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3 episodes with his ten commandments
3 episodes with his ten commandments
4 episodes with his ten commandments
2 episodes with his ten commandments
2 episodes with his ten commandments
4 episodes with his ten commandments
2 episodes with his ten commandments
Thoughts on the readings for February 11th (Exodus 21; Psalm 74; Mark 7)Exodus 21 covers laws about slaves (verses 1-32) and laws about the restitution (verses 33-36). Slavery was a part of the world from the beginning of time until recently. In some countries it still exists. Israel had just been delivered from two centuries of servitude in Egypt. There Israel were severely afflicted and cruelly abused. Yahweh would not suffer His people to treat others as they had been treated. Note the premise the Lord GOD of Israel used to preface His Ten Commandments; and indeed the basis of the entire Law of Moses (Exodus 20:2) – “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (ESV). Servitude was to be limited to 6 years and at the conclusion of this time the slave was totally free. All slaves were restored to their original family situation. The exception to this was the voluntary slave, who out of love for his master chose to continue in service. The token of this free will offering was the opening of the lobe of the slave's ear with an awl at the doorpost of the house, in which he had chosen to stay with and serve. Our minds go to the love of our Lord Jesus Christ for His Father. Our Lord chose perpetual service in the Father's house – Psalm 40:6; Isaiah 50:4-7; Hebrews 3:1-6 all quotes from the ESV. And to verse 14 additional regulations about slaves are outlined. Verse 15 restates the need for respect for father and mother. Verse 16 covers kidnapping. Verse 17 tells that our words to our parents must be respectful. From the 18th verse onwards are additional directions for the fair and just treatment of slaves; and the respectful dealings with those slaves. Abuse of slaves was abhorrent and there were penalties applied. The rules for slaves seems curious in that it talks of an ox' goring of a slave; but of course this was prophetic of the rulers of Israel and their savaging of Yahweh's servant (Psalm 22:12-13). The laws about restoration speak of respect for and proper behaviour towards one's neighbour and his possessions.Psalm 74 is a Maschil from the pen of Asaph, the Recorder, or Secretary, during the reign of king David. The Psalm is a call for God to arise and defend His cause. The psalm commences with a question as to why the LORD has not seemingly cast them off in His anger. The psalmist calls upon His God to remember what He has done for His people, His heritage in Zion. The Psalm appears to have been written after a period of trial for His people. The destruction of the Sanctuary may have referred to the Philistine destruction of the Tabernacle at Shiloh, when Samuel was a child. The Philistines disdained the God of Israel. In verse 11 the writer calls upon the Almighty to repay his foes. The psalmist relates God's past awesome deeds, such as His bringing His people safely through the Red Sea; His provision for Israel of water from the rock as His people wandered through the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land. God's might in His creative acts at the beginning are related in verses 16-17. The Psalm concluded with the request for God to arise, defend His heritage and vindicate the poor and needy. The Omnipotent Creator does this because He is a faithful God, who keeps Covenant.cont ... https://christadelphianvideo.org/thoughts-on-the-readings-for-february-11th-exodus-21-psalm-74-mark-7/
Exodus 21 covers laws about slaves (verses 1-32) and laws about the restitution (verses 33-36). Slavery was a part of the world from the beginning of time until recently. In some countries it still exists. Israel had just been delivered from two centuries of servitude in Egypt. There Israel were severely afflicted and cruelly abused. Yahweh would not suffer His people to treat others as they had been treated. Note the premise the Lord GOD of Israel used to preface His Ten Commandments; and indeed the basis of the entire Law of Moses (Exodus 20:2) – “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (ESV). Servitude was to be limited to 6 years and at the conclusion of this time the slave was totally free. All slaves were restored to their original family situation. The exception to this was the voluntary slave, who out of love for his master chose to continue in service. The token of this free will offering was the opening of the lobe of the slave's ear with an awl at the doorpost of the house, in which he had chosen to stay with and serve. Our minds go to the love of our Lord Jesus Christ for His Father. Our Lord chose perpetual service in the Father's house – Psalm 40:6; Isaiah 50:4-7; Hebrews 3:1-6 all quotes from the ESV. And to verse 14 additional regulations about slaves are outlined. Verse 15 restates the need for respect for father and mother. Verse 16 covers kidnapping. Verse 17 tells that our words to our parents must be respectful. From the 18th verse onwards are additional directions for the fair and just treatment of slaves; and the respectful dealings with those slaves. Abuse of slaves was abhorrent and there were penalties applied. The rules for slaves seems curious in that it talks of an ox' goring of a slave; but of course this was prophetic of the rulers of Israel and their savaging of Yahweh's servant (Psalm 22:12-13). The laws about restoration speak of respect for and proper behaviour towards one's neighbour and his possessions. Psalm 74 is a Maschil from the pen of Asaph, the Recorder, or Secretary, during the reign of king David. The Psalm is a call for God to arise and defend His cause. The psalm commences with a question as to why the LORD has not seemingly cast them off in His anger. The psalmist calls upon His God to remember what He has done for His people, His heritage in Zion. The Psalm appears to have been written after a period of trial for His people. The destruction of the Sanctuary may have referred to the Philistine destruction of the Tabernacle at Shiloh, when Samuel was a child. The Philistines disdained the God of Israel. In verse 11 the writer calls upon the Almighty to repay his foes. The psalmist relates God's past awesome deeds, such as His bringing His people safely through the Red Sea; His provision for Israel of water from the rock as His people wandered through the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land. God's might in His creative acts at the beginning are related in verses 16-17. The Psalm concluded with the request for God to arise, defend His heritage and vindicate the poor and needy. The Omnipotent Creator does this because He is a faithful God, who keeps Covenant. The 7th chapter of Mark contrasts worship that has been nullified by tradition, with true worship from the heart. The Pharisees found fault in Jesus' disciples who washed not after tradition. The Pharisees were noted for their elaborate ceremonies when washing: they washed so as to prevent water contaminated by dirt from contacting their hands. Our Lord used this to tell that this was symptomatic of the worship of that time. He spoke of the gross avoidance of responsibility contained in the 5th commandment by the ruse of Corban. Then he showed that defilement is a moral, not physical, matter. This originated in the mind. The record follows with the curing of the Syrophenician woman's daughter; made possible through her great faith, and the acknowledgment that Israel were God's chosen people. She illustrates the importance of being associated with God's covenant people and on the basis of her faithful confession she gratefully receives the crumbs that fall from the children's table. As Jesus says to the woman of the well at Sychar: “Salvation is from the Jews” John 4:22-26. The chapter concludes with the healing of a deaf and dumb man from the Decapolis.
Jeremiah was a terminal man for a terminal nation. Jesus Christ judges nations in time and history based upon obedience to or rebellion from the Ten Commandments. The blessing for obedience and the curses for departing from the Ten Commandments are found in Deuteronomy 28. The nation of Judah mocked any notion of a coming judgement, much as our nation does today. The destiny of the Great Whore, America, Lady Licentiousness, who abandoned Jesus Christ and His Ten Commandments for the fickleness of money, greed, ease and looseness: "After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated from his glory. 2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all the nations have fallen because of the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich from the excessive wealth of her luxury.” 4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues; 5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her offenses. 6 Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. 7 To the extent that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, to the same extent give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.' 8 For this reason in one day her plagues will come, plague and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong. Revelation 18:1-8 Fritz Berggren, PhD Bloodandfaith.com
How God Says He Loves Us: Part 3 -- The Covenant with Moses MESSAGE SUMMARY: Throughout human history, God has reached out to humans for a personal relationship and to express His love for humankind. We have a God that loves us so much, and God's love for us is expressed to us through His “covenants”. Also, God's “covenants” reveal to us His grace and faithfulness. In today's message, we will discuss God's Covenant with Moses. A “covenant” can be defined as an “oath or promise of God”. In a Biblical covenant: 1) God establishes the Covenant; 2) God always implies that “I am your God, and you are my people” – God desires a personal relationship with us; and 3) God sets the Covenant's terms and rulers. After God's Covenant with Abraham, his son Isaac became the recipient of God's blessings. Subsequently, Isaac had two sons. One of Isaac's sons was Jacob, and God changed Jacobs name to Israel. Jacob had twelve sons, and they evolved into the “Twelve Tribes of Israel”. In Genesis 37, the focus begins upon Isaac's son Joseph; and Genesis ends, in Genesis 50, with Joseph's death in Egypt. In Exodus 1, two hundred and fifty years have passed since the death of Joseph. During this time, God's people and the people of Egypt forgot about Joseph. God's people became fruitful and multiplied, but they forgot about God and God's Covenant with Abraham; and the people began to worship idols. Exodus 2 presents the birth of Moses., and Exodus 3 includes God's call to Moses and God's appearance to Moses through the burning bush. Since God had a blood covenant with His people, He sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to let His people leave Egypt. Pharaoh said “no”, so God sent nine plagues on the people of Egypt – nine chances for their Repentance. Since Pharaoh continued to say “no”, God sent the tenth plague on the people of Egypt – a plague of Judgement on the people of Egypt. After the Passover for His people in the Plague of Judgement, Pharaoh relented and let God's people leave Egypt. In Exodus 19, God's people wound up on Mount Sini, and God made the “Sini Covenant” with Moses in Exodus 19:4-6: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 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.”. In prior covenants, God did everything; but in this “Sini Covenant”, the people had obligations. God gives His Law, the Ten Commandments, to His people as God speaks directly to them in Exodus 20. The Glory of God, when He was speaking directly to His people, was too much for the people; and they feared a direct personal relationship with God, and they wanted Moses or an intermediary to speak to them for God – they rejected a personal relationship with God just has humans have been doing ever since. In Exodus 21, Exodus 22, and Exodus 23 (“The Book of the Covenant”), God takes His Ten Commandments and He applies the Ten Commandments to our everyday living. In Exodus 24:3,7-8, Moses takes God's Book of the Covenant to the people: “Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.' Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.' And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.'”. Deuteronomy 28 presents the “blessings” for the people if they adhere to their promises to God in the “Book of the Covenant”. On the other hand, Deuteronomy 28 lays out the “curses” for non-adherence to the Covenant. Within six weeks, God's people, who had said “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do”, had disobeyed and broken their Covenant with God. The disobedience of God's people is significant to us today because “it shows us what sin is”. “God is unconditional love” (1 John 4:16); and in this Covenant, God made plain to all of us “what sin is”. “We are made by God to be perfect mirrors of God's Agape love.” Our sin is our failure to act as the God of Agape love acts. Sin is our self-centeredness. “The opposite of love is not hate; sin is me.” The Ten Commandments are not negative; they are God's Agape love because they show us what a life of love and without sin and death does not include. Jesus tells us the most important Commandment in Mark 12:28-30: “'. . . Which commandment is the most important of all?' Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.'”. The people of Israel continued to mess up and sin, but they continued to sacrifice a lamb for their sin thinking that their sacrifice brought their lives of sin back into adherence with their Covenant. However, in both God's impatience with our sin and in His Agape love and His adherence to this Covenant, God sent the perfect Lamb as His and our sacrifice for our sin – Jesus the Christ. This old Covenant points to God's New Covenant – Jesus' death on the cross and His Resurrection. Have you asked Jesus into your life so that your sin is atoned? If not, then there is a blot between you and God. Remember, the God who made Covenant with Moses is Jesus of our Trinitarian God. TODAY'S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD'S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Genesis 3:15; Genesis 37:1-36; Genesis 39:1-23; Genesis 41:1-57; Genesis 42:1-38; Genesis 43:1-34; Genesis 44:1-34; Genesis 45:1-28; Genesis 46:1-34; Genesis 47:1-31; Genesis 50:1-26; Exodus 1:1-22; Exodus 2:1-25; Exodus 3:1-22; Exodus 19:3-11; Exodus 24:1-18; Deuteronomy 28:1-68; 1 John 4:16; Mark 12:29-30; A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “To Be a Jesus Follower, You Must First Enter the Only Door to God's Kingdom and that Door is Jesus – the Door to Eternal Life ”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
