matt 19 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible! On today's episode, host Hunter invites us into day 122 of our journey through Scripture, focusing on First Chronicles 16, Psalm 106, and Matthew 19. Together, we reflect on God's enduring faithfulness, the story of Israel's wanderings, and Jesus' teachings about marriage, hard-heartedness, and what it truly means to follow him. As we listen, Hunter guides us to see how all of Scripture points to Christ, the bridegroom, as God's answer for our hearts. Alongside our Bible readings, we'll spend time in prayer—seeking God's purpose, asking to become instruments of his peace, and remembering that we are deeply loved. So, grab your Bible and join us as we warm ourselves by the fire of God's love and continue to grow together, day by day. TODAY'S DEVOTION: Jesus is the answer for our hard hearts. In today's reading from Matthew 19, Jesus says something remarkable about the law: it is a concession to our hardheartedness. The laws given, even about divorce, are an acknowledgment of our rebellion, our tendency to live life apart from God. God gives the law not as his ultimate desire for us, but as a way to deal with our brokenness and stubbornness. But that is not where the story ends. The answer is not the law. The answer is Jesus himself. Throughout scripture, we see marriage as a significant signpost. It was at a wedding in Cana that Jesus performed his first miracle, turning water into wine. And at the end of time, there is the promise of a great marriage feast—the marriage supper of the Lamb. All of scripture is pointing to this bridegroom, our Lord Jesus, who longs to transform our hearts and give us new life. He is God's answer to our heart's deepest need, far surpassing anything the law can do. The religious leaders came to Jesus trying to corner him with the law, but Jesus was not distracted by their traps. Instead, he offered freedom—the kind of healing only he can bring to hearts that are hardened by sin, disappointment, and pride. Jesus is the one who comes near with compassion, who makes all things new, who invites us to leave behind our old ways and follow him into abundant life. This is the answer for us today. Not more rules or burdens, but the loving, transforming presence of Jesus. The one who turns water into wine, the one who welcomes the little children, the one who calls rich and poor alike to lay down what stands in the way and receive the treasure of his kingdom. And that's the prayer of my heart today: that I will let him. That's what I long for my own soul, for my family, and for you. That we would open our hearts to the bridegroom, to the only one who can truly make us new and set us free. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 1 Sam24;Ps 57-58; 1 Chron 8; Matt 8 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S DEVOTION: Will God reach out to us in our need? That's the aching question at the heart of Matthew 8 and, if we're honest, the question many of us quietly carry. The leper wonders, “Is God willing?” The Roman officer, seeking help for his servant, quietly asks the same. The crowds gathered at Peter's house come, each with the desperate hope that God's compassion and power are not reserved for someone else—but will reach even them. Deep down, all of us want to know: Will God cross the distance? Is He willing to touch us at our lowest, at our most unclean and unworthy? So much in our world, and even our religion, tries to sell us the lie of separation—that God is far off, distant, too holy to come near our mess. We get the message that God will keep his distance until we make ourselves acceptable, that we are always just out of reach. But that is not the gospel. The gospel is the declaration that God is not removed. In Christ, He draws near—He steps across every boundary, he sits with us in our worst, he touches what others would call untouchable, and he makes us clean. In answer to every fearful, doubting heart, Jesus says, “I am willing.” He unmasks the lie of separation with the reality of his compassion and presence. God, in Christ, is not far off from you. He is willing, he is present, and he has set his heart to set you free. Where you are right now is not too far. Your struggle, your shame, your uncleanness—none of it keeps him away. The good news is not only that God can restore and heal, but that God desires to do so, and he is already with you, closer than your breath. My prayer today is that I might be rooted more deeply in this union with Christ, that the lie of separation would lose its grip on my heart and mind. That's my prayer for my family—for my wife, my daughters, my son. And it's my prayer for you: that you would know, in the depths of your being, that God is willing, God is near, and you truly are loved. May it be so. Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible! In today's episode for April 21st, 2025, your host Hunter guides us through day 111 of our journey through the scriptures. Together, we'll explore First Samuel 24, Psalms 57 and 58, First Chronicles 8, and Matthew 8. This episode dives deep into dramatic moments—David spares Saul's life in the cave, the heartfelt songs and pleas of David in the Psalms, rich genealogies tracing the descendants of Benjamin, and several of Jesus's remarkable miracles: healing the leper, the Roman officer's servant, and calming a raging storm. Hunter not only reads and reflects on these passages, but also shares an encouraging message about the willingness and compassion of God. He confronts the lie of separation, reminding us that God is not distant, but present and loving—no matter where we find ourselves. Wrapping up, he leads us in heartfelt prayers and urges us to root ourselves in the good news of Jesus. So grab your Bible, settle in, and join us as we lean into the joy and assurance that we are deeply loved by God. TODAY'S DEVOTION: TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 18; 1 Chron 6; Psalm 11; Matthew 3 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to another inspiring episode of the Daily Radio Bible podcast with your brother and Bible reading coach, Hunter. Today's episode takes us on a journey through the pages of scripture, starting in First Samuel 18, followed by First Chronicles 6, Psalm 11, and finishing in Matthew's Gospel chapter 3. Hunter reflects on the powerful declarations of God's love for humanity through Jesus, reminding us that we are loved and belong to God. He guides us in a moment of prayer, inviting us to seek mindfulness and divine presence in our lives. We conclude with gratitude for the partners who make this podcast possible. Join us as we continue our journey, setting intentions to live a mindful and prayerful life. Let's dive in! TODAY'S DEVOTION: This is my dearly loved son who brings me great joy. These are the first words we hear the father speak over the son. And through Christ, they are words that have been spoken over all people all over the Earth. God has declared his love for all humanity. He's declared his love for you. So here in this declaration, the heart of the father for all people everywhere, broken, lost, sinner people like you and me, Jesus comes to do all that is needed so that every man, woman, and child can be embraced into the triune love of father, son, and holy spirit. So all humanity can experience the love that is shared in the godhead. So we can be one as they are one. Hear the declaration of what is. Hear the proclamation that you are loved by god. This is not a proposition. God's love and your position as daughter, as son, is not a great opportunity for you if you believe enough or you get your act together enough. It is a declaration of what is. You are loved. You are his. And that is great news. Let's hear this declaration well today and move out into the world, learning, discovering how to live out who we have become. May God give us wisdom, and may God give us joy as we live out this gospel in him. That's a prayer that I have for my own soul. That's a prayer that I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, and my son. And that's a prayer that I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 15-16; 1 Chronicles 5; Matthew 1 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible podcast, where today we celebrate over one hundred days of journeying through the scriptures together. Join Hunter, your Bible reading coach, as he reflects on the transformative power of this habit, emphasizing that while the Bible itself doesn't save us, it points us to Jesus, the true source of salvation and the healer of our souls. Dive into today's readings from First Samuel, First Chronicles, and the beginning of Matthew's gospel, exploring stories of kings, prophets, and the lineage of the Messiah. Hunter shares insights on how God's anointing oil, unlike the world's oil, brings true peace, hope, and love. As we journey through scripture, let us continue to grow in understanding and devotion, keeping our hearts open to the work of the Spirit in our lives. TODAY'S DEVOTION: The world's oil is not what we truly crave. In our world today, oil is a symbol of power and influence. It establishes kingdoms and directs economies. People wage wars over it, lives are shaped and shattered by its value. But in reality, the world's oil cannot provide what we desperately need. It cannot bring us peace, offer us hope, or fill us with love. It does not have the power to transform the human heart. Yet God's oil is entirely different. It comes from a humble olive, representing His presence. This oil signifies the peace, hope, and love that only He can provide, transforming every heart it touches. In today's reading, the moment Samuel anointed David with oil, it was more than a physical act; it was a representation of God's divine presence and approval. David stands as a symbol of the anointed one, pointing us to Jesus – the ultimate expression of God's loving presence. Jesus, the true anointed one, was sent to offer the world an overflowing abundance of peace, hope, and love. According to the scriptures, He was born of a virgin, lived among us, was crucified, died, buried, and then rose from the dead. Now, He offers the oil of His spirit – His presence – to all of us. This anointing transforms us into lights in this dark world, filling us with His peace, hope, and love. Let us embrace the spirit's presence within us as we glow with His light and share His love with the world. Hallelujah. That's a prayer I hold close for my own soul, for my family, and for you too. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 13; 1 Chronicles 2-3; 2 Cor 12 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to another episode of the Daily Radio Bible with your host, Hunter. Today, we continue our journey through the scriptures with Day 102. Hunter,  will be guiding us through readings from First Samuel 13, First Chronicles 2 and 3, and Second Corinthians 12. Together, we'll explore stories of leadership and challenges faced by Saul, discover the lineage detailed in First Chronicles, and delve into Paul's reflections in Corinthians about relying on God's grace amidst his own struggles. Join us as we dive into the word, seeking wisdom, encouragement, and a deeper understanding of God's presence and love in our lives. Whether you're at home, on a walk, or commuting, we're glad you're here with us on this spiritual journey. So grab your Bible and let's get into today's readings! TODAY'S DEVOTION: What do you really want? Is it comfort, security, pleasure, recognition? Maybe it's something related to your family. Maybe you want healing for a child or a spouse for yourself. Paul wanted something too. He wanted it badly. He pleaded for it. He wanted this thing that was bothering him to stop. He called it his thorn in the flesh. And the origins of this thing came from Satan himself, we're told. We're not exactly sure what it was, but the description seems to cover all the bases. We all have needs, physical and spiritual needs, and we all end up crying out to God, asking him to deliver us, to take that thing, to correct that thing, to heal that thing, whatever that thing is, and we see that Paul was no different. He pleaded and pleaded and continued to plead. Whatever it was, Paul felt that it was holding him back. This is what Paul really wanted. He saw God delivering and providing and doing miracles that were both spiritual and physical for others. Why didn't God do the same for Paul? Why doesn't he do the same thing for you, for me? Maybe it's because there's something Paul and you and I need that's more important than what we want. Paul needed to know the power of grace in his life. God tells Paul, not once, but three times, grace is what you need. My grace is perfected in your weakness. And so Paul began to treasure even his weaknesses because they became a doorway to the grace, the presence, the love of God. Maybe there's something that we need that's more important than what we want. And the prayer of my own soul to his is that I will have the wisdom, the courage, the grace to receive it. And that's the prayer that I have for my family, for my wife, and my daughters, and my son. And that's a prayer that I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 11-12; 1 Chronicles 1; 2 Cor 11 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to this episode of the Daily Radio Bible, where we're diving into day 102 of our immersive journey through the Bible with your host, Hunter. Today, we take a look behind the pages of First Samuel chapters eleven and twelve, explore the genealogies in First Chronicles chapter one, and reflect on the profound insights from Second Corinthians chapter eleven. From Saul's stirring leadership in times of crisis, to the long lineage of faith, and Paul's candid testament of strength found in weakness, each reading brings its unique perspective on our walk in faith. We'll also spend time in prayer together, seeking guidance and strength for the day ahead. So, settle in as Hunter unravels the scriptures and invites you into a deeper experience of God's word. Let's continue to open our hearts and minds to the transformative power of these ancient texts. TODAY'S DEVOTION: It's an upside-down world. Paul's being lowered in a basket through a hole in the wall outside of the city. As he's being lowered, God is lifting him up. We've been invited into an upside-down world. It's a world where those who are lowered down are being lifted up, while those who lift themselves up are being lowered from within. Paul very briefly talks about his elevated days. He reminds his readers just how elevated he was, that he was like those super apostles. But Paul wants them to know that this elevated status did nothing for his soul. In fact, he was descending from within, even while on the outside, his status was soaring high. Paul tells us that it was while he was being lowered, descending on the outside, accused and scorned and whipped and stoned and shipwrecked, hungry alone on the outside, even as he was being lowered in a basket, it was in these moments that God showed himself most present in his life. It was there that Paul knew God's strength the most. He experienced God's love most intimately when he was being lowered in that basket outside the city. It was a defining moment for Paul. God does his deepest work in our lowering, and anyone, super apostle or not, who tells us otherwise, might want to be avoided. See God in the lowering. Experience the fellowship of his suffering there. He is faithful to bring about his good purposes in all of our circumstances. And the prayer of my own heart today is that I will participate with him in faith, even in the lowering. That's the prayer that I have for my own soul. That's the prayer that I have for my family, for my wife and my daughters and my son. And that's the prayer that I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

If God is a God of blessing – then what about all the suffering we go through? And anyway, if God does bless, does that just mean a new car and a bigger house?   Does God want to Bless Me? Perhaps you've heard people say that we're “Blessed to be a Blessing”. But man, it's so easy to get the wrong idea about what God really, truly means by that word “blessing”. I see so much misunderstanding about God and His heart and where He stands on blessing us. There seems to be a couple of extreme positions on this whole subject of God's blessing – two opposite ends of the spectrum, if you like. On the one end, it goes something like this. God wants to bless me, therefore, I should believe Him for the new Mercedes convertible, more money and a bigger house and a big diamond ring. In effect it kind of reduces God down to some sort of sugar daddy: it's all about me, I am at centre stage – I name it and I claim it. And you know something, lots of Christians believe that. Now the problem that I have with that end of the spectrum is that when I take that and I hold it in one hand and I hold the cross of Christ in the other – when I look at Jesus, this Jesus that gave up everything for me; this Jesus who was nailed to a cross, beaten and bruised and brutalised, not even with the clothes on His back – and I compare those two things, you know something, this end of the spectrum over here, jars with that, don't you think? And it leads to some of the worst excesses – the tele-evangelists pressuring people for money and flying around in their private jets. Is that where that should end up? I mean is that what God's blessing is all about? The other end of the spectrum is you have to be poor to serve God. Money is evil. In fact, we just had a phone call, just the other evening, in the middle of the night, someone responding to a program, saying, "money is evil". Well, no that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says, “The love of money is the root of all evil”, but money itself isn't evil. "People who are rich are evil." I was talking to a man in India recently. India by and large, is a country of extremes – there is the very rich and there's a large, large number of very, very poor people. And this man was being very critical of a Christian leader who just happened to have a nice house in a nice area. He believed that it was wrong for him to have money. Then I looked at this end of the spectrum – you have to be a pauper to serve God. And then I go to the Bible and I read about Abraham, who was God's chosen man; he was very wealthy. I read about King Solomon, he was very wealthy. Yet King Solomon was still God's anointed leader over Israel. He was full of God's wisdom. Do you see the problem? You go to either end of the spectrum and you take teaching about God's blessing to the extreme and you know, I think you end up with the wrong answer. God is a God of balance and when we look at our lives, what we see is that we go through times of blessing, where there's joy and everything seems to be going well and we all go through difficult times. You see the problem. At one end you can have people getting the extreme prosperity thing in their heads and we can end up thinking it's all about us. It plays right into the hands of the world; it's the me, me, me – the next plasma TV, the next car, the next big thing. If you don't have that, obviously you don't have enough faith. On the other hand, if you have this perception that you have to be poor to be a Christian, well if that were the case, who would ever fund the work of the Lord on this planet? God has always chosen to fund His work through His people. And then on top of the pure monitory thing, there's the reality of tragedy and pain and suffering. I mean some of these things are indiscriminate – earthquakes, tsunamis, a young person who loves God dies of cancer, in a car crash or there's divorce or there's retrenchment or there's all that stuff of life that we all experience some times. Are you with me? So what's God's plan? Does God want to bless me or not? Is it okay for me to ask for His blessing? Is it okay for me to expect His blessing, or is that presumptuous? This is an important question. It is in a sense where the ‘rubber' of faith hits the ‘road' of life. It's when it comes to faith in God being active, right in the midst of life's realities today, the things we all have to face. We get up in the morning, we pray, we look forward to the day … How do I pray, what do I give thanks for? That difficult situation that's going be confronting me at work today, can I ask God to help me with that? Is God in all of that? That's why we are doing this series "Blessed to be a Blessing". I'm a simple man. I open the Bible, I see what God's Word says on a subject and you know God is largely a God of balance. I love to be empowered with God's Word and hopefully as we share these next twenty, twenty five minutes together we will both be empowered by God's Word. The problem with teaching on blessing is that you just can't take one verse and say, "That's it! See, God is a God who blesses; therefore I can ask Him for the next big car". You end up with an extreme position. Just as if you say, "You can't have any money to serve Jesus. You have to sell everything you have, give it all away", because Jesus did say that to one young ruler. I'd like to look at God's perspective; the whole thing. Is God a God who blesses? Well, let's just start with what we mean by the word "bless"? It has a number of different meanings but the main connotation is God's divine favour – God intervening to make something better or to give us something that will bring us joy or happiness, financial blessing, spiritual blessing, physical blessing, healing, anything and everything. God's divine favour – His blessing becoming active in our lives. The question is, is God in the blessing business? The word "bless" or "blesses" or "blessed" or "blessing", appears three hundred and fifty eight times in the Bible. The first time you see it is in the first chapter of the Bible, Genesis chapter 1, verse 22. Let's go there and have a bit of a look at what God's up to. Genesis chapter 1 is the account of God's creation. He creates the light out of darkness and the heavens and the earth and the oceans and the dry land and the plants. And the first time He creates a living creature, this is what He says: So God created the creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems. According to all their kinds and every winged bird according to its kind and God saw that is was good and God ... Listen to this: ... and God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas and let the birds increase on the earth'. The second time that the concept of ‘blessing' happens in the Bible is in that same chapter, a few verses on, verse 26: Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image and in our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, over the livestock over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him, male and female, He created them. God blessed them and said to them” – see, there it is again – “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth and subdue it and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over every living creature that moves on the ground.' And then God said, ‘I give you every seed bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it, they will be yours for food and all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground; everything that has breath of life in it, I give every green plant for food.' And it was so. That's creation! Let me ask you something – do you think God's in the business of blessing us?   If God Blesses why do we Suffer? So we've looked at God's own account of His creation, Genesis chapter 1. The very first living creatures He creates, He blesses them. He says, "Go and multiply, increase in number and fill the earth." And He creates humanity, man and woman, and He hands the whole of that creation over to them. What an enormous blessing! You and I are joint owners in creation! Why? Because God created us in His own image and then He handed the whole thing over to us. Just stop and think about that for a minute. What a huge blessing! Right at the point of creation, God was in the blessing business. That's profound! And His plan for us was to live in relationship with Him – Adam and Eve. Genesis, chapter 2, verse 15: The Lord God took the man and put him is the Garden of Eden to till it and to keep it. A perfect plan of blessing and as you probably know, Adam and Eve rebelled. They did the one thing that God said, ‘don't do' and there were consequences. Rebellion against God always has consequences. To the woman He said, “I will greatly increase your pains in child bearing, with pain you will give birth. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you.” To Adam He said, “Because you listened to your wife and you ate from the tree about which I commanded you ‘you must not eat', cursed is the ground because of you. Through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you and you'll eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken – for dust you are and to dust you will return.” Enter pain and suffering because humanity rebelled against God. And for the rest of the history of humanity, there are consequences. Now you might say to me, “Berni that is so insensitive. If there's a still born baby, if tens of thousands are killed in a tsunami, if some young teenager is raped and murdered, how can you say that?” Here it is, God made us in His image but when who He is doesn't suit us, we try and remake Him into our image. God is a God of blessing – that was His plan, that's why He put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. But they rebelled and when that happens there is an interruption of blessing, there's an interruption in the relationship with Him. Have a look at it. In Leviticus chapter 26 is a perfect summary of where God stands on this. It's a summary of the old covenant; the relationship between God and Israel. And He lays out the relationship in this chapter. Let's go there and begin at verse 1. He says: Don't make idols or set up a sacred stone for yourselves, don't place a carved stone in your land to bow down to it because I am the Lord your God. If you observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary, I am the Lord. If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commandments, I will send rain in its season and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field will be full of fruit and your threshing will continue until grape harvest and grape harvest will continue until planting and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land. I will grant you peace in the land and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid of them. I will remove savage beasts from the land and the sword will not pass through the country. You will pursue your enemies and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand and your enemies will fall by the sword before you. I will look on you with favour and make you fruitful and increase your numbers and I will keep my covenant with you. You will still be eating last years harvest when you have to make room for the new one. I'll put my dwelling place among you and I won't abhor you and I walk among you and be your God and you will be my people. I'm the Lord God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yolk and enabled you to walk with your heads high. But, but if your won't listen to me and carry out all these commandments and if you reject me and my decrees and you abhor my laws and fail to carry out those commandments and so violate this covenant, then I will do this - I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting disease and fever will destroy your sight and drain away your life. You will plant seed in vain because your enemies will eat it. I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies, those who hate you will rule over you and you will flee, even when there is no one pursuing you. See, God first and foremost is a God of blessing. He wants to be in relationship with His people and He is God – He gets to say this is how it is. And when Israel turned against Him, there were consequences. And you and I both have rebelled against God; we both have turned our backs on God at some point in our lives. I was talking to a man just the other day. He's my own age, he's a good friend of mine and he was talking about his three adult sons. This man had a dream to bless his sons. He's an entrepreneur. He's good at making money. He worked as a team with his sons; he wanted to build a business empire and to see them blessed and their children blessed. But one by one, they rejected him and his plans – they didn't honour their father. They went their own way; they turned their backs on him. It sounds like a parable, doesn't it? This is a true story – a friend of mine. And this is what my friend said to me, he said, “Berni, I really wanted to bless them, I wanted to give to them but now that they have rejected that, in their self-centered, selfish ways, I can't bless them.” and it's the greatest sadness of his life. That man is made in the image of God. What he said about his heart to bless his sons is exactly, exactly where God is coming from. God is a God of blessing, but when we reject Him, when humanity rejected Him, when you and I as individuals rejected Him, it interrupts the relationship. And it's in that relationship that we are blessed – that's God's plan. So we've all done that. Can we still go to God and ask Him to bless us?   Can I ask for God's Blessing? I hope that as we have looked into God's Word so far on the program, it's had a profound impact on you. God's heart is to bless us – it's in His very nature. That's what creation was all about. A huge abundant, indescribable blessing from Him to us. But when we reject Him, when we try to reconstruct God in our own image rather than accepting Him for who He is, we interrupt that blessing. It's as simple as that. Now we have all done that, so can we still ask God for His blessing, for His favour, for His grace? Absolutely, because God is a God of forgiveness. I'd like to take you to a place, a prayer by a man called Jabez. Someone wrote a book about this a few years ago and it became very prominent, but this prayer is in the Old Testament. If you have a Bible, grab it. We are going to First Chronicles, chapter 4, verses 9 and 10. It‘s in the middle of nine chapters of genealogy, you know, so and so begat so and so who begat so and so who begat so and so - nine chapters - riveting! Smack bang in the middle of that God stops and tells us the story of this Jabez. Obviously He thought it was important enough to break this riveting flow of the genealogies. Good stuff, thank you Jesus. Here's the prayer of Jabez: Jabez was honoured more than his brothers and his mother named his Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, saying, “O God, that you would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory and that your hand might be with me and that you might keep me from hurt and from harm.” And God granted his request. Jabez gets called "You're a pain" by his mother. Imagine if your mother or my mother named us that. Not a great start in life is it? Mustn't have been for Jabez because Jabez cried out to God. He cried out to Him in desperation, out of his pain, out of his imperfect life. We don't know much more about him but what we do know is that everybody has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and he rejected God in his life at some point, just the way that you and I have. And in his desperation he calls out to God. You might say, "Berni, how do you know that Jabez rebelled?” Let me ask you, if you're a parent, what's the first or the second or the third word that every child learns? "No!" Isn't it? And God's Word clearly teaches that we all have turned our backs on Him. So Jabez is a fallen man just like you and I are fallen human beings. What does Jabez ask God? “God, that you would bless me indeed.” Not just any sort of blessing an ‘indeed' blessing; not just an ordinary blessing of God, “I really, really, God, want you to bless me.” Secondly he asks God to enlarge his territory. In the Old Testament, land was very important, in terms of blessing. I mean, land is somewhere we live. If you have a house in the suburbs, you might take that for granted. If you happen to live in a Liberian refugee camp in Sierra Leon, where you are listening to this program, you won't be taking land for granted. Jabez asks God to enlarge his territory. Thirdly that God's hand might be with him. What a great blessing that is! And fourthly, that God would keep him from hurt and harm. And listen to what it says, (Jabez is a person just like you and me) listen to what it says next. It says, “And God granted his request.” This man put his faith in God and he asked God for a blessing. Once I discovered this prayer, I started praying it regularly, with my own twist. I said, “God, that you would bless me indeed today. I want to see your presence; I want you to be with me. God, that you would increase my borders and my territory. That more and more people would listen to these programs.” You know, I started praying that two years ago when these programs were being listened to by a few people on a few stations and now they are listened to by hundreds of thousands, even millions of people in over eighty countries around the world. God answers those prayers. “God that you would send your hand with me that doors would open for the work that we do and that you would keep me from evil that I wouldn't cause any pain.” It is just the Lord laid on my heart. The point is we can ask God for blessing. God is a God of great blessing and blessing happens in relationship with Him. When we reject God – listen to me – when we reject God it breaks the blessing. Just like that friend of mine that I was talking about with his sons. God wants to bless you … God wants to bless me and there's a purpose; there's a reason for His blessing. It's not just for us but as we will see over the next few weeks on the program, God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. But right from the beginning, right from the first creature that He created on this earth, He wanted to bless them. And when he created humanity, He wanted to bless them. And when He had a relationship with His people, Israel, He wanted to bless them. And we all turned our backs on Him and so God then gave us the greatest blessing that there could possibly be – He opened the door to a relationship with Him through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross. God is a God of blessing. Yes, we go through ups and downs in our lives, and we're going to have a look at some of those things over the next few weeks, but when I open the Bible I see a God who wants to engage, not just with humanity as a whole, but with little people like you and me and His heart is to bless us.

Cykl Drenai: 1. Waylander 2. Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf 3. Hero in the Shadows 4. The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend 5. The Legend of Deathwalker 6. White Wolf 7. Legend 8. The King Beyond the Gate 9. Quest for Lost Heroes 10. Winter Warriors 11. The Swords of Night and Day

Thank you for joining us for Christian Faith Center's Sermon of the week. This message is from our Nampa Location. Pastor Jordan shares a powerful word on the idea of hearing from the Lord in the coming new year.In the book of First Chronicles the Bible tells us about a man named Jabez. The first nine chapters consist of genealogies, listing more than six hundred names. Right in the middle of all those names, God singles out one man for special recognition, and his name is Jabez. There are only two verses in the entire Bible about this man, yet he's given honorable mention above the six hundred other people mentioned in the chapter. Why did God single him out? What did Jabez do that caused his name to be preserved for over four thousand years? What made him above average and worth mentioning in this way? 

Question: I have a Bible question which I don't understand—would you mind teaching me? In a Zoom Bible study originating from a Hong Kong Ministry, the teacher who is teaching suggested it is permissible to worship and sacrifice to the LORD at the high places since the Temple wasn't built yet and is forbidden after the Temple was built:But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire (Deuteronomy 7:5); And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God. But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks…. (Deuteronomy 12:3-6)1 Kings 3:2-3 said that Solomon offered 1,000 sacrifices to the LORD at the high place at Gibeon and after that God was revealed to him and accepted him, but in 2 Chronicles 1:5 Solomon actually went to the Tabernacle and offered at the brazen altar. So, did he do the right thing? Response: 2 Chronicles 1:3 tells us that Solomon, early in his reign and before the temple was built, worshiped at a high place. Verse 3 reads, “So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness.” We know that the tabernacle was set up there. But, both Deuteronomy 7:5 and 12:3-6 clearly tell us that all the pagan materials are to be removed from the high place prior to any worship of the Lord. A “high place” itself is not a pagan location, except if the statues and the other things used in their rituals are there.Consequently, the reason Solomon worshiped at this particular high place was, as already noted, that the tabernacle was set up there. It was the same tabernacle that the children of Israel, according to the instructions given Moses, had constructed in the wilderness. Therefore, before the construction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, the tabernacle was what God had chosen for the sacrifice and worship by Israel.It has been pointed out that Solomon's father King David had previously worshiped the Lord at this high place in Gibeon. First Chronicles 16:39 notes, “[David left] Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon….” The tabernacle was where the altar of burnt offering had been set up (see 1 Chronicles 21:29).Again, it was not the high place itself that made it a suitable place for the sacrifices, but rather a place cleansed of all pagan paraphernalia and with the tabernacle already set up there.

Can you share a time when you praised God for something specific in your life?Today in episode 1133, we're exploring "A Plan for Praise." Join us as we delve into First Chronicles 16, where King David provides a heartfelt guide on how to glorify God. Through key verses, we'll learn the importance of singing His praises, proclaiming His name, and remembering His wondrous deeds. Whether you're navigating a busy day or seeking spiritual upliftment, this five-minute devotional offers a daily dose of heaven to empower your spirit. Tune in and let's set the tone for a day filled with praise!Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the showNEW WORSHIP MUSICHear the new music project "Praise the Lord EP" from Metro Life Worship and Mary Alessi Listen on SpotifyWatch on YouTubeNEW TO MY MORNING DEVOTIONAL? We're so glad you're here! We're the Alessis, a ministry family working together in a church in Miami, FL, and we're so blessed to partner with the My Morning Devotional community and continue the great work done by the show's creator and our friend, Alison Delamota. Here's how to join our community! Subscribe to the show on this app Share this with a friend Follow Us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Facebook⁠ Subscribe to Our ⁠YouTube Channel⁠ ⁠Leave a review KEEP UP WITH ALISON: https://alisondelamota.com⁠⁠⁠⁠IG: https://instagram.com/alisondelamotahttps://instagram.com/delamarried

Discover how a powerful prayer can expand your understanding of God and your true identity in Him, inspired by the wisdom of First Chronicles 28:20. This episode, based on "Strength to Equal Your Days," encourages you to break free from fear and discouragement, relying instead on the promise of God's unwavering presence and His commitment to complete the good work begun in you. Let go of the limiting beliefs that have fenced in your faith and open your heart to the miracles that await when you trust in His eternal constancy.

All of our stories have beautiful and difficult parts. Israel’s was no different. First Chronicles begins a narrative with a king who was unfaithful and rejected. But our story isn’t about rejection, but acceptance, because of our Faithful King–Jesus. From 1 Chronicles 10.

Understanding the characteristics of the mighty requires looking at some of David's top warriors. These men, detailed in First Chronicles and Second Samuel, demonstrate qualities that define true might. In this insightful message, David Bendett explores the profound characteristics that define mighty men and women through the lens of David's warriors. Drawing from biblical accounts, he shares fourteen key traits that can empower us to embrace our unique prophetic missions today.

Whether in moments of joy or times of trial, learn how worship transforms hearts and draws us closer to the heart of God. Tune in as we explore the significance of singing to Him in spirit and truth, inviting His presence into our lives. SUBSCRIBE to our sister podcasts:Your Daily Prayer: https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-prayer/Your Daily Bible Verse: https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/ Full Transcript Below: Welcome to the crosswalk devotional. We're glad to have you listening with us. Today's topic is why singing is a powerful way to celebrate God's wonderful work in your life. We'll return with the devotional after a brief message from our sponsors. Sing To Him written and read by Whitney Hepler. Sing to him, sing praise to Him. Tell of all his wonderful acts. First Chronicles 16:9 NIV.I sometimes sing my prayers to God, and I also love to sing pray songs at home or in my car. Singing helps me focus on using the unique voice God has given me to connect with him. It's also an enjoyable way to express myself. When I want to celebrate something wonderful God has done I naturally feel like singing.Lately I've been singing the simple yet beautiful praise song. I love you, Lord by Lori Klein, acapella and spontaneously, whenever I want to thank God for something. That song begins, I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship You, oh my soul rejoice. Lifting my voice to worship God by singing makes me feel personally connected to God and inspires me to rejoice that God's wonderful work in my life.There is something uniquely powerful about singing.It transcends the spoken words we use in regular conversations and often take for granted. Singing taps into a deep spiritual part of us. And first Chronicles 16:9. The Bible encourages us to sing praise to God to tell him his wonderful acts. Music has a way of embedding itself into our memories and emotions. That makes singing a powerful way to celebrate the wonderful ways God is working in our lives. singing praise to God is a form of worship, that not only honors God, but also reminds us of His goodness in power. Each of us has a unique voice, a distinct way of expressing ourselves. When we sing, we engage this God given gift in a personal and profound way. Our voices become instruments of praise that resonate with our individual experiences and emotions. This uniqueness reflects our personal journeys with God. So singing helps us to discover and use our unique voices to connect with God more deeply.When we feel joyful, songs of praise can amplify our joy, turning our rejoicing into an offering to God. When we feel sad, singing can lift our spirits and help us find comfort in God's presence. The act of singing praises to God can transform our perspective by shifting our focus of our circumstances to God's greatness. Singing can be a powerful tool for self expression and connection with God because it involves our whole selves, body, mind and spirit. The physical act of singing engages our breath, creating a sense of presence and grounding and our bodies. The mental focus required to remember lyrics and melodies sharpens our minds. Spiritually singing opens us up to the Holy Spirit, making room for a stronger connection between our spirits and God's Spirit. We never need to worry about how good our voices sound musically when we're singing to God. God's focus isn't on our music, talents, or on our skills. It's on us authentically expressing ourselves to Him. God listens with the love when we sing to him from our heart. When we lift our voices in song to God with simple and genuine praise, we can notice God's presence with us and feel God's love for us. The songs we sing in worship are not just musical pieces. They're declarations of God's wonderful character and acts. So as you think of God's wonderful work in your life, sing praises to Him, not just as a ritual, but as a heartfelt expression of your love and gratitude. Let your voice tell the story of God's amazing grace and unfailing love. Your unique God given voice is invaluable gift. When you use it to sing God's praises you celebrate not only his wonderful acts, but also the individual way God has created you to connect with him.intersecting saith and life as you consider how singing can help you celebrate God's wonderful work in your life, reflect on these questions. Can you recall a time when a worship song helped you feel closer to God or gave you strength during a difficult time?What are some of God's wonderful acts in your life that you can celebrate through singing?How can you incorporate singing into your daily devotional time?How does using your unique voice by singing strengthen your personal connection with God? Further reading Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16,  Psalm 95:1, Psalm 10:2, Psalm 150:6. The crosswalk devotional is a production of life audio and Salem media. If you liked what you heard today, please take a second to rate and review this podcast in your favorite podcast app so that more listeners like you can find the show.For more faith filled inspirational podcasts, visit us at lifeaudio.com Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Pastor Steve Smothermon Jr. from Legacy Church explains "V.I.S.I.O.N." Vision without action is just a hallucination, inspired by First Chronicles 22:2-19. V.I.S.I.O.N stands for Vision Received, Insight Succession, Steps Taken, Inspiring Others, Overcoming Discouragement, and Nurturing the Future. To truly embody this vision, we must invest in projects with unseen benefits and live our legacy rather than just leaving one, encouraging kingdom-minded thinking meaning that individual credit doesn't matter; if one wins, we all win.“We help people win!” We want to help you get a 5 star rating in your life, whether it's through your marriage, your family, your job, or anything else.Did you receive Jesus today? Click the link below for a few tools to help you grow. :https://experiencechurchtv.churchcenter.com/people/forms/269183Subscribe to the latest sermons. :https://bit.ly/3bCFUEW To support the ministry and help us continue to reach people all around the world click here. : https://pushpay.com/g/experiencechurchtv?src=hppStay Connected With Us!Social Medias:Website : https://www.experiencechurch.tv/Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/exptvchurch  Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/experiencechurchtv

In this episode of Coffee and Prayer our devotions are found in Mark chapter 12-16, First Chronicles chapter 27-29 and Second Chronicles chapters 1 & 2. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coffeeandprayer/support

In this episode of the Celebrate Kids podcast, Dr. Kathy discusses the importance of music education for young people. She addresses the concerning trend of students dropping out of music programs and the decrease in enrollment in music classes. She explores ways to encourage young people to embrace music and highlight the disparities in access to music education among low-income and ethnically diverse school districts. 