How God Says He Loves Us: Part 3 -- The Covenant with Moses MESSAGE SUMMARY: Throughout human history, God has reached out to humans for a personal relationship and to express His love for humankind. We have a God that loves us so much, and God's love for us is expressed to us through His “covenants”. Also, God's “covenants” reveal to us His grace and faithfulness. In today's message, we will discuss God's Covenant with Moses. A “covenant” can be defined as an “oath or promise of God”. In a Biblical covenant: 1) God establishes the Covenant; 2) God always implies that “I am your God, and you are my people” – God desires a personal relationship with us; and 3) God sets the Covenant's terms and rulers. After God's Covenant with Abraham, his son Isaac became the recipient of God's blessings. Subsequently, Isaac had two sons. One of Isaac's sons was Jacob, and God changed Jacobs name to Israel. Jacob had twelve sons, and they evolved into the “Twelve Tribes of Israel”. In Genesis 37, the focus begins upon Isaac's son Joseph; and Genesis ends, in Genesis 50, with Joseph's death in Egypt. In Exodus 1, two hundred and fifty years have passed since the death of Joseph. During this time, God's people and the people of Egypt forgot about Joseph. God's people became fruitful and multiplied, but they forgot about God and God's Covenant with Abraham; and the people began to worship idols. Exodus 2 presents the birth of Moses., and Exodus 3 includes God's call to Moses and God's appearance to Moses through the burning bush. Since God had a blood covenant with His people, He sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to let His people leave Egypt. Pharaoh said “no”, so God sent nine plagues on the people of Egypt – nine chances for their Repentance. Since Pharaoh continued to say “no”, God sent the tenth plague on the people of Egypt – a plague of Judgement on the people of Egypt. After the Passover for His people in the Plague of Judgement, Pharaoh relented and let God's people leave Egypt. In Exodus 19, God's people wound up on Mount Sini, and God made the “Sini Covenant” with Moses in Exodus 19:4-6: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 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.”. In prior covenants, God did everything; but in this “Sini Covenant”, the people had obligations. God gives His Law, the Ten Commandments, to His people as God speaks directly to them in Exodus 20. The Glory of God, when He was speaking directly to His people, was too much for the people; and they feared a direct personal relationship with God, and they wanted Moses or an intermediary to speak to them for God – they rejected a personal relationship with God just has humans have been doing ever since. In Exodus 21, Exodus 22, and Exodus 23 (“The Book of the Covenant”), God takes His Ten Commandments and He applies the Ten Commandments to our everyday living. In Exodus 24:3,7-8, Moses takes God's Book of the Covenant to the people: “Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.' Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.' And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.'”. Deuteronomy 28 presents the “blessings” for the people if they adhere to their promises to God in the “Book of the Covenant”. On the other hand, Deuteronomy 28 lays out the “curses” for non-adherence to the Covenant. Within six weeks, God's people, who had said “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do”, had disobeyed and broken their Covenant with God. The disobedience of God's people is significant to us today because “it shows us what sin is”. “God is unconditional love” (1 John 4:16); and in this Covenant, God made plain to all of us “what sin is”. “We are made by God to be perfect mirrors of God's Agape love.” Our sin is our failure to act as the God of Agape love acts. Sin is our self-centeredness. “The opposite of love is not hate; sin is me.” The Ten Commandments are not negative; they are God's Agape love because they show us what a life of love and without sin and death does not include. Jesus tells us the most important Commandment in Mark 12:28-30: “'. . . Which commandment is the most important of all?' Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.'”. The people of Israel continued to mess up and sin, but they continued to sacrifice a lamb for their sin thinking that their sacrifice brought their lives of sin back into adherence with their Covenant. However, in both God's impatience with our sin and in His Agape love and His adherence to this Covenant, God sent the perfect Lamb as His and our sacrifice for our sin – Jesus the Christ. This old Covenant points to God's New Covenant – Jesus' death on the cross and His Resurrection. Have you asked Jesus into your life so that your sin is atoned? If not, then there is a blot between you and God. Remember, the God who made Covenant with Moses is Jesus of our Trinitarian God. TODAY'S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD'S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Genesis 3:15; Genesis 37:1-36; Genesis 39:1-23; Genesis 41:1-57; Genesis 42:1-38; Genesis 43:1-34; Genesis 44:1-34; Genesis 45:1-28; Genesis 46:1-34; Genesis 47:1-31; Genesis 50:1-26; Exodus 1:1-22; Exodus 2:1-25; Exodus 3:1-22; Exodus 19:3-11; Exodus 24:1-18; Deuteronomy 28:1-68; 1 John 4:16; Mark 12:29-30; A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “To Be a Jesus Follower, You Must First Enter the Only Door to God's Kingdom and that Door is Jesus – the Door to Eternal Life ”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
In 2016, the Wellcome Foundation conducted the world's largest “Rest Test.” They surveyed 18,000 participants from 135 countries, asking them what activities they found to be restful. The top five answers were reading, spending time in nature, spending time alone, listening to music, and doing nothing in particular. We may demonstrate our love for God when we rest in Him. In Genesis 2:2, God rested on the seventh day after creating the world. In Exodus 16:23–30, God introduced the Sabbath to Israel through Moses, and He explained His expectations and provisions. The Sabbath was an opportunity for God's people to rest and trust. In Exodus 20:8–11, God included the Sabbath in His Ten Commandments as a holy day when God's people must refrain from work. In Mark 6:31, Jesus expressed His own need to rest. In His human frailty, He grew physically, relationally, and spiritually tired. He invited His closest disciples to join Him for a brief retreat on a boat. Their rest was short-lived, however. The crowds were waiting when the boat docked. Matthew 11 gives us an intimate prayer of Jesus and an invitation to rest. Jesus praises His Father, “Lord of heaven and earth,” for the way in which He revealed His salvation (v. 25). The gospel was beginning to divide those who believed from those who did not. Those who were wise in their own eyes did not understand what Jesus was teaching. They rejected Him because of their pride and self-sufficiency. In contrast, those who humbled themselves like children recognized their need and came to Him in humility and dependence. They were willing to listen and learn. Jesus invites the weary to rest: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me” (v. 29). In Jesus, we find rest. The rest Jesus provides is soul-deep.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the supernatural history of the book of Exodus, we are finally arriving at the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 20, Yahweh restates to His people, the Israelites, that He delivered them from the land of Egypt. Establishing Yahweh as the one true God and creator over the Egyptian gods - the territorial spirits. God presents His Ten Commandments to the Israelites, which are the foundations for God's relationship with His people. Yahweh instructs His people about the Sabbath and warns against constructing idles. We have more cosmic geography with Yahweh meeting Moses in Mount Sinai. Let's dive into Exodus 20! #TalesOfGlory #M16Ministries #AFieldGuideToSpiritualWarfare
In honor of the podcast's 100th episode, Jeanette opens up about the unexpected, monumental, and even terrifying decision she recently made for her life and her God-owned business as a result of her recent conversations with God. It is easy to lose sight of God's desire for us to slow down in the midst of our hectic daily routines. Some of us may regard rest as a lack of productivity, when in fact it is one of the gifts that God bestowed upon us from the beginning. He gave us the Sabbath to rest, renew, and refocus so that we could serve Him better. Jeanette talks about how God reminded her that she was not keeping one of His Ten Commandments.Tune in and be inspired as Jeanette puts her full trust in God, and even though she's scared, she will listen and OBEY, because that's what a good steward of God does. “God said: Look I need you to trust Me.”“So I am going to obey (God)... and to be quite honest with you, it scares me more than anything.”“Rest is not a form of absence; it's a form of renewal. It's a form of that fertile void where things start to grow on the inside.”“I know God is gonna show up cause He always does. I know God's gonna make this business His business, cause it already is. And when I submit and surrender the things that I love to God and give it to Him, He always makes them better.”In this episode:The importance of listening to God when He callsHow to be a good steward of God by obeying and trusting HimA reminder that rest is a gift from GodWhen you surrender things to God, He makes them betterMentioned in this episode:Prayers
How God Says He Loves Us: Part 3 -- The Covenant with Moses MESSAGE SUMMARY: Throughout human history, God has reached out to humans for a personal relationship and to express His love for humankind. We have a God that loves us so much, and God's love for us is expressed to us through His “covenants”. Also, God's “covenants” reveal to us His grace and faithfulness. In today's message, we will discuss God's Covenant with Moses. A “covenant” can be defined as an “oath or promise of God”. In a Biblical covenant: 1) God establishes the Covenant; 2) God always implies that “I am your God, and you are my people” – God desires a personal relationship with us; and 3) God sets the Covenant's terms and rulers. After God's Covenant with Abraham, his son Isaac became the recipient of God's blessings. Subsequently, Isaac had two sons. One of Isaac's sons was Jacob, and God changed Jacobs name to Israel. Jacob had twelve sons, and they evolved into the “Twelve Tribes of Israel”. In Genesis 37, the focus begins upon Isaac's son Joseph; and Genesis ends, in Genesis 50, with Joseph's death in Egypt. In Exodus 1, two hundred and fifty years have passed since the death of Joseph. During this time, God's people and the people of Egypt forgot about Joseph. God's people became fruitful and multiplied, but they forgot about God and God's Covenant with Abraham; and the people began to worship idols. Exodus 2 presents the birth of Moses., and Exodus 3 includes God's call to Moses and God's appearance to Moses through the burning bush. Since God had a blood covenant with His people, He sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to let His people leave Egypt. Pharaoh said “no”, so God sent nine plagues on the people of Egypt – nine chances for their Repentance. Since Pharaoh continued to say “no”, God sent the tenth plague on the people of Egypt – a plague of Judgement on the people of Egypt. After the Passover for His people in the Plague of Judgement, Pharaoh relented and let God's people leave Egypt. In Exodus 19, God's people wound up on Mount Sini, and God made the “Sini Covenant” with Moses in Exodus 19:4-6: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 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.”. In prior covenants, God did everything; but in this “Sini Covenant”, the people had obligations. God gives His Law, the Ten Commandments, to His people as God speaks directly to them in Exodus 20. The Glory of God, when He was speaking directly to His people, was too much for the people; and they feared a direct personal relationship with God, and they wanted Moses or an intermediary to speak to them for God – they rejected a personal relationship with God just has humans have been doing ever since. In Exodus 21, Exodus 22, and Exodus 23 (“The Book of the Covenant”), God takes His Ten Commandments and He applies the Ten Commandments to our everyday living. In Exodus 24:3,7-8, Moses takes God's Book of the Covenant to the people: “Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.' Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.' And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.'”. Deuteronomy 28 presents the “blessings” for the people if they adhere to their promises to God in the “Book of the Covenant”. On the other hand, Deuteronomy 28 lays out the “curses” for non-adherence to the Covenant. Within six weeks, God's people, who had said “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do”, had disobeyed and broken their Covenant with God. The disobedience of God's people is significant to us today because “it shows us what sin is”. “God is unconditional love” (1 John 4:16); and in this Covenant, God made plain to all of us “what sin is”. “We are made by God to be perfect mirrors of God's Agape love.” Our sin is our failure to act as the God of Agape love acts. Sin is our self-centeredness. “The opposite of love is not hate; sin is me.” The Ten Commandments are not negative; they are God's Agape love because they show us what a life of love and without sin and death does not include. Jesus tells us the most important Commandment in Mark 12:28-30: “'. . . Which commandment is the most important of all?' Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.'”. The people of Israel continued to mess up and sin, but they continued to sacrifice a lamb for their sin thinking that their sacrifice brought their lives of sin back into adherence with their Covenant. However, in both God's impatience with our sin and in His Agape love and His adherence to this Covenant, God sent the perfect Lamb as His and our sacrifice for our sin – Jesus the Christ. This old Covenant points to God's New Covenant – Jesus' death on the cross and His Resurrection. Have you asked Jesus into your life so that your sin is atoned? If not, then there is a blot between you and God. Remember, the God who made Covenant with Moses is Jesus of our Trinitarian God. TODAY'S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, IAM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Genesis 3:15; Genesis 37:1-36; Genesis 39:1-23; Genesis 41:1-57; Genesis 42:1-38; Genesis 43:1-34; Genesis 44:1-34; Genesis 45:1-28; Genesis 46:1-34; Genesis 47:1-31; Genesis 50:1-26; Exodus 1:1-22; Exodus 2:1-25; Exodus 3:1-22; Exodus 19:3-11; Exodus 24:1-18; Deuteronomy 28:1-68; 1 John 4:16; Mark 12:29-30; SCRIPTURE REFERENCE SEARCH: www.AWFTL.org/bible-search/ A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “Jesus Followers Should Fear, Respect, and Praise God's Power, Sovereignty, and Holiness; but in Life's Trials They Should “fear not for I {Jesus} am with you always””: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
How God Says He Loves Us: Part 3 -- The Covenant with Moses MESSAGE SUMMARY: Throughout human history, God has reached out to humans for a personal relationship and to express His love for humankind. We have a God that loves us so much, and God's love for us is expressed to us through His “covenants”. Also, God's “covenants” reveal to us His grace and faithfulness. In today's message, we will discuss God's Covenant with Moses. A “covenant” can be defined as an “oath or promise of God”. In a Biblical covenant: 1) God establishes the Covenant; 2) God always implies that “I am your God, and you are my people” – God desires a personal relationship with us; and 3) God sets the Covenant's terms and rulers. After God's Covenant with Abraham, his son Isaac became the recipient of God's blessings. Subsequently, Isaac had two sons. One of Isaac's sons was Jacob, and God changed Jacobs name to Israel. Jacob had twelve sons, and they evolved into the “Twelve Tribes of Israel”. In Genesis 37, the focus begins upon Isaac's son Joseph; and Genesis ends, in Genesis 50, with Joseph's death in Egypt. In Exodus 1, two hundred and fifty years have passed since the death of Joseph. During this time, God's people and the people of Egypt forgot about Joseph. God's people became fruitful and multiplied, but they forgot about God and God's Covenant with Abraham; and the people began to worship idols. Exodus 2 presents the birth of Moses., and Exodus 3 includes God's call to Moses and God's appearance to Moses through the burning bush. Since God had a blood covenant with His people, He sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to let His people leave Egypt. Pharaoh said “no”, so God sent nine plagues on the people of Egypt – nine chances for their Repentance. Since Pharaoh continued to say “no”, God sent the tenth plague on the people of Egypt – a plague of Judgement on the people of Egypt. After the Passover for His people in the Plague of Judgement, Pharaoh relented and let God's people leave Egypt. In Exodus 19, God's people wound up on Mount Sini, and God made the “Sini Covenant” with Moses in Exodus 19:4-6: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 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.”. In prior covenants, God did everything; but in this “Sini Covenant”, the people had obligations. God gives His Law, the Ten Commandments, to His people as God speaks directly to them in Exodus 20. The Glory of God, when He was speaking directly to His people, was too much for the people; and they feared a direct personal relationship with God, and they wanted Moses or an intermediary to speak to them for God – they rejected a personal relationship with God just has humans have been doing ever since. In Exodus 21, Exodus 22, and Exodus 23 (“The Book of the Covenant”), God takes His Ten Commandments and He applies the Ten Commandments to our everyday living. In Exodus 24:3,7-8, Moses takes God's Book of the Covenant to the people: “Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.' Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.' And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.'”. Deuteronomy 28 presents the “blessings” for the people if they adhere to their promises to God in the “Book of the Covenant”. On the other hand, Deuteronomy 28 lays out the “curses” for non-adherence to the Covenant. Within six weeks, God's people, who had said “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do”, had disobeyed and broken their Covenant with God. The disobedience of God's people is significant to us today because “it shows us what sin is”. “God is unconditional love” (1 John 4:16); and in this Covenant, God made plain to all of us “what sin is”. “We are made by God to be perfect mirrors of God's Agape love.” Our sin is our failure to act as the God of Agape love acts. Sin is our self-centeredness. “The opposite of love is not hate; sin is me.” The Ten Commandments are not negative; they are God's Agape love because they show us what a life of love and without sin and death does not include. Jesus tells us the most important Commandment in Mark 12:28-30: “'. . . Which commandment is the most important of all?' Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.'”. The people of Israel continued to mess up and sin, but they continued to sacrifice a lamb for their sin thinking that their sacrifice brought their lives of sin back into adherence with their Covenant. However, in both God's impatience with our sin and in His Agape love and His adherence to this Covenant, God sent the perfect Lamb as His and our sacrifice for our sin – Jesus the Christ. This old Covenant points to God's New Covenant – Jesus' death on the cross and His Resurrection. Have you asked Jesus into your life so that your sin is atoned? If not, then there is a blot between you and God. Remember, the God who made Covenant with Moses is Jesus of our Trinitarian God. TODAY'S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, IAM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Genesis 3:15; Genesis 37:1-36; Genesis 39:1-23; Genesis 41:1-57; Genesis 42:1-38; Genesis 43:1-34; Genesis 44:1-34; Genesis 45:1-28; Genesis 46:1-34; Genesis 47:1-31; Genesis 50:1-26; Exodus 1:1-22; Exodus 2:1-25; Exodus 3:1-22; Exodus 19:3-11; Exodus 24:1-18; Deuteronomy 28:1-68; 1 John 4:16; Mark 12:29-30; SCRIPTURE REFERENCE SEARCH: www.AWFTL.org/bible-search/ A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “Jesus Followers Should Fear, Respect, and Praise God's Power, Sovereignty, and Holiness; but in Life's Trials They Should “fear not for I {Jesus} am with you always””: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Before God declared His character to Moses in Exodus 34-6-7, He had publicly addressed His people in Exodus 20. He gave to the people His Ten Commandments which were a reflection of what His people were to be like reflecting His image. The second commandment forbid the making of idols because it distorts the image of God. God declared what He is like so that people would not confuse His image. The statement in this section is a prelude to what God will share with Moses that displays His glory. This sermon is a prequel to Exodus 34-6-7.
How God Says He Loves Us: Part 3 -- The Covenant with Moses Message Summary: Throughout human history, God has reached out to humans for a personal relationship and to express His love for humankind. We have a God that loves us so much, and God's love for us is expressed to us through His “covenants”. Also, God's “covenants” reveal to us His grace and faithfulness. In today's message, we will discuss God's Covenant with Moses. A “covenant” can be defined as an “oath or promise of God”. In a Biblical covenant: 1) God establishes the Covenant; 2) God always implies that “I am your God, and you are my people” – God desires a personal relationship with us; and 3) God sets the Covenant's terms and rulers. After God's Covenant with Abraham, his son Isaac became the recipient of God's blessings. Subsequently, Isaac had two sons. One of Isaac's sons was Jacob, and God changed Jacobs name to Israel. Jacob had twelve sons, and they evolved into the “Twelve Tribes of Israel”. In Genesis 37, the focus begins upon Isaac's son Joseph; and Genesis ends, in Genesis 50, with Joseph's death in Egypt. In Exodus 1, two hundred and fifty years have passed since the death of Joseph. During this time, God's people and the people of Egypt forgot about Joseph. God's people became fruitful and multiplied, but they forgot about God and God's Covenant with Abraham; and the people began to worship idols. Exodus 2 presents the birth of Moses., and Exodus 3 includes God's call to Moses and God's appearance to Moses through the burning bush. Since God had a blood covenant with His people, He sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to let His people leave Egypt. Pharaoh said “no”, so God sent nine plagues on the people of Egypt – nine chances for their Repentance. Since Pharaoh continued to say “no”, God sent the tenth plague on the people of Egypt – a plague of Judgement on the people of Egypt. After the Passover for His people in the Plague of Judgement, Pharaoh relented and let God's people leave Egypt. In Exodus 19, God's people wound up on Mount Sini, and God made the “Sini Covenant” with Moses in Exodus 19:4-6: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 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.”. In prior covenants, God did everything; but in this “Sini Covenant”, the people had obligations. God gives His Law, the Ten Commandments, to His people as God speaks directly to them in Exodus 20. The Glory of God, when He was speaking directly to His people, was too much for the people; and they feared a direct personal relationship with God, and they wanted Moses or an intermediary to speak to them for God – they rejected a personal relationship with God just has humans have been doing ever since. In Exodus 21, Exodus 22, and Exodus 23 (“The Book of the Covenant”), God takes His Ten Commandments and He applies the Ten Commandments to our everyday living. In Exodus 24:3,7-8, Moses takes God's Book of the Covenant to the people: “Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.' Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.' And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.'”. Deuteronomy 28 presents the “blessings” for the people if they adhere to their promises to God in the “Book of the Covenant”. On the other hand, Deuteronomy 28 lays out the “curses” for non-adherence to the Covenant. Within six weeks, God's people, who had said “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do”, had disobeyed and broken their Covenant with God. The disobedience of God's people is significant to us today because “it shows us what sin is”. “God is unconditional love” (1 John 4:16); and in this Covenant, God made plain to all of us “what sin is”. “We are made by God to be perfect mirrors of God's Agape love.” Our sin is our failure to act as the God of Agape love acts. Sin is our self-centeredness. “The opposite of love is not hate; sin is me.” The Ten Commandments are not negative; they are God's Agape love because they show us what a life of love and without sin and death does not include. Jesus tells us the most important Commandment in Mark 12:28-30: “'. . . Which commandment is the most important of all?' Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.'”. The people of Israel continued to mess up and sin, but they continued to sacrifice a lamb for their sin thinking that their sacrifice brought their lives of sin back into adherence with their Covenant. However, in both God's impatience with our sin and in His Agape love and His adherence to this Covenant, God sent the perfect Lamb as His and our sacrifice for our sin – Jesus the Christ. This old Covenant points to God's New Covenant – Jesus' death on the cross and His Resurrection. Have you asked Jesus into your life so that your sin is atoned? If not, then there is a blot between you and God. Remember, the God who made Covenant with Moses is Jesus of our Trinitarian God. TODAY'S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:13). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Genesis 3:15; Genesis 37:1-36; Genesis 39:1-23; Genesis 41:1-57; Genesis 42:1-38; Genesis 43:1-34; Genesis 44:1-34; Genesis 45:1-28; Genesis 46:1-34; Genesis 47:1-31; Genesis 50:1-26; Exodus 1:1-22; Exodus 2:1-25; Exodus 3:1-22; Exodus 19:3-11; Exodus 24:1-18; Deuteronomy 28:1-68; 1 John 4:16; Mark 12:29-30; A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “Your Sin Is Never Too Great so that You Are Lost to God's Salvation - “Return to Me {God}, and I Will Return to You””: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
How God Says He Loves Us: Part 3 -- The Covenant with Moses Message Summary: Throughout human history, God has reached out to humans for a personal relationship and to express His love for humankind. We have a God that loves us so much, and God's love for us is expressed to us through His “covenants”. Also, God's “covenants” reveal to us His grace and faithfulness. In today's message, we will discuss God's Covenant with Moses. A “covenant” can be defined as an “oath or promise of God”. In a Biblical covenant: 1) God establishes the Covenant; 2) God always implies that “I am your God, and you are my people” – God desires a personal relationship with us; and 3) God sets the Covenant's terms and rulers. After God's Covenant with Abraham, his son Isaac became the recipient of God's blessings. Subsequently, Isaac had two sons. One of Isaac's sons was Jacob, and God changed Jacobs name to Israel. Jacob had twelve sons, and they evolved into the “Twelve Tribes of Israel”. In Genesis 37, the focus begins upon Isaac's son Joseph; and Genesis ends, in Genesis 50, with Joseph's death in Egypt. In Exodus 1, two hundred and fifty years have passed since the death of Joseph. During this time, God's people and the people of Egypt forgot about Joseph. God's people became fruitful and multiplied, but they forgot about God and God's Covenant with Abraham; and the people began to worship idols. Exodus 2 presents the birth of Moses., and Exodus 3 includes God's call to Moses and God's appearance to Moses through the burning bush. Since God had a blood covenant with His people, He sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to let His people leave Egypt. Pharaoh said “no”, so God sent nine plagues on the people of Egypt – nine chances for their Repentance. Since Pharaoh continued to say “no”, God sent the tenth plague on the people of Egypt – a plague of Judgement on the people of Egypt. After the Passover for His people in the Plague of Judgement, Pharaoh relented and let God's people leave Egypt. In Exodus 19, God's people wound up on Mount Sini, and God made the “Sini Covenant” with Moses in Exodus 19:4-6: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 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.”. In prior covenants, God did everything; but in this “Sini Covenant”, the people had obligations. God gives His Law, the Ten Commandments, to His people as God speaks directly to them in Exodus 20. The Glory of God, when He was speaking directly to His people, was too much for the people; and they feared a direct personal relationship with God, and they wanted Moses or an intermediary to speak to them for God – they rejected a personal relationship with God just has humans have been doing ever since. In Exodus 21, Exodus 22, and Exodus 23 (“The Book of the Covenant”), God takes His Ten Commandments and He applies the Ten Commandments to our everyday living. In Exodus 24:3,7-8, Moses takes God's Book of the Covenant to the people: “Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.' Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.' And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.'”. Deuteronomy 28 presents the “blessings” for the people if they adhere to their promises to God in the “Book of the Covenant”. On the other hand, Deuteronomy 28 lays out the “curses” for non-adherence to the Covenant. Within six weeks, God's people, who had said “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do”, had disobeyed and broken their Covenant with God. The disobedience of God's people is significant to us today because “it shows us what sin is”. “God is unconditional love” (1 John 4:16); and in this Covenant, God made plain to all of us “what sin is”. “We are made by God to be perfect mirrors of God's Agape love.” Our sin is our failure to act as the God of Agape love acts. Sin is our self-centeredness. “The opposite of love is not hate; sin is me.” The Ten Commandments are not negative; they are God's Agape love because they show us what a life of love and without sin and death does not include. Jesus tells us the most important Commandment in Mark 12:28-30: “'. . . Which commandment is the most important of all?' Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.'”. The people of Israel continued to mess up and sin, but they continued to sacrifice a lamb for their sin thinking that their sacrifice brought their lives of sin back into adherence with their Covenant. However, in both God's impatience with our sin and in His Agape love and His adherence to this Covenant, God sent the perfect Lamb as His and our sacrifice for our sin – Jesus the Christ. This old Covenant points to God's New Covenant – Jesus' death on the cross and His Resurrection. Have you asked Jesus into your life so that your sin is atoned? If not, then there is a blot between you and God. Remember, the God who made Covenant with Moses is Jesus of our Trinitarian God. TODAY'S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:13). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Genesis 3:15; Genesis 37:1-36; Genesis 39:1-23; Genesis 41:1-57; Genesis 42:1-38; Genesis 43:1-34; Genesis 44:1-34; Genesis 45:1-28; Genesis 46:1-34; Genesis 47:1-31; Genesis 50:1-26; Exodus 1:1-22; Exodus 2:1-25; Exodus 3:1-22; Exodus 19:3-11; Exodus 24:1-18; Deuteronomy 28:1-68; 1 John 4:16; Mark 12:29-30; A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “Your Sin Is Never Too Great so that You Are Lost to God's Salvation - “Return to Me {God}, and I Will Return to You””: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