Are you ready to embrace the bittersweetness of life and faith? This episode promises a compelling exploration of how we can find beauty and divinity in both our joys and sorrows. We will break down the Hebrew concept of bittersweet, an idea that encapsulates surrender and a bent spirit, to understand how this concept can show us the way to lean on God's provision. As we weave back and forth through the good and bad moments life throws at us, we find ourselves surrendering more to God's plan, finding solace not in the change of circumstances, but in the unchanging goodness of our God. Digging deep into Psalms 103 and First Chronicles 16, we find comfort in the eternal mercy and love of God, a reassuring reminder that even our longest sufferings are fleeting compared to the everlasting nature of His goodwill. Let these passages inspire you to refocus on God's character, to renew your heart's resolve to follow Him diligently. I will share a refreshing perspective on how the beautiful coexistence of worship and sorrow shapes us as Christ followers, proving that life's sweetness and bitterness are two sides of the same divine coin. Whether you are in a season of abundance or drought, we hope this episode encourages you to recognize the bittersweet reality of our existences and find strength in your struggles.Support the showLike, follow, subscribe, and drop an encouraging comment below

In this episode of Coffee and Prayer our devotions are found in First Chronicles chapter 19-21 and Mark chapter 4-6. We talk about how bad company corrupts good character and trust issues. We also discussed self-fulfilling prophecy, and how what you think matters. Lastly we go over the issue of pride, stewardship, and why you have to be careful of the people you surround yourself with. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coffeeandprayer/support

In this episode of Coffee and Prayer our devotions are found in First Chronicles chapter 12-15 and Matthew chapter 25-28. We discuss how God sends the right people at the right time. We talk about good intentions getting you hurt or maybe even worse. We touch on why we should ask God for direction, even if the decision is a no-brainer. Lastly, we talk about learning from your mistakes, and how the light in you will irritate the darkness in others. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coffeeandprayer/support

In this episode of Coffee and Prayer, our devotions are found in First Chronicles chapter 8-11, and Matthew chapter 21-24. We talk about God's faithfulness and power to restore, finishing well and staying humble. We also talk about the Hidden price of greatness, and how great leaders are really good at building up others. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coffeeandprayer/support

In this episode of Coffee and Prayer our devotions are found in First Chronicles chapter 4-7 and Matthew chapter 17-20. We discuss having intimacy with God, processing trauma, and following God's lead. We talk about being successful in the world, but unfaithful to God. we open up about God using our mistakes for his good and lastly, we talk about the power of a good name. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coffeeandprayer/support

In this episode of Coffee and Prayer, our devotions are found in Matthew chapter 13-16, Second Kings chapter 25 and First Chronicles chapter 1-3. We talk about getting what you want and not being mad at God when it's not what you expected. I talk about how God cares about you and He hasn't forgotten about you. We discuss how many of us know our history. Lastly, we chat about life being more than just bread. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coffeeandprayer/support

Audio Transcript: This media has been made available by Mosaic BostonChurch. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston ordonate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com. Our Heavenly Father, you are a holy God and we marvel at your holiness and we are in awe at your glory. And we stand in amazement that though we rebelled against your reign and your rule, against your dominion over us, you Lord, did not leave us in our ignorance and darkness, but you provided a way for us to be saved. You did it through the life, the death, the burial, and the ascension of your son Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus, we thank you for revealing the fullness of the law of God to us. We thank you that you came, not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, to ratify it, to show us that the law of God is good, and that we have transgressed it, and we deserve the wrath of God for that transgression. But Lord Jesus, you and your mercy and your love and your kindness went to the cross on our behalf. And today, as we remember your sacrifice on the cross, let us never lose sight of the fact that you were motivated by love toward God and neighbor. This is the epitome of what it means to love, Jesus. Thank you for defining love for us. That love is to lay down your life for those whom you love. And Lord Jesus, we thank you that you taught us the holy scriptures, and you expounded on the holy scriptures, and then you gave us the Holy Spirit, the indwelling power of God who is with us. Holy Spirit, today I pray that you light our hearts on fire for the mission that you have before us. The great mission and the great commandment and the great commission, empower us to fulfill your will here in the city. Give us a vision of what it means to be a city within a city, a humanity within a humanity, a people within a people, a people who submit to you, submit to your word and do everything that we do out of love for God and neighbor. And Lord, continue to use our lives to build up your kingdom. Show us how you have called each one of us individually to build according to the blueprints that you have given us. Lord, bless our service and bless the sermon, and we pray this in Christ's holy name. Amen. Today is our annual Mosaic Boston vision sermon. And every Sunday we meet here at this wonderful temple, Temple Ohabei Shalom. I always know who's new because they come in and they're mesmerized by the building. They haven't learned to see the flaws in the building as I have. I look at the roof and I'm like, "Oh, please don't collapse on us." Or the seats, that they're not the most comfortable. But it's a wonderful building. And temple Temple Ohabei Shalom means, the temple of the lovers of peace. And every Sunday we here open up Yahweh's holy word, God's holy word, which outlines the plan of God's peace, the plan of God's true shalom, which is universal flourishing. On our branding, we put our values which are love Jesus simple. Love, why? Because that's the point of the whole thing. God is love. And then God, out of love, gives his son, Jesus, motivated by love, lays down his life on our behalf, and God extends that love to us in forgiveness and by grace through faith in Christ. And then Jesus Christ is the word of God. He's the one that reveals God's word to us, confirms God's word. He shows us that everything that preceded him was true. And he does that by coming back from the dead. And what Jesus does is he shows us though God is love, love is not God. Jesus defines what it means to love God, what it means to love neighbor as self. And then by simple we mean that the Holy Spirit loves to simplify. Truth is simple. Satan loves to obfuscate. Satan loves to add rules upon rules, human tradition, manmade rules, and people lose sight of what it means to love God. And by simplicity, we have a very simple method of ministry here at Mosaic, we do what the early church did, we gather for worship publicly in the temple and then we meet in small groups around the city during the week. And that's how we practice community. And then service, we volunteer here and we volunteer our time, and we do want to see the next generation of believers built up. We volunteer at Mini Mosaic. A little more later on that. We are recruiting more volunteers for Mini Mosaic, which is a crucial ministry. But what is our vision? Where are we going? And by vision, I do not mean I foresee the future. By vision, I mean I believe that the Lord has impressed on my heart and mind blueprints for how we are to operate, how we are to build this church, how we are to build the kingdom. And this is how often God works. Moses goes up on the mountain and he is given the blueprint for the law of God, the 10 Commandments, the moral law. Moses goes up on the mountain again and he's given the architectural plans, the blueprints for the tabernacle. How are we to build the tabernacle? David, in the same way, receives from the Lord, the blueprints for how are we going to build the temple of God. Ezekiel gets a vision of the temple in the city, of the land and he gets blueprints. And then God's spirit comes upon God's people and God says, "I've given you opportunities, talents, I have given you skills, I have given you resources." And then the Holy Spirit helps you find your place in how you then practically build the kingdom of God. Our vision, and I'll unpack every word, "Mosaic Boston aspires to joyfully become a worldwide kingdom building force by proclaiming, believing and obeying the whole council of God, and thereby building men and women of God committed to the great mission, the great commandment and the great commission." So first of all, we aspire to do everything we do joyfully. Psalm 100 verse one and two, "Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence with singing." Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice." There's this one episode in holy scripture where God gives the power of the Holy Spirit, to the disciples and they go and they're doing miracles, and they started casting out demons in the name of Jesus Christ because the name of Jesus is above every other name. And then they come back to Jesus and they're like, "Jesus, even the demons obey us." You know what Jesus says? "Rejoice not that the demons obey you, rejoice that your names are written in heaven." So everything we do, we do as propelled out of the outflow of our joy, in that we get to be the children of God. We were adopted into the family of God and he's given us a wonderful mission. We aspire joyfully to become a worldwide kingdom building force. One of the reasons that God puts Israel, the people of God, in the Promised Land initially was because of the geographic location. In many profound ways, Israel, the promised land stood at the crossroads of the whole world. Israel stood at the crossroads of continents and of historic empires. Israel is right in the middle, connecting Africa, Asia, and to a certain degree, even Europe. It's a land bridge and that's why it's called the cradle of civilization. And some of the most important trade routes in the world went straight through Israel. And why did God place them there? God placed them there because he wanted them to stand at the crossroads, to shape and influence the cultural forces of the day, and witness to God, witness to Yahweh, witness to the fact that there is only one God and he has created everything and he has given us a law, and we have transgressed that law, and we deserve the penalty for breaking the law of God is death. So we need redemption. Isaiah 43:10, "You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me know God was formed." Exodus 19, five through six, "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." So Israel was commissioned by God to testify to the world about who God is and then minister to the world as priests proclaiming the excellencies of God. Jesus echoes the same words to the disciples after his resurrection, Acts 1:8 "But you'll receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." St. Peter in First Peter 2:9 says, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." In Revelation one, four through six, John, to the seven churches that are in Asia, "Grace to you in peace from him who is and who was and who is to come. And from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom priest to his God and father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever." Amen. And God still wants his children to be his witnesses, to be a kingdom of priests, proclaiming the truths of God's word. And he wants to call us, and he's calling us to stand at the crossroads of life. And Boston, in many ways, is the crossroads of the world. People from all over the world come here for education, career, success, money, opportunities. This week, end of August, beginning of September, this week before Labor Day, I always play the same game every year. I try to count the moving trucks. How many moving trucks can I count? This week, I'm telling you, I don't know what happened, a hundred plus. I stopped counting after a hundred. And the moving trucks, they're all here. And if you know anything about U-Haul, they give keys to anybody. You got a heartbeat, you got a license, 18 years old, just graduated high school, here's keys to a truck. And then they show up in Boston. They don't know how to drive here. People have lived here for 10 years, don't know how to drive here. You got to know the ins and outs. You've got to be a master driver to make it here. And so it's chaos, but we are to extend grace. But what I'm saying is, is there a more strategic place in the world to plant your life and to commit to serve as a witness to King Jesus? Jesus is Lord, this is what we're... Jesus told the disciples early on, "Go and make disciples of all nations." We live in a place where the nations come to us. And over the years I've got so many stories, but one just came to mind recently. A few weeks ago we had this couple that was with us for a couple weeks and they were just visiting. And what they said was, "We were part of this church seven years ago and God so blessed us seven years ago that we've been following the ministry," and they felt called by God to go to Sydney, Australia and they're part of a church planning team. And they said, "We have a confession to make all the resources you put online, we just steal it. We just take it." And I was like, "Good, it's not mine. It belongs to the kingdom. Use it for kingdom purposes." Incredible influence worldwide just by preaching the gospel here. And what are we preaching? We're preaching that Jesus is king. Jesus is king above all kings. He's Lord above all lords. And there are only two kingdoms. There's God and his kingdom, there's Satan in his kingdom. There's no neutral territory. It's either you're with Christ and you're in the kingdom of God or you're against Christ and you're in the kingdom of Satan. And what we preach is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Anybody who believes, anybody who receives the grace of God, anyone who repents of sin and submits to Christ, you're transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of his beloved son. That's Colossians one, 13 and 14. "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." And once you're in his kingdom, we work the rest of our lives to submit everything in our lives and in our spheres of influence to King Jesus. At every single one of our membership classes, we use the metaphor of cruise ship verse battleship to explain how we view the church. A lot of places where the church has been around for a long time and they're resourced, what happens is you can professionalize every single part of the ministry and you cater to everyone's needs, and you go to the church, it's like a show. You have a good time and then you're gone. It's like on a cruise ship. Why do people go on a cruise? To rest and to be entertained, to eat tremendously, to have a good time. Well, church is not like a cruise ship. We're not here to entertain you. We're here to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and the full counsel of God. And God has given us a mission. And on a battleship, what unites the people? What unites the people is the mission. Why are we here? What's our purpose? And the Lord Jesus Christ tells us we have an enemy. And if you're new to the city, welcome to spiritual war. There is a battle for the souls. And I feel this every end of August, beginning of September. I feel it. I see it. There's prophetic dreams. It's people from all over the world. Powerful souls are brought here, and now there's a battle for their souls. Which kingdom are you going to serve? Which king are you going to follow? But recently I've realized we're not just a battleship. In my church office, I have a beautiful painting. It's a sunset in the back, it's gorgeous. And then this is just a massive aircraft carrier, rusted, beat up from battles, but it's going, it's steadfastly, steadily moving, powerfully moving forward. And then planes land on the aircraft carrier and that they descend and ascend. That's how I view ministry in Boston. People from all over the world. It's like their plane lands in our aircraft carrier and then the mechanics go to work. They see what's wrong with the engine, they fix things up, they fuel you up, give you new directions and new inspiration, passion, desire to continue serving the Lord. In a similar way to the people of Israel worshiping in a beautiful temple in Jerusalem at the crossroads of their world, we find ourselves worshiping God the same God at the crossroads of the world here. So we see the strategic importance of a church proclaiming the gospel of God, the full counsel of God here. By making an impact here, we truly are making an impact worldwide. Now, how do we do that? How do we want to make an impact for the kingdom of God, a worldwide impact? How? By the word of God. Proclaiming, believing and obeying the whole council of God. In Acts 20, St. Paul, after spending some time with believers in Ephesus, he's leaving them, and then he says the following to them, "Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God." What an interesting way of phrasing his ministry, explaining his ministry. Had he not taught them the whole council of God, there would have been some kind of responsibility on him. He would have been guilty of their blood. And he says, "I didn't shrink." Why with that language? Because there is sometimes a temptation to back off from doctrines that make people squirm. We approach preaching the word of God as we do with the goal of proclaiming the whole council of God. From Genesis to Revelation, this is the inerrant, infallible, authoritative word of God. This is the foundation of everything that we do. Do you not think I know which doctrines make people squirm? Oh, I know. I've done this long enough. I can tell by body language, uncomfortable, uncomfortable. Sometimes people make it very obvious they get up and they're flip me the bird on the way out. You guys don't see that. I see that. My life would be much easier if I did not touch the difficult doctrines. But to remain faithful to God and to remain innocent of the blood of all, I can't but stand on the word of God. This is what we do at the church, we stand on the word of God. Why? Because we want to deepen in you, not just your faith, but your obedience. And that's what true faith always leads to, obedience to the Lord. And we saw this with Romans, the bookends and Romans one and Romans 16, the phrase obedience of faith. Romans 1:5, "Through whom we have received grace in apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations." And then Romans 16:26, "But has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings, has been made known to all nations according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith." And by proclaiming, obeying and believing the word of God and the whole council, we thereby aspire to build men and women of God committed particular three things, the great mission, the great commandment and the great commission. And I start with the great mission. It's usually known as the cultural mandate. The word culture isn't in it and the word mandate isn't in there either. And I actually think that this title diminishes the weight of the charge. God creates Adam and Eve, he creates humanity. And then the first imperative that he gives them, the first charge, the first mission, is found in Genesis 1:26 through 28. And because it's the very first imperative, it carries primacy. The creation mandate as some have called it, is rather a dominion mandate. It's a mission to take dominion, commanding human beings to bring every sphere of society, as well as nature itself, into subjugation to Jesus Christ. So this is Genesis 1:26 through 28, what I call the great mission. "And then God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female, he created them, and God blessed them, God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." There are three questions of supreme importance to every single person. One, who is God? Second, who am I? And third, what does God require of us? And holy scripture here answers these three questions in the very opening chapter, and how you answer these questions impacts the trajectory of your life and eternity. We learn in the opening chapter of holy scriptures that God is, he is the supreme creator of all things seen and unseen, including humanity. And we also learn that man is unique in all of God's creation being made in the image of God. And therefore God has given us a unique responsibility of doing what? Taking dominion, exercising dominion over the world that God has made. And that's why twice it's repeated. This is why I've created you, to take dominion. This is the blessing, take dominion. God creates man in his image and after his likeness so that man would fill the earth with his offspring, continue to image forth more of God and exercise dominion over the created order. God has ultimate authority and he's given us delegated authority. His authority is absolute, ours is derived from God. He says, let us make man in our image after our likeness. There's a divine counsel. God uses the plural here, let us make. The divine counsel precedes the creation. And it's striking that it's plural, and the interpretation is from the whole council of God that this is the Holy Trinity. It's not a full revelation of the Trinity, but the doctrine of the Trinity makes sense of this text best. And man is to image God in at least three ways. First of all, God made us rational creatures. We can think, we can reason. We are to understand truth. We are to pursue truth. We are to develop our powers of discernment. God has also made us moral beings, that God has written His law upon our hearts. We know when we sin, we know when we have transgressed the law of God. And then God has also given us the charge of dominion. He's given us a royal office to bring everything in subjugation to him. Let them have dominion, in the Hebrew it's [foreign language] to master, to reign, to prevail against, to rule, to create order where there's chaos. And it begins with what? It begins with taking dominion of yourself. You are responsible for you. That you are responsible to submit yourself to the Lord. And when you do, he fills you with the power of God to continue taking dominion. He says, let them start with the fish, the birds and the livestock over all the earth. God made life to feed us. He made plants to eat in Genesis 1:29, and animals are given to as food after the flood in Genesis nine. And he does want us to take good care of the animals under our charge. God is a loving God. He even cares about animals. Proverbs 12:10, "Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel." I don't have any beasts at my house, but I have fish. I have five fish, and it is a godly thing to feed your little beast. They get really excited. I feed them. My youngest daughter is four. She's like, "Dad, don't feed them. I want that to be my job." She likes to... We are to master. We are to subdue. We are to care for what God has entrusted to us, and we are to develop its latent potential. And every type of being is to be subservient to humanity. Humans are not on the same level with dogs. We're not on the same level with animals. We are higher. We're not on the same level as the earth itself. We are beings that tower high above all other creatures. We are to be their king and their crown. We are kings of creation under God, and we have a delegated authority for restoring created and creation order, to rule with benevolence, not like a despot out for his own gain. Fill the earth, subdue, rule over it. It's stewardship. Dominion doesn't mean destruction, it means responsibility. And also it means to create. Genesis 1:27, look, three times the verb create is used. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female, he created them." It's significant that God, for the very first time we find out that God is a creator. He creates, and he creates us in his own image and we are to be agents of creation and recreation. Man was created to image God, and image God by exercising true dominion under God's authority, for God's glory. We are to promote the worship of God. The service of God is to be maintained. And we are to develop and improve the creation around us. Improvement and development takes place when we're empowered by the king of kings. And then once we do take dominion, we submit everything to the feet of Christ. In order to subdue the earth, we must first understand its processes. This is why research is foundational for fulfilling the divine mandate. And then once we get that knowledge, we must apply in technology and engineering and medicine and agriculture, must be implemented for use, and business and commerce transmitted to future generations via education. The creation can also be described and praised in the humanities and fine arts. We are to further the good, the true and the beautiful. The dominion mandate thus authorizes all honorable human occupations as stewardship under God. So we must learn how the world operates, which requires expertise and knowledge and engineering and mathematics, physics, aerodynamics and agriculture. And then we teach our offspring to be involved in these areas as well. The tragedy is that leadership in practically all of these fields in our city and in our world has largely been taken over by secularists and humanists. People that don't honor God, they're not taking dominion for God, they're taking dominion for the enemy. So God's primeval commission here, the great mission has been, in many ways subverted. And Christians today need a new renewed vision and commitment, not only to Christ second coming, yes, he's coming. He's going to fix everything. And not just to the great commission. Yes, that's important. But once people are disciples of Christ, we are to teach them to obey everything that he taught us from the very beginning. So we need a renewed vision of the great mission of responsible world stewardship. So whatever your chosen field, you should aspire to be the very best. The mindset is whatever your job, whatever your field, I'm not just here to take part, I'm here to take over. I'm here to take dominion of whatever God has called me to. In Colossians 3:17, "Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, the Father, through him." First Peter 4:10 and 11, "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. Whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies, in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." So as we study creation, as we use our talents in creation to subdue it under the feet of Christ, we become agents of this common grace. We are to make the world a better place by using our skills and talents to build things that are beautiful and useful, while countering the forces of evil and sin that oppress and distort creation. We live in a fallen cursed world, and it's only by the power of the Holy Spirit can we seek to reverse the effects of the curse. And Genesis 1:28, at the heart of the great mission, "and God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heavens, over every living thing that moves on the earth." The primary purpose of marriage is given here in Malachi 2:15, it's reiterated, "Did he not make them one with a portion of the spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth." If God's will is godly children, then of course it makes sense that Satan would do everything in his powers to prevent this, from sexual perversion to gender confusion, to abortion to divorce. And men and women of God must carry this work out. We must work together and have children who are then trained in a godly Christian fashion to carry out the dominion mandate. Overpopulation is not a concern for God, nor should it be a concern for us. The very idea of depopulation is demonic because Satan came to steal, kill and destroy. The words, fill the earth, incidentally suggest that fears of population explosion are much overdrawn. Evidently the world is well able to support a large population. And Satan's always behind depopulation. Why? Because Satan's not omnipresent. Satan can only be in one place at one time. He's not God. And the demonic, well that's numbered, they're numbered. And the more godly people there are, the more the demonic forces are outnumbered. It's the same power, the strategy over and over. Remember in Egypt when Israel was in the captivity, they were enslaved by Pharaoh. Now Pharaoh realized that they were multiplying so much more than the people of Egypt. What does he do? Force depopulation. We're going to kill the children of Israel. And Moses was saved by his mom. This mandate to be fruitful and multiply, this mission, is so important God repeats it twice after the great flood in Genesis nine. And how are we to go about this whole process of subduing and taking dominion and being fruitful and multiplying? It's all to be done with love, never harshly, but always tenderly, carefully and faithfully. The nature of man's dominion, if he is to be Lord of all, he must be servant of all. This was true in the garden before the fall as it is today. Remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ concerning the exercise of authority in Matthew 20:25, "But Jesus called them to him and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave. Even as the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom." For many godly authority is true authority, but it's not based on force or coercion or manipulation. And to understand dominion, we can look at Ephesians five and draw analogies there. That dominion is not exploitive, it's not oppressive, it's always loving. Christ in the church, for example. Christ is the head of the church and Christ's headship of the church leads the church to thrive, to be fruitful, to become evermore lovely. Or the relationship between husband and wife, also Ephesians five. Under her husband's righteous headship, a wife is to thrive and be fruitful and become evermore lovely. And we've been given dominion over creation. If we exercise godly dominion over creation, under the lordship of Christ, creation will thrive and be fruitful and become evermore lovely. Knowledge and appreciation of our fellow creatures is essential. And it's all to be done in love. Romans 5:17, "For if because of one man's trespass, death reigned through the one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ." Romans right there, he says, if you've given grace, God gives you grace to save you. You're in the kingdom of God now, and now we are to expand God's kingdom by taking dominion. We are to reign in life. And it's a mindset shift. If you think about everything you are and everything you have, where in your life is there chaos? And where in your life do you need to take dominion, that you need to take responsibility? You know those days where you do not want to work out, it's the last thing... Instead of working out, you just want a large cheese pizza. And at those moments you got to remind yourself... Once in a while you got to take a break. But as a pattern rhythm of life, we have to take dominion of our bodies. I will tell my body what to do. Take dominion of your health. Take dominion of your mind, as much as you can, take dominion of your soul. Now I started thinking about just even house chores like this. I see trash and I'm like, "Ah, got to take dominion. That's my job, those dishes to do. I'm taking dominion of these dishes." But if you start thinking like that, I'm like, "Huh, all right, where in my life is life out of control? Where do I need dominion? Holy Spirit, give me strength." So take good care of what God has given you. Take good care of your possessions, of your finances. Take good care of your relationships and desire greater influence. Desire greater dominion. Seek to expand your domain of dominion. First Chronicles 4:10, there's a gentleman named Jabez and he prayed the following, "Jabez called upon the God of Israel saying, oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my border and that your hand might be with me and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain. And God granted what he asked." Do you ask God, "Lord enlarge my borders, Lord, give me more influence. Give me more of a domain to take dominion of?" Adam was given the charge to do this, the great mission, but he was given the charge of the perfect world. Therefore, his job was a gardener in the perfect world where everything was perfect. He didn't need a house in the garden of Eden, they lived outside. They didn't need air conditioning. Everything... The temperature was perfect. For Adam, it was 67. For Eve, it was around 73. God kept everyone... But everything was perfect. And God gave Adam a job. In Genesis 2:15, the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it, work it and guard it." So Adam's task was given to him before the fall. Before the curse, there were no weeds. He didn't have to toil by the sweat of his brow. Pregnancy or childbirth did not come with pains. Yeah they lived in a different world. There was no need to build shelter to survive in a harsh environment. And Adam did not do his job even in the perfect environment. He did not take dominion. He abdicated his responsibility. When Satan came and tempted Eve and him, he did not fight Satan, and therefore dominion of the world of the created order moved from Adam to Satan. That's why Jesus, when he came, three times in John 12, John 14, John 16, calls Satan the ruler of this world. This was supposed to be man's role, but Adam's willful sin led to him forfeiting the dominion. And then Jesus Christ comes and he comes to destroy the works of the evil one. And I find it fascinating, how did Jesus take dominion up until age 30? Jesus started his ministry at age 30. That's when he started teaching the word of God, telling everyone the kingdom's at hand, repentant and believe. But Jesus Christ, in crucial years of his youth, what did he do as vocation? He was a carpenter. He was a builder. Adam lived in a perfect world. He didn't have to build houses. Everything was perfect. Jesus Christ comes in the fallen world. How is he taking dominion? He is building. He's building structures in the real world to house real families. And that was part of God's blueprint. How do you expand the kingdom of God? By building, in order to house, to house families and house people and house the church. So now we are tasked with the same work, take dominion, in a fallen world, and we take it from Satan, we take ground for Jesus Christ. And real estate is part of it. We, as a church, we do have a vision of taking dominion... Yes, I want to take Boston. This is the reason why I moved here in 2009. My pitch to everybody was, we are taking Boston and we're going to proclaim the gospel of God until we fill Fenway Park with converts. Everyone in Fenway Park is going to get saved. Everybody. That's the vision. We want to take this city. But part of taking the city is taking dominion, getting rooted, getting real estate. And just one example of where I see this in scripture, Jeremiah 29, God sends the prophet Jeremiah as a prophet to proclaim to the people of God in captivity. They were taken from the promised land to Babylon. And he says, this is God's plan for how you are going to build the kingdom in Babylon. Everyone knows Jeremiah 29:11, it's on every Christian mug that you find. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare, not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." But the plans are actually outlined in the same chapter. That's why I'm like, you can't just pick and choose verse. He gives us the plan. He gives us the plan in verse four and seven, Jeremiah 29:4, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters and take wives through your sons and give your daughters in marriage that you may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there and do not decrease, but seek the welfare of the city where I've sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf for in its welfare you will find your welfare." So we do pray for the Lord to give you a vision, to be rooted here, to think about, "Okay, what's it going to take?" And I will tell you, I've been trying to do this 14 years in Boston. Trying to take dominion in Boston, you know how people say if you make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. If you make it in Boston and take dominion here as a believer, you can do it anywhere. You know real estate prices, and I know how hard it is to be fruitful and multiply and have children. You know what that takes. But the vision is still before us. And then whatever gap we have in our resources, we say, "Holy Spirit, we need you to supernaturally provide." And the Lord does that over and over. One way, if you are single or if you don't have children, if you have a love for children, one way that you can take part in this great commission here at Mosaic is joining mini Mosaic, volunteering at Mini Mosaic. We don't take anyone, by the way, we only take the best. There is a Navy SEAL tryout process. But this is one of the ways that we build up the future generation of believers. And then also we do recognize, statistically, 90% of people who become believers become believers before the age of 18. So we are to build up the kingdom of God and we do that through the great commission without forgetting the great commandment. God gives his people a moral framework to navigate the entire breadth of life, and he does that in the 10 Commandments. Adam was put in the Garden of Eden to work it and guard it. And the word guard means keep evil out. And he failed, and evil entered the world. So God gives his law to his people to show them the ways of life and to guardrail against death. You ever hear of getting Storrowed You know what that is? It's when... Remember the 18-year old who was just given the U-Haul truck keys? It's when that 18 year old follows Google Maps instead of the huge signs right before you enter Storrow, and they're just driving, they hit through the sign, and then they get stuck under a bridge. I view that as that's why God gave us the 10 Commandments. God doesn't want you to get Storrowed. If you break the commandments, the commandments end up breaking you. And yes, in the faith there are moral obligations. The 10 Commandments are still in force. This is how God wants us to frame our lives. Next week we're starting a very new sermon series through the Gospel of Mark. We're calling it Kingdom Come. It's going to be a tremendous series. But I write my sermons a week ahead, so next week's sermons already written, it was written on Friday. And last time I preached through Mark was in 2012, and I still got all the word docs. And I went back and I read my sermon from 2012. The introduction was great. It was like what's the best news you ever heard? And I had my classic joke in there. It's a girl, it's a girl, it's a girl and it's a girl, because I have four. But then I got to this point where I wrote this, and I got to confess because it's terrible. I said, "Jesus doesn't teach on morality in the Gospel of Mark. The point of the faith isn't morality, it's not morality, it's just about relationship. It's not religion, it's a relationship." Jesus Christ was Jewish and he was a Jewish Rabbi, he's the son of God who became the son of man. He said, I didn't come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, to ratify, to show you what the point of the law is. Jesus Christ lived his life perfectly under the 10 commandments, offers his life as a sacrifice for our lawbreaking of the commandments. He gives us grace, saves us and empowers us in the Holy Spirit, to then live a life of obedience of faith according to the commandments. And then Jesus comes and he summarizes. He says, the first four commandments are all about loving God. And the next six are all about loving neighbors. So God defines what it means to love. Deuteronomy five gives us 10 commandments. "And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, hear O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb, not with our fathers, did the Lord make this covenant but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The Lord spoke with you face-to-face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire. And while I stood between the Lord and you at that time to declare to you the word of the Lord for you were afraid because of the fire and you did not go up into the mountain. He said, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain, observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath, honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God commanded you that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. And you shall not covet your neighbor's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that is your neighbor's." The Sabbath here is a commandment given and is a commandment that transcends time. The Sabbath is a reminder that the purpose of life transcends work. The Sabbath is the only element of the creation that's explicitly marked as holy. The Sabbath belongs to God. Stress and burnout are hazards for driven people and the Sabbath is the best antidote. And God gives us the Sabbath that's still enforced. We do not Sabbath on a Saturday. We Sabbath on a Sunday. Why? Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is... This is one of the great proofs for the resurrection of Christ. What would it take for Jewish people who for thousands of years were taught the Sabbath is on a Saturday, the Sabbath is the seventh day, the Sabbath is on a Saturday. This is the day that you commit to the Lord. And then all of a sudden these same people are now taking the Sabbath on a Sunday. Why? Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. God built it in to the calendar. Religious people added hundreds of manmade rules to the 10 commandments, to the law of God. And they obfuscated the whole point. The whole point was this is how we love God. This is how we love people. And when Jesus came, he reminded us that the whole point of the law is love. Matthew 22:34, "But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law. And he said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." So what do we do here on Sundays? We gather to worship God. Why do we worship God? Why do we sing to him? Because we love him. Why do we hear from His word? Because we love him and we love what he said. And then we pray together and we celebrate Holy Communion. These are essential practices of the means of grace and the life of a believer. All of our service follow the basic pattern of meeting together that's traced back to the early church. We sing, we pray, we teach from scripture and we respond by taking communion. And our goal isn't to manufacture particular feeling or experience. We want you to meet Jesus Christ. And when you meet Jesus Christ, that changes everything, and that leads to transformation. We're passionate about the person and the work of Jesus Christ. We long to see the message of the gospel, that Jesus Christ lived the life that we were supposed to live in obedience to God's commandments. And then Jesus dies the death that we deserve to die for our lawbreaking, and he goes to the cross, bears the wrath of God, takes the curse upon himself in order to extend mercy and the blessing of obedience to us. Every single one of us, we've broken at least one of the commandments. Not one of us has truly loved God from the heart or neighbor as self. We deserve eternal damnation. We deserve to be banished from the presence of God. But Jesus fulfilled all the commandments from the heart perfectly and then offers himself as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins. When you look to the cross and you see Christ dying on behalf of you, on behalf of your sins, to redeem you, your soul, your body, your heart is filled with love, love for God, and then your heart is filled with love for neighbor. And we do practice loving neighbor as self here, beginning with believers, beginning with Christians. The way that we practice community is in our community groups. We have 20 plus community groups that meet different places, different homes around the week. What do we do in the groups? We open scripture, usually the passages that were associated and read on Sunday. We study the scriptures, we have conversation about the scriptures, and then we pray for one another. We do take membership seriously. At Mosaic membership, we hold in high regard. What's membership? It's a commitment, a mutual commitment. When a church commits to take responsibility for a person and a person commits to take responsibility for the church. And membership is a commitment and a covenant to further the mission, the vision, and the life of the church. How do we become members at Mosaic? The first step is to take a membership class. We will have the dates of the next one advertised soon. If you are new to the faith, perhaps you haven't been baptized as a believer, we practice baptism as believers, because Jesus Christ was baptized as an adult and we follow his example. And what is baptism? It's a public symbol of the spiritual death and resurrection of the believer who's died to their sin and resurrected to new life and Christ. If you have not been baptized as a believer, as an adult, we'd love to have a conversation with you about that. And then if you truly love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, you love your neighbor as yourself, what do you want to do? You want to share the gospel with those who don't know the Lord yet. And this is the great commission, Matthew 28, Jesus before his ascension, verse 16, it says, "Now the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him. But some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age." So we're not only supposed to take dominion over the physical realm, but we're also to take dominion over the spiritual realm as well. And we do that by proclaiming the word of God, proclaiming the gospel, and making disciples of all nations, spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Baptism is done in the name, that's singular. And then we're given three names. In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit to show us that there's unity in the Godhead, although there are three different persons. And in this charge where we see that God is community. In the very beginning when God created everything he said, let us make man in our image. The God who is community, the Father, Son, the Holy Spirit and perfect love, creates humanity for community. So God who is community here is telling us, community of believers, to go and welcome new members into the community. I love on the outside of the temple, if you haven't seen it, you can see on the way out, it says "A house of prayer for all nations." I love that. I do pray that Mosaic continues to be a house of prayer for all nations, and for as long as you're here, I pray that you are blessed. And then we are to take the message of the gospel and the kingdom building word wherever we go. And then we are to make disciples. We are to preach the gospel. We are to teach people that there's only one way of salvation. There's only one name by which we are to be saved. And the task of evangelism is so important that Christ gives us the great commission five times, in each of the gospels and in the Book of Acts, Jesus commissions us to go and tell the world the message of salvation. That though we are at war with God, he is giving us pardon, he's giving us amnesty, he's offering us forgiveness. And then we're ushered into the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Jesus calls his followers to give their lives in service of others and to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and make disciples. And whether you've spent your whole life in church or if you're just beginning to investigate the claims of Jesus, there is a place for you here. You're welcome to join, to serve and to expand God's kingdom in Boston, beyond, into the ends of the earth. Mosaic Boston aspires to joyfully become a worldwide kingdom building force by proclaiming, believing and obeying the whole council of God, and thereby building men and women of God committed to the great mission, the great commandment and the great commission. Praise be to God. This time we're going to transition to celebrate holy communion. We do this the first Sunday of every month at Mosaic. For whom is holy communion? It's for followers of Jesus Christ who are living in humble repentance. So first, if you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, we ask that you refrain from this part of the service. Or if you are living in unrepentant sin, we ask that you refrain, instead just think about the gospel and spend some time in repentance. If you would like to partake and have not received the elements, please raise your hand, and one of the ushers will give them to you. And as they do that, I'll pray for our time in communion. Oh holy God, we thank you that though there was a chasm between us and you, that you sent your son Jesus Christ, the perfect lamb of God, the Passover lamb, and Jesus, you were slain, and from your wounds you bled. Your body was crucified, and the word tells us your body was broken. And the greatest pain that you experienced on the cross was not just the physical, excruciating anguish, but the greatest pain you felt was the separation from the loving Father. When you cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Lord, you went through that, you went through that experience of drinking the wrath of God, the whole cup. And you did that for us so that we wouldn't have to. And Lord, right now, as we remember your sufferings, we rejoice that you did that because you love us. You did that because of the joy that was set before you. So we thank you Lord and we pray that you deepen our love for you, even now, expand even our capacity to love you and to love neighbor, and as we meditate upon your suffering on the cross. Lord, we repent of all sin of folly. We repent of insubordination, we repent of building our own kingdoms. And Lord, we receive mercy, we receive grace. And we pray that you continue to fill us with the spirit, continue and empower us to do your will. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. If you're new, there's two lids. First lid up top, you open up gently, and that opens the cup. And then there's a lid at the bottom. And that's how you receive the bread. "On the night that Jesus Christ was betrayed, he took the bread, and after breaking it, he said, take, eat, and do this in remembrance of me. Then proceeded to take the cup and he said, this cup is the cup of the new covenant of my blood, which is poured out for the sins of many. Take, drink and do this in remembrance of me." Lord Jesus, we thank you for washing our souls with your blood. We thank you Jesus, that by your wounds and the wounds of your body, we can find healing, healing for our souls, healing for our minds, healing for our bodies. Pray Holy Spirit, now send us that healing. Send us your power, send us your anointing. And Lord I pray that you continue to fill our hearts with the fire of your Holy Spirit for the great mission that you have for us. And to all do it with love according to the great commandment, love for you and love for neighbor. And Lord then empower us to your witnesses and to fulfill the great commission by making disciples. Give us opportunities to share the gospel with friends, family, neighbors. And I pray, Lord, in this season, save many people and draw them to yourself, draw the elect, and continue to convert and continue to build up your kingdom. And I pray, Lord, that you give us all grace now as we continue to worship you because you are worthy of all worship. And we pray this in the name of the Father, of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Audio Transcript: This media has been made available by Mosaic BostonChurch. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston ordonate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com. Our Heavenly Father, you are a holy God and we marvel at your holiness and we are in awe at your glory. And we stand in amazement that though we rebelled against your reign and your rule, against your dominion over us, you Lord, did not leave us in our ignorance and darkness, but you provided a way for us to be saved. You did it through the life, the death, the burial, and the ascension of your son Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus, we thank you for revealing the fullness of the law of God to us. We thank you that you came, not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, to ratify it, to show us that the law of God is good, and that we have transgressed it, and we deserve the wrath of God for that transgression. But Lord Jesus, you and your mercy and your love and your kindness went to the cross on our behalf. And today, as we remember your sacrifice on the cross, let us never lose sight of the fact that you were motivated by love toward God and neighbor. This is the epitome of what it means to love, Jesus. Thank you for defining love for us. That love is to lay down your life for those whom you love. And Lord Jesus, we thank you that you taught us the holy scriptures, and you expounded on the holy scriptures, and then you gave us the Holy Spirit, the indwelling power of God who is with us. Holy Spirit, today I pray that you light our hearts on fire for the mission that you have before us. The great mission and the great commandment and the great commission, empower us to fulfill your will here in the city. Give us a vision of what it means to be a city within a city, a humanity within a humanity, a people within a people, a people who submit to you, submit to your word and do everything that we do out of love for God and neighbor. And Lord, continue to use our lives to build up your kingdom. Show us how you have called each one of us individually to build according to the blueprints that you have given us. Lord, bless our service and bless the sermon, and we pray this in Christ's holy name. Amen. Today is our annual Mosaic Boston vision sermon. And every Sunday we meet here at this wonderful temple, Temple Ohabei Shalom. I always know who's new because they come in and they're mesmerized by the building. They haven't learned to see the flaws in the building as I have. I look at the roof and I'm like, "Oh, please don't collapse on us." Or the seats, that they're not the most comfortable. But it's a wonderful building. And temple Temple Ohabei Shalom means, the temple of the lovers of peace. And every Sunday we here open up Yahweh's holy word, God's holy word, which outlines the plan of God's peace, the plan of God's true shalom, which is universal flourishing. On our branding, we put our values which are love Jesus simple. Love, why? Because that's the point of the whole thing. God is love. And then God, out of love, gives his son, Jesus, motivated by love, lays down his life on our behalf, and God extends that love to us in forgiveness and by grace through faith in Christ. And then Jesus Christ is the word of God. He's the one that reveals God's word to us, confirms God's word. He shows us that everything that preceded him was true. And he does that by coming back from the dead. And what Jesus does is he shows us though God is love, love is not God. Jesus defines what it means to love God, what it means to love neighbor as self. And then by simple we mean that the Holy Spirit loves to simplify. Truth is simple. Satan loves to obfuscate. Satan loves to add rules upon rules, human tradition, manmade rules, and people lose sight of what it means to love God. And by simplicity, we have a very simple method of ministry here at Mosaic, we do what the early church did, we gather for worship publicly in the temple and then we meet in small groups around the city during the week. And that's how we practice community. And then service, we volunteer here and we volunteer our time, and we do want to see the next generation of believers built up. We volunteer at Mini Mosaic. A little more later on that. We are recruiting more volunteers for Mini Mosaic, which is a crucial ministry. But what is our vision? Where are we going? And by vision, I do not mean I foresee the future. By vision, I mean I believe that the Lord has impressed on my heart and mind blueprints for how we are to operate, how we are to build this church, how we are to build the kingdom. And this is how often God works. Moses goes up on the mountain and he is given the blueprint for the law of God, the 10 Commandments, the moral law. Moses goes up on the mountain again and he's given the architectural plans, the blueprints for the tabernacle. How are we to build the tabernacle? David, in the same way, receives from the Lord, the blueprints for how are we going to build the temple of God. Ezekiel gets a vision of the temple in the city, of the land and he gets blueprints. And then God's spirit comes upon God's people and God says, "I've given you opportunities, talents, I have given you skills, I have given you resources." And then the Holy Spirit helps you find your place in how you then practically build the kingdom of God. Our vision, and I'll unpack every word, "Mosaic Boston aspires to joyfully become a worldwide kingdom building force by proclaiming, believing and obeying the whole council of God, and thereby building men and women of God committed to the great mission, the great commandment and the great commission." So first of all, we aspire to do everything we do joyfully. Psalm 100 verse one and two, "Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence with singing." Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice." There's this one episode in holy scripture where God gives the power of the Holy Spirit, to the disciples and they go and they're doing miracles, and they started casting out demons in the name of Jesus Christ because the name of Jesus is above every other name. And then they come back to Jesus and they're like, "Jesus, even the demons obey us." You know what Jesus says? "Rejoice not that the demons obey you, rejoice that your names are written in heaven." So everything we do, we do as propelled out of the outflow of our joy, in that we get to be the children of God. We were adopted into the family of God and he's given us a wonderful mission. We aspire joyfully to become a worldwide kingdom building force. One of the reasons that God puts Israel, the people of God, in the Promised Land initially was because of the geographic location. In many profound ways, Israel, the promised land stood at the crossroads of the whole world. Israel stood at the crossroads of continents and of historic empires. Israel is right in the middle, connecting Africa, Asia, and to a certain degree, even Europe. It's a land bridge and that's why it's called the cradle of civilization. And some of the most important trade routes in the world went straight through Israel. And why did God place them there? God placed them there because he wanted them to stand at the crossroads, to shape and influence the cultural forces of the day, and witness to God, witness to Yahweh, witness to the fact that there is only one God and he has created everything and he has given us a law, and we have transgressed that law, and we deserve the penalty for breaking the law of God is death. So we need redemption. Isaiah 43:10, "You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me know God was formed." Exodus 19, five through six, "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." So Israel was commissioned by God to testify to the world about who God is and then minister to the world as priests proclaiming the excellencies of God. Jesus echoes the same words to the disciples after his resurrection, Acts 1:8 "But you'll receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." St. Peter in First Peter 2:9 says, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." In Revelation one, four through six, John, to the seven churches that are in Asia, "Grace to you in peace from him who is and who was and who is to come. And from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom priest to his God and father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever." Amen. And God still wants his children to be his witnesses, to be a kingdom of priests, proclaiming the truths of God's word. And he wants to call us, and he's calling us to stand at the crossroads of life. And Boston, in many ways, is the crossroads of the world. People from all over the world come here for education, career, success, money, opportunities. This week, end of August, beginning of September, this week before Labor Day, I always play the same game every year. I try to count the moving trucks. How many moving trucks can I count? This week, I'm telling you, I don't know what happened, a hundred plus. I stopped counting after a hundred. And the moving trucks, they're all here. And if you know anything about U-Haul, they give keys to anybody. You got a heartbeat, you got a license, 18 years old, just graduated high school, here's keys to a truck. And then they show up in Boston. They don't know how to drive here. People have lived here for 10 years, don't know how to drive here. You got to know the ins and outs. You've got to be a master driver to make it here. And so it's chaos, but we are to extend grace. But what I'm saying is, is there a more strategic place in the world to plant your life and to commit to serve as a witness to King Jesus? Jesus is Lord, this is what we're... Jesus told the disciples early on, "Go and make disciples of all nations." We live in a place where the nations come to us. And over the years I've got so many stories, but one just came to mind recently. A few weeks ago we had this couple that was with us for a couple weeks and they were just visiting. And what they said was, "We were part of this church seven years ago and God so blessed us seven years ago that we've been following the ministry," and they felt called by God to go to Sydney, Australia and they're part of a church planning team. And they said, "We have a confession to make all the resources you put online, we just steal it. We just take it." And I was like, "Good, it's not mine. It belongs to the kingdom. Use it for kingdom purposes." Incredible influence worldwide just by preaching the gospel here. And what are we preaching? We're preaching that Jesus is king. Jesus is king above all kings. He's Lord above all lords. And there are only two kingdoms. There's God and his kingdom, there's Satan in his kingdom. There's no neutral territory. It's either you're with Christ and you're in the kingdom of God or you're against Christ and you're in the kingdom of Satan. And what we preach is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Anybody who believes, anybody who receives the grace of God, anyone who repents of sin and submits to Christ, you're transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of his beloved son. That's Colossians one, 13 and 14. "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." And once you're in his kingdom, we work the rest of our lives to submit everything in our lives and in our spheres of influence to King Jesus. At every single one of our membership classes, we use the metaphor of cruise ship verse battleship to explain how we view the church. A lot of places where the church has been around for a long time and they're resourced, what happens is you can professionalize every single part of the ministry and you cater to everyone's needs, and you go to the church, it's like a show. You have a good time and then you're gone. It's like on a cruise ship. Why do people go on a cruise? To rest and to be entertained, to eat tremendously, to have a good time. Well, church is not like a cruise ship. We're not here to entertain you. We're here to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and the full counsel of God. And God has given us a mission. And on a battleship, what unites the people? What unites the people is the mission. Why are we here? What's our purpose? And the Lord Jesus Christ tells us we have an enemy. And if you're new to the city, welcome to spiritual war. There is a battle for the souls. And I feel this every end of August, beginning of September. I feel it. I see it. There's prophetic dreams. It's people from all over the world. Powerful souls are brought here, and now there's a battle for their souls. Which kingdom are you going to serve? Which king are you going to follow? But recently I've realized we're not just a battleship. In my church office, I have a beautiful painting. It's a sunset in the back, it's gorgeous. And then this is just a massive aircraft carrier, rusted, beat up from battles, but it's going, it's steadfastly, steadily moving, powerfully moving forward. And then planes land on the aircraft carrier and that they descend and ascend. That's how I view ministry in Boston. People from all over the world. It's like their plane lands in our aircraft carrier and then the mechanics go to work. They see what's wrong with the engine, they fix things up, they fuel you up, give you new directions and new inspiration, passion, desire to continue serving the Lord. In a similar way to the people of Israel worshiping in a beautiful temple in Jerusalem at the crossroads of their world, we find ourselves worshiping God the same God at the crossroads of the world here. So we see the strategic importance of a church proclaiming the gospel of God, the full counsel of God here. By making an impact here, we truly are making an impact worldwide. Now, how do we do that? How do we want to make an impact for the kingdom of God, a worldwide impact? How? By the word of God. Proclaiming, believing and obeying the whole council of God. In Acts 20, St. Paul, after spending some time with believers in Ephesus, he's leaving them, and then he says the following to them, "Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God." What an interesting way of phrasing his ministry, explaining his ministry. Had he not taught them the whole council of God, there would have been some kind of responsibility on him. He would have been guilty of their blood. And he says, "I didn't shrink." Why with that language? Because there is sometimes a temptation to back off from doctrines that make people squirm. We approach preaching the word of God as we do with the goal of proclaiming the whole council of God. From Genesis to Revelation, this is the inerrant, infallible, authoritative word of God. This is the foundation of everything that we do. Do you not think I know which doctrines make people squirm? Oh, I know. I've done this long enough. I can tell by body language, uncomfortable, uncomfortable. Sometimes people make it very obvious they get up and they're flip me the bird on the way out. You guys don't see that. I see that. My life would be much easier if I did not touch the difficult doctrines. But to remain faithful to God and to remain innocent of the blood of all, I can't but stand on the word of God. This is what we do at the church, we stand on the word of God. Why? Because we want to deepen in you, not just your faith, but your obedience. And that's what true faith always leads to, obedience to the Lord. And we saw this with Romans, the bookends and Romans one and Romans 16, the phrase obedience of faith. Romans 1:5, "Through whom we have received grace in apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations." And then Romans 16:26, "But has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings, has been made known to all nations according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith." And by proclaiming, obeying and believing the word of God and the whole council, we thereby aspire to build men and women of God committed particular three things, the great mission, the great commandment and the great commission. And I start with the great mission. It's usually known as the cultural mandate. The word culture isn't in it and the word mandate isn't in there either. And I actually think that this title diminishes the weight of the charge. God creates Adam and Eve, he creates humanity. And then the first imperative that he gives them, the first charge, the first mission, is found in Genesis 1:26 through 28. And because it's the very first imperative, it carries primacy. The creation mandate as some have called it, is rather a dominion mandate. It's a mission to take dominion, commanding human beings to bring every sphere of society, as well as nature itself, into subjugation to Jesus Christ. So this is Genesis 1:26 through 28, what I call the great mission. "And then God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female, he created them, and God blessed them, God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." There are three questions of supreme importance to every single person. One, who is God? Second, who am I? And third, what does God require of us? And holy scripture here answers these three questions in the very opening chapter, and how you answer these questions impacts the trajectory of your life and eternity. We learn in the opening chapter of holy scriptures that God is, he is the supreme creator of all things seen and unseen, including humanity. And we also learn that man is unique in all of God's creation being made in the image of God. And therefore God has given us a unique responsibility of doing what? Taking dominion, exercising dominion over the world that God has made. And that's why twice it's repeated. This is why I've created you, to take dominion. This is the blessing, take dominion. God creates man in his image and after his likeness so that man would fill the earth with his offspring, continue to image forth more of God and exercise dominion over the created order. God has ultimate authority and he's given us delegated authority. His authority is absolute, ours is derived from God. He says, let us make man in our image after our likeness. There's a divine counsel. God uses the plural here, let us make. The divine counsel precedes the creation. And it's striking that it's plural, and the interpretation is from the whole council of God that this is the Holy Trinity. It's not a full revelation of the Trinity, but the doctrine of the Trinity makes sense of this text best. And man is to image God in at least three ways. First of all, God made us rational creatures. We can think, we can reason. We are to understand truth. We are to pursue truth. We are to develop our powers of discernment. God has also made us moral beings, that God has written His law upon our hearts. We know when we sin, we know when we have transgressed the law of God. And then God has also given us the charge of dominion. He's given us a royal office to bring everything in subjugation to him. Let them have dominion, in the Hebrew it's [foreign language] to master, to reign, to prevail against, to rule, to create order where there's chaos. And it begins with what? It begins with taking dominion of yourself. You are responsible for you. That you are responsible to submit yourself to the Lord. And when you do, he fills you with the power of God to continue taking dominion. He says, let them start with the fish, the birds and the livestock over all the earth. God made life to feed us. He made plants to eat in Genesis 1:29, and animals are given to as food after the flood in Genesis nine. And he does want us to take good care of the animals under our charge. God is a loving God. He even cares about animals. Proverbs 12:10, "Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel." I don't have any beasts at my house, but I have fish. I have five fish, and it is a godly thing to feed your little beast. They get really excited. I feed them. My youngest daughter is four. She's like, "Dad, don't feed them. I want that to be my job." She likes to... We are to master. We are to subdue. We are to care for what God has entrusted to us, and we are to develop its latent potential. And every type of being is to be subservient to humanity. Humans are not on the same level with dogs. We're not on the same level with animals. We are higher. We're not on the same level as the earth itself. We are beings that tower high above all other creatures. We are to be their king and their crown. We are kings of creation under God, and we have a delegated authority for restoring created and creation order, to rule with benevolence, not like a despot out for his own gain. Fill the earth, subdue, rule over it. It's stewardship. Dominion doesn't mean destruction, it means responsibility. And also it means to create. Genesis 1:27, look, three times the verb create is used. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female, he created them." It's significant that God, for the very first time we find out that God is a creator. He creates, and he creates us in his own image and we are to be agents of creation and recreation. Man was created to image God, and image God by exercising true dominion under God's authority, for God's glory. We are to promote the worship of God. The service of God is to be maintained. And we are to develop and improve the creation around us. Improvement and development takes place when we're empowered by the king of kings. And then once we do take dominion, we submit everything to the feet of Christ. In order to subdue the earth, we must first understand its processes. This is why research is foundational for fulfilling the divine mandate. And then once we get that knowledge, we must apply in technology and engineering and medicine and agriculture, must be implemented for use, and business and commerce transmitted to future generations via education. The creation can also be described and praised in the humanities and fine arts. We are to further the good, the true and the beautiful. The dominion mandate thus authorizes all honorable human occupations as stewardship under God. So we must learn how the world operates, which requires expertise and knowledge and engineering and mathematics, physics, aerodynamics and agriculture. And then we teach our offspring to be involved in these areas as well. The tragedy is that leadership in practically all of these fields in our city and in our world has largely been taken over by secularists and humanists. People that don't honor God, they're not taking dominion for God, they're taking dominion for the enemy. So God's primeval commission here, the great mission has been, in many ways subverted. And Christians today need a new renewed vision and commitment, not only to Christ second coming, yes, he's coming. He's going to fix everything. And not just to the great commission. Yes, that's important. But once people are disciples of Christ, we are to teach them to obey everything that he taught us from the very beginning. So we need a renewed vision of the great mission of responsible world stewardship. So whatever your chosen field, you should aspire to be the very best. The mindset is whatever your job, whatever your field, I'm not just here to take part, I'm here to take over. I'm here to take dominion of whatever God has called me to. In Colossians 3:17, "Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, the Father, through him." First Peter 4:10 and 11, "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. Whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies, in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." So as we study creation, as we use our talents in creation to subdue it under the feet of Christ, we become agents of this common grace. We are to make the world a better place by using our skills and talents to build things that are beautiful and useful, while countering the forces of evil and sin that oppress and distort creation. We live in a fallen cursed world, and it's only by the power of the Holy Spirit can we seek to reverse the effects of the curse. And Genesis 1:28, at the heart of the great mission, "and God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heavens, over every living thing that moves on the earth." The primary purpose of marriage is given here in Malachi 2:15, it's reiterated, "Did he not make them one with a portion of the spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth." If God's will is godly children, then of course it makes sense that Satan would do everything in his powers to prevent this, from sexual perversion to gender confusion, to abortion to divorce. And men and women of God must carry this work out. We must work together and have children who are then trained in a godly Christian fashion to carry out the dominion mandate. Overpopulation is not a concern for God, nor should it be a concern for us. The very idea of depopulation is demonic because Satan came to steal, kill and destroy. The words, fill the earth, incidentally suggest that fears of population explosion are much overdrawn. Evidently the world is well able to support a large population. And Satan's always behind depopulation. Why? Because Satan's not omnipresent. Satan can only be in one place at one time. He's not God. And the demonic, well that's numbered, they're numbered. And the more godly people there are, the more the demonic forces are outnumbered. It's the same power, the strategy over and over. Remember in Egypt when Israel was in the captivity, they were enslaved by Pharaoh. Now Pharaoh realized that they were multiplying so much more than the people of Egypt. What does he do? Force depopulation. We're going to kill the children of Israel. And Moses was saved by his mom. This mandate to be fruitful and multiply, this mission, is so important God repeats it twice after the great flood in Genesis nine. And how are we to go about this whole process of subduing and taking dominion and being fruitful and multiplying? It's all to be done with love, never harshly, but always tenderly, carefully and faithfully. The nature of man's dominion, if he is to be Lord of all, he must be servant of all. This was true in the garden before the fall as it is today. Remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ concerning the exercise of authority in Matthew 20:25, "But Jesus called them to him and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave. Even as the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom." For many godly authority is true authority, but it's not based on force or coercion or manipulation. And to understand dominion, we can look at Ephesians five and draw analogies there. That dominion is not exploitive, it's not oppressive, it's always loving. Christ in the church, for example. Christ is the head of the church and Christ's headship of the church leads the church to thrive, to be fruitful, to become evermore lovely. Or the relationship between husband and wife, also Ephesians five. Under her husband's righteous headship, a wife is to thrive and be fruitful and become evermore lovely. And we've been given dominion over creation. If we exercise godly dominion over creation, under the lordship of Christ, creation will thrive and be fruitful and become evermore lovely. Knowledge and appreciation of our fellow creatures is essential. And it's all to be done in love. Romans 5:17, "For if because of one man's trespass, death reigned through the one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ." Romans right there, he says, if you've given grace, God gives you grace to save you. You're in the kingdom of God now, and now we are to expand God's kingdom by taking dominion. We are to reign in life. And it's a mindset shift. If you think about everything you are and everything you have, where in your life is there chaos? And where in your life do you need to take dominion, that you need to take responsibility? You know those days where you do not want to work out, it's the last thing... Instead of working out, you just want a large cheese pizza. And at those moments you got to remind yourself... Once in a while you got to take a break. But as a pattern rhythm of life, we have to take dominion of our bodies. I will tell my body what to do. Take dominion of your health. Take dominion of your mind, as much as you can, take dominion of your soul. Now I started thinking about just even house chores like this. I see trash and I'm like, "Ah, got to take dominion. That's my job, those dishes to do. I'm taking dominion of these dishes." But if you start thinking like that, I'm like, "Huh, all right, where in my life is life out of control? Where do I need dominion? Holy Spirit, give me strength." So take good care of what God has given you. Take good care of your possessions, of your finances. Take good care of your relationships and desire greater influence. Desire greater dominion. Seek to expand your domain of dominion. First Chronicles 4:10, there's a gentleman named Jabez and he prayed the following, "Jabez called upon the God of Israel saying, oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my border and that your hand might be with me and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain. And God granted what he asked." Do you ask God, "Lord enlarge my borders, Lord, give me more influence. Give me more of a domain to take dominion of?" Adam was given the charge to do this, the great mission, but he was given the charge of the perfect world. Therefore, his job was a gardener in the perfect world where everything was perfect. He didn't need a house in the garden of Eden, they lived outside. They didn't need air conditioning. Everything... The temperature was perfect. For Adam, it was 67. For Eve, it was around 73. God kept everyone... But everything was perfect. And God gave Adam a job. In Genesis 2:15, the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it, work it and guard it." So Adam's task was given to him before the fall. Before the curse, there were no weeds. He didn't have to toil by the sweat of his brow. Pregnancy or childbirth did not come with pains. Yeah they lived in a different world. There was no need to build shelter to survive in a harsh environment. And Adam did not do his job even in the perfect environment. He did not take dominion. He abdicated his responsibility. When Satan came and tempted Eve and him, he did not fight Satan, and therefore dominion of the world of the created order moved from Adam to Satan. That's why Jesus, when he came, three times in John 12, John 14, John 16, calls Satan the ruler of this world. This was supposed to be man's role, but Adam's willful sin led to him forfeiting the dominion. And then Jesus Christ comes and he comes to destroy the works of the evil one. And I find it fascinating, how did Jesus take dominion up until age 30? Jesus started his ministry at age 30. That's when he started teaching the word of God, telling everyone the kingdom's at hand, repentant and believe. But Jesus Christ, in crucial years of his youth, what did he do as vocation? He was a carpenter. He was a builder. Adam lived in a perfect world. He didn't have to build houses. Everything was perfect. Jesus Christ comes in the fallen world. How is he taking dominion? He is building. He's building structures in the real world to house real families. And that was part of God's blueprint. How do you expand the kingdom of God? By building, in order to house, to house families and house people and house the church. So now we are tasked with the same work, take dominion, in a fallen world, and we take it from Satan, we take ground for Jesus Christ. And real estate is part of it. We, as a church, we do have a vision of taking dominion... Yes, I want to take Boston. This is the reason why I moved here in 2009. My pitch to everybody was, we are taking Boston and we're going to proclaim the gospel of God until we fill Fenway Park with converts. Everyone in Fenway Park is going to get saved. Everybody. That's the vision. We want to take this city. But part of taking the city is taking dominion, getting rooted, getting real estate. And just one example of where I see this in scripture, Jeremiah 29, God sends the prophet Jeremiah as a prophet to proclaim to the people of God in captivity. They were taken from the promised land to Babylon. And he says, this is God's plan for how you are going to build the kingdom in Babylon. Everyone knows Jeremiah 29:11, it's on every Christian mug that you find. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare, not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." But the plans are actually outlined in the same chapter. That's why I'm like, you can't just pick and choose verse. He gives us the plan. He gives us the plan in verse four and seven, Jeremiah 29:4, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters and take wives through your sons and give your daughters in marriage that you may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there and do not decrease, but seek the welfare of the city where I've sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf for in its welfare you will find your welfare." So we do pray for the Lord to give you a vision, to be rooted here, to think about, "Okay, what's it going to take?" And I will tell you, I've been trying to do this 14 years in Boston. Trying to take dominion in Boston, you know how people say if you make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. If you make it in Boston and take dominion here as a believer, you can do it anywhere. You know real estate prices, and I know how hard it is to be fruitful and multiply and have children. You know what that takes. But the vision is still before us. And then whatever gap we have in our resources, we say, "Holy Spirit, we need you to supernaturally provide." And the Lord does that over and over. One way, if you are single or if you don't have children, if you have a love for children, one way that you can take part in this great commission here at Mosaic is joining mini Mosaic, volunteering at Mini Mosaic. We don't take anyone, by the way, we only take the best. There is a Navy SEAL tryout process. But this is one of the ways that we build up the future generation of believers. And then also we do recognize, statistically, 90% of people who become believers become believers before the age of 18. So we are to build up the kingdom of God and we do that through the great commission without forgetting the great commandment. God gives his people a moral framework to navigate the entire breadth of life, and he does that in the 10 Commandments. Adam was put in the Garden of Eden to work it and guard it. And the word guard means keep evil out. And he failed, and evil entered the world. So God gives his law to his people to show them the ways of life and to guardrail against death. You ever hear of getting Storrowed You know what that is? It's when... Remember the 18-year old who was just given the U-Haul truck keys? It's when that 18 year old follows Google Maps instead of the huge signs right before you enter Storrow, and they're just driving, they hit through the sign, and then they get stuck under a bridge. I view that as that's why God gave us the 10 Commandments. God doesn't want you to get Storrowed. If you break the commandments, the commandments end up breaking you. And yes, in the faith there are moral obligations. The 10 Commandments are still in force. This is how God wants us to frame our lives. Next week we're starting a very new sermon series through the Gospel of Mark. We're calling it Kingdom Come. It's going to be a tremendous series. But I write my sermons a week ahead, so next week's sermons already written, it was written on Friday. And last time I preached through Mark was in 2012, and I still got all the word docs. And I went back and I read my sermon from 2012. The introduction was great. It was like what's the best news you ever heard? And I had my classic joke in there. It's a girl, it's a girl, it's a girl and it's a girl, because I have four. But then I got to this point where I wrote this, and I got to confess because it's terrible. I said, "Jesus doesn't teach on morality in the Gospel of Mark. The point of the faith isn't morality, it's not morality, it's just about relationship. It's not religion, it's a relationship." Jesus Christ was Jewish and he was a Jewish Rabbi, he's the son of God who became the son of man. He said, I didn't come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, to ratify, to show you what the point of the law is. Jesus Christ lived his life perfectly under the 10 commandments, offers his life as a sacrifice for our lawbreaking of the commandments. He gives us grace, saves us and empowers us in the Holy Spirit, to then live a life of obedience of faith according to the commandments. And then Jesus comes and he summarizes. He says, the first four commandments are all about loving God. And the next six are all about loving neighbors. So God defines what it means to love. Deuteronomy five gives us 10 commandments. "And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, hear O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb, not with our fathers, did the Lord make this covenant but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The Lord spoke with you face-to-face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire. And while I stood between the Lord and you at that time to declare to you the word of the Lord for you were afraid because of the fire and you did not go up into the mountain. He said, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain, observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath, honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God commanded you that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. And you shall not covet your neighbor's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that is your neighbor's." The Sabbath here is a commandment given and is a commandment that transcends time. The Sabbath is a reminder that the purpose of life transcends work. The Sabbath is the only element of the creation that's explicitly marked as holy. The Sabbath belongs to God. Stress and burnout are hazards for driven people and the Sabbath is the best antidote. And God gives us the Sabbath that's still enforced. We do not Sabbath on a Saturday. We Sabbath on a Sunday. Why? Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is... This is one of the great proofs for the resurrection of Christ. What would it take for Jewish people who for thousands of years were taught the Sabbath is on a Saturday, the Sabbath is the seventh day, the Sabbath is on a Saturday. This is the day that you commit to the Lord. And then all of a sudden these same people are now taking the Sabbath on a Sunday. Why? Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. God built it in to the calendar. Religious people added hundreds of manmade rules to the 10 commandments, to the law of God. And they obfuscated the whole point. The whole point was this is how we love God. This is how we love people. And when Jesus came, he reminded us that the whole point of the law is love. Matthew 22:34, "But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law. And he said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." So what do we do here on Sundays? We gather to worship God. Why do we worship God? Why do we sing to him? Because we love him. Why do we hear from His word? Because we love him and we love what he said. And then we pray together and we celebrate Holy Communion. These are essential practices of the means of grace and the life of a believer. All of our service follow the basic pattern of meeting together that's traced back to the early church. We sing, we pray, we teach from scripture and we respond by taking communion. And our goal isn't to manufacture particular feeling or experience. We want you to meet Jesus Christ. And when you meet Jesus Christ, that changes everything, and that leads to transformation. We're passionate about the person and the work of Jesus Christ. We long to see the message of the gospel, that Jesus Christ lived the life that we were supposed to live in obedience to God's commandments. And then Jesus dies the death that we deserve to die for our lawbreaking, and he goes to the cross, bears the wrath of God, takes the curse upon himself in order to extend mercy and the blessing of obedience to us. Every single one of us, we've broken at least one of the commandments. Not one of us has truly loved God from the heart or neighbor as self. We deserve eternal damnation. We deserve to be banished from the presence of God. But Jesus fulfilled all the commandments from the heart perfectly and then offers himself as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins. When you look to the cross and you see Christ dying on behalf of you, on behalf of your sins, to redeem you, your soul, your body, your heart is filled with love, love for God, and then your heart is filled with love for neighbor. And we do practice loving neighbor as self here, beginning with believers, beginning with Christians. The way that we practice community is in our community groups. We have 20 plus community groups that meet different places, different homes around the week. What do we do in the groups? We open scripture, usually the passages that were associated and read on Sunday. We study the scriptures, we have conversation about the scriptures, and then we pray for one another. We do take membership seriously. At Mosaic membership, we hold in high regard. What's membership? It's a commitment, a mutual commitment. When a church commits to take responsibility for a person and a person commits to take responsibility for the church. And membership is a commitment and a covenant to further the mission, the vision, and the life of the church. How do we become members at Mosaic? The first step is to take a membership class. We will have the dates of the next one advertised soon. If you are new to the faith, perhaps you haven't been baptized as a believer, we practice baptism as believers, because Jesus Christ was baptized as an adult and we follow his example. And what is baptism? It's a public symbol of the spiritual death and resurrection of the believer who's died to their sin and resurrected to new life and Christ. If you have not been baptized as a believer, as an adult, we'd love to have a conversation with you about that. And then if you truly love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, you love your neighbor as yourself, what do you want to do? You want to share the gospel with those who don't know the Lord yet. And this is the great commission, Matthew 28, Jesus before his ascension, verse 16, it says, "Now the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him. But some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age." So we're not only supposed to take dominion over the physical realm, but we're also to take dominion over the spiritual realm as well. And we do that by proclaiming the word of God, proclaiming the gospel, and making disciples of all nations, spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Baptism is done in the name, that's singular. And then we're given three names. In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit to show us that there's unity in the Godhead, although there are three different persons. And in this charge where we see that God is community. In the very beginning when God created everything he said, let us make man in our image. The God who is community, the Father, Son, the Holy Spirit and perfect love, creates humanity for community. So God who is community here is telling us, community of believers, to go and welcome new members into the community. I love on the outside of the temple, if you haven't seen it, you can see on the way out, it says "A house of prayer for all nations." I love that. I do pray that Mosaic continues to be a house of prayer for all nations, and for as long as you're here, I pray that you are blessed. And then we are to take the message of the gospel and the kingdom building word wherever we go. And then we are to make disciples. We are to preach the gospel. We are to teach people that there's only one way of salvation. There's only one name by which we are to be saved. And the task of evangelism is so important that Christ gives us the great commission five times, in each of the gospels and in the Book of Acts, Jesus commissions us to go and tell the world the message of salvation. That though we are at war with God, he is giving us pardon, he's giving us amnesty, he's offering us forgiveness. And then we're ushered into the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Jesus calls his followers to give their lives in service of others and to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and make disciples. And whether you've spent your whole life in church or if you're just beginning to investigate the claims of Jesus, there is a place for you here. You're welcome to join, to serve and to expand God's kingdom in Boston, beyond, into the ends of the earth. Mosaic Boston aspires to joyfully become a worldwide kingdom building force by proclaiming, believing and obeying the whole council of God, and thereby building men and women of God committed to the great mission, the great commandment and the great commission. Praise be to God. This time we're going to transition to celebrate holy communion. We do this the first Sunday of every month at Mosaic. For whom is holy communion? It's for followers of Jesus Christ who are living in humble repentance. So first, if you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, we ask that you refrain from this part of the service. Or if you are living in unrepentant sin, we ask that you refrain, instead just think about the gospel and spend some time in repentance. If you would like to partake and have not received the elements, please raise your hand, and one of the ushers will give them to you. And as they do that, I'll pray for our time in communion. Oh holy God, we thank you that though there was a chasm between us and you, that you sent your son Jesus Christ, the perfect lamb of God, the Passover lamb, and Jesus, you were slain, and from your wounds you bled. Your body was crucified, and the word tells us your body was broken. And the greatest pain that you experienced on the cross was not just the physical, excruciating anguish, but the greatest pain you felt was the separation from the loving Father. When you cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Lord, you went through that, you went through that experience of drinking the wrath of God, the whole cup. And you did that for us so that we wouldn't have to. And Lord, right now, as we remember your sufferings, we rejoice that you did that because you love us. You did that because of the joy that was set before you. So we thank you Lord and we pray that you deepen our love for you, even now, expand even our capacity to love you and to love neighbor, and as we meditate upon your suffering on the cross. Lord, we repent of all sin of folly. We repent of insubordination, we repent of building our own kingdoms. And Lord, we receive mercy, we receive grace. And we pray that you continue to fill us with the spirit, continue and empower us to do your will. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. If you're new, there's two lids. First lid up top, you open up gently, and that opens the cup. And then there's a lid at the bottom. And that's how you receive the bread. "On the night that Jesus Christ was betrayed, he took the bread, and after breaking it, he said, take, eat, and do this in remembrance of me. Then proceeded to take the cup and he said, this cup is the cup of the new covenant of my blood, which is poured out for the sins of many. Take, drink and do this in remembrance of me." Lord Jesus, we thank you for washing our souls with your blood. We thank you Jesus, that by your wounds and the wounds of your body, we can find healing, healing for our souls, healing for our minds, healing for our bodies. Pray Holy Spirit, now send us that healing. Send us your power, send us your anointing. And Lord I pray that you continue to fill our hearts with the fire of your Holy Spirit for the great mission that you have for us. And to all do it with love according to the great commandment, love for you and love for neighbor. And Lord then empower us to your witnesses and to fulfill the great commission by making disciples. Give us opportunities to share the gospel with friends, family, neighbors. And I pray, Lord, in this season, save many people and draw them to yourself, draw the elect, and continue to convert and continue to build up your kingdom. And I pray, Lord, that you give us all grace now as we continue to worship you because you are worthy of all worship. And we pray this in the name of the Father, of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sunday PM ServiceFirst ChroniclesI. The Characteristics of First  ChroniclesII. The Construction of First  ChroniclesIII. The Conclusions from First ChroniclesSupport the show