When you boil it all down, the preeminent reason God created man is so that man might have fellowship with God . . . we were created to worship God. Now, if we worship another god – money, our jobs, our hobbies, another person – our lives become the antithesis of what we were created for. It's such a foundational issue that God reserved the first of His Ten Commandments to address this. And so we'll address it today here on A New Beginning with Pastor Greg Laurie. View and subscribe to Pastor Greg's weekly notes. --- Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org. A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners. Support the show: https://harvest.org/support See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When you boil it all down, the preeminent reason God created man is so that man might have fellowship with God . . . we were created to worship God. Now, if we worship another god – money, our jobs, our hobbies, another person – our lives become the antithesis of what we were created for. It's such a foundational issue that God reserved the first of His Ten Commandments to address this. And so we'll address it today here on A New Beginning with Pastor Greg Laurie. View and subscribe to Pastor Greg's weekly notes. --- Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org. A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners. Support the show: https://harvest.org/support See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When you boil it all down, the preeminent reason God created man is so that man might have fellowship with God . . . we were created to worship God. Now, if we worship another god – money, our jobs, our hobbies, another person – our lives become the antithesis of what we were created for. It's such a foundational issue that God reserved the first of His Ten Commandments to address this. And so we'll address it today here on A New Beginning with Pastor Greg Laurie. View and subscribe to Pastor Greg's weekly notes. --- Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org. A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners. Support the show: https://harvest.org/support See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
God’s Covenant with Moses Is His Perfect Agape Love that Provided the “Ten Commandments” which Show Us What Sin Is MESSAGE SUMMARY: How God Says He Loves Us: Part 3 -- The Covenant with Moses Throughout human history, God has reached out to humans for a personal relationship and to express His love for humankind. We have a God that loves us so much, and God’s love for us is expressed to us through His “covenants”. Also, God’s “covenants” reveal to us His grace and faithfulness. In today’s message, we will discuss God’s Covenant with Moses. A “covenant” can be defined as an “oath or promise of God”. In a Biblical covenant: 1) God establishes the Covenant; 2) God always implies that “I am your God, and you are my people” – God desires a personal relationship with us; and 3) God sets the Covenant’s terms and rulers. After God’s Covenant with Abraham, his son Isaac became the recipient of God’s blessings. Subsequently, Isaac had two sons. One of Isaac’s sons was Jacob, and God changed Jacobs name to Israel. Jacob had twelve sons, and they evolved into the “Twelve Tribes of Israel”. In Genesis 37, the focus begins upon Isaac’s son Joseph; and Genesis ends, in Genesis 50, with Joseph’s death in Egypt. In Exodus 1, two hundred and fifty years have passed since the death of Joseph. During this time, God’s people and the people of Egypt forgot about Joseph. God’s people became fruitful and multiplied, but they forgot about God and God’s Covenant with Abraham; and the people began to worship idols. Exodus 2 presents the birth of Moses., and Exodus 3 includes God’s call to Moses and God’s appearance to Moses through the burning bush. Since God had a blood covenant with His people, He sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to let His people leave Egypt. Pharaoh said “no”, so God sent nine plagues on the people of Egypt – nine chances for their Repentance. Since Pharaoh continued to say “no”, God sent the tenth plague on the people of Egypt – a plague of Judgement on the people of Egypt. After the Passover for His people in the Plague of Judgement, Pharaoh relented and let God’s people leave Egypt. In Exodus 19, God’s people wound up on Mount Sini, and God made the “Sini Covenant” with Moses in Exodus 19:4-6: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 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.”. In prior covenants, God did everything; but in this “Sini Covenant”, the people had obligations. God gives His Law, the Ten Commandments, to His people as God speaks directly to them in Exodus 20. The Glory of God, when He was speaking directly to His people, was too much for the people; and they feared a direct personal relationship with God, and they wanted Moses or an intermediary to speak to them for God – they rejected a personal relationship with God just has humans have been doing ever since. In Exodus 21, Exodus 22, and Exodus 23 (“The Book of the Covenant”), God takes His Ten Commandments, and He applies the Ten Commandments to our everyday living. In Exodus 24:3,7-8, Moses takes God’s Book of the Covenant to the people: “Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.’ Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.’ And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.’”. Deuteronomy 28 presents the “blessings” for the people if they adhere to their promises to God in the “Book of the Covenant”. On the other hand, Deuteronomy 28 lays out the “curses” for non-adherence to the Covenant. Within six weeks, God’s people, who had said “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do”, had disobeyed and broken their Covenant with God. The disobedience of God’s people is significant to us today because “it shows us what sin is”. “God is unconditional love” (1 John 4:16); and in this Covenant, God made plain to all of us “what sin is”. “We are made by God to be perfect mirrors of God’s Agape love.” Our sin is our failure to act as the God of Agape love acts. Sin is our self-centeredness. “The opposite of love is not hate; sin is me.” The Ten Commandments are not negative; they are God’s Agape love because they show us what a life of love and without sin and death does not include. Jesus tells us the most important Commandment in Mark 12:28-30: “’. . . Which commandment is the most important of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.’”. The people of Israel continued to mess up and sin, but they continued to sacrifice a lamb for their sin thinking that their sacrifice brought their lives of sin back into adherence with their Covenant. However, in both God’s impatience with our sin and in His Agape love and His adherence to this Covenant, God sent the perfect Lamb as His and our sacrifice for our sin – Jesus the Christ. This old Covenant with Moses points to God’s New Covenant – Jesus’ death on the cross and His Resurrection. Have you asked Jesus into your life so that your sin is atoned? If not, then there is a blot between you and God. Remember, the God who made Covenant with Moses is Jesus of our Trinitarian God. TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Genesis 3:15; Genesis 37:1-36; Genesis 39:1-23; Genesis 41:1-57; Genesis 42:1-38; Genesis 43:1-34; Genesis 44:1-34; Genesis 45:1-28; Genesis 46:1-34; Genesis 47:1-31; Genesis 50:1-26; Exodus 1:1-22; Exodus 2:1-25; Exodus 3:1-22; Exodus 19:3-11; Exodus 24:1-18; Deuteronomy 28:1-68; 1 John 4:16; Mark 12:29-30. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Jesus the Christ Is Our Hope in Life and Death and He Is “Hope” for the Wave of Loneliness and Uncertainty Sweeping Our World Today”: www.AWFTL.org/watch A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
God's Covenant with Moses Is His Perfect Agape Love that Provided the “Ten Commandments” which Show Us What Sin Is MESSAGE SUMMARY: How God Says He Loves Us: Part 3 -- The Covenant with Moses Throughout human history, God has reached out to humans for a personal relationship and to express His love for humankind. We have a God that loves us so much, and God's love for us is expressed to us through His “covenants”. Also, God's “covenants” reveal to us His grace and faithfulness. In today's message, we will discuss God's Covenant with Moses. A “covenant” can be defined as an “oath or promise of God”. In a Biblical covenant: 1) God establishes the Covenant; 2) God always implies that “I am your God, and you are my people” – God desires a personal relationship with us; and 3) God sets the Covenant's terms and rulers. After God's Covenant with Abraham, his son Isaac became the recipient of God's blessings. Subsequently, Isaac had two sons. One of Isaac's sons was Jacob, and God changed Jacobs name to Israel. Jacob had twelve sons, and they evolved into the “Twelve Tribes of Israel”. In Genesis 37, the focus begins upon Isaac's son Joseph; and Genesis ends, in Genesis 50, with Joseph's death in Egypt. In Exodus 1, two hundred and fifty years have passed since the death of Joseph. During this time, God's people and the people of Egypt forgot about Joseph. God's people became fruitful and multiplied, but they forgot about God and God's Covenant with Abraham; and the people began to worship idols. Exodus 2 presents the birth of Moses., and Exodus 3 includes God's call to Moses and God's appearance to Moses through the burning bush. Since God had a blood covenant with His people, He sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to let His people leave Egypt. Pharaoh said “no”, so God sent nine plagues on the people of Egypt – nine chances for their Repentance. Since Pharaoh continued to say “no”, God sent the tenth plague on the people of Egypt – a plague of Judgement on the people of Egypt. After the Passover for His people in the Plague of Judgement, Pharaoh relented and let God's people leave Egypt. In Exodus 19, God's people wound up on Mount Sini, and God made the “Sini Covenant” with Moses in Exodus 19:4-6: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 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.”. In prior covenants, God did everything; but in this “Sini Covenant”, the people had obligations. God gives His Law, the Ten Commandments, to His people as God speaks directly to them in Exodus 20. The Glory of God, when He was speaking directly to His people, was too much for the people; and they feared a direct personal relationship with God, and they wanted Moses or an intermediary to speak to them for God – they rejected a personal relationship with God just has humans have been doing ever since. In Exodus 21, Exodus 22, and Exodus 23 (“The Book of the Covenant”), God takes His Ten Commandments, and He applies the Ten Commandments to our everyday living. In Exodus 24:3,7-8, Moses takes God's Book of the Covenant to the people: “Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.' Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.' And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.'”. Deuteronomy 28 presents the “blessings” for the people if they adhere to their promises to God in the “Book of the Covenant”. On the other hand, Deuteronomy 28 lays out the “curses” for non-adherence to the Covenant. Within six weeks, God's people, who had said “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do”, had disobeyed and broken their Covenant with God. The disobedience of God's people is significant to us today because “it shows us what sin is”. “God is unconditional love” (1 John 4:16); and in this Covenant, God made plain to all of us “what sin is”. “We are made by God to be perfect mirrors of God's Agape love.” Our sin is our failure to act as the God of Agape love acts. Sin is our self-centeredness. “The opposite of love is not hate; sin is me.” The Ten Commandments are not negative; they are God's Agape love because they show us what a life of love and without sin and death does not include. Jesus tells us the most important Commandment in Mark 12:28-30: “'. . . Which commandment is the most important of all?' Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.'”. The people of Israel continued to mess up and sin, but they continued to sacrifice a lamb for their sin thinking that their sacrifice brought their lives of sin back into adherence with their Covenant. However, in both God's impatience with our sin and in His Agape love and His adherence to this Covenant, God sent the perfect Lamb as His and our sacrifice for our sin – Jesus the Christ. This old Covenant with Moses points to God's New Covenant – Jesus' death on the cross and His Resurrection. Have you asked Jesus into your life so that your sin is atoned? If not, then there is a blot between you and God. Remember, the God who made Covenant with Moses is Jesus of our Trinitarian God. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Genesis 3:15; Genesis 37:1-36; Genesis 39:1-23; Genesis 41:1-57; Genesis 42:1-38; Genesis 43:1-34; Genesis 44:1-34; Genesis 45:1-28; Genesis 46:1-34; Genesis 47:1-31; Genesis 50:1-26; Exodus 1:1-22; Exodus 2:1-25; Exodus 3:1-22; Exodus 19:3-11; Exodus 24:1-18; Deuteronomy 28:1-68; 1 John 4:16; Mark 12:29-30. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S SERMON VIDEO – “Jesus the Christ Is Our Hope in Life and Death and He Is “Hope” for the Wave of Loneliness and Uncertainty Sweeping Our World Today”: www.AWFTL.org/watch A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
In order to "live your dash" you need to know (a) where to start, (b) where to finish, and (c) acceptable behavior as you run. How would you like to run against someone who ignored the starting gun and ran when they wanted or pushed you down so they could get ahead, or ran in your lane? Not much of a race, right? There are rules to be followed because the Course Marshall knows what works best. In the race of life - the Dash of our Life - God has already set up the rules. Believe it or not, there aren't many - just ten - and they are simple to understand. Following ... well, that's another story and why some people work very hard to keep them on courthouse lawns. In this week's podcast, we talk with our guest speaker for the week of February 21st, Student Ministries Pastor, Chris VanDyke, and we dive a bit deeper into the blessings and protections that God gives us in His Ten Commandments. Then, Rick comes back and lets us know about his next powerful series, Raising the Bar. Listen to Chris' message, HERE: https://youtu.be/X1lPFKzMi_8 Find out more about the Truth Project, HERE: https://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/the-truth-project/ Find out more about Rick's next series, Raising the Bar, HERE: https://www.roswellgrace.com/raising-the-bar-2020 Discover everything else about Grace Community Church, HERE: https://www.roswellgrace.com/
Why do you believe what you believe? What do you believe? Why do you behave the way you do? How we behave has to do with a moral code, or lack of one, that sets a beacon inside of us. God gave us His Ten Commandments in order to teach us what He thought was the right foundation for this inner beacon.
What things are most important in our lives? Our computers probably know . . . our smartphones have a good idea. Or certainly our checkbook or our charge card. What captures our attention, what steals our thoughts? What is it that’s always near the top of our minds? Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out that idols are anything or anyone that takes our focus off of God. And we’ll see the Lord recognizes the danger and mentions it in His Ten Commandments. View and subscribe to Pastor Greg’s weekly notes. If you've been impacted by this podcast, we hope you'll consider Harvest Ministries this Giving Tuesday. Help us bring hope through the gospel by going to harvest.org/donate. --- Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org. A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. Support the show: https://harvest.org/donate/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What things are most important in our lives? Our computers probably know . . . our smartphones have a good idea. Or certainly our checkbook or our charge card. What captures our attention, what steals our thoughts? What is it that’s always near the top of our minds? Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out that idols are anything or anyone that takes our focus off of God. And we’ll see the Lord recognizes the danger and mentions it in His Ten Commandments. View and subscribe to Pastor Greg’s weekly notes. If you've been impacted by this podcast, we hope you'll consider Harvest Ministries this Giving Tuesday. Help us bring hope through the gospel by going to harvest.org/donate. --- Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org. A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. Support the show: https://harvest.org/donate/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What things are most important in our lives? Our computers probably know . . . our smartphones have a good idea. Or certainly our checkbook or our charge card. What captures our attention, what steals our thoughts? What is it that’s always near the top of our minds? Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out that idols are anything or anyone that takes our focus off of God. And we’ll see the Lord recognizes the danger and mentions it in His Ten Commandments. View and subscribe to Pastor Greg’s weekly notes. If you've been impacted by this podcast, we hope you'll consider Harvest Ministries this Giving Tuesday. Help us bring hope through the gospel by going to harvest.org/donate. --- Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org. A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. Support the show: https://harvest.org/donate/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It’s a privilege and responsibility for Christian parents to pass on their faith to their children. But few of us “excel” in that area! Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie offers some practical help as we look at what God says about parenting in His Ten Commandments. View and subscribe to Pastor Greg’s weekly notes. --- Be a part of cinematic history this Labor Day with A Rush of Hope. Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org. A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners. Support the show: https://harvest.org/donate/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It’s a privilege and responsibility for Christian parents to pass on their faith to their children. But few of us “excel” in that area! Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie offers some practical help as we look at what God says about parenting in His Ten Commandments. View and subscribe to Pastor Greg’s weekly notes. --- Be a part of cinematic history this Labor Day with A Rush of Hope. Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org. A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners. Support the show: https://harvest.org/donate/
It’s a privilege and responsibility for Christian parents to pass on their faith to their children. But few of us “excel” in that area! Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie offers some practical help as we look at what God says about parenting in His Ten Commandments. View and subscribe to Pastor Greg’s weekly notes. --- Be a part of cinematic history this Labor Day with A Rush of Hope. Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org. A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners. Support the show: https://harvest.org/donate/
Our God takes slander so seriously that He included its prohibition in His Ten Commandments. On this Renewing Your Mind Minute, R.C. Sproul reminds us to watch what we say with careful vigilance.
Before Moses approached the king of Egypt to seek freedom for the children of Israel, he and his brother, Aaron, met with the oppressed leaders of Israel. During this meeting, Moses and Aaron encouraged the people to consecrate themselves to the Lord and told them God was about to deliver them from slavery with a mighty hand. The Israelites had been laboring seven days a week to maintain their heavy workload for the Egyptians. But after this meeting with Moses, they apparently decided to begin resting again every seventh day. This is why the furious Pharaoh later said to Moses and Aaron: "Ye make them rest from their burdens." Exodus 5:5. (The Hebrew word for "rest" used here is "shabath." It means "to cause to keep sabbath.") The angry king knew that he must do something drastic to hold this nation of slaves under his control, so he decided to drown them with work and crowd both God and worship from their thoughts. He said, "You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not diminish it." Exodus 5:7, 8, NKJV.* As in the days of Moses, God is about to do great things for His people. Soon they will be delivered from the slavery of sin and journey to the heavenly Canaan. And once again, God is now trying to turn the minds of His people toward the importance of the Sabbath rest. * The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (c) 1979, 1980, 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.  1. Did God make the Sabbath rest only for Israelites? Mark 2:27. And He said unto them, The sabbath was made for ______, and not __________ for the sabbath. Answer : ____________________ NOTE: When Jesus says that the Sabbath was made for man, the word "man" means all "mankind"--for all people, for all time, in every place.  2. When did God establish the Sabbath? Genesis 2:1, 3. Thus the heavens and the earth were ___________, and all the host of them. ... And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. Answer : ____________________ NOTE: The Sabbath was established at the close of Creation week.  3. What day of the week is the Sabbath? Genesis 2:2, 3. And on the __________ _____ God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the __________ _____ from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the __________ _____, and sanctified it. (two word answer) Answer : ____________________ NOTE: Three times in Genesis chapter 2, God tells us that He made the Sabbath from the seventh day of Creation week. He also "sanctified" it, which means "to set aside for a holy use." God made the Sabbath as a 24-hour period of time, because time is what it takes to develop a true love relationship with Jesus. The devil, like Pharaoh of Egypt, wants to keep us so busy working that we don't think about God. Knowing how overly busy end-time people would be, God set aside 24 special hours weekly to spend with His people, getting acquainted. He has made that weekly appointment with you. Don't fail to meet Him!  4. How has God demonstrated the importance of His holy Sabbath? Exodus 20:8-11. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ... The Lord _________ the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Answer : ____________________ NOTE: Exodus 20:8-11 is the fourth commandment of God's law. By making the Sabbath one of His Ten Commandments, He demonstrated its extreme importance. Verse 10 calls it "the sabbath of the Lord thy God." Only the fourth commandment begins with the word "remember," indicating God knew that people would forget. Breaking God's Ten Commandment law is sin (1 John 3:4). But Jesus died to save His people from their sins, or law-breaking (Matthew 1:21).  5. Of what two precious things does God say the Sabbath is a sign? Ezekiel 20:12. I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign
Our God takes slander so seriously that He included its prohibition in His Ten Commandments. On this Renewing Your Mind Minute, R.C. Sproul reminds us to watch what we say with careful vigilance.
In the Old Testament the Ten Commandments relationship pathway created order and righteousness and wisdom and faith (trust). This was able to enrich their lives in Spirit, soul and body (Psalm 19). The first four Commandments deal with our relationship with God, and that the next six deal with our relationships with one another. From this develops purpose, meaning, sacrifice, responsibility and fulfillment. In the New Testament this pathway works through faith and grace (Romans 8:4). In this ge the Law is written in the heart, where through grace and faith they can be fulfilled and not broken (3000 killed in Exodus 32/3000 made alive in Acts 2) The children of Israel had been in bondage in Egypt for four hundred years, and they had lost any understanding of God, not to mention a loving God and that meant that they could not relate to or trust a lawgiver (Just make more bricks). So Moses had a task ahead of him - how to get these people to not just relate to a law, but rather to relate to a loving Father behind that law (just the same today). The advantage in the Old Testament was that they were confronted daily with the Law and the Sacrifices.The disadvantage was that they did not have the life of God in the Holy Spirit within them. A Divine Design for the pathway.God had concealed an amazing design within the structure of His Ten Commandments, as a sequence of steps where success in any one commandment leads to an understanding of the next. Obedience to the first Commandment gives competence and understanding of the second Commandment, and in the same way, failure in say, the sixth Commandment means a lack of competence and understanding in the fifth. A Proper ExpectationThe Commandments can then be seen to serve as some kind of a map like that of a main roadway, or a railway line, where a person always knows what the next destination will be because they have passed through the last destination. As we go through the Ten Commandments one by one, we will see that there is a principle of growth involved in each Commandment and an experience of faith that will stay with us as we apply ourselves and are obedient to the revelation that we receive at each 'stop' along the way. God intends all growth to be established on a firm basis of experience.
Few people have read the Hebrew Bible all the way through—maybe you memorized a portion for your bar or bat mitzvah, or read parts of it in Sunday school or a college course. But the whole thing? Hardly. Fewer people still have read it as a work of literature, treating every sentence as an expression of literary style. Even fewer have read the Bible all the way through in the original language, gotten frustrated with available English translations, and then decided to blaze ahead with their own. One such person is award-winning translator and literary critic Robert Alter, who between books of literary criticism on the modern novel has been translating the Hebrew Bible for more than two decades. Last year, he finished: all 24 books of the Bible—a three-volume set weighing 10 pounds and three ounces. Go beyond the episode:Robert Alter’s translation of the Hebrew Bible, and his follow-up, The Art of Bible TranslationHis Ten Commandments for Bible Translators:Thou shalt not make translation an explanation of the original, for the Hebrew writer abhorreth all explanation.Thou shalt not mangle the eloquent syntax of the original by seeking to modernize it.Though shalt not shamefully mingle linguistic registers.Thou shalt not multiply for thyself synonyms where the Hebrew wisely and pointedly uses repeated terms.Thou shalt not replace the expressive simplicity of the Hebrew prose with purportedly elegant language.Thou shalt not betray the fine compactness of biblical poetry.Thou shalt not make the Bible sound as though it were written just yesterday, for this, too, is an abomination.Thou shalt diligently seek English counterparts for the word-play and sound-play of the Hebrew.Thou shalt show to readers the liveliness and subtlety of the dialogues.Thou shalt continually set before thee the precision and purposefulness of the word-choices in Hebrew.Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho or on Facebook.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
sermon transcript Introduction We are nearing the end of our study of the book of Revelation. Ordinarily, I preach through the text, and at the end draw out applications. But this sermon will be different, one filled with application of the entire book of Revelation, though not comprehensive. We do not know everything that God wants us to do. There are many times in the Bible in which individuals were cut to the heart and came to the one proclaiming the Word, saying, “What must we do?” Many came to John the Baptist asking that question. He would answer appropriately for their office or station in life. People asked Peter the same question when he preached the Gospel to those who were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. At that point, Christ had died and risen and ascended to Heaven, and the Holy Spirit had been poured out. Peter preached the Gospel boldly and clearly, that the ones listening were cut to the heart. The Philippian jailer asked the same question. As he drew Paul and Silas out of the Philippian jail, he fell down before them and asked, “What must I do to be saved?” I want you to think about that as we come to the text today. In a few weeks, I will go over the entire book of Revelation, as I always do when I finish a book. Keep that question in mind. We are at the end of the book, the final chapter, the final verses. What shall we do? How shall we put into practice the things that we have learned? The Book of Revelation Comes to a Close (vs. 6) Our Response to the Vision of Heaven Revelation 22:1-5, the verses immediately prior to our text today, provides a revelation, an unveiling, of the New Heaven, the New Earth, and the New Jerusalem: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.” John has just received the most sublime vision any human being has ever had, a vision of the New Heaven and the New Earth and the radiant perfect city of God, the New Jerusalem. Now, John must return to planet Earth. The vision has ended and it is time for him to return in his mind to the rocky island of exile, the island of Patmos. The sublime words that he has had poured into his soul by his angelic guide, through the Holy Spirit, must be lived out by faith. The final verses, Revelation 22:6-21, make up the epilogue, the final section of the final chapter of the final book of the Bible. As John returned to Patmos, so we return to our daily lives — jobs, families, challenges, medical issues, financial issues, wrestling with sin, commitment to evangelize, to reach out with the Gospel. We must return, and we must be changed. These words must burn in our hearts. The Bible must make an impact on us, and through us must make an impact on the world. We have traveled overwhelming ground, 21-plus chapters. John has given us a vision of things that are already presently going on in the heavenly realms, as well as a vision of the future. Many of the events outlined in Revelation are still in the future for us as they were in the future for John, but closer now. With this final section, we have come full circle in Revelation. There are clear parallels between the verbiage in today’s passage and the beginning of the book. That is completely intentional. Compare Revelation 1:1: “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. God made it known by sending his angel”; and Revelation 22:6: “God sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.” They are almost exactly the same. Revelation 1:3 says, “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” Revelation 22:7, 10 says, “Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book. …for the time is near.” Revelation 1:8, 17 says, “‘I am the Alpha, and the Omega,’ says the Lord God. …the First and the Last.” Revelation 22:13 says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” In Revelation 1:9, 17, John writes, “I John… When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.” Revelation 22:8 says, “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down." We have come full circle, back to where we started. God wants to press in on our hearts now the application of the things that we have learned. The question is: how, then, shall we live? Now that we have taken in all of this truth, how should