On this this week's edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell, Alyssa Bream, and Zack Unkenholz discuss the themes of First Chronicles. Why would God use something physical to symbolize His presence? Does God require order in worship? Does God give blessings only when certain things are present? Do you believe David was also operating in the role of a priest? Are there corporate actions that bring individual blessings? Are there things we only receive as a part of a group? We see that the worship of the Lord was so important to David that he appointed specific people to give thanks to the Lord through song. What's the importance of worshiping the Lord through music? Do the words we sing in worship matter, or is it more about the “feeling” behind them? Compared to First and Second Samuel, First and Second Chronicles leave out the majority of David's morally questionable acts. Why do you think that is?

The book of First Chronicles was first written to the Jews who were coming home from exile in Babylon. The writer wanted to remind the Israelites of their spiritual past, the times when they were blessed for their obedience, and the times when they endured the consequences of rebellion. It's a critical lesson for all of us to learn today, and Ron takes us there next, as he continues his teaching series, “Route 66: The Ultimate Road Trip Through the Bible.” --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/something-good-radio/support

Returning to your spiritual roots, on this Friday edition of Something Good. The first thing you'll notice about the book of First Chronicles is that it contains a rather long genealogical record. The writer knew just how critical it was for the people of God to understand their past, so that they might return to right relationship with God. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/something-good-radio/support

We rightly love the Christmas Story. We know that God arranged the whole scene, but few know the connection to Jabez' prayer. “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were terrified. But the angels said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” The phrase, “living out in the fields” is the word, “Agrueleo,” and is only used in this place in the New Testament. An active participle, it indicates that this was their habitual practice. In other words, they always lived in the fields. That was their home. These shepherds were the shepherds that raised the lambs that were sacrificed in the temple. But again, why was their permanent residence in the field? Even to this day, if you go to Israel and the guides will lead you to the area outside of Bethlehem, and it's called the Shepherds Fields. Why were they there? In Genesis 35:19-21, after Rachel died and Jacob buried her, he traveled a little bit further and he pitched his tent in beyond the Tower of Eder.Why is that important? Because “Eder” means the flock, and it's actually picked up later in a prophecy in Micah 4:8, which says, “O Tower of the Flock, the stronghold of the Daughter of Zion to you, shall it come (or to you he shall come.)” And this, of course, connects with Luke Chapter 8, because as we read later on, Jewish tradition made this tower Jesus' birthplace this long before Christ came into the world. Who built this tower? We don't know. But going all the way back now to the time of Abraham, 2000 years before Christ a tower was erected, Jewish rabbis said it'd be the site where the Messiah would come. Jerome, in the fourth century saw in this tower the foreshadowing of the announcement of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ to the shepherds, the ones that kept living in the fields. Today it answers to a place called Khirbet Sara, which is called “The Ruin of the Sheepfold.” It's very interesting that archeologists have gone to this place, and they have found all kinds of Christian artifacts showing that early on this was a place of worship. 1st Chronicles 4:9 reads, “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother called him Jabez saying, because ‘I bore him in pain.'” Kind of a rough name to give to a kid because it basically means he causes pain. “Jabez called on the God of Israel.” Now this is a noble, honorable man, according to Scripture, and he prays “that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that your hand would be with me, that you would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.” Basically, he prays “I don't want to live up to my name.” We have to understand that in Hebrew thought the name your parents gave you was actually the name God already had planned for you before you were born, and it described your character. We see that playing out a lot in Scripture, in the names that were given to people. Jabez did not want to live up to his name. He did not want to be a source of pain. And then it says, “and so God granted him what he requested.” He requested God's blessing for enlarged territory. Jabez was not praying for literal territory when he prayed that God would enlarge his territory or enlarge his holdings. He was an honorable man. He was a noble man. He was thinking in spiritual terms. Which would you rather have? A big ranch or eternal impact? What would you rather have? Would you rather have holdings in this world? Or would you rather have impact in history and reward and eternity? Jabez was praying for something much, much bigger, than what most people think of. How do we know that God answered this prayer? And why in the world will this relate to the shepherds in the field? Well, if you just slide over to 1st Chronicles 2:54-55 which says, “54 The sons of Salma were Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth Beth Joab, half of the Manahethites, and the Zorites. And the families of the scribes who dwelt at Jabez were the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Suchathites. These were the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.” you know, the Kennites were not Jews. They came from Moses, father-in-law, Jethro, who came from Hamath, the father of the House of Recab. Now, I know you think that we've already lost the trail, but we're just closing in on it. The Tower of Eder, which stood just outside the village that later is called Bethlehem, was the former site of a village of Jabez. Jabez' Prayer began by a village being named for him near the Tower of Eder. And who were the Kennites? Not Jews, but people who later actually married into the Levitival priesthood. Notice the important words here. They were scribes who dwelt at Jabez. The job of the scribe was to copy the scriptures, to study the Scriptures and to teach the Scriptures. The beginning of the answer to Jabez prayer was a group of people, not even Jews, but proselytes, who came in because of faith, and they became the leading Bible scholars of their time. It tells us at the end of the verse as well that they were of the House of Recab. 1500 years later, in Jeremiah 35, we see more of the Recabites. Jeremiah wanted to use these people as an example to the children of Israel of what faithfulness should look like. Jeremiah is told, “bring them into the House of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.” So, Jeremiah said, I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah. The son of “who and who....” “His brothers and all his sons, the whole house of the Rechabites. I brought them into the House of the Lord, into the chamber of the Sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah.” They really get into the genealogies here. “A man of God, which was by the chamber of the Princes above the chamber,” and so on and so forth. Verse five says, “I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabite bowls full of wine and cups, and I said, ‘Drink wine.'” Jeremiah's doing what God commanded him to do. “But they said, we will drink no wine for Jonadab, the son of Rechab.” Once again, keep in mind the link back to First Chronicles. “Our father commanded us saying, ‘You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons forever.'” That was not the only requirement he placed on them, however. Verse seven says, “You shall not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard, nor have any of these. All your days you shall dwell in tents that you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.” The Rechabites through all their generations, became shepherds and lived in tents. And as we come down to Jeremiah's commendation of these people, he says in verse 16, “Surely the sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them. But this people, meaning Israel, God says, has not obeyed me. Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel. Behold, I will bring on Judah, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, all the doom that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them, but they have not heard. I have called to them, but they have not answered. And Jeremiah said to the House of the Rechabites, “Thus says the Lord God of hosts the God of Israel, because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts have done according to all that he commanded you. Therefore, thus, as the Lord God of host the God of Israel, Jonadab, the Son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before me forever. Can you connect this unique group of people who took a vow that they would always remain nomads and shepherds who were linked to the village that once stood slightly outside of Bethlehem, all the way down to the shepherds that ultimately stood before the Lord. According to this promise. “He will not like a man to stand before me.” By the way, the phrase stand before me has a priestly connotation. My conviction is that these shepherds were living in the same place they had always lived, lived in the same way they had always lived, were doing the same things they had always done, continued to remain students of God's word. Obviously. And they were the first ones that were invited to meet the Savior as he entered the world. That's pretty amazing. But it's not as amazing as what happened and what they witnessed. You know, Paul captures the first Christmas in a way this the simple story can't. We love the story in its simplicity, its oriental beauty, and it's so amazingly beautiful, but it doesn't come close to capturing what that little child represented. When Paul tells us in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind being you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to cling to or a thing to grasped. But He made Himself of no reputation and came in the form of a man and being found in existence as a man. He humbled Himself even further unto death. Even the death of the cross.” That all began right here. That was that huge step that our Savior took from his throne in heaven down into this world full of sin, sorrow and suffering. For what? To live a life of rejection. A life misunderstood. A life of slander and maligning. And ultimately, to go to the cross. For you and I. to pay the penalty for our sins, and not just for ours. But as John tells us, “for the sins of the entire world.” We should stand as we do today, preparing to celebrate Christmas with the reverence, amazement, humility. Our souls should be struck with the beauty, but also the grandeur and the greatness of everything that our Savior has done for us.

God has given each of us as believers a story to share with the world.   Today's guest, Janet Whisnant Harllee, talk show host of "Faith In An Ever Changing World," discusses the importance of sharing your faith story with others to bring about encouragement, Inspiration, and hope while sharing the love of Jesus.   Please join us to hear examples of why YOUR story might make a difference in another's life.   *****   Welcome to Empowering Lives With Purpose. And I'm your host, Kimberly Hobbs. I am the founder of Women World Leaders. And we are so happy that you have joined us today. Today. Let's welcome our guest, Janet Harllee. Welcome, Janet, we are so happy to have you.  Janet Harllee   Thank you, Kimberly, thank you for giving me this opportunity.  Kimberly Hobbs   Of course, of course and ladies today. This is really fun because Janet has a program where others are invited on to share their stories. And I'm going to introduce her in just a moment. But I just wanted to say a little bit about who we are women, world leaders, the name of our podcast today is empowering lives with purpose. And it is our desire ladies to inspire you encourage you in the Word of God, and also to walk out that beautiful purpose that God has just for you. God tells us in His word that we are a masterpiece Ephesians 210 says we are God's masterpiece, we are created anew in Christ Jesus to do that very good things that he has planned for us long ago. And ladies, we know that you have a beautiful purpose. And whether you're walking it out now, or you have those reservations of walking it out, we want to help you we want to propel you forward in your faith, to walk out that purpose and serve the Lord wholeheartedly. And so as we have some of our guests on that is our purpose that they can help inspire you through sharing their stories of how they came to walk with Jesus and share their purpose. And when they share with you. Hopefully that will just jog something inside of you to say, Okay, Lord, if they can do it, I can do it. Right. So, Janet, I just want to share a little bit about our guest, Janet Harley today. She is a storyteller, and she's a speaker, a broadcaster and an author. And she has a passion to share God's truth and deliver it to her audiences, where she encourages, inspires and entertains with messages of faith in an ever changing world. Her other experiences include theater, radio, television, and she's currently the host of her broadcast, which is faith in an ever changing world, which gives encouragement and hope, as she interviews with others to share their faith story. And also pastors who share various faith topics with faith focus. She enjoys encouraging people through coffee breaks, and she loves making new friends. And Janet Harley is available on YouTube. So Janet, again, we welcome you. And thank you for being here. We, you're so welcome. We each have a story to tell ladies. And the stories could be ranging from how we give birth and pains and trials that we've had, you know, we all have different stories that we share with people. But as Christ followers, ladies, those stories are of the utmost important, what has he done in your life? What are our Faith Journeys? What is your faith journey, and the goal of our faith journey is to deepen our relationship with God. Right. And by sharing our faith story, and telling our story, we encourage others to share their stories. And God says in Revelation 1211, And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. And by the word of their testimony, we overcome the enemy, and all that he's trying to do in our life. When we proclaim our testimony to the world. God says that in his word, and that is how important it is. Janet, you have a story. So how did you get started in encouraging others to share their story? Let's hear a little bit about your story. Janet Harllee   Well, I retired a couple of years ago at the age of 70 and And I've never really thought about retiring, Kimberly, I enjoy what I was doing. And the Lord has blessed me with good health. And so, but at 70, I thought, well, it's just time. But you know, you never retire because God's work never stops. So I wondered what was going to be next? My next chapter, what, what, Lord, what do you have for me? Now, what can I do? And one of my speaker topics was faith in an ever changing world. And I added encouragement and hope. Because for the broadcast, he put on my heart to, to do a Facebook page. And it's really his Facebook page, not mine. And he wanted me to help others or to get other people to share their stories, because in how faith, either how faith had gotten them through a certain situation in their life, or their testimony, that we each have a testimony a story. And when we tell our story, we tell HEDIS. Amen. So I started the PageRank. So just let it go around in my head for a while, you know, and in September last year, and this September will be a year that the broadcast has been going on Facebook. And so I've just pray every day that the Lord will use me will show me what he wants me to do. Because when you retire, when I retired, I repurposed. I retired to repurpose. And I just think that the Lord has says he has put this on my heart, that this is what he wants me to do at this particular time. Kimberly Hobbs   Oh, my goodness, Janet, you are so delightful. And I love that when you retired, you said you repurposed? Yeah. How awesome. Is that? Right? That? I said, I want to be like you when I. When I'm at that age to retire, I'm gonna say no, Lord, let me repurpose it, because serving Him is amazing, right? Janet Harllee   That's right. That's right. And we are, we are to do that. That certainly is our purpose is to encourage and empower each other, especially as women, Kimberly Hobbs   especially right as older women. And so ladies, your job on earth here is never done. Don't you think about retiring? Because God says no, he's gonna use you. You're here for a purpose. Remember that? If anything in this podcast today, you're here for a purpose, ladies. And by sharing your faith story, it touches it touches other people's hearts and helps them see their story through your story. Okay, so as they're seeing and listening to you, they identify with what you're saying. That's the importance of sharing the story. They can have compassion, they can be inspired. But they can also say, Wow, if she did it, I can do it. Right. Right. So it's through sharing these stories that also brings us closer to God, ladies, and I think God for Janet hardly that she saw a purpose in this. And she decided, You know what, she's going to go and gather those stories that God brings across her path to share with the world. So thank you, Janet, so much for doing that. So much. So I have another question for you. So tell us how you would encourage someone else to share their God's story. Janet Harllee   Well, stories connect us on so many levels, Kimberly, they are inspirational to to us. They encourage, they are empowering. And it's important for us to share those stories because we can certainly apply as you have said help other women. Women because we go through a lot of the same kinds of trials. And I'm a member of a group testimony Tuesdays on Facebook. And so we Every Tuesday we share testimony. Well, I shared a testimony Yesterday, it was a testimony of obedience because my sister and I became caregivers for my parents. And you know, when when the roles switch and you become the parent, it's, it's difficult, it's emotional. It's tiring, but it's also the most rewarding of anything I ever do. And my parents were such godly parents. And so it was just so in sharing that through the other comments you see, of other people, they can relate. Maybe they've been a caregiver too, and they knew what I was talking about. And so, in our stories in our storytelling, we certainly want to share this. And a lot of times, women think that they don't have a story. And they, but you do, yes. Um, now my story about how I came to know the Lord. I don't have a heart wrenching story to share as Sunday because I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home. But I do, it's my story. And I enjoy telling you, and as I've gotten older, and in this stage of life, where I am right now, in my last quarter of life, I am more closer to God than I ever have been. And each day, I just seem to be even closer to him. Kimberly Hobbs   So is that saying true that your later days are your glory days? Janet Harllee   Oh, yes, I tell you, he has just been another can look back and see how faithful and how he has worked in my life. From the pit pitfalls and consequences that could have happened. And Kimberly Hobbs   he prepared you for such a time as this, he prepared you, that you you know, you may have not had like you said that heart wrenching story. But yet he knew that you were going to be compassionate. And you are going to encourage others that we have those crazy, you know, stories of what they've been through those heart wrenching moments, you know, that are and you encourage them, to talk about it, to share it to express it to others, in hopes that it will draw them closer to our Lord and Savior. And that is one of the best ways to share your story as you are you're drawing others closer to God by letting them listen into your life being vulnerable being open, right? Be a friend. Yes, it'd be kind of godly examples. That's what we're called to do. And you talked about obedience to, you know, you were obedient to take care of your parents, like, you know, you can be doing a lot of other things in your retirement years. Right. Janet Harllee   Absolutely. Still working. This was while I was still working. Wow. So yeah, we had to move. And, of course, I needed a job and a place to live. Me and my husband. So Robert found an apartment that was brand new, nobody had lived in it. So we we got to got a place to live. I called a lifelong friend. And she was taking a new position and needed someone. So I had a job. I mean, it's just things like that how things fall together. When we obey. Kimberly Hobbs   Oh, that is so true. That did you hear that? Ladies? When you walk in obedience with the Lord, He's going to guide your steps, things are going to come together for you. If you think everything's in array right now, check your obedience to the Word of God. Put it up against the scriptures. Are you walking in obedience to Him? Are you doing your own thing? Yeah. So Janet, you said it right. Obedience is key to unlocking the blessings that God has in our lives. And he blesses. That's right. That's right. He sure does. So God gives us examples, ladies all over his word about how we should share our testimonies and why we should share our testimonies. And one of those is John 439, where it talks about the Samaritan woman, and she had an encounter with Jesus. And then she went out and she shared that encounter. She shared that story of how it transformed her life. She was an AHA of this wonderful Savior that forgave her for what she was doing knew everything about her. And so she ran out and told all of her fellow neighbors her story. And in that the town believed in Jesus. And it's all because of this woman testifying lives were transformed. So that's what we're called to do Janet Harllee   I love that story. Amen. It's just and that's what we should do. And with joy, Kimberly Hobbs   with joy. So one more verse I want to share is First Chronicles 16, eight, where it says, Oh, give thanks to the Lord call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Does he say, keep quiet about everything God did in his word? No, it says, Make known his deeds among the peoples. So ladies, we have a job to do. Janet, I know that through interviewing all of these women and men that you interviewed, because you do both you do men and women, you've heard some amazing stories. Yeah. So can you encourage the women by sharing maybe some of those that have had an impact on not only you, but others that have really made a difference and why they made a difference? Janet Harllee   Absolutely. There are many, but there are a couple of women that come to my mind right away. One woman had three boys, and they of course, her husband. And one night they were awakened with fire in their home. And so they were trying to get out and get the children out. And I she was badly burned. And still have scars today, but of the burn. But she passed out during a while she was in the ambulance, and didn't wake up for six weeks. And but God healed her it took a long time. But the the very, very another sad part of it was she did lose, they could not get her youngest son out. So he did perish in the fire. So she speaks to women today about losing those who have lost a child, and all you know the emotions, and she has a podcast and called Purple thoughts. And if any women listening wants to know about it, and to know more about it, please, we'll give you the information to get in touch with me a little while. But she is just such a wonderful, inspirational woman and speaks a testimony all the time, into the halls of how God has been so faithful and good and how he still is being faithful and good. The other day, I noticed she showed a picture of her getting in there taking her into the ambulance, and then a picture of her today. How alive she is and how beautiful she is. And Kimberly Hobbs   She had to take a step forward to faith right? Yeah, absolutely. And not be in that place. I mean, because we all know if we've gone through sickness, you know, we can wallow in our pity of woe is me for a long time. Yeah. And it took a lot to overcome what she did, but she stepped down and shared her faith story and what she's doing now and I know you have more, share some more of that story. Janet Harllee   Oh, one more, one more real quick, about a lady who was kidnapped at the age of five, and found at the age of 10. And during those five years, she was abused every day, by her kidnapper. She now has has turned her life around. Of course there's so much that can be said about her because of his She was so young. And to have this happen to her. At such a young age, that's all she knew was the behavior and the the language that she heard from this man. And so that's all she knew. And when she was found at the age of 10. She was so relieved she was Happy to be away from that environment. But social services took over and so forth. And at some point they they did it to her into school. And in the fifth in the fifth grade, she had never been to school at all. And so she didn't know how to act didn't know how to react, to interact with other children, and the teachers, but she, she got through. And then later a lady came in her life that introduced her to the Lord. And so her life, of course changed. And her faith every day now is spent helping other women who have been in similar situations, and how they can come to know the Lord and how she forgave her kidnapper, and how she brought him to the Lord. And didn't get to meet her mother. And I didn't say this, but she was abandoned at the hospital by her mother. So she was abandoned, kidnapped. It's just amazing how God got her through this situation. And now, how her how he's using her life to help other women. Wow, wow, is just amazing. So these are encouraging stories, amazing stories. And I can't imagine being in this situation, because it nothing like that has ever happened to me. But it just, it just inspires me to, to be more grateful, and more thankful to God about house so faithful and good in my life. And how I can help other women and men to share their stories to encourage and bring hope to others. Kimberly Hobbs   Right. Wow, Janet, and thank you, thank you for encouraging this woman to come forward and share that story. And even you sharing it today, how many lives are being touched, just listening to this. And knowing that when she came to know Jesus, she took her whole life story, and she put it into purpose in serving Him. And how powerful is it because others listening may have just come out of something tragic, just like that. They can identify with the pain and the hurt and the suffering. And then you get their ear because they'll listen to you because they relate to you. And you can share with them, you know, the overcoming that when we know Jesus, and we're following Him in His steps. So we have a story to tell of turn to Jesus and give him all your hurts and pains. They'll listen to you at that moment because they're identifying with you. Yes. So don't you doubt ladies for a moment that your story isn't important. Just like Janet said. She didn't grow up with a unbelievable story. She grew up and God was preparing her life for such a time as this to help others share their stories. Do you see this? Like, it just goes on and on and on. And we don't know what time in our lives God is going to use us or when he wants to use us every day of our life, by the way. So honestly, we are so appreciative of what you do Janet and encouraging others to share their story. Yes. And so tell me how I you know we have to close again wrapping up. It's just like our time with alive. It does it goes so fast. But I would like for you to share a couple of closing words to encourage the woman to share her story. And also tell us how ladies can get a hold of you Janet. Janet Harllee   Okay. First of all, I'd like to share my life scripture is found in Proverbs 356. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. No matter what age you are women, no matter what age we are, that he shall direct our paths and one other one. Which is it At this particular time in my life, it's how he is going to be with us, even when our hairs turn gray. And my now is turning gray. And I love it Kimberly Hobbs   With age comes wisdom, Janet. Janet Harllee   That's right. That's exactly right. Kimberly is wisdom. And but I just pray every day for his wisdom, and discernment. And just stay true to God, trust God, in all things. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen, that that Scripture is so special to me too, because that's my mom's verse. And you know, I always hear or, you know, I can hear her with her little finger up in the year, Trust the Lord with all your heart. You know, like that's always saying that, so it's a great one. So how can ladies get in touch with you, Janet? Janet Harllee   All right. Of course, I have a YouTube and you just type in my name, Janet Harley. And the email that I have is Janet storyteller@gmail.com. Kimberly Hobbs   Hey, man, I love that. Okay. And Janet is also a woman world leader, we are so grateful that she has come on board to serving and just being a part of just a unity of women that are going out into the world with their special purposes, doing what God has called them to do. And I thank you for that. Janet again, to serve with you is a pleasure. Janet Harllee   Oh, it's been a pleasure with us. Well, thank you so much. Kimberly Hobbs   Oh, you're so welcome. Ladies, I just in closing, want to share Luke 839, which says return to your home and declare how much God has done for you. Proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus has done. Oh, my goodness, right. He tells us go out into the city ladies proclaim it. It doesn't mean just be quiet and just tell somebody here on the corner, you know, in secret? No, it says proclaim it that means be loud about it. Proclaim what he has done with for you ladies share your story. It's so important that is the purpose of empowering lives with purpose is to get women on here to share their stories. So others can be inspired. And we hope that we're doing that for you. And another way that women world leaders loves to inspire is we do some books each year. And one of the books that we put out is tears to triumph. And it is releasing pain to receive God's restoration. So by some of the women that have shared in this amazing book, their stories of pain of suffering, it has inspired others to find Jesus. And we are so this book went to number one best seller. And number one international best seller, tears to triumph. It's available on our website, women world leaders.com. It's also available on Amazon, but we'd prefer you get it through women, world leaders. Ladies, this is a book that you will just you will cry through this book, but you will be inspired. And also we have another amazing tool for you ladies. And this is voice of truth women were leaders puts out a publication by monthly magazine. I see Janet is holding up hers. For those watching on YouTube. Yes, yay. Well, voice of truth is your tool ladies to inspire you encourage you strengthen you in the Lord filled with the gospel message of Jesus and every addition. Also, we have many ways that you can get involved with women were a leader as you can find us through voice of truth, of course, and be inspired to share your story somehow, someway, maybe, right? Maybe do a podcast with us. Whatever it it is that God's putting on your heart. We give opportunities here in this ministry, for you to get involved and share your beautiful purpose with the world just as God has asked you to do as to all of us to do some ladies and close. Again, I want to say thank you to our guests, Janet. I love you Janet, you are just beautiful treasure. Thank you so much. God bless you ladies each and every one of you and again I just pray that something today touched your heart and that you will go out into the world and proclaim what God has done share your story flames there is a world out there that is hurting and needs to be inspired through Jesus Christ live The good side. So ladies, from our heart, from his heart to yours, we are women, world leaders and all content is copyrighted and cannot be used without expressed written. I bless you all and have a wonderful day.    

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Our Wondrous Stewardship Toward God: Bountiful, Hilarious Gospel Giving Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 9/4/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 29:14; 2 Corinthians 9:7 Length: 45 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Our Wondrous Stewardship Toward God: Bountiful, Hilarious Gospel Giving Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 9/4/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 29:14; 2 Corinthians 9:7 Length: 45 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Our Wondrous Stewardship Toward God: Bountiful, Hilarious Gospel Giving Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 9/4/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 29:14; 2 Corinthians 9:7 Length: 45 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Our Wondrous Stewardship Toward God: Bountiful, Hilarious Gospel Giving Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 9/4/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 29:14; 2 Corinthians 9:7 Length: 45 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Our Wondrous Stewardship Toward God: Bountiful, Hilarious Gospel Giving Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 9/4/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 29:14; 2 Corinthians 9:7 Length: 45 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Our Wondrous Stewardship Toward God: Bountiful, Hilarious Gospel Giving Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 9/4/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 29:14; 2 Corinthians 9:7 Length: 45 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Be Strong, Courageous, and Do It: Strength & Courage to Carry Out Stewardship's Call Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/28/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 28:20; Ephesians 6:10 Length: 59 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Be Strong, Courageous, and Do It: Strength & Courage to Carry Out Stewardship's Call Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/28/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 28:20; Ephesians 6:10 Length: 59 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Be Strong, Courageous, and Do It: Strength & Courage to Carry Out Stewardship's Call Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/28/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 28:20; Ephesians 6:10 Length: 59 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Be Strong, Courageous, and Do It: Strength & Courage to Carry Out Stewardship's Call Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/28/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 28:20; Ephesians 6:10 Length: 59 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Be Strong, Courageous, and Do It: Strength & Courage to Carry Out Stewardship's Call Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/28/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 28:20; Ephesians 6:10 Length: 59 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Be Strong, Courageous, and Do It: Strength & Courage to Carry Out Stewardship's Call Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/28/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 28:20; Ephesians 6:10 Length: 59 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Be Strong, Courageous, and Do It: Strength & Courage to Carry Out Stewardship's Call Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/28/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 28:20; Ephesians 6:10 Length: 59 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Stewards of King Jesus' Property: 14 Important Truths on Stewardship in Christ's King Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/21/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 27:25-31; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Length: 49 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Stewards of King Jesus' Property: 14 Important Truths on Stewardship in Christ's King Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/21/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 27:25-31; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Length: 49 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Stewards of King Jesus' Property: 14 Important Truths on Stewardship in Christ's King Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/21/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 27:25-31; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Length: 49 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Obed-edom, Blessed by God: 7 Truths from the Life & Legacy of Obed-edom Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/14/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 26:4-7; Matthew 25:23 Length: 45 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Obed-edom, Blessed by God: 7 Truths from the Life & Legacy of Obed-edom Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/14/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 26:4-7; Matthew 25:23 Length: 45 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The Precious, Powerful Privilege of Praising Christ Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/7/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 25:5-6; Colossians 3:16 Length: 52 min.

In this episode: 1 Chronicles 28-29. We conclude the Book of First Chronicles with some thoughts about softness as a relative term.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Christ's Dedicated People: Warfare, Wealth, & Wisdom for Christ's Kingdom Saint Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 6/12/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 18:11; James 1:5-8 Length: 55 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvary Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Christ's Dedicated People: Warfare, Wealth, & Wisdom for Christ's Kingdom Saint Subtitle: First Chronicles Speaker: Jon Cardwell Broadcaster: Calvary Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 6/12/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 18:11; James 1:5-8 Length: 55 min.

In this episode: 1 Chronicles 24-27. We continue in the Book of First Chronicles with some thoughts about how the Chronicler imagines David as head of state.

In this episode: 1 Chronicles 20-23. We continue in the Book of First Chronicles with some thoughts about simping for the status quo.

In this episode: 1 Chronicles 16-19. We continue in the Book of First Chronicles with some thoughts about what happens when you breach diplomatic etiquette.

One Single Story: Day 117 Pastors Jay Rivenbark, Alyssa Bream and Stephen Mizell review the priestly line given in First Chronicles starting with Levi, all the way to captivity. April 27th reading: 1 Chronicles 6 For more on One Single story, visit onesinglestory.com

In this episode: 1 Chronicles 12-15. We continue in the Book of First Chronicles with some thoughts about dancing and decorum.

In this episode: 1 Chronicles 8-11. We continue in the Book of First Chronicles with some thoughts about how a director's cuts can change everything.

The second of Job's companions begins to speak, Bildad the Shuhite, who appears fed up and asks Job why he is rambling on. Bildad gets right to his point and rather harshly: since Job's children died, they surely did something to deserve it – simple cause and effect. This level of directness may imply a previously close relationship and the approach may remind some of modern-day “tough love.” Being from Shuah is an indication Bildad is a descendant of the sixth son of Abraham and Keturah, a relationship referenced in Genesis 25. Abraham married Keturah after Sarah died. The Great Rabbi "Rashi" proffered that Keturah may be Hagar with a new-name but that theory is not generally accepted. There are also references to Keturah in First Chronicles and references to Shuhites in Assyrian inscriptions. Shuhites are thought to be a nomadic group that set up a city in southeastern ancient Israel. As indicated by Bildad's speeches in Job, Shuhites are characterized as having great respect for "tradition." Bildad describes “lessons of old,” or laws or morality and nature, such as reeds and plants not growing without water. This mirrors consequences for those without the light of Faith (the “water” of a good life). Such persons will have no ability to prosper in their own lives. Bildad preaches an idea of Faith in the fairness of the Almighty, as well as a belief in knowing what Right and Wrong leads to. Though the poetry can be confusing and translations vary, Bildad preaches the need for one's Faith to be strong enough hold the waters (good things) of life; and not like a "cobweb," where the good things God grants will inevitably fall through. This Faith in divine justice is what Bildad recommends Job (and the reader) house himself in, so we can have a strong fortress against a world of suffering. In other words, a good gardener will produce a good garden and the opposite is also true. Act without virtue and you will create on mess of a garden. Bildad preaches that there is a reason for suffering; namely that that we have sinned; but one can be made whole if they repent – a familiar theme throughout the Bible. The text references the Faithful man being moist in the sun, as well as having “tendrils” pushing out in the garden, trying to solidify one's foundation. The Podcast makes reference who the Beatle's song, Octopus's Garden possibly representing the 20th century artist's search for an oasis in a life of anxiety & suffering.

In this episode: 1 Chronicles 4–7. We continue in the Book of First Chronicles with some thoughts about mistaken and mis-attributed identity.

In this episode: 1 Chronicles 1–3. We begin the Book of First Chronicles with some thoughts about the interesting goings-on outside the canon.

The book of First Chronicles was first written to the Jews who were coming home from exile in Babylon. The writer wanted to remind the Israelites of their spiritual past, the times when they were blessed for their obedience, and the times when they endured the consequences of rebellion. It's a critical lesson for all of us to learn today, and Ron takes us there next, as he continues his teaching series, “Route 66: The Ultimate Road Trip Through the Bible.” --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/something-good-radio/support

Returning to your spiritual roots, on this Friday edition of Something Good. The first thing you'll notice about the book of First Chronicles is that it contains a rather long genealogical record. The writer knew just how critical it was for the people of God to understand their past, so that they might return to right relationship with God. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/something-good-radio/support

" Follow Me" Supporting Verses: Matthew 16:24, Matthew 4:19, Matthew 19:21, Matthew 10:38, John 10:27, Matthew 8:22, Luke 9:23 Go Deeper: Matthew 6:33, John 12:26, John 8:31-32, Romans 12:12, First Chronicles 16:11 Bible Verse of the Day: Psalm 19:14 GodSexandLove.com Madame Miraculous and the Messy Laboratory Pre-Sale! actressmiraclesims.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/godsexandlove/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/godsexandlove/support

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 As you get older you really start to think long and hard about passing some things on to your kids. Whether that's a bit of wisdom, a skill, or the knowledge of the Lord. And one day we'll pass the torch on to them. Well that's what's going on in First Chronicles 28. King David is at the end of his life, and about to hand things over to his son, the next King of Israel.

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 King David is at the end of his life, rule and reign in First Chronicles 27. And so he's about to hand over the keys to the Kingdom to Solomon. This passing of the torch is going to receive our time and attention today.

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 We're going to spend the bulk of our time in First Chronicles 26 and Mark 5, talking aboutBody Ministry.

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 We've been looking at the preparation of the Temple through a study in First Chronicles. And David would lead the effort. As you'll see, there was a lot that went into it. And required a lot of help from people like the Porters and Overseers.

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 We're in the middle of a study in First Chronicles, learning a thing or two about Priests and their role. But we're not stopping at that. Whether you may realize it or not, God has also called us to be Priests. And we'll see what that entails.

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 Pastor Jeff will be continuing our series in First Chronicles, with a look at chapter 24. As we examine the Priests and their role back in Old Testament times, we're reminded that we're called to be Priests today!

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 We're in First Chronicles chapter 23 today. Whether you're pastoring, leading a small group Bible study, or a team of volunteers at church, there's something in this passage you can take in and apply. God has all the tools and help we need to lead in a way that pleases Him.

Don't miss DAY FOUR of the Morris Cerullo New Anointing School of Ministry: THE NEW ANOINTING FOR HEALING IS YOURS! Join us all week for this must see breakthrough Morris Cerullo School of Ministry message that will take your prayer life from dealing with the surface to the root cause for 100% victory over 100% of the enemies' power, 100% of the time! Take Advantage Of These Special Morris Cerullo NEW ANOINTING Spiritual Breakthrough Resources At A Special Limited Time Facebook School of Ministry Price By Calling 1-800-514-1864 Or Clicking The Link Below! THE NEW ANOINTING Morris Cerullo's classic School of Ministry message that will release a new anointing for your total victory by teaching you how to deal with the root cause of the problems and circumstances in your life. $12.00 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-8-the-new-anointing.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK $5.99 eBook https://give.mcwe.com/p-125-the-new-anointing-ebook.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK JESUS CHRIST, OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST There are two voices over your life: the voice of the accuser…and the much greater voice of the intercessor – in Jesus Christ, Our Great High Priest, you will discover: • His Qualifications: What it Means for You • The Greatest Courtroom Drama in History • He Sat Down: Your Victory is Past Tense! $8.00 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-269-jesus-christ-our-great-high-priest.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK SEVEN STEPS TO PERSONAL VICTORY! A breakthrough message for victory over unanswered prayer as Morris Cerullo unveils the seven incredible steps that the Lord directed Jehoshaphat to take in Second Chronicles 20 that will guarantee God's answer in the midst of your impossibility. $5.99 eBook https://give.mcwe.com/p-124-seven-steps-to-personal-victory-ebook.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK $10.00 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-192-seven-steps-to-victory.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK THE PATHWAY TO ABUNDANCE: PRAYING THE PRAYER OF JABEZ These powerful two verses from First Chronicles 4:9-10 that record the world-famous prayer of Jabez is more than a nugget, it is a goldmine of wealth. Your faith will be mightily strengthened as you read these pages and make the prayer of Jabez your prayer indeed: “Oh that thou would bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.” First Chronicles 4:10 KJV $5.99 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-32-the-pathway-to-abundance-praying-the-prayer-of-jabez.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK HOW TO PRAY Receive your powerful prayer anointing today! How to Pray is your opportunity to go beyond ordinary prayer and come behind the scenes to discover the precious prayer secrets from over 70 year of Dr. Morris Cerullo's global apostolic and prophetic ministry. You will discover how to: • Recognize and Deal with Hindrances to Prayer • Persevere in Prayer • Go to a New, Higher Level of Intercession • Enter Into Throne Room Intercession • Use the Lord's Prayer to Intercede • You Will Never Again Experience Defeat in Your Prayer Life! $12.99 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-53-how-to-pray.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK A NEW LEVEL OF STRATEGIC SPIRITUAL WARFARE PRAYER Step in to your New Level of Strategic, Spiritual Warfare Prayer as we discover how to pray with greater power, prayers that are beyond ordinary prayer, divinely energized and supercharged by the power of the Holy Spirit! $10 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-266-a-new-level-of-strategic-warfare-prayer.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK $5.99 eBook https://give.mcwe.com/p-268-a-new-level-of-strategic-warfare-prayer-ebook.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 Here on this Thursday the plan is to cover First Chronicles chapter 23. At this point David is near the end of his life, and about to pass the baton of leadership to Solomon as King over Israel. And as he does he was really good about make sure things were in order and prepared for his son.

Don't miss DAY THREE of the Morris Cerullo New Anointing School of Ministry: A NEW ANOINTING TO CONQUER AN ENEMY THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DEFEATED! Join us all week for this must see breakthrough Morris Cerullo School of Ministry message that will take your prayer life from dealing with the surface to the root cause for 100% victory over 100% of the enemies' power, 100% of the time! Take Advantage Of These Special Morris Cerullo NEW ANOINTING Spiritual Breakthrough Resources At A Special Limited Time Facebook School of Ministry Price By Calling 1-800-514-1864 Or Clicking The Link Below! NEW ANOINTING Morris Cerullo's classic School of Ministry message that will release a new anointing for your total victory by teaching you how to deal with the root cause of the problems and circumstances in your life. $12.00 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-8-the-new-anointing.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK $5.99 eBook https://give.mcwe.com/p-125-the-new-anointing-ebook.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK JESUS CHRIST, OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST There are two voices over your life: the voice of the accuser…and the much greater voice of the intercessor – in Jesus Christ, Our Great High Priest, you will discover: • His Qualifications: What it Means for You • The Greatest Courtroom Drama in History • He Sat Down: Your Victory is Past Tense! $8.00 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-269-jesus-christ-our-great-high-priest.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK SEVEN STEPS TO PERSONAL VICTORY! A breakthrough message for victory over unanswered prayer as Morris Cerullo unveils the seven incredible steps that the Lord directed Jehoshaphat to take in Second Chronicles 20 that will guarantee God's answer in the midst of your impossibility. $5.99 eBook https://give.mcwe.com/p-124-seven-steps-to-personal-victory-ebook.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK $10.00 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-192-seven-steps-to-victory.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK THE PATHWAY TO ABUNDANCE: PRAYING THE PRAYER OF JABEZ These powerful two verses from First Chronicles 4:9-10 that record the world-famous prayer of Jabez is more than a nugget, it is a goldmine of wealth. Your faith will be mightily strengthened as you read these pages and make the prayer of Jabez your prayer indeed: “Oh that thou would bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.” First Chronicles 4:10 KJV $5.99 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-32-the-pathway-to-abundance-praying-the-prayer-of-jabez.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK HOW TO PRAY Receive your powerful prayer anointing today! How to Pray is your opportunity to go beyond ordinary prayer and come behind the scenes to discover the precious prayer secrets from over 70 year of Dr. Morris Cerullo's global apostolic and prophetic ministry. You will discover how to: • Recognize and Deal with Hindrances to Prayer • Persevere in Prayer • Go to a New, Higher Level of Intercession • Enter Into Throne Room Intercession • Use the Lord's Prayer to Intercede • You Will Never Again Experience Defeat in Your Prayer Life! $12.99 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-53-how-to-pray.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK A NEW LEVEL OF STRATEGIC SPIRITUAL WARFARE PRAYER! Step in to your New Level of Strategic, Spiritual Warfare Prayer as we discover how to pray with greater power, prayers that are beyond ordinary prayer, divinely energized and supercharged by the power of the Holy Spirit! $10 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-266-a-new-level-of-strategic-warfare-prayer.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK $5.99 eBook https://give.mcwe.com/p-268-a-new-level-of-strategic-warfare-prayer-ebook.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 Pastor Jeff Johnson is in the middle of a study in First Chronicles. Find your place in chapter 22. Ever felt let down in life or the ministry? We've all been there. And that's where King David is at. He was told he wouldn't build the house of the Lord, but he would help in the preparation. Let's see together how this applies to us!