it affect our lives? This closing section sums up how we should respond. We are not merely to be astounded, amazed, overwhelmed, befuddled, and then return to life as it was before. Still less are we supposed to shrug and act as though the words of Revelation are not significant. John did not make all of this up in his mind or have some weird dreams or hallucinations. We must take this book as a revelation, an unveiling from Almighty God of something he wants us to see and know. Despite the powerfully symbolic nature of the words in this apocalyptic genre — writing that is so very difficult to understand and interpret — He wants us to take these words and draw them in. We are to take them as much as we can grammatically, historically, literally, to try to understand them and apply them. We are to apply what they say about what God is like right now and what His plans are for the future of the human race. The application comes down to these questions: What should we understand? What should we believe? Who should we be? What should we do? Understand, believe, be and do. Trustworthy and True The fundamental issue here is the words that we are reading. Revelation 22:6 says, “The angel said to me, ‘These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.’” This is a book of predictions of the future. Only the God of the Bible can do this. No other religion makes these kinds of predictions. Only God can tell us the future. As we learned in Isaiah 46:9-10, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please." The angel told John that the words of this book are trustworthy, and they are true. Trustworthy means if you base your life on these words, you will not be disappointed. They will not fail you. True means that in the end when we get to Heaven we will look back and see that all of the prophecies came true. God will let none of them fall to the ground, but will do everything that He has predicted that he would do. When I think about the word trustworthy — as the word of God is trustworthy — I think about something I can put my weight on. Some time ago, I was reading the book, Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson to Daphne. We tried to read the primary source, but could not get the Scottish burr down enough to be able to understand much. We were looking up Scottish words all the time. There is a critical scene early in the story, in which David Balfour, the main character, goes to ask his wicked uncle, who lives in a creepy old castle, to take him in because his parents have died. His uncle does not want to give him any of his fortune, so he has David ascend a spiral staircase in the tower of his castle. The uncle knows very well that one of the steps has been viciously altered so that it will give way when he puts his weight on it, which is exactly what happens. The step completely gives way and David starts to fall, but he saves himself by grabbing another stair at the last minute, hanging between heaven and earth, his life hanging in the balance, before managing to escape. That is the opposite illustration of what I am talking about. The Word of God will not give way when we step out on it. These words are trustworthy. Jesus likened it to building a house on a rock. When the storms of life attack, it will be solid and secure. Everything built on this book of Revelation will be solid and secure. He mentions the words of Revelation again and again. Revelation 21:5: “He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” He wanted John to write down these words. Revelation 22:6: “The angel said to me, ‘These words are trustworthy and true.’” Revelation 22:7: “Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.” Revelation 22:9-10: “But [the angel] said to me, ‘…I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!’ Then he told me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.’” Revelation 22:18-19. “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.” He is almost belaboring the point: The words in this book should be the focus of our attention. We should study them. Not to be Disparaged or Ignored This book must not be disparaged or ignored. Many scholars disparage it. They make light of it. Right up the road, there is a false teacher at UNC named Bart Ehrman. His express purpose, especially with evangelicals, is to destroy his students’ faith in the Bible. He does special work on the book of Revelation. He says the book of Revelation belongs to an apocalyptic genre that was well known in first-century Judaism, in which the Jews were yearning for deliverance from the Roman oppression. They wrote these visionary books hoping that God would come down and intervene and throw off the yoke of the oppressor, which never happened. That is absolutely not true. Bart Ehrman actually said Jesus was an apocalypticist himself, one who indulges in this genre and makes predictions that do not come true. Jesus said this generation would not pass away before all of these things had taken place. Ehrman zeroes in saying even Jesus was wrong when he predicted the imminent destruction of Rome. Another unbelieving scholar said that the book of Revelation is a mess, disorganized. This is the kind of disparaging that we must not do. Christ gave these words to tell us, his servants, the things that must soon take place. There is no other book like it in the Bible. Christ Is Coming Soon to End History (vs. 7, 13) The Alpha and Omega Returns Soon Revelation 22:7 says he coming soon to end history. “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this scroll.” Right before he left, at the end of his first advent, his mission on earth, in Acts 1:7-11, they were curious and pressed Jesus, “‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ [That is the Great Commission. Our job is to take the Gospel to unbelievers.] After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’” In Revelation, Jesus predicts that he will return soon. Revelation 22:13 says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” History will come to an end. Sense of Urgency — How, Then, Shall We Live? The early church had a sense of urgency about the imminent return of Christ. We see this repeatedly in the Epistles. In Philippians 3:20-21, Paul says, “… our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” We eagerly await the Second Coming of Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:7 says, “Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” Paul told Thessalonican believers that they are a model to believers everywhere. 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 says, “…They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead — Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” We serve while we wait for Christ to return. Jesus says he is coming soon. The word “soon” gives us a sense of urgency and expectancy. He does not look at time the way we do. With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, a thousand years is like a day. He told a series of parables in Matthew 24 and 25 about our demeanor while we wait. Matthew 24:45-51 says, “Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Another parable with almost the same lesson is the five wise and five foolish virgins. The foolish virgins were only partially prepared for the coming of the bridegroom, so they were excluded from the wedding. Jesus says at the end of that one, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” How do we live out this sense of urgency, knowing that Jesus is coming soon? In Revelation, God has given details of events that will occur before the Second Coming. None of those things has happened yet — the seven trumpet judgments, the seven bowl judgments, the Antichrist rising up to rule over the whole earth, the man of sin setting up the abomination of desolation. Putting all that together, we do not expect the imminent return of Christ yet. We must hold all of those things in tension, keeping in mind that we also do not know about our own future, what day we will die, when we will be called to give an account, like the wicked fool who greedily built bigger barns and died before he could use them. If we do not know the length of our own days, we certainly cannot know the timing of the Second Coming of Christ. We must harmonize all the signs, but Jesus is saying, “I am coming soon. You do not know the day or the hour. You need to be vigilant, watchful and energetically, actively serving me.” How then shall we live? How do we apply this in practical terms? John McArthur organized these ideas with the words “urgent, immediate.” I am borrowing his word to give you an immediate application. Even if the Lord does not return for a long period of time, still there is a sense of immediacy. If you hear God speaking to you today and you do not put it into practice, your heart will become hard. If today you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. Instead, put into practice what God wants you to do. Immediate Obedience to His Word (vs.7) Keep His Word Revelation 22:7 speaks of immediate obedience to His word: “Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.” The word “keep” in a simple way means to guard, protect, keep sacred. “Keep this command” is commonly translated “obey”. We have a sense of protecting Revelation against attacks, but even more protecting our own souls against attacks coming from the world, the flesh, and the devil. We must protect it so that we obey it. Within our own hearts, we must cherish these commands and take them in with a noble and good heart that bears 100, 60 or 30 times what was sown. That is what we want to do — obey. Jesus said, John 14:15, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” Jesus, our Lord, measures love by obedience. Whoever has his commands and obeys them is the one who loves him. Revelation is not filled with many commands. There are far more in an average epistle — Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. We must take the Bible as a whole. This is the last chapter of the last book. It sums up all of God’s commands that are binding on the hearts of Christians. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book, which we should take to mean the whole Bible. Revelation has few commands, but the general teaching carries with it a moral imperative found in Mark 1:15: “‘The time has come,’ he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’” That is how to keep the words of this book. Are you ready to meet your maker? Are you ready to stand before God on Judgement Day to give an account? Do you have a savior, an atoning sacrifice for your sins? The saints are described in Revelation 12:17 and 14:12 as “those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” Two Basic Commands: Holiness and Gospel Advance 2 Peter 3:11-12 sums up the Lord’s two central commands: “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.” We find the two journeys in that. The internal, infinite journey of holiness — live a holy and godly life, put sin to death by the power of the Spirit, be pure as you wait for the day when the Lord will return. And the external journey of evangelism and missions — we look forward to the day of God and speed its coming by preaching the Gospel, because the kingdom will not come until every tribe and language and people and nation has had this Gospel preached to it. The overarching commands are to be holy and be a witness. Lesser Commands There are many lesser commands as well that fit into what it means to be holy and to be a witness. We could, with good profit, go back to Revelation 2 and 3, to pull out all the commands that were given to the seven churches at the end of each of the seven letters. Revelation 2:7 says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Take all seven messages to heart and keep the commands. To the church at Ephesus: “Do not become progressively hard in your heart toward Jesus; do not forsake your first love.” To the church at Smyrna: “Be faithful to the point of death; be willing to pay a price to be witnesses.” To the church at Pergamum: “Do not tolerate sin, especially sexual sin.” To the church at Thyatira: “Do not tolerate false teaching, but expose false teachers.” To the church at Sardis: “Do not have a reputation of being alive, but we are actually dead.” That could happen to a church like ours. If the Lord does not return within a generation, this church could have a reputation of the days when it was alive, but has become dead, coasting. To the church at Philadelphia: “Walk through the door of opportunity that Christ has set before us that no one can shut. Be faithful with those open doors.” To the church at Laodicea: “Do not be lukewarm, but be on fire for Jesus. We do not want him to spew us out of his mouth.” We want to take to heart, to keep, the commandments in those seven letters. The Rightness of Unattainable Perfect Obedience to God Let Revelation give you a sense of how right it is to continue seeking perfect obedience. We want to obey all of the commands God has given to us, to be faithful to them knowing we are not justified by our obedience to them. Seek to live the best possible life as we wait for the Second Coming of Christ. Immediate Worship to Him Alone (vs. 8-9) False vs. True Worship Revelation 22:8-9 “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, ‘Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!’” Isn’t it amazing how honest the Bible is about its heroes? It is a proof that this is the book of truth. We are all sinners. For the second time, John falls down to worship an angel. He did it in Revelation 19:10: “At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!’” And now he does it here. This brings us to the fundamental issue of worship — false versus true worship. The central problem of the human race, of us in our sin, is idolatry. Paul gives a clear definition of idolatry in Romans 1:25: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen.” The essence of idolatry is, in your heart, with your body, with your life, to fall down and give homage and total dedication to a creature, a created thing. Satan’s basic temptation is to call us away from worship of the true God into worship an idol. He tempted Jesus with that. He showed him all the kingdoms of the world, all the beauty of the creature. Matthew 4:8-10 says, “…the devil [a creature] took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,' he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”'" Revelation 13 and following details the worst organized idolatry of the human race, which is yet to come. The Antichrist — the Beast from the Sea — will do signs and wonders, seeming to be assassinated and then come back to life. He is backed by the hidden power of the dragon — the devil. He will demand worship from all people on planet Earth. The Beast from the Earth — the false prophet — will set up an idol and give it life supernaturally. He will compel people under pain of death to worship the idol and to receive a mark of the beast. Those who do not receive it cannot buy or sell, and probably will be executed. Those who do receive it will spend eternity in hell. Proper Response: Genuine Worship Conversely, there is also no book of the Bible that depicts true holy righteous worship more clearly. Revelation 1 details the image of the resurrected glorified Christ, moving through seven golden lamp stands. In Revelation 4, we see the image of the throne of Almighty God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. All in Heaven are worshiping God, the Creator of all things. In Revelation 5, the Lamb appears on the throne, looking as if it had been slain. All in Heaven continue to celebrate God the Creator and Christ the Redeemer. They are organized in concentric circles around the throne of God, giving Him glory. There is no book of the Bible that gives you a better picture of healthy worship of the true, triune God. The practical application is to worship God. Attack any idols in your heart. Is there any created thing that has a hold on you, that you are living for, that has become too important, that you are pursuing blindly, that is dominating your life? It could be success, money, power, sex, sensual pleasures, entertainment. Go after it, as 1 John 5:21 says: “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.” On the other hand, whenever you see remnants of God’s beauty in nature — ocean, mountains, rivers, lakes, anything that causes you to wonder at this marvelous creation — imitate the actions of the people in Revelation 4:11, giving God praise and glory and honor: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Whenever you feel yourself to be a sinner but you know that you have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, join in the celebration of Revelation 5:9: “You, O Christ, are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Worship God the Creator, Christ the Redeemer. Immediate Proclamation of His Warnings and Promises (vs. 10- 11) Understand and Proclaim These Words His warnings and promises are immediately proclaimed. Revelation 22:10-11 says, “Then he told me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy.’” God said, “Do not seal up the words” in direct contrast to the end of Daniel 12, where Daniel is told twice to seal up the scroll because it concerned a distant time. You would not understand it, and it was not for him. Here John is told, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near.” Sealing the words gave the sense that they could not be entrusted to the common people, who would not be able to understand them. They would read them and be confused by them. But Jesus tells John, “Do not seal them up.” That implies that these words are clear enough to be understood by all. Therefore, preachers would do well to preach sermons on Revelation and drink in the blessing of Revelation 1:3: “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” Casting far and wide for all the help I could get over the last year preaching through this book, I have been amazed how few preachers try to do this, to go line by line, verse by verse, chapter by chapter through Revelation. It is a difficult book to interpret, but they are missing a blessing. Those who do preach from this book generally do so in ways that are not helpful, serving an eccentric eschatology that zeroes in on details and makes specific predictions that at best do not build up the body of Christ, and at worst are openly toxic. We do not need to do that; we need only read the book consistently, drink it in, steep in its themes — the holiness of God, the power of God, the coming wrath of God, the beauty of the New Heaven and New Earth and New Jerusalem. Drink in these themes all the time, proclaim it, do not seal it up, but get the word out. These words are clear enough to be understood. I was raised in the Roman Catholic Church. I was a baby when Vatican II happened, when they converted the Mass from Latin to the vernacular, the local language that can be understood. The majority of the Roman Catholic world did not understand a word that was spoken in Mass when it was in Latin. I learned that over the centuries, it was a consistent pattern that people who translated the Bible into the vernacular would be hunted down like criminals and executed, like William Tyndale and others who translated the Bible into English. His translations were collected and burned by the Roman Catholic authorities. Why? In 1199, Pope Innocent III wrote to a bishop of Metz, saying, “The mysteries of the sacraments of faith should not be explained everywhere to everyone, since they cannot be understood everywhere by everyone, but only to those who can conceive of them by their faithful intellect. Because of this the Apostle [St Paul] said to the simpler people: ‘As unto little ones in Christ I gave you milk to drink, not meat.’ For ‘strong meat is for the perfect’, as he said to others: ‘we speak wisdom among the perfect;’ ... Such is the profundity of divine Scripture, that not only simple and illiterate men, but even prudent and learned men do not fully suffice to investigate its wisdom. ... For it is written: ‘seek not the things that are too high for thee.’” He is saying, “This book is too hard for you to understand, do not read it. As a matter of fact, it is best not to translate it into your language because you will never understand it.” But the angel told John, “Do not seal up the words of this prophecy, publish them broadly and widely, drink them in and read them.” I am not saying you will understand everything; there are difficulties, there are mysteries, but we need to take it in. Two Outcomes of God’s Word: Harden the Wicked, Confirm the Righteous God’s Word does not return void. Isaiah 55:10-11 says, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Everywhere the Word of God goes out, it achieves what God sent it out to do. If that is the case, why are there so many unbelievers? Why do so many people hear the Gospel and not repent and believe? We need to understand as theological grown-ups that God is not sending out the word to do the same thing in every case. He is hardening some by the Word and saving others by that same Word. Revelation 22:11 says, “Let him who is wrong continue to do wrong, and let him who is vile continue to be vile. [And conversely] Let him who does right continue to do right, and let him who is holy continue to be holy.” The parallelism is interesting, that he who does wrong will continue to do wrong, and he who does right will continue to do right. It is a bifurcation of the wicked and the righteous. They will be confirmed in this by the Word of God. Ultimately in Heaven and Hell, these words in verse 11 will finally be true for the righteous and the wicked. Those who are confirmed in their righteousness by the ministry of the Word of God will spend eternity being righteous. There will be no future fall from Heaven, but forever they will continue to be righteous and do righteously. But for the wicked, at some point, this will be spoken as a decree of judgment over them. It is a final verdict. In the meantime, we have the hope of the Gospel. One can cross over from death to life. A wicked Saul of Tarsus in the morning can become a transformed Saul in the evening. That radical transformation can happen to the thief on the cross in an instant. He can suddenly see who Jesus is and believe in Him. We yearn for the wicked to cease to be wicked, and for the unrighteous to repent of their sins and cross over. Revelation 22:14 gives us hope: “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.” That means all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All have violated God’s commandments and laws. None have kept His Ten Commandments or His Two Commandments to love God and to love our neighbor. Our robes are soiled. God sent His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who lived a sinless life and died in the place of sinners. He shed His cleansing atoning blood for sinners like you and me. By faith in Him, you can wash your robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. I would urge you while there is time to do it. Revelation 22:17 says, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” That is the message that I am proclaiming to you right now: If you came in here thirsty and dead and soiled, Jesus can cleanse you. He can pour the living water of life down your parched throat and you will live forever. You must only turn from your sins, repent of your wickedness and turn to Christ, and he will forgive you. We get to preach that message every day this week, to share that with somebody at our workplace or in the neighborhood or at a convenience store. That is what we are called on to do. Immediate Service to His Kingdom (vs. 12) Persevere in Sacrificial Service to Christ (1 Cor. 15:58) Jesus said in Revelation 22:12, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.” Get busy immediately serving His kingdom. Be faithful to serve Him, whatever your calling, whatever your spiritual gifts, whatever good works he has prepared for you to do. You will never lose your reward. Next week, we will look at rewards, how the things you do here in life will enrich you in heaven forever. Closing Prayer Father, thank you for the time we have had to study. Thank you for the specific applications you give us that we have walked through today. Help us to worship you with all of our hearts by the power of the Spirit. Help us to be faithful to obey the commands you have given us, to keep the words that you have given us and to fight for the purity of the Word of God against all satanic attacks. Help us, O Lord, to be faithful to obey by the Spirit. Help us to put into practice the many lessons we have had in the book of Revelation, so that you may be glorified and that we might be blameless and unafraid and ready at any moment for the Second Coming of Christ. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
The revelation at Sinai was central to the transformation of the people of Israel into a nation. Fresh from their Exodus from Egypt, at the foot of that mountain, a nation of slaves heard the Lord Himself pronounce His law—His “Ten Commandments”—prescribing proper conduct toward God and man. It would be hard to overstate the influence of the Decalogue in the history of West. Even in our increasingly post-Christian age, the Ten Commandments remain a potent cultural symbol. Yet, for all this familiarity, their true significance remains elusive. In 2013, Leon Kass—one of America's deepest thinkers—sought to shed light on how the Ten Commandments ought to be understood. Published as Mosaic's inaugural essay, “The Ten Commandments: Why the Decalogue Matters” analyzes the meaning of each Divine command, placing it in the context of the Bible as a whole as well as the permanent conditions of human nature. In this Tikvah Podcast, Professor Kass joins Jonathan Silver for a reconsideration of this important piece of commentary. In a conversation that looks back toward creation and forward to the civic character of the modern Jewish State, Kass and Silver take a deep dive into the first five commandments and their meaning. Their wide-ranging discussion touches on the nature of God's covenant with Israel, man's relationship with nature, and the indispensable role of the family in the life of the people of Israel. Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble, as well as Ich Grolle Nicht, by Ron Meixsell and Wahneta Meixsell.
I. Introduction I'd like to invite you to turn in your Bibles to Revelation Chapter 3. We are looking this morning at verses 1-6, Jesus’ warning to the church at Sardis. John MacArthur, in his exposition of these verses, used an illustration that has stuck with me. I would like to begin with it. He talked about the phenomenon of distant starlight. Physicists tell us that light travels at a constant rate: 186,000 miles per second. Because this universe is so vast, cosmologists have invented a unit of measurement called the light year, which is the distance that light travels in a year; the math works out to 5.88 trillion miles a year. Because stars are so distant from the Earth, it takes that distant starlight many years to travel to the Earth. The light of every star that we see twinkling in the night sky was actually sent toward the Earth many, many, years ago, maybe even centuries ago. For example, the stars that make up the Big Dipper, which is the most famous constellation, range from 78 to 123 light years away from the Earth. That means that the next time you stand and look up at the night sky, at the Big Dipper, you are looking back in time. You are looking, for the most part, at starlight that began its journey earthward over a century ago. It is possible that some or many of the stars in the Big Dipper no longer exist — perhaps one or two of the stars in the handle or in the drinking gourd part are already gone. We do not know, nor will we know with certainty until that star goes dark. Though a star may not exist anymore, the light has been traveling all this time and has not reached us yet. MacArthur used that as an illustration for the church at Sardis. In Revelation 3:1, Jesus said to this church at Sardis, “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” They were living on past glories, past starlight. They were walking around with the appearance and reputation of life, but they were in reality dead. They were a dead church. We can liken it to taking a tour of an archaeological site in Europe or in the Near East. For example, we can see the Parthenon or the Acropolis in Athens, or the Colosseum of ancient Rome that is still there today. Those structures provide of vigorous, wealthy, powerful empires, still, to some degree, living off the reputation of past deeds. The faded glory of a dead empire. We say appearances can be deceiving, but nowhere is that more true than in the spiritual realm of churches, in dealing with the genuine spiritual state of both individuals and churches — appearances can be deceiving. It is possible for an individual person or a church to appear to be alive spiritually, but actually be dead. The Puritans called such an individual a “Gospel hypocrite.” The word “hypocrite” actually is related to the Greek word for “actor,” referring to someone who puts on a mask. When it comes to the Christian Gospel, it refers to a person who goes through the forms, the outward motions of Christianity, but inside is spiritually dead. Jesus spoke to the Scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:27-28, saying, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside, are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous, but inside, you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” The same thing can happen to a church as a whole. It can be living on past reputation of spiritual vitality, but inside, there nothing going on spiritually; there is no vitality. The church is dead. Christ’s words to this dead church stand as a timeless warning to all churches, in all locations, throughout all time. Any church can turn at some point in its history from a vibrant witness, healthy doctrine, and a loving community of saints that is reaching out in its world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, courageously embolded. They can turn and begin a decline towards spiritual deadness, toward death as a congregation. That church might still have a reputation as being a “great church”, but like Samson shorn of his hair, who did not realize that God had left him and taken away his power, so also, this church at Sardis, did not know that their reputation had far outlasted their actual spiritual life. This is a practical problem all over America. Previously vibrant churches are dying or have died. I drive by churches like that every time I drive here, even churches that First Baptist Church planted decades ago. Some of them have a name and a reputation, but they are dead. Their time has passed. One poll shows that between 8,000 and 10,000 local churches die every year, while only about 1,000 new churches are planted every year. You have heard this morning about the Annie Armstrong Offering for North American Mission Board. They work to plant churches. Among other entities, those are included in the 1,000 new church plants, a fraction of the number dying every year. Why? Why do so many previously flourishing local churches die? That is a question that today’s passage will lead us to consider. Thom Rainer wrote a book a couple of years ago called Autopsy of a Dead Church. That is a potent image, isn't it? This book stands as a warning to living churches, as Jesus said to the small remnant within this dead church at Sardis in Revelation 3:2, to, “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.” Using this image, then, this morning we will do the sad work of visiting a cold morgue to see the coroner pull out the corpse of a local church, the church at Sardis, and hear the description of how that corpse died. We will look into the face of such a church so that we can be warned, we can be revived, we can be revitalized ourselves as a church, renewed in our zeal for Christ. We will ask the Lord to search us and know our hearts and show us if any spiritual necrosis is creeping its way through our soul. We will be moved, I hope, with a healthy fear of this happening to First Baptist Durham, and, by God’s grace, will seek to avoid the same fate as the church at Sardis. This is the implication in the final statement in all these letters: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” It is unwise for any church, no matter how healthy and vibrant, to read this letter to Sardis, and say, “Well, thank God that is not us. There is nothing we need to hear concerning this. There is no warning for us. We are fine.” That would be the worst way you could listen to these six verses. The most powerful tool in the hands of Almighty God for the building of the church of Jesus Christ is a healthy local church, led biblically by godly elders, passionate for the glory of God, preaching the Gospel, proclaiming the Gospel with courage in its community, discipling one another toward holiness and Christ-likeness. That is a fearsome weapon in the hand of God against the spiritual forces of evil; Satan knows this, so he is fighting the battle all around the world at the local church level. Thus, this issue of spiritual deadness is something that we must face. We must study why churches die, and even more, how they live, how they are fruitful, so that FBC can continue to be a weapon for the glory of God in the salvation of lost sinners. II. Christ Describes Himself: Holding the Seven Spirits and the Seven Stars Let’s begin with Christ’s description of Himself. For review, in Revelation 1, the Apostle John, in exile on Patmos, had a vision of the resurrected, glorified Christ moving among seven golden lampstands, which is a symbol, interpreted for us in that chapter, of Jesus’ active ministry to local churches around the world. These seven represent the number of fullness or perfection. Jesus is similarly engaged and active in every genuine local church around the world. He is conducting a priestly ministry. In Revelation 2 and 3, he writes letters to each of these