Don't miss DAY TWO of the Morris Cerullo New Anointing School of Ministry: DRAW A LINE ON YOUR PAST! Join us all week for this must see breakthrough Morris Cerullo School of Ministry message that will take your prayer life from dealing with the surface to the root cause for 100% victory over 100% of the enemies' power, 100% of the time! Take Advantage Of These Special Morris Cerullo NEW ANOINTING Spiritual Breakthrough Resources At A Special Limited Time Facebook School of Ministry Price By Calling 1-800-514-1864 Or Clicking The Link Below! NEW ANOINTING Morris Cerullo's classic School of Ministry message that will release a new anointing for your total victory by teaching you how to deal with the root cause of the problems and circumstances in your life. $12.00 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-8-the-new-anointing.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK $5.99 eBook https://give.mcwe.com/p-125-the-new-anointing-ebook.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK JESUS CHRIST, OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST There are two voices over your life: the voice of the accuser…and the much greater voice of the intercessor – in Jesus Christ, Our Great High Priest, you will discover: • His Qualifications: What it Means for You • The Greatest Courtroom Drama in History • He Sat Down: Your Victory is Past Tense! $8.00 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-269-jesus-christ-our-great-high-priest.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK SEVEN STEPS TO PERSONAL VICTORY! A breakthrough message for victory over unanswered prayer as Morris Cerullo unveils the seven incredible steps that the Lord directed Jehoshaphat to take in Second Chronicles 20 that will guarantee God's answer in the midst of your impossibility. $5.99 eBook https://give.mcwe.com/p-124-seven-steps-to-personal-victory-ebook.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK $10.00 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-192-seven-steps-to-victory.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK THE PATHWAY TO ABUNDANCE: PRAYING THE PRAYER OF JABEZ These powerful two verses from First Chronicles 4:9-10 that record the world-famous prayer of Jabez is more than a nugget, it is a goldmine of wealth. Your faith will be mightily strengthened as you read these pages and make the prayer of Jabez your prayer indeed: “Oh that thou would bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.” First Chronicles 4:10 KJV $5.99 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-32-the-pathway-to-abundance-praying-the-prayer-of-jabez.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK HOW TO PRAY Receive your powerful prayer anointing today! How to Pray is your opportunity to go beyond ordinary prayer and come behind the scenes to discover the precious prayer secrets from over 70 year of Dr. Morris Cerullo's global apostolic and prophetic ministry. You will discover how to: • Recognize and Deal with Hindrances to Prayer • Persevere in Prayer • Go to a New, Higher Level of Intercession • Enter Into Throne Room Intercession • Use the Lord's Prayer to Intercede • You Will Never Again Experience Defeat in Your Prayer Life! $12.99 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-53-how-to-pray.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK A NEW LEVEL OF STRATEGIC SPIRITUAL WARFARE PRAYER! Step in to your New Level of Strategic, Spiritual Warfare Prayer as we discover how to pray with greater power, prayers that are beyond ordinary prayer, divinely energized and supercharged by the power of the Holy Spirit! $10 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-266-a-new-level-of-strategic-warfare-prayer.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK $5.99 eBook https://give.mcwe.com/p-268-a-new-level-of-strategic-warfare-prayer-ebook.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK

Don't miss DAY ONE of the Morris Cerullo New Anointing School of Ministry: HOW TO TAKE THE LIMITS OFF GOD! Join us all week for this must see breakthrough Morris Cerullo School of Ministry message that will take your prayer life from dealing with the surface to the root cause for 100% victory over 100% of the enemies' power, 100% of the time! Take Advantage Of These Special Morris Cerullo NEW ANOINTING Spiritual Breakthrough Resources At A Special Limited Time Facebook School of Ministry Price By Calling 1-800-514-1864 Or Clicking The Link Below! THE NEW ANOINTING Morris Cerullo's classic School of Ministry message that will release a new anointing for your total victory by teaching you how to deal with the root cause of the problems and circumstances in your life. $12.00 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-8-the-new-anointing.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK $5.99 eBook https://give.mcwe.com/p-125-the-new-anointing-ebook.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK JESUS CHRIST, OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST There are two voices over your life: the voice of the accuser…and the much greater voice of the intercessor – in Jesus Christ, Our Great High Priest, you will discover: • His Qualifications: What it Means for You • The Greatest Courtroom Drama in History • He Sat Down: Your Victory is Past Tense! $8.00 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-269-jesus-christ-our-great-high-priest.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK SEVEN STEPS TO PERSONAL VICTORY! A breakthrough message for victory over unanswered prayer as Morris Cerullo unveils the seven incredible steps that the Lord directed Jehoshaphat to take in Second Chronicles 20 that will guarantee God's answer in the midst of your impossibility. $5.99 eBook https://give.mcwe.com/p-124-seven-steps-to-personal-victory-ebook.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK $10.00 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-192-seven-steps-to-victory.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK THE PATHWAY TO ABUNDANCE: PRAYING THE PRAYER OF JABEZ These powerful two verses from First Chronicles 4:9-10 that record the world-famous prayer of Jabez is more than a nugget, it is a goldmine of wealth. Your faith will be mightily strengthened as you read these pages and make the prayer of Jabez your prayer indeed: “Oh that thou would bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.” First Chronicles 4:10 KJV $5.99 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-32-the-pathway-to-abundance-praying-the-prayer-of-jabez.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK HOW TO PRAY Receive your powerful prayer anointing today! How to Pray is your opportunity to go beyond ordinary prayer and come behind the scenes to discover the precious prayer secrets from over 70 year of Dr. Morris Cerullo's global apostolic and prophetic ministry. You will discover how to: • Recognize and Deal with Hindrances to Prayer • Persevere in Prayer • Go to a New, Higher Level of Intercession • Enter Into Throne Room Intercession • Use the Lord's Prayer to Intercede • You Will Never Again Experience Defeat in Your Prayer Life! $12.99 print copy https://give.mcwe.com/p-53-how-to-pray.aspx?Source=FACEBOOK

We're starting a new book today that picks up right where Samuel left off. First and Second Kings runs parallel to Second Chronicles, but while David's death and Solomon's succession was at the end of First Chronicles, it is here at the beginning of First Kings. Episode Links: Kings: Overview - The Bible Project - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVFW3wbi9pk The Treasury of David - Charles H. Spurgeon - https://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/treasury.php General Links: Support this Podcast! - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dbrpodcast Daily Bible Reading Homepage - https://anchor.fm/dailybiblereading Find us on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkYa0enE6UtdbltMQvUpVLw Resources: Customizable Google Sheets Reading Plan - http://bit.ly/DBRPlan Chronological Reading Plan PDF (starting January 1, 2021) - http://bit.ly/DBRPlanpdf Connect with us: Daily Bible Reading Podcast Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/dailybiblereadingpodcast Send me an email - dailybiblereadingpodcast@gmail.com Follow me on Twitter - @dailybibleread3 The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® Copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/dailybiblereading/message

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 You’re going to hear about David’s desire to have the Lord at the center of the nation today on Sound Doctrine. David’s heart was that God would be worshipped in a worthy manner. No doubt it’s yours too. Seehow we go about it as we turn to First Chronicles chapter fifteen.

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 We face issues and decisions are to be made, every day. Both big and small. But in all of it, we should be inquiring of the Lord before we make a move. That may seem like a no brainer when you’ve got a big decision like who to marry, but what about those smaller decisions? Let’s talk about it today on Sound Doctrine, as we get back into First Chronicles chapter fourteen.

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 This past year or so has been quite a challenge, I’m sure you’d agree. But we don’t have to face difficulties like this alone. God is willing to help us, and be there for us. And that truth shines brightly in First Chronicles chapters twelve and thirteen. That’s where we join pastor Jeff Johnson today for Sound Doctrine.

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 Whether we’re at the end of our rope, with little to no hope, or we find ourselves in a fierce battle, there are times we desperately need God’s help. And He stands ready and willing to fight for and with us. He did that for David, as we’ll learn today on Sound Doctrine through a study in First Chronicles chapter twelve. Pastor Jeff Johnson is going to help us prepare for spiritual warfare and battles of life.

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 Pastor Jeff Johnson is in the middle of a study in First Chronicles, and we left off in chapter eleven at verse eleven. David has just become King over Israel, and today we’ll be introduced to David’s mighty men or warriors.

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 If we are to be people of The Bookwe need to learn it! It’s a good teacher. One of the ways we learn is through the examples of those who have gone on before us, like Saul and David. And so we come in our study of the Scriptures to First Chronicles chapters ten and eleven. God is about to say, Saul you’re out, and David you’re in as King over Israel.

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 Find your place in First Chronicles chapter seven, as we get ready to hear more about Body Ministry. What a blessing it is to be saved and on our way to heaven, but it gets even better! God wants to use us while we’re here on earth. And He’s gifted us. Today we want to help you discover your gifts, and encourage you to put it to good use.

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 You’ve probably heard the saying, We’re saved to serve. It really is true. After God saves us, He then wants to use us. Question is, do you know your gifts, and are you doing your part? We’ll think that over today, as we go deeper into First Chronicles. We’re talking about Body Ministry today and tomorrow.

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 To know where your heading in life you must determine where you’ve been. If you only consider your present location you will have no basis in plotting your course. Today on Sound Doctrine be reminded of your history. It’s recorded for us in the Old Testament book of First Chronicles. Though it’s the History of Israel, it’s your history too.

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29 Some parts of the Bible may leave us wondering, how in the world does that apply to my life? And maybe that thought runs through your mind when reading the genealogies. But what if you discovered they were relatives? Or that they played a vital role in your salvation? That changes things doesn’t it? Today on Sound Doctrine we’ll explore a bit of our history! It’s recorded in the Old Testament book of First Chronicles.

Doesn't matter what our gig is in life, when we choose to use that God-given gift specifically to honour God, to bless other people, on thing's for certain – the going's going to get tough.We're going to hit opposition. And if that goes on for any length of time, the one thing that we really want to do, is just to give up.   Keep Shining Over these last few weeks, we have been chatting about rekindling the gift that God has put within each one of us. And you know the exciting thing about that? When we use our gifts – I mean, when we take the things that we have been given in our makeup and put them to work, it is so incredibly satisfying. I know myself, one of the things I really enjoy doing is playing the piano. In my younger years I practised hard all the scales and the arpeggios and sat the exams – practical and theory – but when I moved away from my parents' home I went years – probably twenty years – without playing the piano much at all. Eventually my mother gave me the grand piano we had out in the music room and when it arrived in my home I started playing it again. These days it sits in my study where I pray, where I write my books, where I prepare these radio messages and a few times each day I will go and play for ten minutes or so. It's just such a delight and a joy to be able to do that. Now, that's just one small example, almost trivial. But as we have been chatting about these last few weeks, I know I've been emphasising the fact that our God-given gift is meant to be a blessing to other people. I'm blessed through your gifting; the things that you can do that I can't, and hopefully, you are blessed through mine. That's how it's supposed to work and it does. But there is something so incredibly special about the enjoyment and the fulfilment that we get when we use our gift and we see it impact in other peoples' lives. All my life I was looking for fulfilment in the things that I could get but I didn't realise that fulfilment only really comes when we take what we already have and we give it away when we use it to bless other people. About eighteen months ago a young teenager from a broken home contacted me in response to one of these radio messages that she had heard. She was only thirteen at the time and going through a really terrible time at home. But she also had a hunger for God and so she asked me some questions and I was able to share a few things with her. Within weeks she gave her life to Jesus and she was filled with His Holy Spirit and in the middle of all the bad stuff that happened, she had a joy and an excitement in her that she had never experienced before in her life. While I was praying for her the other day so I sent her a quick email to find out how she was going. She came straight back to me to tell me she was powering on with God; that her whole life had been changed. Now I had just some small part to play in that but the joy and the sense of satisfaction that I gained from knowing that God had used me – me, of all people!! This fifty two year old man who has never met this young teenager, who isn't what you would call, made to be involved in youth ministry. It makes me smile. Does that make sense? It's so easy to forget that we have to use it and when we do, even though it can be really hard work, it is so fulfilling to use the God-given gift that we have. And to emphasise this, the Apostle Paul, who is writing to his young protégé, Timothy, back in the first century, encouraging him to rekindle the gift that God has put in him, has this to say. I'm reading – if you have a Bible – from Second Timothy chapter 4, beginning at verse 1: In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you to proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but they will have itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and they will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully. As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing. And right here, Paul is getting Timothy – and us – focused on the big picture: one day soon Jesus is coming back to judge the living and the dead. Time is short and because of that, I solemnly urge you to keep telling people about Jesus; irrespective of whether the time appears to be favourable or not. Be persistent; keep telling people; convince them; rebuke; encourage with the utmost patience – whatever it takes. Now, Timothy's gift; the one that he was being called to rekindle was the gift of teaching and preaching as an evangelist. Praise God, not everyone in God's family is a preacher and a teacher. But do you see how this applies equally to each one of us, irrespective of what our particular gifting happens to be? If you are an encourager, it applies equally to you. If you are a giver, it applies to you. If you are a compassionate, pastoral person, this applies to you. There's great joy and satisfaction in exercising our gifts. I mean, look at the satisfaction with which Paul looks back on his life. But what we want to do is to pull up and take a breather when the time appears to be unfavourable. What we want to do is we want to stop using our gift when the going gets tough. And Paul is saying, “No, the time is short. People are dying and they are going to a Christ-less eternity. Jesus is planning on coming back sometime soon to judge the living and the dead. God has put each one of us where He has put us with whatever gift He has given us in order to make a difference in this world for Him; in order to bring people to Jesus; in order to see them growing; for them to realise their giftings and to start using those." And we need to be doing that because, “... the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but they will have itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires and they will turn away from listening to the truth and they will wander away to myths.” Ain't that the truth? It's something we see all the time – people chasing after this and that; people trying to pull alongside so called ‘gurus' who tell them what they want to hear. Jesus never told people just what they wanted to hear. Yes, He was often very sensitive to where someone was at and where they were coming from but He didn't dress it up; He didn't put any spin on His message because the truth is the truth. There is a heaven, there is a hell and many, many are heading the wrong direction, however enticing that direction might appear to them right at this moment. Have you ever watched the news and heard some so called "Christian leader" tickling people's ears with the sort of stuff that people want to hear? Just the other evening, I saw a Christian denominational leader standing side by side with a Buddhist Monk, a Jewish leader and leaders of other religions, proclaiming that there was more that binds them together than pulls them apart. Well, maybe that's what the world wants to hear but that's not what Jesus said – that's not the truth. The thing that puts Christianity out there on its own is that it's based on the truth that Jesus is the only way – that no one … NO one will come to the Father except through Him. And this is the reason that we need to continue living out our giftings, each one of us, for the glory of God – to share the truth of Jesus into the lives of people. I know that there are those listening who have turned back; I know that there are those listening who have lost sight of their gifting – their one particular God-given gift – altogether. And today I believe that God is speaking especially to you through His Word. I believe that today God is calling you back to the plans and the purposes that He has for your life. And before you tell me it's all too hard; there is too much weighing in against you, let me tell you this: inevitably, when we have seen amazing breakthroughs in the lives of people, here at Christianityworks – young Ami recently pulled back from the brink of suicide – the time for proclaiming Christ has never been favourable at all. We just went and did it in the face of the opposition and do you know what we discovered? Duh! That God's grace was more than sufficient for us! For some reason, more often than not, that's a surprise to us. More often than not we are so focused on the adversity that we are facing, we lose sight of the fact that God is at work; that “all things are working together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” That's God's grace and it really is sufficient for us! I mean, it really is!   Despite God's People You know, there are parts of the Bible that I am prone to skimming over. For instance, the genealogies, they are so long and boring and dry – particularly the one that goes on for pages and pages at the beginning of First Chronicles in the Old Testament. I mean, who has time to read that? But one man did – a guy by the name of Bruce Wilkinson – and he stumbled across the prayer of Jabez; one of the most powerful prayers in the Bible and he wrote what is now one of the most read Christian books on the planet, “The Prayer of Jabez.” And that's how it often is with those bits that we would rather just kind of skim over. The introductions to Paul's Letters or Epistles in the New Testaments – we always want to skim over those but there is such a richness and power in those introductions, we do so at our own peril. And finally the bits that I used to be prone to skimming over were some of the personal notes at the end of Paul's Letters in the New Testament. He'd write all this rich meaty, theological stuff that you and I can apply to our lives and then, almost like a P.S. on the end of a letter, he kind of writes, ‘Well, look, say Hi to Fred and tell Betty to come and visit me soon and give my regards to all my friends in … you know, all that stuff. But just the other week as we were together, exploring what it means to rekindle the amazing gift that God has placed within each one of us, we read this in Second Timothy chapter 3, verse 16, that: All scripture is useful for teaching, reproof, correction and training, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. And so as we draw to the end of the Apostle Paul's Letter to Timothy and we get to the personal bit, I am going to resist the temptation to skip over that bit because, as is always the case, there are some gems hidden in there that the Holy Spirit wants to take out and write on my heart and write on your heart. Paul sets out the purpose of his letter to his young protégé, Timothy, back in chapter 1. Timothy is going through some really tough times, but as Paul reminds him of all the trouble God has gone to, to get him to this point in life, he writes in Second Timothy chapter 1, verse 6: It's for this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands. And down in verse 14: Guard the good treasure entrusted to you with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us. It's about rekindling the gift that God has put in each one of us and using it for God's glory. Why? Not only because doing that is incredibly satisfying and fulfilling, which it is, but because the time is short and people are going to a Christ-less eternity, as we saw earlier. And I pray that you, like me, have been powerfully encouraged and motivated to rekindle the gift that God has placed within you over these past few weeks, as we have let God's Word transform us from the inside out. So, here we are drawing to the end of the letter and we get to this personal bit. What had the Holy Spirit have to say to us through this if indeed every Scripture is inspired by God and is useful in our lives? Well, I was having a bit of a read about what Paul has to say on the personal front – I am reading now from Second Timothy chapter 4, starting at verse 9. He writes to Timothy, look: Do your best to come to me soon, for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has also gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is left with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry. I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books and above all, the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will pay him back for his deeds. You must also beware of him, for he is strongly opposed to our message. At my first defence no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! But the Lord stood by me and gave me great strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Quite a devastating story, isn't it? All these people who did Paul harm and deserted him and left him. Remember, at this stage, Paul, after many years of ministry in Jesus name, across the known world, is pretty much at the end of his career on death row in a Roman dungeon. He has been through court hearing after court hearing; he has served the Lord so faithfully, through so many trials and tribulations and now this? God's people; the very people who should have stood by his side; the very people who should have been there for him, have either deserted him, en masse, or as in the case of Alexander the coppersmith, have done him great harm. Can I tell you something? There is nothing that is more damaging than when the people who are close to you; the people who you should be able to trust; the people who should be caring for you and standing with you – God's people after all – desert you and betray you. Our immediate response to that is, "This shouldn't be happening", and when it does, it ranks right up there as our number-one excuse for not exercising the amazing gift that God has given each one of us for His glory. It's our top excuse, as we conclude that well, "You know, if all those other Christians in my church can't get their act together, why should I?" Ever had that roaming through your head, as though, because other people lose the plot, it must therefore be fine and dandy in God's eyes, for us to lose the plot; for us to put our gifts and abilities on ice and let countless people head off to a Christ-less eternity? Let me ask you: Is that what Paul did? No! He relied on the Lord and even when he is locked up, chained to a Roman guard, this is what he does: he uses the opportunity to tell the Romans about Jesus. Philippians chapter 1, beginning at verse 12: I want you to know beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ; and most of the brothers and sisters, having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, dare to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear. See, don't you love that? Would the time have appeared favourable there, chained up in prison? Probably not! And yet Paul used his gifts and abilities to turn that around for good and bring Jesus to his jailers, for goodness sake! I want to encourage you today, not to let anything – any disappointment, any adversity, any betrayal – stop you from taking your gift; your unique God-given ability back out of the locker and putting it right to work where you are, for the glory of God. Don't wait for a better time, don't wait for the storm to clear, don't wait for God to put you in a much better place. Start using your unique gifting, right now, to be as Christ to a world that desperately needs a Saviour, whether they realise it or not. Because in all likelihood, there is someone close to you, someone that God has deliberately put in your proximity space who needs to hear about this amazing Jesus through your unique ability to tell them; through your gift of service or encouragement or whatever it is that is your shtick in life. And one day you will meet them on the other side and have all eternity to rejoice in Christ with them. Friend that's the plan!!   When the Flesh is Weak I would like to finish up today's message and indeed this whole series on "Rekindling the Flame" with an exaltation, because I know that from time to time our flesh is weak – we're human, we grow tired and we want to pull over and give up. Serving God is hard! You know, I basically had three careers in my life. The first was in the Army – four years of tough training at the Royal Military College, Duntroon. It was brutal, followed by six years as an officer in the Australian Army. Then I went on to an I.T. and Management Consulting Firm that I owned and ran with my two other business partners. And there were times in the early days when we couldn't pay ourselves and clients were demanding … Running your own business is not easy! And then full time ministry, here as the CEO at Christianityworks, sharing the love of Christ through these radio messages and many other media outlets and activities. And without a shadow of a doubt, the hardest of those three by far has been full time ministry, because in the Spiritual realm, the enemy comes against you. Why? Because he doesn't want us to use our gifts and abilities and resources to tell people about the amazing love of Jesus. As I have shared Paul's letter to Timothy with you and read the adversity that Timothy faced in ministry, I have so related to that. I have been blessed hugely by listening to God's Word through Paul to Timothy too. It's been such a great encouragement. And it's not just in full time ministry, let me say. Anyone who believes in Jesus, who follows Him, who lives their lives out for Him is a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And when we step on that spiritual battlefield called "life"; when we do that for God; when we deliberately set out to use our gifts and abilities and resources for God's glory, it's going to get real hard, real quick, let me tell you. And when that's been going on for a while, you know what? Our flesh becomes weak – mine does, yours does – we are human. So I want to finish off with an exaltation again from the Apostle Paul, about our flesh; our human nature that craves security and comfort and rest; that hungers for its own way and recognition and reward and glory, because this is really important. First Corinthians chapter 9, beginning at verse 23, Paul says, look: I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we, an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body; I enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified. There is a passion there; a focus; a discipline there, for Paul, in using his particular God-given gift for the glory of God. And I don't care what our particular gift is – it may be pastoral care; it may be encouragement; it may be showing compassion – all those things sound warm and soft and fluffy but anyone who is in that space will tell you, it's a tough gig and sometimes they grow weary and sometimes they want to give up. But what Paul is saying to us here is, look, people will make sacrifices for all sorts of things: to run a race and win the prize – an athlete needs to make all sorts of sacrifices and that's true. You and I make sacrifices for our career, for our family, for all sorts of things, all the time. Why wouldn't we want to make sacrifices for Christ's sake as well? If we are prepared to make sacrifices for a perishable prize, why wouldn't we make sacrifices for an imperishable one? So when the flesh gets weak; when all we want to do is to give up using our God-given gifts for God's glory – and I'm sure there are some today who are at that point, right there; right in that dark place; right in the face of the opposition and the disappointments – it is time to rekindle the gift that God has placed within you and to keep on going and using it for His glory. Friend, God has given you a special gift. Don't give up; don't stop using that gift to tell people about the love of Jesus Christ.

If God is a God of blessing – then what about all the suffering we go through? And anyway, if God does bless, does that just mean a new car and a bigger house?   Does God want to Bless Me? It is just great to be with you again this week and we are starting a new series that I've called "Blessed to be a Blessing". There's some really important teaching going to happen over these next four weeks on the subject of God's blessing. Why is that important? Because I see so much misunderstanding about God and His heart and where He stands on blessing us. There seems to be a couple of extreme positions on this whole subject of God's blessing – two opposite ends of the spectrum, if you like. On the one end, it goes something like this. God wants to bless me, therefore, I should believe Him for the new Mercedes convertible, more money and a bigger house and a big diamond ring. In effect it kind of reduces God down to some sort of sugar daddy: it's all about me, I am at centre stage – I name it and I claim it. And you know something, lots of Christians believe that. Now the problem that I have with that end of the spectrum is that when I take that and I hold it in one hand and I hold the cross of Christ in the other – when I look at Jesus, this Jesus that gave up everything for me; this Jesus who was nailed to a cross, beaten and bruised and brutalised, not even with the clothes on His back – and I compare those two things, you know something, this end of the spectrum over here, jars with that, don't you think? And it leads to some of the worst excesses – the tele-evangelists pressuring people for money and flying around in their private jets. Is that where that should end up? I mean is that what God's blessing is all about? The other end of the spectrum is you have to be poor to serve God. Money is evil. In fact, we just had a phone call, just the other evening, in the middle of the night, someone responding to a program, saying, "money is evil". Well, no that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says, “The love of money is the root of all evil”, but money itself isn't evil. "People who are rich are evil." I was talking to a man in India recently. India by and large, is a country of extremes – there is the very rich and there's a large, large number of very, very poor people. And this man was being very critical of a Christian leader who just happened to have a nice house in a nice area. He believed that it was wrong for him to have money. Then I looked at this end of the spectrum – you have to be a pauper to serve God. And then I go to the Bible and I read about Abraham, who was God's chosen man; he was very wealthy. I read about King Solomon, he was very wealthy. Yet King Solomon was still God's anointed leader over Israel. He was full of God's wisdom. Do you see the problem? You go to either end of the spectrum and you take teaching about God's blessing to the extreme and you know, I think you end up with the wrong answer. God is a God of balance and when we look at our lives, what we see is that we go through times of blessing, where there's joy and everything seems to be going well and we all go through difficult times. You see the problem. At one end you can have people getting the extreme prosperity thing in their heads and we can end up thinking it's all about us. It plays right into the hands of the world; it's the me, me, me – the next plasma TV, the next car, the next big thing. If you don't have that, obviously you don't have enough faith. On the other hand, if you have this perception that you have to be poor to be a Christian, well if that were the case, who would ever fund the work of the Lord on this planet? God has always chosen to fund His work through His people. And then on top of the pure monitory thing, there's the reality of tragedy and pain and suffering. I mean some of these things are indiscriminate – earthquakes, tsunamis, a young person who loves God dies of cancer, in a car crash or there's divorce or there's retrenchment or there's all that stuff of life that we all experience some times. Are you with me? So what's God's plan? Does God want to bless me or not? Is it okay for me to ask for His blessing? Is it okay for me to expect His blessing, or is that presumptuous? This is an important question. It is in a sense where the ‘rubber' of faith hits the ‘road' of life. It's when it comes to faith in God being active, right in the midst of life's realities today, the things we all have to face. We get up in the morning, we pray, we look forward to the day … How do I pray, what do I give thanks for? That difficult situation that's going be confronting me at work today, can I ask God to help me with that? Is God in all of that? That's why we are doing this series "Blessed to be a Blessing". I'm a simple man. I open the Bible, I see what God's Word says on a subject and you know God is largely a God of balance. I love to be empowered with God's Word and hopefully as we share these next twenty, twenty five minutes together we will both be empowered by God's Word. The problem with teaching on blessing is that you just can't take one verse and say, "That's it! See, God is a God who blesses; therefore I can ask Him for the next big car". You end up with an extreme position. Just as if you say, "You can't have any money to serve Jesus. You have to sell everything you have, give it all away", because Jesus did say that to one young ruler. I'd like to look at God's perspective; the whole thing. Is God a God who blesses? Well, let's just start with what we mean by the word "bless"? It has a number of different meanings but the main connotation is God's divine favour – God intervening to make something better or to give us something that will bring us joy or happiness, financial blessing, spiritual blessing, physical blessing, healing, anything and everything. God's divine favour – His blessing becoming active in our lives. The question is, is God in the blessing business? The word "bless" or "blesses" or "blessed" or "blessing", appears three hundred and fifty eight times in the Bible. The first time you see it is in the first chapter of the Bible, Genesis chapter 1, verse 22. Let's go there and have a bit of a look at what God's up to. Genesis chapter 1 is the account of God's creation. He creates the light out of darkness and the heavens and the earth and the oceans and the dry land and the plants. And the first time He creates a living creature, this is what He says: So God created the creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems. According to all their kinds and every winged bird according to its kind and God saw that is was good and God ... Listen to this: ... and God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas and let the birds increase on the earth'. The second time that the concept of ‘blessing' happens in the Bible is in that same chapter, a few verses on, verse 26: Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image and in our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, over the livestock over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him, male and female, He created them. God blessed them and said to them” – see, there it is again – “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth and subdue it and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over every living creature that moves on the ground.' And then God said, ‘I give you every seed bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it, they will be yours for food and all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground; everything that has breath of life in it, I give every green plant for food.' And it was so. That's creation! Let me ask you something – do you think God's in the business of blessing us?   If God Blesses why do we Suffer? So we've looked at God's own account of His creation, Genesis chapter 1. The very first living creatures He creates, He blesses them. He says, "Go and multiply, increase in number and fill the earth." And He creates humanity, man and woman, and He hands the whole of that creation over to them. What an enormous blessing! You and I are joint owners in creation! Why? Because God created us in His own image and then He handed the whole thing over to us. Just stop and think about that for a minute. What a huge blessing! Right at the point of creation, God was in the blessing business. That's profound! And His plan for us was to live in relationship with Him – Adam and Eve. Genesis, chapter 2, verse 15: The Lord God took the man and put him is the Garden of Eden to till it and to keep it. A perfect plan of blessing and as you probably know, Adam and Eve rebelled. They did the one thing that God said, ‘don't do' and there were consequences. Rebellion against God always has consequences. To the woman He said, “I will greatly increase your pains in child bearing, with pain you will give birth. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you.” To Adam He said, “Because you listened to your wife and you ate from the tree about which I commanded you ‘you must not eat', cursed is the ground because of you. Through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you and you'll eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken – for dust you are and to dust you will return.” Enter pain and suffering because humanity rebelled against God. And for the rest of the history of humanity, there are consequences. Now you might say to me, “Berni that is so insensitive. If there's a still born baby, if tens of thousands are killed in a tsunami, if some young teenager is raped and murdered, how can you say that?” Here it is, God made us in His image but when who He is doesn't suit us, we try and remake Him into our image. God is a God of blessing – that was His plan, that's why He put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. But they rebelled and when that happens there is an interruption of blessing, there's an interruption in the relationship with Him. Have a look at it. In Leviticus chapter 26 is a perfect summary of where God stands on this. It's a summary of the old covenant; the relationship between God and Israel. And He lays out the relationship in this chapter. Let's go there and begin at verse 1. He says: Don't make idols or set up a sacred stone for yourselves, don't place a carved stone in your land to bow down to it because I am the Lord your God. If you observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary, I am the Lord. If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commandments, I will send rain in its season and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field will be full of fruit and your threshing will continue until grape harvest and grape harvest will continue until planting and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land. I will grant you peace in the land and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid of them. I will remove savage beasts from the land and the sword will not pass through the country. You will pursue your enemies and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand and your enemies will fall by the sword before you. I will look on you with favour and make you fruitful and increase your numbers and I will keep my covenant with you. You will still be eating last years harvest when you have to make room for the new one. I'll put my dwelling place among you and I won't abhor you and I walk among you and be your God and you will be my people. I'm the Lord God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yolk and enabled you to walk with your heads high. But, but if your won't listen to me and carry out all these commandments and if you reject me and my decrees and you abhor my laws and fail to carry out those commandments and so violate this covenant, then I will do this - I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting disease and fever will destroy your sight and drain away your life. You will plant seed in vain because your enemies will eat it. I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies, those who hate you will rule over you and you will flee, even when there is no one pursuing you. See, God first and foremost is a God of blessing. He wants to be in relationship with His people and He is God – He gets to say this is how it is. And when Israel turned against Him, there were consequences. And you and I both have rebelled against God; we both have turned our backs on God at some point in our lives. I was talking to a man just the other day. He's my own age, he's a good friend of mine and he was talking about his three adult sons. This man had a dream to bless his sons. He's an entrepreneur. He's good at making money. He worked as a team with his sons; he wanted to build a business empire and to see them blessed and their children blessed. But one by one, they rejected him and his plans – they didn't honour their father. They went their own way; they turned their backs on him. It sounds like a parable, doesn't it? This is a true story – a friend of mine. And this is what my friend said to me, he said, “Berni, I really wanted to bless them, I wanted to give to them but now that they have rejected that, in their self-centered, selfish ways, I can't bless them.” and it's the greatest sadness of his life. That man is made in the image of God. What he said about his heart to bless his sons is exactly, exactly where God is coming from. God is a God of blessing, but when we reject Him, when humanity rejected Him, when you and I as individuals rejected Him, it interrupts the relationship. And it's in that relationship that we are blessed – that's God's plan. So we've all done that. Can we still go to God and ask Him to bless us?   Can I ask for God's Blessing? I hope that as we have looked into God's Word so far on the program, it's had a profound impact on you. God's heart is to bless us – it's in His very nature. That's what creation was all about. A huge abundant, indescribable blessing from Him to us. But when we reject Him, when we try to reconstruct God in our own image rather than accepting Him for who He is, we interrupt that blessing. It's as simple as that. Now we have all done that, so can we still ask God for His blessing, for His favour, for His grace? Absolutely, because God is a God of forgiveness. I'd like to take you to a place, a prayer by a man called Jabez. Someone wrote a book about this a few years ago and it became very prominent, but this prayer is in the Old Testament. If you have a Bible, grab it. We are going to First Chronicles, chapter 4, verses 9 and 10. It‘s in the middle of nine chapters of genealogy, you know, so and so begat so and so who begat so and so who begat so and so - nine chapters - riveting! Smack bang in the middle of that God stops and tells us the story of this Jabez. Obviously He thought it was important enough to break this riveting flow of the genealogies. Good stuff, thank you Jesus. Here's the prayer of Jabez: Jabez was honoured more than his brothers and his mother named his Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, saying, “O God, that you would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory and that your hand might be with me and that you might keep me from hurt and from harm.” And God granted his request. Jabez gets called "You're a pain" by his mother. Imagine if your mother or my mother named us that. Not a great start in life is it? Mustn't have been for Jabez because Jabez cried out to God. He cried out to Him in desperation, out of his pain, out of his imperfect life. We don't know much more about him but what we do know is that everybody has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and he rejected God in his life at some point, just the way that you and I have. And in his desperation he calls out to God. You might say, "Berni, how do you know that Jabez rebelled?” Let me ask you, if you're a parent, what's the first or the second or the third word that every child learns? "No!" Isn't it? And God's Word clearly teaches that we all have turned our backs on Him. So Jabez is a fallen man just like you and I are fallen human beings. What does Jabez ask God? “God, that you would bless me indeed.” Not just any sort of blessing an ‘indeed' blessing; not just an ordinary blessing of God, “I really, really, God, want you to bless me.” Secondly he asks God to enlarge his territory. In the Old Testament, land was very important, in terms of blessing. I mean, land is somewhere we live. If you have a house in the suburbs, you might take that for granted. If you happen to live in a Liberian refugee camp in Sierra Leon, where you are listening to this program, you won't be taking land for granted. Jabez asks God to enlarge his territory. Thirdly that God's hand might be with him. What a great blessing that is! And fourthly, that God would keep him from hurt and harm. And listen to what it says, (Jabez is a person just like you and me) listen to what it says next. It says, “And God granted his request.” This man put his faith in God and he asked God for a blessing. Once I discovered this prayer, I started praying it regularly, with my own twist. I said, “God, that you would bless me indeed today. I want to see your presence; I want you to be with me. God, that you would increase my borders and my territory. That more and more people would listen to these programs.” You know, I started praying that two years ago when these programs were being listened to by a few people on a few stations and now they are listened to by hundreds of thousands, even millions of people in over eighty countries around the world. God answers those prayers. “God that you would send your hand with me that doors would open for the work that we do and that you would keep me from evil that I wouldn't cause any pain.” It is just the Lord laid on my heart. The point is we can ask God for blessing. God is a God of great blessing and blessing happens in relationship with Him. When we reject God – listen to me – when we reject God it breaks the blessing. Just like that friend of mine that I was talking about with his sons. God wants to bless you … God wants to bless me and there's a purpose; there's a reason for His blessing. It's not just for us but as we will see over the next few weeks on the program, God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. But right from the beginning, right from the first creature that He created on this earth, He wanted to bless them. And when he created humanity, He wanted to bless them. And when He had a relationship with His people, Israel, He wanted to bless them. And we all turned our backs on Him and so God then gave us the greatest blessing that there could possibly be – He opened the door to a relationship with Him through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross. God is a God of blessing. Yes, we go through ups and downs in our lives, and we're going to have a look at some of those things over the next few weeks, but when I open the Bible I see a God who wants to engage, not just with humanity as a whole, but with little people like you and me and His heart is to bless us.

Michael continues his survey of the Bible with 1 Chronicles. 1-2 Chronicles cover the same time period as 2 Samuel-2 Kings, but offers more and different detail because it was written for a different purpose. What we know of the past shapes how we view our present and plan our future. What we know of our theological history will affect the way we understand and live out our faith. First Chronicles helps us to fill out our understanding of the history of our theological roots.

It’s a Wonderful Life: Celebrating Mr. Everyman Please turn in your bibles to Luke 21. We're looking this morning at a very brief account of a gift given by an obscure widow, a woman we know nothing else about and the lessons we can learn from it. Anyone who knows me knows that one of my favorite movies is, It's a Wonderful Life. Daphne reminded me this morning that we don't watch it every Christmas, but we alternate; we do Scrooge one year and then It's a Wonderful Life, back and forth. It's a Wonderful Life was shot in 1946, it was directed by a man named Frank Capra. And Frank Capra was an immigrant, a man who had come from humble background and who, in his movies, consistently celebrated the triumphs of Mr. Everyman, Mr. Ordinary Citizen. He had another famous movie called Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and another movie with a similar title, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, and these would just celebrate the value of an average ordinary life. But I think that theme came to its pinnacle in Capra's work in the movie, It's a Wonderful Life. Now you know the story, but I'm going to go ahead just from my own joy and recount some of what it's about. So it's about a man named George Bailey who lives in ordinary town, Bedford Falls, and he lives a very ordinary life, and as his life is unfolding he has a strong growing desire inside himself to get out of Bedford Falls and go do something great somewhere else. And so he has an increasing distaste for the ordinary life that people live in places like Bedford Falls. He wants to go somewhere else and build long bridges and build tall skyscrapers. His father owned a building and loan, Bailey Building and Loan, that gave small loans to ordinary people so that they could live in houses. And so, George Bailey has no desire to follow in his father's footsteps in the Bailey Building and Loan. But his father suddenly dies and the board comes together, and the villain in the movie, Mr. Potter, the richest man in town, very evil, angry man wants to just get rid of the Bailey Building and Loan, it's competing with him. He wants to just shut it down. Now, George Bailey's got one foot out the door, he's ready to go to college, he's ready to get out of Bedford Falls, but he gives an impassioned speech about the value of the Bailey Building and Loan. And this is what he said, "Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about, they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay, and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn't think so, people are human beings to him." Well, George Bailey ends up, as far as he's concerned, trapped by the Bailey Building and Loan. Duty calls and he stays there, he doesn't go to college, he gives his college money to his younger brother, and he stays there working and he never can quite get out of Bedford Falls. And as events unfold, financial crisis comes into his life, a personal crisis, and he gets to the point where he's ready to commit suicide, throw himself off a bridge. Then God sends the angel, Clarence. Now, please don't think that I'm espousing a theology here. I don't know of any named angels in the Bible named Clarence. There are two named angels in the Bible and neither of them are named Clarence. But Clarence comes and is given, it seems, supernatural power to show George Bailey what life would have been like if he had never lived, an alternate reality universe. And in so doing, he's able to see really what his ordinary everyday commonplace life really achieved, and his mind has changed and he realized he actually has had a wonderful life. Well, anyway, that was the theme, that's what Frank Capra wanted to get across; the value of ordinary life, the value of ordinary people like you and me living in ordinary places like Bedford Falls doing ordinary things, there's value to it. Encounters With Jesus Now, Frank Capra had that vision, he put it in his movies and clearly movies are powerful medium, but I say this Scripture's more powerful, and these themes are more powerfully articulated by our Savior Jesus Christ in this text that we're studying today than in any movie you'll ever see. In this text, in these four brief verses, Jesus elevates ordinary commonplace people doing seemingly insignificant things, elevates it and celebrates it, and I think gives us a glimpse into what judgment day will look like for obscure people that make great sacrifices for Jesus. And in so doing gives hope to all of us, that the things we do in our ordinary lives actually have value if done for the glory of God, if done according to the pattern of Scripture, if done by faith in Christ and if done sacrificially, they're going to be celebrated by the only one that really matters, and that is by Jesus Christ. So, here we get that foretaste of judgment day and here we get the theme that your daily life matters eternally. Your small gifts matter eternally. Your work matters eternally. Now this summer, we've been in a series called Encounters with Jesus. And the desire has been as we put the summer of preaching together that week after week, that we would have an encounter with the greatest person that ever lived, the only Savior there is for the world. You would have an encounter with Jesus. Now, we can't see Jesus with our eyes, he's invisible to us but we can encounter him through the Scripture. It is by the Scripture alone that we know anything at all about Jesus. There's nothing we know about Jesus apart from Scripture. And especially in the four biographies of Jesus at the beginning of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; they give us stories of people just like you and me, sinners like us that have encounters with Jesus. In our desire, as we have been doing all of this, is that people who come to this church on Sunday mornings, would have an encounter with Jesus Christ, a saving encounter, that you would see your need for Christ the Savior, the one who lived a sinless life, the one who died an atoning death, whose blood was shed on the cross for sinners like you and me. That the Holy Spirit would move on your heart and transform you from the inside and make you see that you can't live without Christ, you can't face judgment day and hell without Christ, that you need a savior, and Jesus is the only savior, and that He did die in the place of sinners like you and me, and that He was raised from the dead, physically on the third day, and that He is God in the flesh, and that by faith in Him, all your sins can be forgiven. That's the encounter with Jesus that we want you to have. Now, it's interesting that this would even be part of the series, Encounters with Jesus, because this is a little bit different. He doesn't actually encounter the widow as far as we can tell, He doesn't have a conversation with her. As far as we can tell, the widow who put in those two little copper coins didn't know Jesus was watching, never knew it, as far as we can tell. They didn't have a later subsequent conversation, not recorded in the gospels anyway. The encounter is really more about the widow that Jesus has with his disciples, and through the Holy Spirit's moving in Mark and in Luke, we have these two accounts, the account's also in the Gospel of Mark, so that we can read and we can have an encounter over this widow and learn the lessons that Jesus wants us to learn. That's the encounter. I. Jesus the Judge of All Giving So let's walk through it, and we begin with a vision here of Jesus as the judge of all giving, the judge of all the living is Jesus. And the account gives us a strong sense of that. Look at verses 1-4 in Luke 21, "As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury, he also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 'I tell you the truth,' he said, 'This window, this poor widow, has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she had to live on.'" So, the image of Jesus sitting and watching all of the giving is a powerful one. I want that to be a lasting, powerful image in your mind, Jesus sitting and watching the giving. Let me make it personal, Jesus sitting and watching your giving, what you're giving, that he is sitting, watching that, observing it, making comments about it, evaluating it, that's powerful. Jesus in the Scripture is portrayed as the judge of all humanity. He is the one that we are going to have to stand before on judgment day. It says in John 5:22, "The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father." That is as God. And so Jesus has the unique honor because he is the Son of Man of being the judge. And the Scripture reveals that someday, every single one of us will stand before Jesus and give an account for every aspect of our lives. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done in the body, whether good or bad." So we are going to talk to Jesus about the good and the bad, everything, and give him an account. Now, this definitely will include our money, our giving patterns financially, definitely will include that, but it will include also our other stewardship issues such as time and our energy, our strength. What did we spend our time on? How did we invest our strength, our energy, mentally and physically? What did we invest in? So we're going to give him an account. And in this text, there's a sense we're going to talk to him about the issue of sacrifice. What sacrifices did we make? What did it cost us to be Christians? What did it cost us to serve Jesus in his kingdom? So we're going to talk to Jesus, so that powerful image of Jesus sitting opposite the giving area in the temple watching, and that's powerful. Have that in your mind by faith, establish that in your mind by faith. Then Jesus summoned his disciples so he could talk to them, so he could instruct them. We don't get it here in Luke's Gospel, that's implied. But we have it openly stated in Mark's Gospel. In Mark 12:43, it says, "Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, 'I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.'" So, he summons them and says, "Hey, have something to say. I want to teach you about this widow." And so, he summons all of us who are disciples of Christ in the same way, timeless by it being here in the Bible now we're summoned, "Come and stand around me. I have something to tell you, I want to use this widow and her gift as an object lesson." Understanding the Physical Setting So, let's understand the physical setting, Jesus is sitting there, it says, opposite where the giving was happening. This is... We're told by people who wrote about the archaeology and the structure of Jewish life at the time, he was in what was called the Court of Women. So he was there, where any Jew male or female could be, no Gentiles were allowed to be there, and he's sitting there and apparently, there were 13 chests that were trumpet-shaped, made of metal into which people would pour their offerings, and the coins that they poured in, there wasn't paper money then, just the coins that they poured in were metal and they would clatter as they went down into these chests. That's what you can picture. Now, this brief account in Luke, just four verses, is sandwiched by two very interesting accounts that weigh in on this brief account. And so right at the end of Luke 20, you can look there if you'd like, verses 46 and 47. He, Jesus, and I love this image in Revelation 1 of Jesus with eyes of blazing fire. Jesus has eyes of blazing fire in Revelation 1. So he is seeing everything, and he sees the religious leaders of the day who are corrupt and wicked, and how they're plundering the poor and needy and using the offerings for their own benefit, and how corrupt they are. And so he talks about them in Luke 20:46-47, he says, "Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets." Look at verse 47, "They devour widows' houses." In other words, they just take advantage of poor widows and plunder them. They devour widows' houses and for a show, they make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely. So that's the context, the judgment He speaks on them, then goes out and sits down and sees this widow give. And then the next thing that happens in Luke is the disciples talking about the grandiose stones of the temple, which have been embellished by some of those gifts that have been given. So look at it in Luke 21:5-6, it says, "Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 'As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another, every one of them will be thrown down.'" So, the leaders who are collecting the offering are corrupt and they're using it for themselves. The building that's being embellished by the gifts is going to be destroyed, and in the middle you have this account of the widow giving. So Jesus is speaking clear words of judgment about the leaders who are taking advantage of poor people just like this widow and he's speaking words of judgment on the temple building grounds themselves, but in the middle of it there's this widow giving. Some commentators have therefore said she shouldn't be giving, but I don't get that at all from this account. I think Jesus is celebrating and honoring her for her gift, no matter what happens to it. And so she is being taken advantage of, she is being plundered, but as far as she's concerned she's giving to God, she's giving to God. And so that's the way I see it, he's commending her for that. And Jesus, as he's sitting there, notes the giving of the rich as well as of the poor widow, he doesn't just see her. The rich are pouring in large quantities of coins. And those coins would rattle loudly as they went down the metal trumpets, down into the boxes. Remember that Jesus in the Sermon of the Mount condemned people who announced their giving with trumpets so everyone could see how much they gave. Now I'm not saying everyone that was giving that day was doing that. I'm not saying that, but there were some people that would do that. "Hey everyone, I want you to know what I've given and what it cost me." That kind of thing. So he condemns that. He would rather that our right hand not know what our left hand is doing, so our giving may be in secret. But along, in the middle of all of this rattling coins and all that comes this poor widow. She takes out these tiny copper coins and drops it in. The Value of Her Gift Now the text highlights her poverty. It says three different times, in three different ways that she's a poor woman, very poor. She has no one to lean on, no one to rely on. She has nothing and she gives. But what of her gift? The text says that the widow put in two copper coins, two lepta. The smallest coin they had in their currency, it would amount to about 1/16th of a denarius. Less than an hour's work for a paid laborer in a field. So a very, very small amount of money. Just barely enough maybe to get a little meal. That's what she put in. And as those two little copper coins went down, I can't imagine they could have even been heard. They were so tiny, their size was so little it wouldn't have been able to be heard with all the commotion of the rich giving many, many larger, heavier coins. And so Jesus compares the gifts. He uses her as an object lesson. He did this all the time. You remember when the disciples were bickering about which of them was greatest? Who's going to be the greatest in the kingdom? And He calls a little child and has the little child stand. "Do you see this child?" "Yes Lord, we see the child." "Unless you change and become like this little child you will not enter the kingdom of God." So he uses her. Or remember the woman that's weeping and washing Jesus' feet with her tears and drying them with her hair, and Jesus says the same thing, "Do you see this woman?" And so he's using this widow as an object lesson. Do you see her? The widow, she put in more than anyone. Look at verse 3 and 4, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all the others. Wherefore all these people gave their gifts out of their wealth but she, out of her poverty, put in all she had to live on." Now as the judge, he's sitting there and he's rendering a verdict. He evaluates her gift compared to all theirs. She put in more than all of them. Not only that he brings in supernatural knowledge about her situation that an ordinary person wouldn't have. She has no money waiting at home, she has no resources waiting at home, she has nothing, this is all she had to live on. So it's similar to the Samaritan woman where Jesus knew her marital history. And Jesus just has supernatural knowledge of the circumstances, and she knows they're rich, or he knows they're rich. He knows that they're putting in out of their surplus, out of their abundance. But she out of all that she had to live on. Now Jesus' verdict as judge is she put in more than anyone else that day. Now this would have been a shocker to anybody that heard it. Please don't think that Jesus didn't know math. Jesus, was it right-brained or left? I never remember which side. He wasn't a math science guy. Oh, Jesus is perfect in math and science, and perfect in art. Isn't that amazing? Perfect in creative writing and in all aspects. So he knew math very well and he didn't need to know the tables of weights and measures that we all have at the back. So what's a talent? What's a mina? What's a denarius? He knew it. He knew very well that these two little copper coins with the smallest currency they had. In an absolute sense of weights and measures he knew that gold's worth more than silver, and the silver's worth more than copper, and big is worth more than little. He knew all that, he knew all that. But in his spiritual economy she put in more than anyone else. II. Some Timeless Lessons on Giving That's the account. Now let's talk about some timeless living, lessons on giving. 1) Jesus Sees Everything and Watches All Our Giving First, Jesus sees everything and watches all of our giving. I told you have this strongly in your mind. I feel fundamentally every week that I get up to preach, my primary task is to elevate Christ the invisible Savior before your eyes so you see him by faith. See this, Jesus is the judge of all of your giving, he sees everything. Numbers of times I've been to Christian homes and I've seen this plaque in many homes, and it says this, "Christ is the head of this home, the unseen guest at every meal, the silent listener to every conversation." It's good to kind of, you don't have to put that plaque up on the wall, but just in your mind, "Christ is the head of my life, he is the unseen guest at every moment, he is the observer, and hearer of every conversation and he is the judge of all my giving. He sees what I do, what I give." And so some day, Hebrews 4:13 says we're going to give him an account. "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight, everything's uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account." That's Jesus. We need to see him the invisible judge of everything that we do, this is the true encounter with Christ in the text. 2) Jesus Understands Our True Circumstances Secondly, Jesus understands our true circumstances. He knows what's going on in our lives financially, knows very well. He knew that the rich gave out of their surplus, he knew that they were rich and they had abundance and the amount they gave was surplus giving. He knew that about them. He also knew that the widow, he knew her circumstances and that she had put in all that she had, to live on. Also, he knows every dollar that you make, every dollar that comes in by gift into your accounts, every windfall, he knows all of your bills, your financial obligations, he knows everything. Even if you don't have a budget, he kind of has one for you, he knows exactly what your income and outlay is. All these things, the Heavenly accounting, is there. There's nothing hidden. Remember Ananias and Sapphira, when they sold a piece of property and gave a portion, a part, not 100% of the gift, and that was fine. But then they lied about it and they said they put in the whole amount, remember? And each of them in turn was judged by Peter saying the Holy Spirit knows what you've given. You've not lied to men, but to God, the Holy Spirit saw and Ananias died and then Sapphira died. Now again, not because they didn't give the full amount, but because they lied about it. And behind that is the knowledge of the Holy Spirit. We can't lie to God. He knows exactly our circumstances. And all of our giving is evaluated clearly based on what we have, not what we do not have. And 2nd Corinthians 8, and verse 12, the apostle Paul said if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. Okay. He knows your circumstance. 3) Jesus Evaluates Giving Based on the Level of Sacrifice it Entails Third, Christ evaluates giving based on the level of sacrifice, that it entails. Sacrifice has to pinch, it has to hurt in some way, that's what sacrifice is all about. Remember when King David was about to offer a sacrifice to stop a plague. And one of his subjects wanted to give him the threshing floor give him the wood for fire and the altar and give him the animals and he said, "Absolutely not." "I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God a sacrifice burnt offerings that cost me nothing." Sacrifice, has to cost us something. It has to pinch in some way. 4) A Life of Bold, Sacrificial Giving Requires Faith in God to Meet Future Needs Fourthly, a life of bold sacrificial giving requires faith in God to meet your future needs. There may come a time that God will cause you to give away some money, that rightly could be reserved for something reasonable in your life. And that your sacrificial giving will put you in a difficult position, that God then will have to make it up. It's what happened to the widow. It's easily imaginable that some of you would get in that situation. But you need to have faith that God will meet your needs. But fundamentally, behind this, some of the commentators I read seemed to critique or even criticize the widow. It's not wise to give all you have to live on. Might be better, give one of the copper coins, hold another one back or just say, "The Lord knows that I want to give. If I had more, I would give, but the Lord knows." And there's a bit of a critique of the widow. And also as though some that take the opposite position of saying, "Unless you give everything you have to live on, you're not really giving." That's not true. Jesus isn't saying that. Unless you give everything you have to live on, you actually haven't given at all. He's not saying that. He's not criticizing the rich. He's just honoring the poor widow for what she did, that's all. You have to step out in faith. Remember another widow when Elijah during famine was told to leave the desert where God had been feeding him by ravens and go to a widow at Zarephath. And he said, "I have commanded her to provide for your needs." He goes and finds this widow in Zarephath and she's collecting some sticks. And he asked for her something to drink, and she gives it. And then he says, "Please make me some bread." And she's like, "Do you know what's going on here? Do you know that we're in a famine? Maybe you don't know what I'm doing here, I'm collecting some sticks so I can build a fire and go take the handful of flour that I have at home and make one last small biscuit for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die." That's what she literally says, "That we may eat it and die." And then the Lord spoke through Elijah to her a word of promise, and this is what he said, "Do not be afraid, go home and do as you have said, but first make me a small cake of bread from what you have and bring it to me. Then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord the God of Israel says, 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the Lord gives rain on the land.'" She didn't do anything wrong. I'm talking about this widow for Elijah, by taking the last bit she had, and baking that biscuit for Elijah. And God fulfilled his promise that He had spoken to meet her future needs. We get the same thing in a story that I read recently about the great missionary Hudson Taylor. Hudson Taylor was a man that God used, a visionary missionary in the 19th century to take the gospel to the inland regions of China. And he was also a pioneer of what became known as the faith-based mission movement, where missionary stepped out in faith and raised their funds in faith like George Muller, using his faith to care for orphans. And so before he ever got there, he was in training as a medical orderly because he was going to do some medical missions work in China. And he was doing work among some poor people in a part of London called Hall, a part of England, sorry, called Hall. And the doctor that he was working for forgot to pay him, he was a forgetful man. This happened again and again, but Hudson Taylor resolved, he wouldn't tell the doctor that he hadn't gotten his monthly pay. So he was down to one coin, half a crown, a half crown piece. I don't know that much about British currency but anyway, that's a certain amount not the smallest not the middle, it's like middle-level coin. One coin he had left. Anyway, at the end of an evangelistic service on a Sunday night, a very poor man, came and said, "Would you please come to my home and pray for my wife? I fear that she and our new born child is about to die." So he came with this man and as he was walking and talking with the man. Hudson Taylor found out this man was completely destitute. Had nothing. He had nothing at home, he had no money, he had nothing. Hudson Taylor for his part had just two servings of porridge left, one for his dinner and one for his breakfast and then that half crown piece. Well, he goes up the stairs of this dilapidated apartment and as he gets in there, he can't believe the scene there. There are four or five children with sunken cheeks, clearly starving. A very weak looking woman on a pallet in the corner, and a baby, a newborn baby next to her, and the baby is not crying, the baby is just moaning. And Hudson Taylor prays for them and gives them some words of encouragement but he feels like a hypocrite. "You've got a coin in your pocket. You could help them." And the man seeing, I don't know, seeing him waiver. Looks at Hudson Taylor says, "If you can help us for God's sake, do so." And Hudson Taylor is lamenting that he didn't have the same amount broken into three coins. "I would gladly give you two, and hold one of them back for my own provision." But, he wrestles and finally, he gives the man the coin and he says, "It may seem like a small thing, to you, but I have nothing but two servings of porridge back in my home." But I want you to know that God is a loving Heavenly Father, He'll care for you. Well that night he went home, he ate half of his amount of porridge left, Hudson Taylor did. And then he prayed in light of this scripture. Proverbs 19:17. It says there, that those who gives to the poor lend to God. "So God I am quoting Proverbs 19:17. Would you please let this loan be a very short one." Very short. Alright. And he went to bed with a heart filled of peace and joy wakes up, eats the last porridge he has, and then there's the knock-on the door. And this always happens to these great men of God. And there's the postman at the door and inside there's actually folded up a blank piece of paper and some gloves, some kid gloves in it interestingly and then a sovereign, I guess, worth four times, a coin worth four times what he'd given the night before. Anonymously given. Out of nowhere. So he's thinking about the interest rate. That's a 400% interest for like a 12 hour loan, that's not bad. So here's the thing, whenever you step out in faith and God calls on you to sacrifice, you need to trust him that He'll make up the difference in your budget or a difference in your lifestyle when you step out. I think very rarely would we be called to make the level of sacrifice the widow did, giving everything we have to live on. And so Paul says, speaking of the gifts that the Philippians gave, Your gifts "are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing the God and my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches." So as we give, we need to step out in faith and trust that God will meet our needs. 5) There Will Be Massive Surprises on Judgment Day! Some hidden heroes will emerge Fifthly. There will be massive surprises on Judgment Day and in heaven. This obscure widow, we don't know her name, we don't nothing about her. Jesus said, she gave more than anyone else. This, I believe is a principle of the great reversal on judgment day. In which obscure people are elevated and honored for things they did and no one else ever knew what they did. Their giving was in secret. Their praying was in secret, their serving was in secret, nobody knew their names. They did all of these good works, and Jesus saw all of it. And he is honoring this widow and this woman and this man and these servants, that very, very few people even knew what they did, and then once they're dead within a couple of generations, no one even knew they ever lived. But Jesus knows, God elevates and knows and honors obscure people who no one else knows. I just finished in my annual Bible reading one of the hardest parts of scripture for me to read. First Chronicles. I actually made a pledge to the men's Bible study that I would never memorize first Chronicles, and I'm probably going to keep that pledge. It's 10 chapters of genealogies of obscure Jewish people that no one knows the sons of Naphtali. Can you name any of the sons of Naphtali? How about the sons of Dan? And they're all listed there. Oh Lord why? Of all the other things, like other aspects of Jesus' life? A few extra miracle stories. We got these 10 chapters of genealogies and I thought, "Alright, I'm probably never going to preach an exposition sermon through First Chronicles one through 10 either, because my lesson would be simple. God cares about people you don't know anything about. He knows their names and how they lived and what they did. And so Paul in speaking to the Corinthians, he says, in first Corinthians, "Consider yourselves when you were called, not many were wise, not many influential, not many of noble birth, but God shows obscure people to honor and to glorify His own sovereign grace." So in heaven, I imagine there's going to be a woman who lived during the Black Plague in the 14th century. And when everybody's out, so all the big strong courageous people ran out of the town, she stayed and nurse some people to health and caught the disease herself and died from it. And we're going to meet her, and we're going to honor her sacrifice even though you don't know anything about her. And how many such stories will there be in heaven? III. Applications on Sacrificial Giving So some applications on spiritual sacrificial giving. First, if I can just say to you who have come here this morning, who are not yet Christians or walked in here not yet Christians. What I want to say is God's not calling on you to give sacrificially to him, he wants to give sacrificially to you. And as a matter of fact, we can say to all of us, none of us will ever out-give God, ever. God did not spare his son, his only son, whom he loved but gave him up for us all. And we're not going to out-give, sacrificial out-give Jesus because Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this that he laid down his life for his friends." He laid down his life under the wrath of God for you and me. And so what I'm saying to you who came here this morning on the outside looking in, let Jesus serve you, let him sacrifice for you, let him give to you, his life for your sins. Trust in him, all you have to do is call on the name of the Lord and he will forgive you. And God will lavish grace upon grace, and make you rich. He wants to give to you, he doesn't need you to give to him. So we'll start there. But if you have already trusted in Christ as your Lord and Savior, then let's learn some lessons on sacrificial giving. Ask God to search you and know your heart and know your sacrificial giving patterns. Ask him to show you how you're spending your time and your energy and your money. What are you spending it on? And is there sacrifice? Are you giving? Are you first giving of yourself to God? And then, in conjunction with what he's done for you, than what he's calling on you to give. And trust God to meet your needs sacrificially. That God will meet all of your needs, no matter what you do, how you give. And then finally, let's not look down on people who are obscure. Let's not look down on the aged, let's not look down on the poor. Let's not look down on people with special needs, who are born infirm, mentally or physically. Let's not look down on anybody because it could very well be that Christ is going to elevate people from all of those categories in ways you can't even imagine and say, this one and this one and this one gave more than you ever did because of their level of sacrifice. Let's honor the giving that each other gives and let's give in the pattern that God's called on us to give. Close with me in prayer.

I. Life in a Mixed World: The Wheat and the Weeds So as we resume this morning, our study in the book of Isaiah, we come immediately to Isaiah 56, and next time also Isaiah 57, and I'm only doing Isaiah 56 today, but in these two chapters we're going to see a rhythm going back and forth between the righteous and the unrighteous, between the wise and the foolish, between what Jesus would call in one of His parables, the wheat and the tares of the weeds, between the wheat and the weeds. Friends, we really do live in a mixed-up World and it seems more evident as time unfolds here in our country. And Jesus told a parable about the mixed-up nature of our world, spiritually in Matthew 13, the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, he described the kingdom of heaven in this way like a Man Who sowed good seed in his field. But at night while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and then went away and then when the wheat sprouted and formed heads and the weeds became evident. And his servants came to him and said, "Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?" And the owner of the field said, "An enemy did this." servant said, "Do you want us to go and pull them up?" He said "No… because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn." Now, Jesus in interpreting the parable said, "The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. [We will call Christians] The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The wheat and the weeds grow together in close proximity, side by side. We live life together, but in the end, we will be separated one from another. And the righteous will go into the kingdom of heaven, but the wicked will be burned up with unquenchable fire in hell. "The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Our Decaying Orbit with the Surrounding Culture Now, this mixed existence that we experience as Christians is part of what makes this life so difficult. It's difficult for us but friends, it's hardly a new phenomenon. It's been going on a long time. Isaiah saw the same thing in his day. And we're going to see in the rhythm of these two chapters Isaiah 56, and then next time Isaiah 57. As Isaiah goes back and forth between the wheat and the weeds. We're going to look at two of those aspects this time and then next time more. One of the great challenges for us as we come to Isaiah is to try to understand the prophet in his own day, in his own language, his own words, his own setting, but then also see the timeless eternal vision of God, the words of God to every generation of God's people who don't live exactly when Isaiah lived but that timeless message that goes on through all generations. So we're going to see Old Covenantal type language here in Isaiah 56, but we're going to see principles that must be only fulfilled through the New Covenant and through the timeless message of Christ across every generation. He's going to speak clearly about those that are outsiders that would have been excluded in the Old Covenant being welcomed in and worshipping with God, as you heard in the text. He's also going to speak clearly about the great wickedness of Israel's Watchmen, of their shepherds, their leaders, and how they were living self-indulgent lives of feasting and following Canaanite religions. Now, these things happened, I think, right before the exile to Babylon. And so he's going to use language speaking about the sins that led to the exile to Babylon, and then speak about the re-gathering of Jews coming back in, and all of that is relevant to Isaiah's immediate circumstance. But if you look bigger, I think, they all pre-figure the in-gathering of people all over the world into the church of Jesus Christ through faith in Christ. So you've got to hold your mind in both, in both worlds, Isaiah's world and then the world that we live in today. Now, let's speak for a moment about the world that we live in today. I said that it's pretty obvious it's getting more obvious all the time, that we live in a mixed-up world, that we live side by side with people who do not love and cherish Jesus Christ as we do. And their lifestyles make it very plain that they do not cherish God's word, the way we do, and the fact that they are living out their rebellion against God, and unbelief right in front of us, right around us makes our lives far more difficult. Jesus knew that in the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds. This is a mixed-up world. And for us as American Christians, it's especially challenging, because we live in a time in which we can look back where Christianity had a direct influence on our culture, on our government, our politics, on our lives very directly, especially here in the South, in an area that we used to call the Bible Belt, where the history of the saturation of the gospel and the influence of Christianity and culture was more evident. And government, not just here in the south but throughout the country, a little more supportive of Christianity used language that was taken from the Bible, public officials frequently sought days of fasting and prayer to the God of Heaven. Christianity was directly held in honor in government schools, and in the marketplace. Judeo-Christian values, you've heard that phrase so-called were honored in the schools and in public culture. There was a Christian ethic behind most of the laws of our country, even what became eventually known as misguided laws like prohibition had a very strong Christian basis in a Christian root. There was a strong church backing to the damage that alcohol did and that's what led to prohibition. However, as American citizens, we have to realize that the documents which established our nation such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, Bill of Rights, are in no way overtly Christian, keyword being, "overtly." None of these documents mention Jesus or Christ or Christianity or the Trinity or salvation. The anti-establishment clause which says that the federal government will set up or establish no religion for the people, clearly means we're not overtly Christian, we're not establishing and clearly revering Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and the American government never have. Yet we're well aware of how influential Christianity was in the lives of people who wrote those words, in the lives of those who governed according to their principles. In many cases, they were clearly Christian people in other cases not so. And yet for all of that, the general esteem with which Christianity has been held here in America is clearly a decaying orbit and I believe it's going to get worse, not better. I think it's going to become harder and harder to be clearly Christian in America. It's going to take courage, and it's going to take perspective, we need to understand what's going on. We live in a mixed-up world. We're going to be surrounded by unbelievers, they're going to be living out their unbelief in front of us. And friends for us this is a tremendous opportunity for the gospel. It's a chance for us to show the light in a very dark place. Alan Cooperman who is a director of religious research for the Pew Foundation said this, "Overall, there are more than four... "Listen to this, "More than four former Christians to every convert to Christianity in this country." So what that means is there are more... A four-to-one ratio, of those that are renouncing a previous allegiance to Christianity, then there are those that are saying that they are taking on a new allegiance to Christianity. Four to one. A Newsweek poll says that there's a great rise in the unaffiliated group, sometimes called the religious nones. Now, you shouldn't think like a Roman Catholic nun. N-U-N. It's more that you answer in the poll, religious affiliation none, none. The rise of the nones, it's happening more and more in our country, it's accelerating, especially among what's called the millennials. So that's the younger generation they're coming into their 20s, or just post-college, etcetera. More than 35% of that group of people are unaffiliated with any religion at all. So that's what we're looking at. And issues that we've been very well aware of that have been pressing on the consciences of evangelicals, like abortion and gay marriage and now especially in our state, transgender bathrooms and the whole issue of transgender-ism, have revealed I think the decaying nature of the relationship between biblical Christianity and American culture. So we're in for a rocky ride, I think. And frankly, I think we're in for the same rocky ride that most of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world have been experiencing every day of their lives. Brothers and sisters in China and Muslim countries or in other places, even in atheistic West, like in the Czech Republic other places where it's just much harder to live out a Christian life. They've known about this all their Christian lives. And so we're going to be experiencing that more and more. What we need then is we need to turn to the word of God, as never before, and find out what God is doing in the world. And derive hope and strength and purpose from that. And I think it's a great time for us to be turning back to Isaiah, and looking at and picking up where we were. We got up to Isaiah 55. And let me just give a little bit of review on the first 55 chapters of the book of Isaiah. No I'm not going to do that. Starting in chapter one, no that would take a while. But what I actually want to do is zero in on the central theme, I think of the entire book of Isaiah, and really of the whole Bible, and that is the way that the book of Isaiah, reveals Christ the savior. And we've been following that magnificently in the book of Isaiah with an individual called the suffering servant. So look with me at Isaiah 42. I'm just going to trace this out very quickly. Isaiah 42, we're introduced to the servant of the Lord, verse one, "Behold my servant whom I uphold my chosen one in whom I delight, I will put my Spirit on Him and He will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise His voice in the streets. A bruised reed, He will not break, and a smoldering wick, He will not snuff out. In faithfulness He will bring forth justice. He will not falter or be discouraged, until he establishes justice on earth. And in His law, the islands will put their hope." Friend just reading those words, I get happier and happier the more I read. This is Jesus, Matthew 12 says very clearly Jesus. He is the suffering servant, who comes to bring justice and righteousness to all the Earth, but who advances His kingdom in a very gentle tender loving way. He doesn't quarrel or cry out in the streets. That's not... He's not a rabble rouser, or a rebel or something like that. He just proclaims justice and tenderness and mercy. He doesn't destroy broken-hearted weak sinners, but He binds them up and saves them. Isaiah 42. Then if you look at Isaiah 49, we have the servant of the Lord, Isaiah 50 portrays Him. Let's start with Isaiah 49, especially verse six. This is the Lord, speaking to the servant of the Lord says, “And now the Lord says, he who formed me in the womb to be Him servant to bring Jacob back to Him and gather Israel to Himself for I'm honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength. 'It is too small a thing for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel, I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.'" So here's the servant of the Lord, and it's too small to work for Him to be just Israel's savior, Israel's Messiah. God has bigger plans than that for the servant of the Lord. And that is to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. To restore and bring back even Gentiles. He is the light for the Gentiles. Isaiah 50. The servant of the Lord is revealed as clearly a suffering servant. He doesn't hide His face from mocking and spitting or His back from being beaten. He's going to pay a price to redeem sinners in the world. Then you get to Isaiah 50, 52 and 53, if you look at Isaiah 53, just go right in 53:6. Isaiah 53:6, 53 five and six, let's do that. "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him, the iniquity of us all." So that's a substitutionary atoning work of Jesus. We are no better than those that are living sinful lives around us, no better than them at all. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and God has laid on Jesus, the suffering servant, the iniquity of us all. He is our substitutionary atonement. He was pierced for our transgressions. This is the Gospel, and Isaiah 54 makes it plain. I'm not going to go through that chapter. But that Zion, the people of God, the tent that takes in the people of God needs to get a lot bigger, and larger tent make it bigger. There's going to be a lot more people coming in. And then in Isaiah 55, there's this beautiful invitation, "Come. All you who are thirsty, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come buy and eat, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why spend yourselves on what doesn't satisfy?" And then in 55:6, he says so beautifully, "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him and to our God, and he will abundantly pardon." So this is the focus, and this is right where we're at in Isaiah 56. Now, here's the thing. With the wheat and the weeds, some people are going to be drawn in by that beautiful message of Christ crucified, resurrected, salvation offered freely to any who repent and believe. They're going to come, and they're going to feast from all over the earth. And others are not going to accept it. They're going to have a hard hearts. They're going to live out their rebellion to the end of their days, and they're going to make life miserable for Christ's people. That's just what's going to happen. And so we have this mixed-up experience. So that brings us now to Isaiah 56. II. The Wheat: Humble Outcasts Welcomed In (vs. 1-8) Now, as we look at verses 1-8, we see the effect of the Gospel going to people who in the old covenant would have been excluded. We're going to talk about that, but God has this beautiful, magnificent salvation plan that he fashioned as we learned clearly from the book of Ephesians. He fashioned before the foundation of the world. From before the foundation of the world, He set his love on us in Christ, and He poured out spiritual blessings on us when we were still unborn in his own mind and heart. In Christ, he did us every good that we would ever need. Even long before he said, we were created. Before he even said, "Let there be light," God had this salvation plan. And that plan was to redeem us by the blood of Christ. Now, the redemptive plan of God began when Adam and Eve fell into sin. There's no need for redemption before that. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were expelled from the Garden of Eden. They were kicked out. They were excluded. They're on the outside. And God put an angel there with a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. So they would not be permitted to re-enter Eden and eat from the Tree of Life. So I just want you to picture that in your mind because we're going to talk about people excluded, but I want you to include yourself in that category. We were all of us kicked out. As a human race, we were excluded from heaven. We are excluded from fellowship with God because of our sins. We're on the outside. Now, in redemptive plan, the redemptive plan of God, God chose out a specific people, the Jews. And he did it with the call of Abraham. At that point, his name was Abram. In Genesis 12, God called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldeans and said, "Leave your country and your people, and go to the land I will show you." And he says this, "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. Whoever curses you, I will curse. And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." So the Jewish nation then became a launching pad for the salvation of the world. God intended to save his chosen people, that he chose in Christ before the creation of world to save them through a Jewish plan of salvation, ultimately through a Jewish Savior as Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, "Salvation is from the Jews." And so God brought Israel up out of Egypt, up out of the promised land... Up out of Egypt into the promised land, through the Red Sea, brought them into the promised land. And, at the mountain of the 10 Commandments, he said this to them. He said, "If you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all the nations, you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole Earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." So what that means is, "I'm going to bless you, oh Jewish people, so that you can be a blessing to the whole earth." That was God's purpose. Psalm 67 captures it very, very well. It says, "May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on Earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, Oh God, may all the peoples praise you." The peoples are the Gentiles, the non-Jewish nation. Oh God, be gracious to us, the Jews, so that we might be a blessing to the Gentiles. That was the idea of the concept. And we've seen that in Christ, that desire is fulfilled. Jesus is the son of Abraham. He's the Son of David, He is Jewish, and he is the savior of the earth. Now look at Verse 1. "This is what the Lord says, 'Maintain justice and do what is right for my salvation is close at hand, and my righteousness will soon be revealed." That's powerful. "My salvation is drawing near now. My righteousness is coming close." Isaiah lived six centuries before Jesus was born. But in God's mind, a day is like a 1000 years, and a 1000 years is like a day. The time for salvation is drawing near. Now, we could say that the prophet might have been talking about the deliverance from the exile of Babylon, and I think that might be part of what he had in mind. The deliverance from Babylon is a picture though of the greater deliverance that Jesus works for all of us from sin, from the captivity of sin. And so, we could say that both of them are in His mind. The Jews are going to come back from Babylon, they're going to rebuild the destroyed city of Jerusalem, they're going to live there, and that's an important thing, but that's not the fulfillment of the glorious words of Isaiah 56, not at all. Something bigger is going to happen. The Jewish nation that would be established under Ezra and Nehemiah would continue living under the old covenant, under the laws of Moses. They would continue to offer animal sacrifice, to keep the Sabbath regulations, they would continue to follow the old covenant. But all of this has in view the day in which those old covenant strictures would be abolished, would be removed. And so, godly Jews are described here, in verse one and two. This is what the Lord says, "Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand, and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil." This is the call for the people of God, the Jews of Isaiah's day, or those that would come back under Ezra and Nehemiah, the godly Jewish nation, to live godly, upright lives under His law, as they waited for His redemption. The nation had been wicked, they've been sent into exile, disobeying God's laws, they had plundered the weak and helpless, they'd taken advantage of the widow and the orphan, they had shed innocent blood, they'd been sexually immoral, they'd been idolaters, that had led to the exile. "Okay, when I bring you back in, lead righteous, godly lives now, and in that way, my salvation will draw near, the nation will be able to continue." Now, for us as Christians, we have to hear this in a Christian new covenant sort of sense. We're not waiting for the restoration from Babylon, that's done, that's in the rearview mirror. What are we waiting for? We're waiting for Jesus to come back. We're waiting for the second coming of Christ. Well, what kind of lives should we live while we wait for that? 2 Peter 3 makes it very plain. It's going to be very similar type of language here. "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?" Second Peter 3:11-12. "You ought to live godly and upright lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." So, we ought to be holy and we have to do evangelism and missions, that's what that verse says. And then, Second Peter 3:14, "So then, dear friends, since you're looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him." That's Peter writing to new covenant saints. We get the same kind of language here, in Isaiah 56, one and two. "Live godly, upright lives as you wait for righteousness of God to come near. As you wait for the next event in redemptive history to come, live godly and upright lives," that's what the call is here. Godly Outcasts Welcomed Now, in verse three, we see godly outcasts welcome. Now, this is where it gets really fascinating. Look at verse three. "Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the Lord say, 'The Lord will surely exclude me from His people.' And let not any eunuch complain, 'I am only a dry tree.'" So now, we're looking at foreigners, by that I mean, the text means Gentiles, outsiders, and eunuchs, eunuchs. It speaks of people, then, that are categorically excluded in the old covenant from the assembly of the Lord. They're out, they're outsiders, they can't come in. They're not allowed to come in. Eunuchs are specifically mentioned as excluded in every case in Deuteronomy 23:1. And then, specific Gentiles are excluded in Deuteronomy 23:2 and Deuteronomy 23:3. For example, 23:2 says, "No one born of a forbidden marriage or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, even down to the 10th generation." And then, verse three of Deuteronomy 23, "No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, even down to the 10th generation." These are what we would call aliens and strangers, they're outsiders, they're excluded from fellowship with the people of God because of the law. Now, we believe in Christ, all of those exclusions are abolished, they're removed. We believe that this chapter foresees the day when those exclusions are taken away. "Let no foreigner say, 'I'm excluded.'" "I'm no longer excluded." Why not? Because Jesus came and fulfilled the old covenant and brought in with His blood a new covenant. And in that new covenant, there are no such restrictions. We saw this plainly in Ephesians chapter 2, let me read that again. By the way, I'm not going back to Ephesians, I just can't seem to let it go. I love the Book of Ephesians. But Ephesians 2:11 and following is the clearest passage on the fact that these exclusions are being removed. Says in Ephesians, 2:11-12, "Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called 'uncircumcised' by those who call themselves 'the circumcision.' Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world." That's how it used to be, oh Gentiles, how you used to be excluded by the law of Moses. Deuteronomy 23. The law of Moses kept such people out of the assembly of the Lord. It was what Paul called a barrier, a dividing wall of hostility. You couldn't come in. Yet through Isaiah the Prophet, even centuries before Jesus was born, there was foretold the day when those restrictions would be removed. The barrier would be taken away, and you would be allowed, as a Gentile, an uncircumcised Gentile, to enter the assembly of the Lord. You'd be welcome to come in. Now, God doesn't allow these outsiders in without transforming them. They have become radically different people; God has cleansed them of all their pagan defilements, He's washed them clean by the blood of Christ, they're made new in their hearts. John the Baptist said that God is able out of this stones to raise up children for Abraham, and so He has done. He has removed our hearts of stone and given us a heart of flesh. That's the condition for coming in now: Transformation by the Spirit of God. Ezekiel put it this way, about outsiders coming in. He said, "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean…" Ezekiel 36:25 and following, "I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols, I will give you a new heart and I'll put a new Spirit in you and I will remove from you the heart of stone and I will give you a heart of flesh and I'll put my Spirit in you and I will move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." That's the transformation of the new covenant, the transformation, the change wrought by the spirit of God, or again in Ephesians 2, 13-15, "but now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ, for He himself is our peace, who has made the two one," [Jew and Gentile] and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the commandments and regulations that kept us out his purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace." This is the redemptive work of Christ. The Rewards of Inclusion Now, look at the rewards of being included say, "Well what do I get if I'm included?" Look at it, it's beautiful, these are rich blessings for those humble transformed outsiders. Each of these are carefully described before, the blessings are listed. The fact is you have to be changed in order to qualify, not every eunuch is blessed, not every outsider is brought near, that's not true. What does it say? Verses 4-5 "This is what the Lord says: 'to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbath, and choose what pleases me, and hold fast to my covenant, to them I will give within my temple and its walls, a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off." So the conditions are covenantal language. Now in Isaiah's day that was old covenantal language; keep the Sabbath, do the sacrificial system, all that. We know that that's just a type and a shadow of the salvation, Jesus came to bring for us in the New Covenant. The requirement is simple. Believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, trust in Him. Repent of your sins, believe in Christ and you will be brought near, you'll be given a new heart, the Holy Spirit will change you from the inside out, you'll be transformed, and you will meet the requirements and look at the rewards a place in God's temple, a spot within its walls a secure permanent place of honor, and everlasting name that will never be cut off, never be forgotten. It's amazing. Now this is very similar to the promises made to the church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3:12. Listen to this. "To him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God. And the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God, I will also write on him a new name." That's very similar to Isaiah 56, isn't it? So what's happening, we're talking about heaven that's coming, the new Heaven, the new Earth, the new Jerusalem, if you become in Christ brought near, transformed from the inside out, God is going to adopt you as one of his sons or daughters, he's going to give you an everlasting name better than a biological son or daughter. You'll be his forever and ever. Biological names are forgotten, if you don't think so read First Chronicles and all those genealogies you know exactly, who are these people? If the Lord doesn't return any time soon, within three or four generations probably, no one on Earth will know your name, no one. Everyone will forget you, everyone you knew will be dead, long gone. That's just the way of the earth, that's the way of death. This is talking about an eternal remembrance. An eternal relationship. This is adoption by an eternal father, and the giving of a name that you will have forever and ever. And it will never be forgotten. That's eternity, that's heaven, that's a new Jerusalem. And it must refer to that spiritual temple as we've talked about again and again, in Ephesians 2, that new and living structure in Ephesians 2, 1 Peter 2, we are all living stones built into that habitation, that eternal habitation. We will receive a name and a place in that forever and ever if we draw near. And in heaven we will be able to offer sacrifices. 1 Peter 2:9-10, says "You are a chosen people, a royal Priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God." Think about that; once you were outsiders now you're inside, once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. We are drawn in and we can offer up sacrifices, of praise to God. Ultimately in heaven, there's going to be a multitude greater than anyone can count from every tribe, language, people, and nation. And they're going to be drawn near Revelation seven. They're going to be given white robes and palm branches and they're going to cry out salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb, and they're going to stand listen to this revelation 7:13-15 this multitude greater than any cookout Where are they from? They're from the Great Tribulation, they've washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb, therefore listen to this Revelation, 7:15, they are before the throne of God and they serve Him day and night in His temple so that this is the language of Isaiah 56. The eunuchs, who are brought near, the outsiders who are brought near, we are given a place in the eternal temple of God and a name better than anyone could ever have in this world and forever we will bring our sacrifices and offerings in praise and they'll be accepted. That's what Isaiah is predicting. Verses 6 and 7, "Foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, to love the name of the Lord and to worship him all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it, and who hold fast to my covenant, these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." Now, the conditions have to be met, you have to repent and believe and be drawn near in the new covenant, you have to bind yourself to the Lord by faith, you have to yearn to love him and to serve him and to follow him and to love the name of the Lord and to worship him. The Sabbath, I believe, is fulfilled in Christ. But it's also commemorated in the Lord's Day assembly around the world of Christians who come on the first day of the week to celebrate, not looking back at the old creation, but looking ahead to the new creation, first day of the week when God is going to make everything new. So, we assemble together and so we get all of these blessings and he says, "My house will be called the house of prayer for all nations." You know that Jesus quoted this, he was talking about Herod's Temple, a temple built by a wicked man, but he honored it as what it was, a beautiful type and shadow and picture of a future reality, a heavenly reality, a heavenly temple, when people from all nations would be welcomed, and would pray and worship God in that heavenly temple, and that now the temple of Herod's day, it should be a place where they're praying toward that end and where Gentiles are welcomed to worship the true and living God in light of the new covenant, Jesus had come to bring. Instead what did he find? Corruption, money changers, people trying to make money out of religion and it enraged him. And so he sat down and he braided a whip, and he overturned the benches of the money changers, and he drove out the all of the animals and he cried out in the words of Isaiah 56. "My house will be a house of prayer for all nations." He's quoting Isaiah 56 as he cleanses the temple. Now eventually he would will that that temple be physically, completely destroyed. Its days were over, it was obsolete, the Old Covenant was done, and so the Romans finished it off. New Exiles Gathered In But the vision was still there, that in the heavenly realm there would be, all nations assembled to worship God and there would be in verse 8, new exiles drawn and look at verse 8, "The sovereign lord declares, he who gathers the exiles of Israel. I'm going to gather still others to them besides those already gathered." I'm going to do a kind of a second re-gathering. So we're going to bring in the Jews from Babylon, and they'll be re-gathered but then I'm going to do a second re-gathering I'm going to gather other exiles and bring them in. Well, who are they? Well, In Isaiah 11:12, it says that God "will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel, he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four corners of the earth." So there's this banner raised for the Gentiles and a gathering of people from all over the world and then even more plain in John 11:51-52, it said that "Jesus would die for the Jewish nation and not for that nation only, but also for the scattered children of God to bring them together and make them one." Non-Jews, who are called the scattered children of God, they are the elect, chosen before the creation of the world, they would be gathered in Jesus's name, to one place. That's what verse 8 is talking about. I'm going to gather still others beyond those already gathered. So Verses 1 through 8 show the delights of the plan of salvation, for humble people once excluded, for exiles scattered all over the Earth, rich blessings of fellowship an eternally secure place in God's eternal temple where you will worship forever and ever. My question to you is, are you included or are you still an outsider? Are you on the outside looking in or have you been drawn in through faith in Christ? That's what you have to ask. This is visionary Old Testament prophetic language, let me speak quite plainly. Do you know yourself to be a Christian? Do you know yourself to be forgiven through faith in Christ? Have you been drawn in through faith in Christ, having repented of your sins have you found forgiveness through Christ? Are you spiritually now offering sacrifices to God, are you spiritually feasting on Christ? Are you looking forward to the day when you are literally sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Is that you? If not, If you know yourself to be an outsider believe that God brought you here for this moment and I'm calling on you while there's time, call on the Lord while he is near. Forsake your evil ways and find forgiveness in Christ. III. The Weeds: Self-Indulgent Leaders Devoured (vs. 9-12) The rest of the chapter deals with weeds, deals with people who hear that kind of invitation, hear that kind of gospel presentation and don't believe. Now they're a special category. They are leaders, they are the watchmen of Israel, but they're wicked, look at them described. They're self-indulgent leaders verses 10-12. "Israel's Watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge they're all mute dogs, they cannot bark, they lie around and dream, they love to sleep, they are dogs with mighty appetites, they never have enough, they are shepherds who lack understanding, they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain. Come, each one cries, let me get wine, let us drink our fill of beer and tomorrow will be like today or even far better." Well, final paragraph to this chapter is a judgment on the watchmen of Israel. I believe it's speaking to the leaders of the Jewish nation, their kings, their prophets, their warriors, their leaders who were given positions of power and authority in the nation to serve the people not to take advantage of them or to fleece them. Israel's watchmen are the guardians of the nation, those who stand on the walls, to protect her from danger and from slaughter in the night. They are called on therefore, to deprive themselves of sleep during the night. What good is a sleeping watchman? They're supposed to be up on the walls, but they're asleep. They're supposed to be sacrificing themselves, they're supposed to be alert and courageous and wise and self-sacrificial. But instead these watchmen are deplorable. Ezekiel the Prophet was called a watchman for Israel. He said, "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me." So that picture is a sleeping city, a walled fortress, and there's a possibility of an attack in the night. The watchman's job is to stand on the walls and warn the sleeping people, "Get up, there's danger." And so what God says to Ezekiel the watchman, he says, "When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself." So that's what a watchman does. Now, these watchmen are deplorable, they are blind. I mean, think about that, what good is a blind watchman? Just ponder that for a while. They are ignorant, they lack knowledge, they are mute dogs. Now, what good is a watch dog that can't bark? Isaiah calls them lazy dogs. They lie around and love to sleep, like the sluggard, they can't even pull their hand out of the dish and bring it to their mouth. They can barely rouse themselves out of bed, they're lazy. He calls them dogs with mighty appetites. Like Paul says in Philippians 3, "Their God is their stomach." They love a good meal. They love to feast. They're living for themselves, they're greedy. They never get enough. And not only that, they think the feast will never end. I like the NIV on verse 12, I really do. "Come, each one cries, let me get wine, let us drink our fill of beer. And tomorrow will be like today or even far better." That's an interesting translation, I think it's a good one. In other words, I think things are just going to get better and better. Things are really good for us right now, but they're going to get better and better. No fear of the Lord, no fear of impending judgment, just complacent, lazy comfortable expectation that life, prosperous comfortable life, is just going to keep on going the way it always has. Well, verse nine speaks of a different kind of feast, it's a different kind of feast, and these watchmen are actually invited to it. But look at it, "Come all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the forest." So Israel's watchmen are invited to the feast, but not as honored guests, but actually as the food. They're going to be invited to be devoured by the beast, they're going to be judged by the wrath of God. This very much reminds me of Revelation 19, when there's the armies of the Earth assembled to fight against Jesus in His second coming glory. And it says there in Revelation 19:17, it says, "I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in mid-air, 'Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and generals and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great." And so the birds came and feasted on their flesh. It's a picture of terrible judgment from God. So, simply put, at the end of the world, God is going to separate out the wheat from the weeds. And verses 9-12 give a picture, in very graphic kind of picture form, of the judgment that's going to come on those who live their lives for their stomach, for their flesh, who do not use their positions of influence and authority to glorify God. IV. Applications Alright, so applications, I've already given you the most important one. Come to the banquet of Christ while there's time. Feast on him, trust in him. Don't remain an outsider. Be welcomed by faith in Christ into God's holy temple. Accept the gifts that He wants to give you. He wants to adopt you as one of his sons or daughters. He wants to give you a name in his temple that will never end. Accept his conditions, the conditions of the new covenant, they're simple. Confess Christ as your Lord and Savior, repent of your sins, and you will be saved. Secondly, understand, Christian brothers and sisters, the mixed nature of this world. It is lamentable, we are going to grieve, it's going to cause us trouble, but it's just the reality. It's going to be like this until the end of the world. Look on it as an opportunity. Don't consider yourself superior to any of those that appear to be weeds. That's the whole thing. The reason the servants can't root them up, they can't tell the difference. Saul of Tarsus, what did he look like the morning he was converted? He looked like weeds to me. We just can't tell the difference, we never know what God's sovereign grace could do. We never know. And so, let's look on the wickedness of the people around us as an opportunity to speak the truth in love into their lives and see God save some of them. The weeds make up ISIS as they behead Christians. The weeds make-up anti-Christian college officials who issue edicts and rules that keep Christians from freely sharing the gospel on their college campuses, or professors who use their positions to speak anti-Christian doctrines to those that have to listen to them, or non-Christian government officials, not just in the US but all over the world, who use their positions of power and influence to hinder the work of God in the world. Making bad decisions, and issuing bad judgments, and bad decrees, or even to crush the Gospel overtly. The mixed up nature of this world is a constant grief to us. It's going to continue, but it's temporary. Some day the Lord is going to purge this world. In the mean time, we're going to have to bear with this suffering that comes from it and to see God use us to win people to Christ. Also, along with that, let's have a deep compassion for those that are lost, let's weep for them. Let's not feel superior to them. Let's, like Paul says, "I have a great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart." And Jesus wept over Jerusalem. So ask God to make you a little less annoyed with the weeds, a little less irritated by them, and instead pray for them. Paul says in 2 Timothy 2, "I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvations in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." You know what it is? The elect are surrounded by un-elect. The wheat that hasn't been converted yet, they're surrounded by weeds that are going to pound you as you try to reach the elect. Even the elect themselves are going to treat you badly until they're finally converted. I did the same myself. They're going to beat you up while you're rescuing them from the lagoon. You're going to swim out there, and they're going to beat you up the whole way as you drag them to safety. And then they're going to cry and thank you. But that's what happens. This is the price we pay for being evangelistically fruitful in this world. Thirdly, a warning to leaders, to watchmen, be faithful. Elders, especially I want to say a word to you who are elders in this church, let us not be anything like the watchmen that are described in this chapter. Do not live for your stomach, do not live for pleasure, do not live for temporary things. I call on me and others to live up to the holiness that this passage talks about. We ought to keep watch over ourselves and the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made us overseers. Richard Baxter in his reform pastor said this, "Take heed to yourselves, lest you live in those sins that you preach against in others. Lest you be guilty of that which daily you condemn. Will you preach God's laws and yet willfully break them? If sin be evil, then why do you live in it? And if it be not, then why do you dissuade men from it? If sin be dangerous, then how dare you venture on it? And if it be not, then why do you tell men so? If God's threatenings be true, then why do you not fear them? And if they be false, then why do you needlessly trouble men with them and put them into such frights without a cause?" So that's just a warning to all of us who are elders and leaders in spiritual positions in the church, not just in this church, but in any church. I also want to give a similar warning to political leaders. God is going to hold political leaders, senators, congressmen, presidents, elected officials to account for what they did with their position of authority. And if they used their position to hinder the work of God, God is going to judge them. Finally, a word for missions. Verse seven says, "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." I yearn for this church to be on fire for evangelism and missions. That we would be a house of prayer for all nations, for the spread of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. I especially call on home fellowships. When you meet tonight in your home fellowships, be certain you pray for missionaries, be certain you pray for unreached people groups, that you keep your heart extended to the ends of the Earth, where Jesus has believers who have not yet been converted. Move your heart out there in prayer. My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. Close with me in prayer.

Today is Friday November 20, 2015Friday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time A Reading from First Macabees 1 Mc 4:36-37, 52-59 Then said Judas and his brothers, "Behold, our enemies are crushed; let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it." So all the army assembled and they went up to Mount Zion. Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighth year, they rose and offered sacrifice, as the law directs, on the new altar of burnt offering which they had built. At the very season and on the very day that the Gentiles had profaned it, it was dedicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals. All the people fell on their faces and worshiped and blessed Heaven, who had prospered them. So they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days, and offered burnt offerings with gladness; they offered a sacrifice of deliverance and praise. They decorated the front of the temple with golden crowns and small shields; they restored the gates and the chambers for the priests, and furnished them with doors. There was very great gladness among the people, and the reproach of the Gentiles was removed. Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of dedication of the altar should be observed with gladness and joy for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev. The Word of the Lord. ====================== The Responsorial is from First Chronicles 1 Chronicles 29:10bcd, 11abc, 11d-12a, 12bcd R. We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.“Blessed may you be, O LORD,God of Israel our father,from eternity to eternity.” R. We praise your glorious name, O mighty God. “Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power,majesty, splendor, and glory.For all in heaven and on earth is yours.” R. We praise your glorious name, O mighty God. “Yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty;you are exalted as head over all.Riches and honor are from you.” R. We praise your glorious name, O mighty God. “You have dominion over all,In your hand are power and might;it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all.” R. We praise your glorious name, O mighty God. ===================== A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke Lk 19:45-48 And Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, [46] saying to them, "It is written, `My house shall be a house of prayer'; but you have made it a den of robbers." And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people sought to destroy him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people hung upon his words. The Gospel of the Lord.

I. Introduction: It’s a Wonderful Life When I was a college student at MIT, there were a lot of courses that were just crushing burdens, the kind of courses that you just hope to survive, and you think you might not get through. And then there were other courses. They weren't called underwater basket weaving, but close, alright. And one of my favorites was a course on American cinema. I got to watch movies for college credit, and I will never forget this December evening. I went to the place where we watched them and I saw for the first time what became one of my favorite movies, and that is, It's a Wonderful Life. Now it's on every year at Christmas time. I'm sure you've seen it with Jimmy Stewart, George Bailey, the American hometown hero, who doesn't like his life working at The Bailey Building and Loan, and wish that he could have done more, could have gone, traveled, seen great things… And he reaches a crisis in his life where he just doesn't see any value, any worth whatsoever in his life. And a crisis comes where he might be facing prison for something he didn't do. And he wants to throw it all away and dive in over a bridge into the water. Now I'm not vouching for the theological precision of this movie. You understand that. But at that point God sends Clarence the angel to come and help him. Alright, and Clarence comes and basically Clarence mission is to try to convince him that his life was worthwhile, and at one point Jimmy Stewart says, "Well, I guess you're right. It wouldn't be better for me to kill myself. I wish I'd never been born." And then somehow he gets to see what life was like if he had never been born, and it's absolutely chilling to him and there comes a point where people he's loved, the people that he's been with don't know him, don't recognize... His own wife runs away screaming from him, and he just wants it back, even as bad as it was, he wants it back, that he was living that same life again. And the lesson is very clear, the value and the worth of a single human life. And at the end of the movie, the climax comes after he wants to live again even as bad as it was, and God enables him to step back into that tough situation. The door of his home opens and friends come flooding in the door, bring in money to try to pay for that which was lost and free him from the burden so that he won't have to go to prison. And it's just streaming in and it's just a tremendous climax of friendship. And he sees a book on the tree, and he opens it up and there's an inscription there and it's from Clarence the angel. Remember, I did not vouch for the theological precision of this movie, but there it is. There's an inscription from Clarence the angel and says, "Remember, George, no man is a failure who has friends." Now as I come to Romans 16, and you may wonder, is our pastor really going to preach an expositional sermon from these greetings? Can it really be done? Well, yes, it can, I hope. We'll find out over the next half hour or so, but yes, I think it can be done. And what I get out of this is I look at name after name, and I want you to go up and encourage Ryan after the service, this man did yeoman duty standing up and pronouncing all of those proper nouns one after the other. So let's go and encourage the dear brother, thank you for your courage. Alright. But these are friends in the ministry of the apostle Paul. He lists no less than 27 people by name. Verses 21-23, there are some that are greeting back the church at Rome, and they want to be remembered. And so there are people that Paul wants to greet, and then there's people around Paul there in Corinth where he wrote the letter and they want to greet their friends in the church at Rome. And it's amazing insight into first century church life and the preciousness of friends in Christ. And I'll tell you this, the Gospel is a treasure trove. You just open up the box, and there's just one rare and beautiful gem and treasure after another. The greatest is reconciliation with God through the blood of Jesus Christ. All of our sins forgiven, we saw Tommy testifying to the value of that to him through water baptism, all of our sins forgiven. And then it just flows from there, a new nature transform within a heart of stone taken out a heart of flesh, given in. We have the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have adoption into the very family of God, we have a gloriously bright future, and every day, every toilsome and suffering day in this world brings us closer and closer to that. The future is gloriously bright, but along with all of that, we have brothers and sisters in Christ who make the journey with us, and that is precious, it's unspeakably precious. And in the end we will get to look each other in the face when we are done being glorified, and we will just smile and with joy we will say, "God did it. God saved us. He brought us through that toilsome journey and look where we are now." In the meantime, we have each other. We can look at each other, and we can encourage one another and they can encourage us. And that's what I see in these verses today. II. Commending Phoebe and Properly Valuing Women’s Ministry Now I just like to draw out some themes. I'd like to look at the names, look at some of the details of those things that are said about these folks, and try to learn some things together. We're not going to exhaust this passage, we're not going to understand everything, but there's some good things that we can learn. And we begin with this woman Phoebe, as Paul commends this woman Phoebe. And throughout these verses we see him valuing the ministry of women. It's really quite a remarkable thing. I think this may have been the most precious letter delivery in history. Can you imagine being entrusted with the only copy of the Book of Romans ever? Tertius wrote it down. We learned later on that he was his secretary in effect, we think perhaps Paul's eyesight wasn't good enough, and so he dictated the letter and there is Tertius. He's the one who actually wrote the letter, but after it was written, it seems entrusted to this woman Phoebe, and she was going to carry it to Rome. Now why do commentators think that Phoebe carried the letter? Well, it's because she's placed first in this chapter, the first and the greetings and it could be she's the very one who's standing there, having handed the letter over to the leaders of the church at Rome. And so he's writing basically a letter of commendation for the messenger, for Phoebe and it says there in verse 1, "I commend to you, our sister Phoebe, a servant to the church at Cenchreae." Now this word commend is an official term, it literally means, I stand alongside her, she's in effect standing in my place in handing this letter over. And it also could mean I demonstrate her worthiness. Now frequently in the ancient world, letters of introduction had to be written so that people who had never seen another person by face would know who this individual was and would treat them properly. This was the days before the lightning quick communication that we're used to through email and text messaging and all that kind of thing. And it's to the point with virtual conferences, you can have a relationship with somebody you've never seen and never we'll see, but you know what their faces look like. You could know it the next day if somebody does some significant issue in history or in the news, you know what their face looks right away, looks like right away. But these folks they had to have letters of recommendation. So we see this whole issue in 2 Corinthians, chapter 3:1, there, the apostle Paul says, "Are we beginning to commend ourselves again, or do we need like some people letters of recommendation to you or from you?" So we're talking there about the issue of a letter of recommendation, again, in connection with the big offering that was being taken among the Gentile churches for the Jewish believers in Judea. In 1 Corinthians 16:3, Paul says, "When I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem." So it seems to me that Paul is here writing a letter of introduction for Phoebe, in effect, so that they will accept this letter as from the apostle Paul. It seems to me, I think, reading between the lines, that Phoebe was a wealthy woman, more on that in a moment, and she was planning on going to Rome. Paul perhaps heard about that and wanted to take advantage of it. And so he sat down to write the book of Romans, and what a good use of time that was. I don't know how long it was that Phoebe was going to leave, but he made a good use of his time. She, Phoebe, was from the city of Cenchreae, which is very close to Corinth. Corinth is across a very, very narrow isthmus of land and Cenchreae is just on the other side, it's the port city on the other side of Corinth, and that's where Phoebe was. It could be that that church at Corinth planted the church at Cenchreae and Phoebe was a member there. Therefore, she was entrusted with the most precious letter delivery in history. I can't recount to you all of the people whose lives have been transformed by this book of Romans. How many people will be in heaven because they say they read or heard a message preached from the Book of Romans? We know Martin Luther was one of them. His soul was transformed, his soul was saved by Romans 1:17, The righteousness from God, that is simply by faith, he read about it in the book of Romans. Imagine being Phoebe holding that letter as she boarded a ship perhaps, or traveled over land to Rome. If the ship had sunk in a storm, or if highwaymen had been able to strip her of her possessions and destroy the letter as of no value whatsoever to them, it would have been lost. But let me tell you something, God has sovereign power over the entire process of getting the Scripture to us. Isn't that marvelous? The same God that inspired the apostle to write it and guarded him from all error, was with Phoebe when she traveled to get it to the church. It was with the church when they read it and recognize it to be apostolic and authoritative, and then it was protected until they started to copy it, and it was protected through all the centuries that they copied it by hand, until finally in the 15th century, the printing press was developed and they could mass produce them. And now there are literally millions and millions of copies of this letter. God sovereignly watch over all of it, and now we have it today. Phoebe: A Remarkable Woman Well, who is this woman, Phoebe? She's a remarkable woman. But I will say this, apart from this one mention here in Romans 16, we know nothing else about her, and that's going to be true of many people in Romans 16. We have no other information about Phoebe than what we have here in this account. Paul clearly has admiration for her, he calls her our sister, so she's part of the family of God, she's a believer in Christ, and we're going to see later in the message the tender affection that Paul has for every member of the body of Christ. But he calls her sister, but he also calls her, and a literal translation would be a servant of the church at Cenchreae. Now whether this means more than servant we'll talk about it in a moment, but at least it means that she has taken up the role of a servant to Jesus Christ. Remember that Jesus commended this role as the highest that we can do in this life. The best thing we could ever do and be in this world is a servant of Jesus Christ. It says in Matthew 23:11, "The greatest among you will be your servant." And so servanthood is of the essence of our Christian faith. Now, Paul asked the church at Rome to receive her well and to take care of her needs. Look at verse two, I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and to give her any help she may need from you. Now saints should be receiving each other gladly, and we should be helping each other in each other's journey, and Christ will never forget anything you do to help a brother or sister in Christ along in their heavenly journey. To speed them along in making progress in Christ, in the internal journey of sanctification growing in grace becoming more like Jesus, in the external journey of worldwide evangelization, all of you that came and stood around us a moment ago and prayed. And all of those of you that prayed from the pew, you helped us in our journey and God will never forget. And so he wants the church to help this woman in her journey and to receive her well. This is especially so back then and the fact that there were no hotel chains, there was no Motel 6, no place to spend the night except a network of friends and contacts, and then some irreputable places that you really probably wouldn't want to be for the evening. And so he wanted them to show her hospitality and to care for her needs, and why? Well, because of her past ministry. It says in the NIV, she has been a great help to many people including me. The word great help, comes from the Greek word which means a patroness to some degree. My take on Phoebe is that she was a wealthy business woman, perhaps in the pattern of Lydia, who made a great deal of money dealing in purple cloth in Thyatira, that's Lydia. We don't know how Phoebe may have gotten her money, but I think that she was probably in some way a financial patroness to the apostle Paul. And we see the exact same thing in the life of Jesus in Luke chapter 8, verse 1 and following, it says, "After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna, the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means." So here's a group of women around Jesus, kind of funding and supporting him as he goes about his work of preaching the good news. And I think that it probably was that Phoebe was this kind of a patroness. Now the question is in front of us, was she a deaconess? Some of the translations will give us perhaps deaconess as one of the possible translations for this Greek word. Now, the Greek word translated here is diakonon, and you can hear the similarity between diakonon and deacon. Frankly, the deacons themselves were simply servants. The word originally meant table waiter. For example, in John chapter 2, when Jesus changes the water into wine, it says there that the headmaster didn't know where the wine had come from, but the servants who waited the tables, they did. It's the same word. So these are just table waiters, but it's a term of honor, isn't it? To be a servant of Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 20, "Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave, just as the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Frankly, this exact same word, and I mean to the letter, to the Greek letter right across, this exact same word is used of Jesus. If you look back one chapter in Romans 15:8, it says there, "For I tell you that Christ has become a servant to the Jews on behalf of God's truth to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs…" A servant, it's diakonon, the exact same word. Now, I would say no one is arguing that Jesus was a deaconess, certainly. They may be arguing that he was a servant of some sort. So the term servant can apply to any Christian at any time, and I might say to you that if the only evidence we had for deaconesses in the early church life is Romans 16:1, it's very scanty. However, in 1 Timothy 3, in a chapter on deacons where there's more extended treatment, there is some scriptural evidence that women were to be deacons. They just were not to have authority or leadership over men in the very previous chapter, in 1 Timothy 2, Paul says, "I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man, she must be silent." But in the very next chapter, there's a section on elders and then on deacons, and as he's going through the section on deacons, suddenly there's some descriptions to women or to the wives, some translations go with wives and some with women. It may very well be that some women were identified in some way, and they would minister to the needs of the poor, they would instruct younger women on how to respect their husbands according to Titus 2, so the Gospel might be adorned, etcetera, and it may be that they held that role. Others see exegetical reasons for saying no even then they were not identified deaconesses. So, I really, bottom line, don't know. Here I stand in front of you and I say that I don't know if Phoebe was a deaconess. But it's okay because you know what? I think throughout this chapter we see the value and worth of the ministry of women, and we're going to see that I think very, very plainly. I see also that there are good reasons for accepting either way. So I don't reject evangelical churches that established male leadership according to 1 Timothy 2, but have women deaconesses doing other types of serving ministries. I don't think that's wrong. I respect those churches that say we can't see that in the text. I respect those things as well. The Ministry of Women in Romans 16 Now concerning women's ministry, we see it throughout this whole section in Romans 16. Look in verse 6 of how sweetly Paul speaks of maybe seven or perhaps even eight women that are mentioned and commended for their service to the Gospel and to the church. Look at verse 6, it says, "Greet Mary who worked very hard for you." And then verse 12-13, "Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord." Well, those are beautiful names, aren't they? If you're going to have a daughter, consider that, Tryphena and Tryphosa. They may have been twins, actually, sisters, we don't know for sure. The names mean dainty and delicate. So you've got dainty and delicate. Imagine having twin girls and one of them is dainty and the other one's delicate. But at any rate, these women were hard workers for the Gospel. Paul thinks very highly of them. And then here's this woman "Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord." And then we get Rufus, "Rufus, chosen in the Lord and his mother, who's been a mother to me, too." More on that in a moment. And then in verse 15, "Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister…" by the way, if there's any difference in my pronunciation, from Ryan's, Ryan is right and I'm wrong, okay. But anyway, I'm going to take my crack at these names and do the best I can, and "Olympus and all the saints with them." Bottom line is Paul was delighted, delighted to do the work of the Gospel and the ministry with many women as he commends here. He's delighted to have sisters in Christ as friends and co-laborers in the Gospel. Based on Romans 16 alone, it is obvious that women have amazingly vital and wide-ranging ministries that are indispensable to the life of the church. That's what I get out of Romans 16. III. Some Lessons from the Greetings Now, there's some other lessons in these greetings that I like to pull out. Again, we're not going to get them all, but let's just look at some aspects of early church life from these greetings. The Richness of Devoted Friendships The first I get as I began with the message today is the value of devoted friendships. People measure wealth in different ways, don't they? You can measure wealth financially, the amount of gold that you might have bought over the last number of years, or bonds, or stocks, perhaps in real estate or in some other holdings. You could measure your wealth and finances. Some people measure their wealth in terms of knowledge, maybe academic degrees, one degree after another from a good institution. Or, perhaps some people measure it in terms of experience, maybe work experience, the ability to switch out an engine in a car, which is quite amazing to me, or to re-decorate a bathroom, which is more amazing to me than it ever was before I did or tried to do mine. So experiences, wealth of experiences, or saying, "I laid on a beach in Tahiti and I was at Rio during the festival down there. I have been and walked along the Rive Gauche, Paris, or I've taken a cruise along the Alaskan shoreline. Been there and done that." Rich in experiences, etcetera. Brothers and sisters in Christ, if you're a Christian, you are rich in friends, you never need to be lonely in the Gospel. You have brothers and sisters in Christ around the world and right here in this very room, who are deeply devoted people and who could be your friend. If you're feeling lonely reach out to them. There is no reason ever to feel lonely in the Christian life. And many of you can say, with me, that my Christian friends, my Christian brothers and sisters are some of God's richest blessings to me in my daily life. So we see the richness of devoted friendships here, and we've seen it throughout in the life of the Apostle Paul. Time forbids me from going through this, but in the Book of Acts, in chapter 20 and 21, one group after another is weeping with Paul, kneeling on a beach to pray with him, urging him not to go to Jerusalem, because he's going to get arrested there. And when he's determined to go, then they say, "The Lord's will be done." And they put their arms around and pray. We see Paul drawing from people tears and love and commitment because they saw from him the same level of commitment that he gave to them everything he had. He stayed up late at night counseling with them or praying with them, pouring into their lives and building them up in Christ, and so we see that friendship. The Family of God We also see, secondly, the theme of the family of God. Paul uses a lot of family language and there's three different senses of family here. First, we get Paul's own relatives. Now, the word is translated in some cases, kinsmen, but I actually think Paul is talking about his extended family here. I respect those that think he's just talking about other Jews, but I think he is actually talking about family members, because he mentions them by name. He says, "So and so, my kinsmen or my relative." So he's got his relatives. Look at verse 7, "Greet Andronicus and Junius, my relatives who have been in prison with me." And then again in verse 11, "Greet Herodion, my relative." So we see Paul's family and I think that... Can you imagine being family to Saul of Tarsus? And it says of Andronicus and Junius that they were in Christ before Paul was. So imagine praying for that troublemaker relative of ours, Saul of Tarsus, almost being ashamed that he's our relative. He's destroying the church. Imagine Andronicus and Junius getting down on their knees and praying for Saul, cousin Saul, or third cousin twice removed. I don't know he's a relative, but they would get down and pray that Saul would be converted. Imagine their joy when they heard what had happened on the road to Damascus, tears of joy at answered prayer over family members. We see also Paul's used more generally and spiritually of the idea of the family of faith, that when you're a Christian you're in a family. Look what he says in verse 13, "Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too." Now, Rufus is a fascinating individual. If you were to look over in Mark 15:21, in the Gospel of Mark, Mark, most scholars believe was writing to the church of Rome, and he mentions a significant man at a significant moment in Jesus' life. Jesus is making his toil some way up the cross, up the hill carrying the cross. He's going to Calvary, he's going to Golgotha to die for our sins. And a man watching is pressed into duty, his name is Simon of Cyrene, he's pressed into duty to help Jesus carry the cross. Mark mentions parenthetically that Simon is the father of Alexander and Rufus. Now, he wouldn't have put that in, except that they would have known him. So I think that Rufus is the son of Simon, the very man who physically helped Jesus carry the cross at Golgotha. What that means is that Rufus' mother is Simon's wife. Now, what's the relationship to Paul? Well, I think no biological relationship. He's not saying, Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord and his mother, who is a mother to me, too." If he were write into his mother he would have said, "Hi, mom, it's your son. I'm fine. I'm eating my vegetables. I'll see you soon." There was nothing familiar like that. He's saying she's been a mother to me, it's like having a mother in the faith. And I can testify to the value of godly older men and women in my life who have been like that for me. It's such a rich thing. And then more horizontally brothers and sisters in Christ, etcetera. And to some degree, even other people's children feel like children of mine as well. So it's a sweet thing to be a member of the family of God. He also uses this common brother and sister language that speaks of our kinship in the family of God. When He says in Verse one, "I commend to you our sister, Phoebe." And then in verse 14, "Greet Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the other brothers with them." House Churches The final way that Paul uses family language, concerns household churches. In other words, churches that are meeting in people's households and Gospel having spread along household or family lines. May I say to you, the church growth flourishes best along family lines. History has born this out. More people have been brought to faith in Christ, by far, by parents than by any other category. More than by pastors, more than by friends, by college members, roommates, more than by missionaries and evangelists, more have been brought to faith in Christ by their mom and dad than by any other category of person. And may I stop and just say to you, if you're a parent of growing children, you have a weighty responsibility to share the Gospel of Christ to your children. You need to evangelize them. If they are new-borns, you need to bring them home from the hospital and share the Gospel with them. And keep sharing the Gospel and keep sharing the Gospel. May they say, "I never knew a time I didn't know Jesus. I never knew a time I didn't know that he had shed His blood on the cross for sinners like me. I never knew a time that I didn't need to repent and believe in Jesus, for the salvation of my soul." Never be derelict in your duty. Charles Spurgeon, talking about his own conversion, remembered specifically the time that he overheard his mother and she didn't know he was listening, but she's down on her knees praying for her children, and she said, "Lord, they have heard the Gospel from me and may it not be that I will have to stand up and bear swift witness against them if they continue in their sins." And as a child, loving his mother, he did not like that idea of his mother bearing witness against him, that she shared the Gospel boldly, with him, and he never repented. He remember specifically his mother putting her arms around his neck, and crying and praying, "Oh, that my son may live before thee." Oh parents, please share the Gospel with your children. Don't leave it to the Sunday school, don't leave it to the pastor, don't leave it to anybody, it's your responsibility. God will ask you on judgment day about your children. And after they've made a profession of faith, be sure that they're working out their salvation with fear and trembling, that they're making their calling and election sure. Do those things that will feed their souls, feed them in the Gospel. And so we see these house churches and we see the development there. The house churches developed along the family lines as well. Now, you may imagine and say, "What is a house church?" We're used to larger churches, big rooms like this. This sanctuary is built in 1927, and it is a benefit for us to have a place to meet, isn't it? Isn't it better to be here, especially when it's cold and rainy etcetera, to have the weather off of us? But the church is people, it's not a building, it's not a location. And many churches in the first century, they were house churches, and so we see these house churches. Look what he says here. We have an example of them in Priscilla and Aquila. Look at verse three through five, it says, "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I, but all the churches, the Gentiles are grateful to them." Look at verse five, "Greet also the church that meets at their house." So Priscilla and Aquila had a house church there in Rome. Well, what's amazing is, according to 1 Corinthians 16:19, when Priscilla Aquila were in Ephesus, in Asia Minor, they had a house church there too. Because it says there, "The churches in the province of Asia send you greeting. Greetings, Aquila and Priscilla. Greet you warmly in the Lord and so does the church that meets at their house." Oh, they were consistent people, weren't they? But their home was Rome, that's where they were at originally. And the Roman Emperor Claudius had driven all the Jews out of Rome. Well now apparently, they've been allowed to come back, and guess what they did when they got to Rome? They opened up their home in hospitality to have a house church. Now, we don't have so-called house churches here, but we do have home fellowships. And many brothers and sisters have been glad to use their gift of hospitality and open up their homes on Sunday evenings to these home fellowships. Are you involved in one? If you're involved in one, in a committed way, you will testify, can testify to the value of getting to know brothers and sisters in an unhurried and comfortable hospitable setting like that. Please be involved in those home fellowships. We see these house churches. Hard Work for the Lord We also see the issue of hard work, hard work. Look what he says here again, we've seen it in verse six and 12, "Greet Mary who worked very hard for you." Again in verse 12, "Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord." And then, "Greet my dear friend, Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord." But Paul himself can testify that he didn't leave the hard work just to women, but he himself was an incredibly hard worker in the Gospel. He says in 1 Corinthians 15:10, "By the grace of God, I am what I am. And His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was in me." You see, Paul was a tent-maker, and I think what he did was at night, late at night, he made tents for a living. And during the day, minister to God's people. He deprived himself of sleep. It says in 2 Corinthians 6:5, "In hard work, sleepless nights, and hunger." At the beginning of my ministry here, I wrote those three phrases or words across on a card and put it in front of me, at my computer terminal; hard work, sleepless nights, and hunger. That's a standard. I'm not saying I live up to it, I'm saying that's what Paul did. That's what he did to establish the church. How can we do any less? As you look at your own life, would you say that characterizes you in your service to Christ? Hard work, sleepless nights, and hunger. I yearn for that level of dedication in my life. We see hard work. So I say to you, it's not the lazy, but it's the diligent who are going to advance the church of Jesus Christ. So don't be lazy, but labor. Labor in the scripture, labor in prayer, labor in evangelism, labor in your spiritual gift ministry, labor for the Lord, fully convinced that your labor in the Lord is not in vain, but rather that God will remember all things and then he will cause it to flourish in the day of Christ Jesus. Affection Finally, I'd like you to look at affection. Note the affection that the Apostle Paul has for these people. He says, in verse five, "Greet my dear friend, Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia." What joy that must have brought him. It's brought me incredible joy to get to know, Tommy. It's just been a great joy. I wonder if Epaenetus was like that for Paul. The first one in Asia. What a close relationship that they must have had, what a close friendship. And then look at verse eight and following, "Greet Ampliatus, whom I love, in the Lord." You see his affection there. "Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ and my dear Stachys. Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ." And then verse 12, "Greet my dear friend, Persis." You see this sense of affection and he puts it in writing. Can I urge you, just very practically, take time to express your affection to each other. Write it down, write a note of encouragement to some brother or sister. Say, "Your ministry has blessed me hugely." Take the time to write it. Those things are precious and they're actually pretty rare that someone would take the time to speak words of encouragement. IV. Stories Left Untold Now brother and sisters, there are many stories left untold. And they need to be left untold because I need to be on a plane at 3:10. And I got a hurry out of here. I don't want to leave undone what I plan to do today, but there are lots of stories that cannot, really literally cannot be told by us, because frankly many of the names that are listed here in Romans 16, we don't know anything more about at all. Nothing. Some of the folks have little phrases after them or little identifiers and we know something, some of them are just... They're just listed, they're just names, we don't know anything about them at all. Have you ever read the genealogy, the First Chronicles, name after name after name? And you're like, "Why do I have to know all the descendants of the Gadites? Is there some reason I have to know these names?" And then just in honoring the Word of God, you think, "Well, God is not foolish. There must be a reason that there are so many names in the Bible of men and women." You have no idea who they are or what they did. I think there's a couple of things we get out of this. One is that, God is the loving historian, and you may not know any of their stories, but He knows all their stories. He knows what was the best day of their lives, He knows what the worst day of their lives was, He knows the day they came to faith in Christ, He knows what sins plagued them and how they struggle with them and how they overcame them. He remembers it all. If you wanted to say, "Lord, tell me about at Apelles. I want to know about him." He'll say, "Let me tell you about Apelles." And off you would go. What that means is that, everything we do in this life matters. The message of, "It's a Wonderful Life" is true. Our lives are significant, incredibly so. And even though you don't know somebody else's story, God does. And it's all been part of an intricate network that's brought us to this point. There are no insignificant human lives. People matter and so do their lives. Let me pick up on that and say, in four or five generations, if the Lord tarries, doesn't return, there might be as many as eight or nine billion people on the face of the earth walking around. I have no idea, but there might be. It might very well be that not one of those nine billion people will know anything about you at all. None. It might be. So therefore, can I urge you to invest in eternity? Can I urge you to invest in the record book of God, where He keeps a record of every cup of cold water that's given to one of the Lord's servants, every dollar given to serve and advance the Gospel, every prayer for those who have gone out to preach the Gospel. He remembers all of it. Invest in eternity, not in what your neighbors and co-workers and other people think of you, that doesn't matter. It's dust in the wind. Build an eternal legacy by living to God, and to God alone. And Paul writes here, secondly, this letter of commendation. I can't say anything more important to you than this. She took that letter. And if it is indeed a letter of recommendation or commendation from the Apostle Paul, on Phoebe, he was introducing her to the congregation of the assembly there at Rome. V. Application Can I say to you, not one of you, none of you will get into heaven without Christ commending you to the Father. If he doesn't commend you to the Father, you're not getting in. You won't be let in, you'll be stopped at the door. And so therefore, if you have come here today and Christ has never commended you by name to the Father, then you're on the outside looking in. Oh, come to Christ. It says in Romans 5:1-2, it says, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained introduction, commendation into this grace in which we now stand." Has Christ introduced you to the Heavenly Father, has he commanded you into the heavenly assembly by faith? Don't leave this place without trusting in Christ and having Christ commend you for the glory of God to the throne of God. Close with me in prayer.

Genealogies. . . What’s in a name(s)? Morning. Why don't you take your Bibles and turn to Genesis chapter 5. Let's take a look at what the scripture says in there. Now you say, "Wait a minute. This is a genealogy. What are we going to get out of this?" But we're going to find all kinds of things in here that will be useful to us, I trust. But the scripture says, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that we may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." And so, that includes Genesis 5 and God has something to say to us today through this. There's actually a great deal in here that is relevant to some of the struggles and the issues that the church is facing today. You personally may not face some of these things, but I think as we continue to look through this you'll see just how relevant this is. Now recently, scientists in Russia uncovered a frozen woolly mammoth, a little baby woolly mammoth. And they took it out and they took a portion of the tissue and sent it to University of Rochester for carbon 14 dating. And you know what, they came to the conclusion that that woolly mammoth had died 27,000 years ago. Well, you may just accept that and that's not really much of a problem for you. But if you were to go down, for example, to the Museum of Life and Science down here and start looking at some of the samples and the fossils and different things, you're going to see 1.3 million years on this one, 700,000 years on that one, and after a while, you begin to wonder how in the world does that line up with what we read here in Genesis? Especially if we're going to take a literal view of Genesis 1 as seven days. And then there's this careful listing of time here. How do we reconcile that? And furthermore, just in general, why does God take time to give this information, the genealogy. It's not just here, but in chapter 11 also. And then in Chronicles, there's long genealogies which have people that none of you or I have ever heard of, and yet here they are. They make it into scripture and it's a puzzlement to us as we look at it. Why would God take so much time to go through this? But I think we're going to see that as we contrast this with chapter 4, which we just went through, we see the development of God's redemptive plan even beginning here in this chapter. This genealogy makes it over into Luke chapter 3, into Jesus's genealogy as well. The end of all this is salvation for you and me. So why don't we take a minute and read through these verses and see what God has to say to us from them? I'm going to begin at chapter 4:25. It says there that “Adam lay with his wife again and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, ‘God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.’ Seth also had a son and he named him Enosh. At that time, men began to call on the name of the Lord.” Chapter 5. “This is the written account of Adam's line. When God created man, He made Him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them man. When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own image, in his own likeness, and he named him Seth. After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Adam lived 930 years and then he died. When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. And after he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether Seth lived 912 years and then he died. When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. And after he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether Enosh lived 905 years and then he died. When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. And after he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Kenan lived 910 years and then he died." "When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. And after he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Mahalalel lived 895 years and then he died. When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. And after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died. When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God and then he was no more because God took him away. When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. And after he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died. When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. He named him Noah, and said, 'He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.' After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died. After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth." The Long March Back This is, I believe, at the beginning of what we could call the long march back from the fall in the Garden of Eden, all the way back, ultimately, to redemption and to salvation. We see here, I think, the multiplication and also the division of the human race. Now, last week in Genesis 4, we saw Cain and his descendants, and I think they represent the seed of the serpent, those who will not obey God, those who will not follow God, those who scorn him or reject His ways. Like Lamech here at the end of chapter 4, who boasts that he killed a man for wounding him, and then says, "If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times." That boastful tyrant attitude that we see in Lamech, a whole development I believe in chapter 4 of the seed of the serpent. But then we also have the development of the seed of the woman, those who are godly, those who want to follow and to obey the Word of God, and Seth is the first step back in that regard. And so we see both the multiplication of the human race through this genealogy and also the division of the human race into two tracks: those who will obey, who will believe, who will follow, and those who simply will not. Seth — The Beginning of the Godly Line So Seth was the first step back. He was able Abel's replacement, as it says in verse 25, "Eve named him Seth and said, 'God has granted me another child in the place of Abel since Cain killed him.'" She was grieved over the death of Abel, and so God replaced him and she named him Seth. Now she, still searching as they all were, all the believers, for the serpent slayer, the one who would come and crush the head of the serpent. Little did she know how much human history would have to go before that serpent slayer would come. But she's still hopeful and she's looking for someone who's going to replace Abel. Now, Seth was included, as I said, in Christ's genealogy, so she wasn't far wrong. She was just wrong in terms of the amount of time it would take. Seth was a godly step in the right direction. Now, as I said, Eve gave him the name, but you can see down in chapter 5:3, it says that Adam named him Seth, so both Adam and Eve got together on the name of the child. Now sometimes husbands and wives struggle over this. You know, you need to get a book or something to figure out the names. And maybe one or the other will capitulate or give in and what the name will be, but in this case Adam and Eve got together and they named him Seth. Now, it's significant because I said to you in chapter 2, that Adam's naming of the animals was significant, it shows a sense of authority and also his naming of his wife Eve, that she would someday be the mother of all living. But now here, the parents get together and they name their child. Now, there are exceptions in Scripture, for example, Jesus. Mary, and Joseph were not permitted to name Jesus. He was named by God the Father Himself. "You will give him the name Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins." But here, Adam and Eve together named Seth, and it shows their authority, the authority of parents over children. It says in Proverbs 6:20, "My son, keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching." So children are to submit to both their mother and their father, a sense of authority and training in the children, and we see that in the naming of Seth. Calling on the name of the Lord Now, it says also at the end of chapter 5, that, "At that time they began to call on the name of the Lord." Now, you know this is a very significant phrase in scripture, and very important. What does it mean to call on the name of the Lord? This is, I believe, the beginning of perhaps organized religion, organized, perhaps even sacrificial system, in calling on the name of the Lord. But we know from Romans chapter 10, that it is required for salvation. It says in Romans 10:13, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, will be saved." So what does it mean to call on the name of the Lord? It means to call on God as He has revealed Himself to us. To call on Him as He has revealed himself as a holy God, a righteous God who hates sin, but also a God who is working out His redemptive plan in history. Now, that plan had just gotten started at that point, but they were in faith coming together and they were calling in the name of the Lord. It also perhaps refers to deepening prayer, a deepening prayer life. To call on the name of the Lord means to pray. To seek Him in prayer. Now, all of us, we do not understand what kind of fellowship Adam and Eve had with God in the garden before the fall, just how close and how intimate they were with God, and that that has been lost through sin. And so this is an indication, I think of a separation between God and the human race at this point. You need to call on the name of the Lord. It says in Psalm 10:1, "Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why, O Lord, do you stand far off and why do you hide yourself in time of trouble?" Do any of you ever feel that way? That God is far off from you and that you need to call on him. And sometimes it seems as though he's not answering. Well, David in Psalm 10, gives that indication. It's the same here in chapter 4, as they're calling on the name of the Lord. They're yearning for Him to reveal Himself to them. Well, this sets the stage for the genealogies of chapter 5. They're beginning to call on the name of the Lord, Seth has been born, and at this point, in chapter 5, the author of Genesis steps aside and gives us this genealogy. I've told you before about verse 1, it says, "This is the written account of Adam's line." In the Hebrew language, this little phrase separates all the sections of the book of Genesis. It's a written account, or what came out from Adam's line. Now the question we have to ask is, why does God take time with these genealogies? What's the reason for it? Have you ever read the genealogy, the First Chronicles, for example? Have you ever memorized the genealogies of First Chronicles? Probably none of you have. Alright, the Jews actually did. They spend a lot of time memorizing genealogy, they're very important to them. Why the genealogies? I think the first lesson from the genealogies is that our faith, the Christian faith, is a historical faith. It matters to us what happened before. It matters to us that there were some that lived so many generations ago and did such and such a thing. It matters. It's significant. You know, I've mentioned before that liberal theologians say it really doesn't matter whatsoever if Jesus ever lived or not. It really doesn't matter whether He died on the cross. It doesn't matter whether He rose from the dead. It just matters how we respond to it, whether it does something inside us, gives meaning to our lives. Well, a true Christian will say that's totally false, because as the Apostle Paul said, "If Jesus Christ has not been raised from the dead, we are still in our sins." Historical events matter in the Christian faith and genealogies are one way that God tells us that. Also, it shows us the significance of a single human life. Your life means something. Now, it may be that your descendants, if the Lord doesn't return, five, six generations from now, won't even know your name. They won't know anything about you, but God knows, and everything you do is significant. Every decision you make is significant, good or bad. Everything is noted. It's all significant. And these genealogies, people you've never heard of, are very important to God because they're created in His image, and so He keeps a record of them. And it matters to Him that so and so lived so many years and had other sons and daughters. It matters to Him. And so it should give significance to you. If these people aren't significant to you, then why would your life be significant to somebody who came after? But it is significant and your life does matter because you are created in the image of God. Well, the third point of these genealogies, as I've mentioned, is God's creation and redemptive plan. His creation plan was that Adam and Eve should have children and should fill the Earth. They should multiply, and they should fill the earth and subdue it. That was His original plan. And remember that I connected that with another verse which says that, "The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." He wanted the whole globe filled with His image, and that was going to happen through biological processes where these, Adam and Eve, were to have children and they also were to have children. And so that was His original creation plan. But then sin came in and affected that plan greatly. It disturbed the plan. It started to tear it apart. And so God promised in Genesis 3 to work out a redemption plan, and He does it through the same means, through husbands and wives coming together and having children. Through ultimately, through those processes, Jesus Christ born of the flesh, born of a woman, but born also as the Son of God. And so His redemption plan worked out even through this genealogy. The Pattern of Genealogies Now, as you look at chapter 5, you can see very clearly a certain pattern of these genealogies. One person after the other handled about the same way. There are five elements or five common features to these genealogies, with some significant deviations, and we'll talk about those in a moment. But the first thing it says is that so and so lived so many years and became the father of such and such. In every case, it says that. And then secondly, it says, so and so lived so many years after becoming the father of such and such. It's not easy to do the so and sos and the such and such, I had to work on this, so it wouldn't get too confusing here. But then the third point is that they had other sons and daughters. And number four, that all the days or all the days of someone's years were so many years. In other words, they were so old when they died. And then the fifth feature is that every single one of them, save one, died. Those are the five common features. And there tends to be a sense of repetition here because I think the author is trying to focus on something, I'll talk to you about that in a moment, but there's a sense of repetition as this thing just moves on through. We also see the expansion of population here. It's really difficult to have any idea how many people were alive at the time of the flood. Really I have no idea. But it says here that each of the people on this line, and this was just one of the lines because Adam had other sons, he had Cain for example, and Cain had some, and there were others, but we're following the godly line of Seth here. So this is just one genealogy, one line. And so we can sense that there may be an even an immense multiplication or expansion of population here. These people lived to 900, almost a thousand years, and they were bearing children well into that time. Adam bore his sons when he was 500 years old, and nothing's even mentioned about it. It's not even seen as significant. Now, later on, when Abraham and Sarah have a child in their old age at age 100, that scene is significant, age 90 for Sarah. But at this point, it's nothing for these people to have children at age 500. And so this points, I think, to a tremendous expansion of population. If each one of the people in this genealogy had the one son mentioned and then other sons, say three sons altogether and daughters, that's five at least, then we can imagine that probably there are far more than that with all the years that they could be alive. We're talking about an incredible expansion of population. And there was plenty of time for it too. There were 1656 years, if you count it up, from Adam to the flood, so the population may have been even in the billions. We have really have no idea when the flood came. It also points, as I said to this one godly line, in Seth in the midst of all the ungodliness. Can you imagine? And we'll get to this as we talk about the flood next week, where every thought and inclination of the heart was only evil all the time. And yet in the midst of this, God has this godly line growing up, protecting His chosen people. His godly remnant in the midst of an ungodly world. And we see that even now, even today. Even in our generation we see the same thing. God knows how to protect a spark, to protect His chosen ones through all of this ungodliness. And one after another gives birth, but the ratios, we really don't have any idea. How many people really loved the Lord? How many people really called in the name of the Lord? We don't really know. We already learned from the Sermon on the Mount that there's not many. Jesus said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it." So it was in the days of Noah as well. Development of human culture before the flood This godly line in the midst of a development of ungodliness. And also we can guess that there may have been a tremendous development of culture and of technology at this point. Last week, we looked at Tubal-Cain, the one who knew about metallurgy and the tool making and all that. Do you realize how inefficient death is for technology transfer? You probably never thought about that before, but you know, you get proficient in your field, in your career, and then you have to retire. And all that knowledge and all that experience you've accumulated, it's gone now. Why? Because of aging, because of death and you don't have time to transfer all that information to the next generation. They have to learn it themselves. But if you live into age 900, you can have quite a career, and there's incredible technology that grows. I mean, how would you like to work to age 900? Mandatory retirement at age 910 or 915, something like that. But this is the development here. And so again, I think we tend to think of these folks as backward, almost like cave-dwelling type people. I don't think there's any reason to see it that way. There was plenty of time for them to become proficient in what it was they did. Scientific problems: Age of the patriarchs; Age of the earth Now, all of this brings us to some scientific problems with this, and as Christians, we need to face this face on. We can't hide our head in the sand, we can't let the world run along, and the rest of us say, "Well, I think that the Earth is 6,000 years old." And really have no way to defend it. It makes us seem like fools, but we're not foolish. There's good reason to believe what the scripture simply says. There are two questions that faze us when we come to Genesis 5, and they both have to do with age, because this is a time chapter. The first is the age of the patriarchs. How in the world could these folks have lived almost a thousand years? We don't see anything like that today. And so doesn't that tend to make you question the scripture, say, "This doesn't seem possible. How can we have the patriarchs living to this old age?" And second of all, it brings us to the question on the age of the Earth. How old is the Earth and how old is the human race on the Earth? Well, let's take the first one. The age of the patriarchs. In order to answer this question, we have to understand what aging is, don't we? What is aging? And there's a lot of research that's going on in this, but as you look at it, it's kind of hard to figure it out, to understand why it is we age. We're eating the same foods, we're doing the same thing, and yet our capability just drops off with every decade. Why is that? Some people who do research on a genetic level say it has to do with radiation that comes and effects cell division and multiplication. Your body... I forget the... other than the nerve cells, the brain cells, it changes every X number of years, I don't know what that is, every six or seven years, you get a whole new body because the cells die and new cells are replaced. But if there's radiation from the sun coming in and affecting that, some problems start coming in, and that's called aging. And over the years, function decreases and that's because of the problems with this. And also we have the problem disease coming in and affecting. Disease spreading all over the earth and it affects you. You get sick, you get well again, but maybe you're never quite the same. It affects you. All of this affects aging. Now, I believe as you look back in those days before the flood, I think that the earth was significantly different in terms of its climate than it is now. I believe that there was a canopy of water from which all that water came, which now fills much of the oceans. All the water that flooded the earth to a depth of 20 meters over the highest mountain, that's a significant amount of water. Where did it come from? Well we'll talk about that next week. But the water came from underneath, but also it rained down from above, and I believe that there was a canopy of protection around the Earth which protected people from radiation at that point. And there also wasn't the development of disease, so it's quite possible that people could have lived after the flood, don't you see the ages dropping rapidly? Within a couple or three generations, four generations, you've got Abraham and he's dying at a much younger age than his ancestors did. And within a few generations after that, they're pretty much where we are in terms of the length of age. That's just one possibility in looking at the age of these patriarchs. The second is the issue of the age of the Earth. Now, back in the 17th century, an Irish Archbishop named James Ussher, came up with a chronology of the whole earth, and he said that he earth was formed in the year 4004 BC. I'm not hearing any laughing — you're supposed to be laughing right now, it's supposed to be a joke. I just said that the Earth was formed in the year 4004 BC. Well, if we filled this room with a bunch of scientists and others who do not love the Lord or the scriptures, there would have been laughter, that would have been a joke. But I'm glad it's not a punch line here at First Baptist. However, at the same time, can it be supported? How do we jive the 4004 BC date with what we're getting from science? Can they really be put together? Well, first of all James Ussher did is just add up what we've got here in chapter 5 and also chapter 11, and bring in some archeological data about when the exodus was and put the whole thing together. And I think if you were to do this same thing, you wouldn't get too much a different outcome that the earth was created. So it really comes down to a contest of whether the scripture is speaking accurately or whether science is speaking accurately about the age of the earth. Well, why then does science say that the Earth is four and a half billion years old, and that the universe is 15 billion years? Well, first of all, 6000 years is insufficient time for evolution, there's just not enough time. There is no way that we could have evolved from apes in 6000 years, no way, and they know that they need time. There's got to be plenty of time, it's the only wild card that they have. It's the only way the Carl Sagan can say over billions and billions of years, that these molecules kind of assemble themselves in ever increasing complexity. If they don't have time, then they don't have evolution. You've got to have time. Reliability of dating techniques Well, is there any scientific backup for it? There's only the way that they do what we call absolute dating in the earth, and with this, you look at radiometric dating and some other techniques. For example, when I began my sermon today, I talked about this baby woolly mammoth, they named it Bema, little Bema. We don't know how old Bema is, but they're saying 27,000 years. Well, what happened to that tissue sample? Well they took the tissue sample and they send it to University of Rochester, and the scientists there put it in a specially designed container, and they were able to read the radiation coming out of that from carbon 14. Now, all of you have radioactivity inside your bodies right now, I bet you didn't know that. You came here this morning with it, it's inside you. You know why? Because you're eating plants and you're eating things that eat plants, and through photosynthesis, carbon 14, which is created when radiation comes in and hits the atmosphere, it's created. You take it in your bodies and it starts to accumulate in your body over a period of time. Now, if you take a tissue sample from one of you, any of you want to give a tissue sample? They would be glad to take it and you'll add to scientific knowledge on carbon 14 dating. You can sign up for that. I don't have the information, but if you're interested, just ask and you can give a tissue sample, they know how much carbon 14 there is in your body. And what they figured out is, they say, if we can take a sample from Bema or from some other thing, and read the amount of carbon 14 in it. And then we realized that over a period of time, about 5600 years, it doubles or going back the other way, it gets cut in half, the number of carbon 14, it decays. It's gone. And so over a period of time, they can work back and they say, well, Bema was a baby mammoth of such and such a size at age such and such amount, so it should have had so much carbon 14 in it, we find that there's far less carbon 14 and the difference is how they add up the years. Well, they've made some incredible, significant assumptions here. First of all, they've assumed that things have always been the same, and none of us was here were they? A billion years ago? None of us. Now, these guys, they could compete a little when they live up to a thousand years, but we die at about 75, 80, 85 years old. That's all the information we have. We sure weren't around when Bema died, whenever that was, and we weren't around about 1.5 billion years ago either. So we have to make some scientific assumptions through the dating. And the assumption is that things have always been the same, and that all of us accumulate carbon 14 at about the same level. Now, they can't prove that. Nobody can. It's an assumption. Now, science is based on assumptions that are proved or not proved. The fact is they can't prove it. Now, let me say to you this, what if? What if there were a flood, and what if before the flood there was a big canopy around the earth. And what if under that canopy there was 3 or 5 or 10 or 500 times as much vegetation on the Earth as there is now, what then? Maybe all that carbon 14 would get spread out very thinly and Bema wouldn't take in as much carbon 14. We don't really have any way of knowing. So when you go to the Museum of Life and Science and it says 1.5 billion years or something like that, don't you believe it. You take your scripture and you read it simply and say, I have every good reason to believe this as much as a scientist does to make a leap of faith on his dating techniques. And the same goes for potassium-argon dating and all the uranium-lead dating. It's all the same thing. They assume that they know how much was there and how much is in the rock now. And it's all the same kind of technique. So you don't need to be ashamed. Just take the Bible and read it simply the way it's given to you, it's the word of God. Spiritual lessons from genealogy Now, I've had to do all that because I don't think we can keep our head in the sand any longer. I'd just like to go right to the spiritual lessons from Genesis 5, and there are some, but I think it's important for us to be able to hold our own and hold our heads up and say we don't need to be embarrassed any longer to say I believe that the earth was 6000 years old, and that the scripture is just the way God presented it. Now, on those spiritual lessons, I'm going to focus on three individuals from this. I'm going to look at Adam, I'm going to look at Enoch, and I'm going to look at Noah. Adam First, the lesson from Adam is simple, and that is that God keeps His promises. In this case we could say God keeps His warnings. He promised Adam that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that he would die. And Adam dies in this chapter because God said he would. Genesis 2:17, "You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die.” And then after he ate of it, he said, now it's done. Chapter 3:19, he says, “By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food until you return to the earth, since from it you were taken, for dust you are, and to dust you will return.” And here in this chapter, Adam returns to dust. He returns to dust. Now, Adam was the head of the whole human race. In verses 1 and 2 of this chapter, chapter 5, it says, “When God created man, He made them in the likeness of God, he created a male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them man.” Now, the word Adam is just the Hebrew for man, and basically saying that Adam was... This man was the head of the human race, and when he sinned, we all sinned in him. And so original sin, the doctrine of original sin comes in through that way, and any of you who have raised young children, you know that it's true, don't you? And any of you who have looked at your own life, you know it's true, don't you? Original sin, every single one of us has sin as soon as we understand right from wrong, as soon as we understand it, we sin. Sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men because all sinned. And it says in verse 3 of chapter 5, “When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image, and he named him Seth.” Why does it say that? Because Seth acquired that sin nature, it started right there, and then when Seth had a son, it was in his own image and on it gets passed. We are all under the sin because of Adam. And so David says in Psalm 51:5, “Surely I was sinful from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” That's the testimony of scripture. And the wages of sin is death, as Paul tells us, and we see that here in this chapter. Now, Jesus Christ came very plainly to overturn the death. And we see it in verse 8, verses 11-14, it says, “All together, Seth lived 912 years and then he died, altogether Enoch lived 905 years, and then he died. Altogether, Kenan lived 910 years and then he died. Altogether, Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died. Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died. Methuselah 969 years, and then he died. Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died.” Do you see that drone of death? And it surrounds us. Even now we have loved ones that we think of, that we miss and we feel weak in the face of death. What can we do about death? It's a terrible problem. And it's a spiritual issue that comes right out of chapter 5, and what are we going to do? Well, only the serpent slayer can answer that, Jesus Christ. It says in Hebrews 2:14, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death, he might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is the devil.” And free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. Hebrews 2:14 and following. That's a great section of Scripture. Jesus' death conquers death, and by His death we're not slaves to fear of death any longer, because there is life after death through Christ. Enoch 1 John 3:8 says the reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. And what was the devil's work? To bring death into the world, and so Jesus has done that, the serpent slayer. We praise God for that. And in the middle of this depressing drone, as we read verse after verse, we get a clear indication of God's intention don't we? With Enoch, Enoch, a shining star in the midst of all this darkness, we have Enoch, seventh from Noah, according to Jude, seventh from Noah. And so Jude upholds the accuracy of this genealogy, there's not big gaps in here. Jude says very plainly that Enoch lives seventh from Adam. And what does it say about Enoch? Verse 21, it says, “When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years, Enoch walked with God and then he was no more because God took him away.” This is evidence of God's grace. Death was conquered with Enoch, God just took him right to heaven without him having to pass through death. Praise the Lord. To some degree he's the first fruit, the clear indication of God's intention to overturn the curse of death because Enoch walked with God. Now, what does it mean to walk with God? It means daily communion, daily step-by-step obedience to God, a faithful walk with Him, through prayer through listening to God's commands and obey Him. And that was Enoch. This expression is used throughout scripture, it's used of Noah in Genesis 6:9, it says that Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God, and he walked with God. And then God appears to Abraham in Genesis 17:1 and says, “I am God almighty, walk before me and be blameless.” Walk before me. It means live every day, seven days a week, not just on Sundays. When you come to worship, alright, God sees it. He accepts your worship. But what do you do on Monday? What about Tuesday? What about 9 in the morning? What about 10 at night? Walk with God step-by-step. That's the way Enoch lived his life. Faithful obedience. God said the same thing to Israel in Deuteronomy 30:15-16, “See, I set before you today, life and prosperity, death and destruction for I command you to love your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands.” Walking step-by step in fellowship with Jesus Christ. We as Christians, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit, don't we? What a gift. And it says according to Galatians 5, since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Walk with the spirit. When he prompts you to do something, do it and you'll be like Enoch. I'm not promising that you'll miss out on death, it may be, if we're the final generation, you may well miss out on death. I tell you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we will all be changed. It's possible, but if the Lord tarries, you will have to suffer death. Hebrews 9:27 says, so he's appointed to each one of us to die once and then to face judgment. But for those who walk with God on earth, there is no condemnation. There is no condemnation, we don't have to stand under the guilt of our sin, but we're free forever. And so God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, and He sent the Holy Spirit. And why? So that we could walk as Enoch did. In Colossians 1:10, “We pray this in order that you walk worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way.” Colossians 2:6, so then just as you receive Christ Jesus as Lord continue to what? Walk in him, continue to walk in him. 1 John 1:7, “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” Now, what was Enoch's reward? I don't know what that must have been like. I don't know if he went up through the heavens. Elijah didn't die either, he went up in a chariot of fire, I don't know what Enoch's form of conveyance was, all I know is that according to Hebrews 11:5, they looked for him and couldn't find him. It says, “By faith, Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death. He could not be found for God had taken him away.” That means some people were looking for him. Now, I don't know if Tim LaHaye is right about that sudden rapture, that you're going to be pulled up out of your clothes or any of that kind of... How many of you read Left Behind? That secret rapture? You're going to leave your clothes behind and go up and... I don't know if that's... That detail I do not find in scripture. It's interesting to hypothesize about this kind of thing, but I know this, that Enoch was translated bodily up into heaven, and they couldn't find him. They were looking for him and couldn't find him. And I think that he did this as a gift to him, a gift to Enoch, to spare him from evil. Any of you who have ever lost a loved one, or if you're ever afraid of losing a loved one, you ought to write down Isaiah 57:1-2. Isaiah 57 are comforting verses, and you should read it and get the truth into your mind before you come to that point of grief. If you have a godly loved one and you wonder. . .Why did God take them? Isaiah 57 says plainly; “Devout men are taken away and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.” God says you've had enough evil, you've suffered enough, and he just takes Enoch out. So he doesn't have to suffer any longer. Of those who died in Isaiah 57:2, it says, “Those who walk uprightly,” there's that walking again. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace, they find rest as they lie in death. Isn't that comforting to know that a loved one who's walked with the Lord, they're free from other suffering. They're in peace because they walked with the Lord. Comfort yourself with that verse when the time comes. Noah And speaking of comfort, the third key individual here is Noah, and his name means comfort. When he was born, his father Lamech said He will comfort us from all the labor and the painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed. You know I did some calculations and apparently, Lamech was 56 years old when Adam died. Think about that. Lamech, Noah's father was 56 years old when Adam died. There's every good indication that Adam and Lamech knew each other and spent time talking together, and I bet you he got all this from Adam. He said, all this came because of our sin. Don't sin. Walk with God, obey Him. And so he names Noah and thinks about the curse that came through his ancestor, Adam. And he said through Noah will come this comfort because of the ground that God has cursed. Now, we're going to talk much about Noah over the next few weeks, so I'm not going to say much more about him today. Just that he was a godly man who walked with God and whose greatest form of comfort was his obedience to the commands and the warnings of God. And in that obedience, all of us, all of us find our survival. We were saved because of Noah's obedience, and in that way, we have comfort and salvation. Applications: Now, as we look at this chapter and we look at the things we've learned in it, there's some applications we can take from it. The first is simply this, as I mentioned earlier, your life is significant. God watches everything you do. Absolutely everything is written down in his books. He notes it all, it's all important. And it doesn't much matter whether later generations know your name. The overwhelming majority of people who have ever lived slip into obscurity within three, four, five generations. Nobody knows them, but God knows. And your life is significant because you're a child of God. Now it's significant, either for good or for ill, and the key thing is simply this, are you walking with God? Are you step-by-step walking in obedience to His commands? He has not been silent, He's told us what we are to do. Do you read these words as though they were your life? When you take them in, do you read them to obey? Are you walking in holiness? Are you walking in fellowship? Prayers of consecration. Moment by moment dependence. Are you walking with purpose? Ephesians 2:10, one of my favorite verses in all scripture says, “We are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them.” He's lined out a corridor of good works for you to do, walk in them, walk in them, just like Enoch did. And the final question I'd ask you is simply this, are you ready for death? Are you prepared? Today could be the last day of your life. I don't really have any way of knowing one way or the other. I've been to funerals and I've been involved in the lives of people at all different age categories. You don't really have any idea what is your final day. Be ready, be ready. And there is no way that you can be ready for death apart from faith in Jesus Christ. Some people say, “I don't fear death.” And as I listen to them, I say you should fear death. You should be very afraid of death because your soul is not saved. And if your soul is not saved, if your soul is not saved, you are under the wrath of God for every sin you've ever committed. Remember I told you your life is significant, every decision you've ever made has been noted. Come out from under the wrath of God through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. We're going to open up the altar in a few moments here. If you need salvation, come forward and give your life to Jesus Christ. Give yourself to Him. Jesus is the only salvation God has provided. The only freedom from death. He is your comfort in the face of death. If you would like to just simply come and kneel and pray, the altar is open for you to do that. Come and pray. If you'd like to come forward and become a member of the church, come and talk to us we'll let you know about that. Anything that you want to do about that please come forward.