seven churches and addresses their conditions. These were real churches that were active in John’s day, but the lessons in each of these letters are timeless. Each of us is warned and encouraged comes to listen to all seven letters, to take to heart these things. These Are the Words He begins, as he always does, with verse 1: “These are the words of Him who…” referring to the words of Christ by which He seeks to remedy what is wrong. The link between Christ's words and spiritual life is obvious throughout the New Testament: In John 5:24, Jesus said this: “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my Word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life, and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” In the very next verse, John 5:25, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.” Do you see the link between Jesus speaking and dead people coming to life? He has that kind of power. It says in John 6:63, “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” And Moses said in Deuteronomy, “These are not idle words for you; these are your life.” That is the link between Jesus’ words and life; Revelation 3:1 is referring to these words. In the same way, Jesus yearns to speak life into the deadness of the church at Sardis. It reminds me of the powerful image in Ezekiel of the dry bones: The Lord commanded the prophet Ezekiel, “Speak, prophesy to the dry bones and tell them to live.” There is a process, which you can read it in Ezekiel 37, but boils down to this: “As the Word is proclaimed, and as the Spirit moves like a wind, these dead bones come to life.” There is a link between the proclamation of the prophetic Word of God and the activity of the Spirit in bringing individuals from death to life. It is only by the words of Christ that the spiritually dead come to life. Him Who Holds the Seven Spirits and the Seven Stars How does Christ identify Himself? Look at verse 1: “These are the words of Him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.” As I have pointed out before, in every one of these seven letters, Jesus identifies Himself by some aspect of the vision that He gave to the Apostle John in chapter 1. Christ, the resurrected, glorified Son of man, is moving through the seven golden lampstands, representing seven local churches, but also the totality of all of the local churches around the world, ministering actively. And it's a clear picture of His constant, vigilant, active ministry to every local church around the world. He actively knows about and cares about all of His churches. To the church at Sardis, He describes himself as, “Him who holds the seven spirits of God.” How do we understand “the seven spirits of God”? It must refer to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. We know this, because in Revelation 1, Jesus uses the same expression in a clear Trinitarian formula. Revelation 1:4-5: “Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, [that is God] and from the seven spirits before the throne, [that indicates the Holy Spirit] and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the Earth.” There, He gives us a Trinitarian formula, so the seven spirits must in this case as well refer to the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. We have it again in Revelation 4: “Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.” And in Revelation Five: “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the Earth.” These verses make it very clear that “the seven spirits” refers to the Holy Spirit of God. Why would the person of the Spirit, who is usually referred to in singular form, be referred to as “the seven spirits”? I do not know for a fact. As we go through Revelation, I will say again and again, “I don't know.” You can come to me later if you disagree with my studied guesses and possibilities for interpretation, and I will say, “I don't know. What do you think?” There is so much symbolic imagery here, interpretations for which we cannot look to the back of the book in an appendix for the answers — this is the back of the book. And the back of the book asks and creates more questions sometimes than giving answers. There are so many unanswered questions. It is a difficult book to interpret. For this expression, I see good evidence to suggest that we should look at it as the seven-fold Spirit of God, rather than seven individual spirits. Some scholars link it to Isaiah 11, which gives seven designations of the Spirit. First, talking about the anointing of the Messiah, Jesus: “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him…” This is followed by three couplets of two each; three times two is six, plus the Spirit of the Lord, adds up to seven. Isaiah 11 says: “The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, and the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” In other words, these are seven effects of the activity of the Spirit on Jesus. The number seven is the number of perfection, so we would look on the Spirit’s perfect and powerful effectiveness in bringing about God’s plan. Thinking in terms of the Spirit of God in that way makes sense in our passage in Revelation. The church at Sardis is dead. The evidence of that deadness is a lack of obvious activity of the Spirit of God there. The problem is made manifest by the fact that there was no encounter with the Spirit of God in the life of the church. The Spirit gives life: a Spirit-filled church is alive, crackling with energy. Spiritual energy is defined by the Word of God: the Word of God is powerfully proclaimed. The worship of God is energetically flowing; the people are passionate about it. The fruit of the Spirit is obvious in the people: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness. The power of the Spirit is on them for bold, risky proclamation of the Gospel in their community and to the ends of the earth. All of these things are produced by the Holy Spirit. Thus, it is the Spirit of God alone who can revive a dead church. It is because the Spirit of God was grieved through sin and quenched in some way that the church has grown dead. How does Jesus hold the seven spirits of God? This does not indicate ownership. Rather, there is an intimate connection between Jesus and the Spirit of God, in terms of His messianic ministry. He was Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), same idea, meaning “anointed.” His anointing, it is clear, was with the Holy Spirit — in other words, the Spirit came upon Jesus. It says in Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.” There is a strong connection between Jesus and the Spirit. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert and was tempted by the devil. He returned out of the desert filled with the Spirit. This is a great picture for those of us who face temptation: Enter the temptation filled with the Spirit; leave the temptation filled with the Spirit. It says in Luke 4:14, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through the whole countryside.” Peter, to Cornelius, said in Acts 10:38, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him.” At the end of Jesus’ ministry, He promised His disciples that He would pour forth the Holy Spirit of God from the Father — the Father and the Son together pour out the Spirit. John the Baptist said in Luke 3:16, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” And Jesus Himself said, “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about me.” The Spirit comes from the Father, through the Son, to the churches. Jesus holds the seven-fold spirit of God because it is in His power to pour out His Spirit on the church. He also holds the seven stars. The seven stars represent seven messengers of the churches — some interpretations say they are perhaps pastors or preachers. A godly proclamation ministry sets the tone for the entire life of the church. I believe the most significant thing that happens in the life of any church is the preaching of the Word. It does not matter who does it; what matters is what is preached. You can measure the health of the church, first and foremost, by the preaching ministry, and then all the things that flow from it. He holds the seven stars in His right hand; He owns them and He protects them. Who Was the Church at Sardis? We do not know much about the church at Sardis. It was probably part of the church planting movement that started out of Ephesus. This movement is mentioned in Acts 19:10, where it says that the whole region heard about the Word of the Lord because Paul was there for two years. He and those with him were sending out teams of people throughout Asia Minor, and we can assume that all seven of these churches were planted in that way. Sardis the city has a long history that you can look it up. III. Christ Presents the Shocking Diagnosis to the Church at Sardis Christ diagnoses the church at Sardis and He says, “You are dead.” “I know your deeds. You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” It just, even now, that brings chills to me, goose bumps. Imagine Jesus saying that to a church. How Does He Know? Jesus knows this by looking at their deeds. He can read their hearts, but even on the surface, He sees the deeds, the fruits — dead. There is always a link between the heart — the nature — and the fruit. “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good.” All Jesus has to do is look at the deeds. Revelation 3:2: “I know your deeds; you are dead.” “I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.” Some years ago, as many of you know, I built a tree house. That is where I write my sermons and practice them. It is a place of prayer for me. I had big plans for this tree house. It was going to be a big tree house — someone who knew my plans once called it the Taj Mahal of tree houses. It has a baseboard heater and a picture window, and all kinds of cool things in it. But when I put the first board in it, a 2x10, I secured it to a tree with a lag screw that was 5/8 of an inch in diameter and 5 inches long. That thing was not going to move. It had a sheer strength of something like 150,000 pounds, and I drove that screw right into the heart of the tree. Apparently, the tree didn't like it. In the following months and years, the tree did not flourish. Finally, in spring a few years ago, I was anxiously looking at this tree, which was holding up one quarter of the tree house, and there were no leaves at all, nothing. I had killed the tree. I knew by looking for evidence of life. Over the next two years, the tree gradually rotted, until soon after, I realized the tree was dead. I put in two 4x4s to support the tree house, and I think it will be fine, but that tree is gone, literally gone. It rotted straight down and is entirely removed. The way I knew, is just by looking for evidence of life. The same principle is going on here: there is no life, no evidence. It says in John 15:2, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,” and those branches are collected and thrown into the fire and burned. That is a picture of hell. There are works that show life, and the works that mark a healthy, living church are obvious, as we have already mentioned: clear and powerful proclamation of the Word of God from the pulpit; vigorous, spirit-filled worship; committed, sacrificial, loving community among the members of the church; bold, consistent proclamation of the Gospel in that community and, when possible, to the ends of the Earth; sacrificial ministry to the poor and needy. In addition, each individual Christian has his own unique special set of good works “which God has prepared in advance, that [they] should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10.) Healthy churches prepare the members individually to be fruitful themselves in good works that they all are doing. That is a sign of an alive church, isn't it? Do you not want to be part of a church like that? A living church produces fruit corporately and in individual members. They Had a NAME of Being Alive, But Were Actually Dead The church at Sardis had a name — a reputation — of being alive, of containing life, but they were actually dead. Perhaps all the works that gained them that name and reputation had been done many years before. Past heroes who had planted that church in Sardis and led it early on were perhaps gone. Instead of the remaining members filling their places with vibrant works, the absence of those heroes has left deadness. I love church history. I have visited the churches of many of my heroes of the faith. This is a sad exercise. I have been to Geneva to the St. Pierre Cathedral where John Calvin preached; it is effectively a museum. Worship services may happen and there may even be an evangelical congregation there, but there is an old feeling there, and the culture in the surrounding area does not seem to take notice of or know anything about about John Calvin. I have been to Wittenberg, where Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the door; I do not know the health of that church. One church I do know the health of is Jonathan Edwards’ church in Northampton, Massachusetts. Many years ago, that church went theologically, aggressively liberal, and they wrestled with the heritage of Jonathan Edwards, whose doctrines they do not hold at all. When we were there on sabbatical a few years ago, that church had a Buddhist monk coming on Wednesday night to talk to the people about meditation. It is sad. Churches can be on fire for Christ, and then things cool off, and then within a generation, or two, or three, there is nothing there, nothing going on at all. Why Were They Dead? The question is, why? Why does this happen? Why was the church at Sardis dead? The cause of death is always the same — it is not a shock to you — it is sin. Romans 6:23: “… the wages of sin is death.” James 1:14-15 said, “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” That is how death happens. The specifics of how and why are not as important as the state of death; we know because the specifics are not mentioned. Perhaps there was false doctrine there. Perhaps there was some immorality. It does not say anything about Balaam, or the Nicolaitans, or Jezebel. However, there is a mark in Verse 4: “…you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes.” This gives a sense, perhaps, of immorality, but it could be referring to false doctrine as well. Perhaps it was a matter of persecution, except, as one commentator said, “Why would Satan persecute a dead church?” (I can answer that — he does not; there is no need. They are not doing anything; they are no threat to his dark kingdom.) Perhaps it was some combination of the same problems. But what we do know is that they were dead. Little by little, spiritual vigor can drain out of a local church. Godly leaders can get old and die. The next generation comes along, and they do not share the same passion, the same vision, and it fades away. The world starts to encroach with its relentless appeal to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life. The church can stop preaching the clear Gospel of Christ to the surrounding community, or it can alter certain aspects of the message to tailor them to popular tastes, so that they can be more amenable to the surrounding community. The witnesses can increasingly fear persecution and pull back on the vigor and the frequency of their witness. Thom Rainer’s “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” Thom Rainer, in his book Autopsy of a Deceased Church, listed his own post-mortem analysis. I meditated on this list and mixed it together with some of my own thoughts to compile an autopsy report for a dead church: The church lost its zeal for local outreach. They had become insular. They cared more about what made them happy and peaceful than what Christ wanted them to do. The church turned its back on solid and careful teaching of the Word and chose to tickle the ears of its members with skillful public speakers that were little more than entertainers, rather than those who exegete the Word. The church ceased disciplining sin but tolerated more and more worldliness on the part of its members. The church ceased praying together. (Please, those who are in home fellowships, do not underestimate the prayer time you have together.) The church stopped developing godly men as future leaders. The church spent more of its resources — its time, energy, money — on itself, making itself comfortable and apparently prosperous, than on the spreading of the Gospel. The church became more and more worldly in appearance, and fit in with the surrounding culture, especially in key moral issues. In the 21st century, we are not pressed to burn a pinch of incense to Caesar, but we are pressed on other issues, like sexual issues, marriage issues, things like that, where we are being forced to conform to the love of “diversity” according to the world’s definition. We are being pressed into a worldly mold, and if we yield, then we, as a church, will be heading toward death. The church became increasingly listless, lifeless, cold, and weak. Little was happening in corporate worship. Passion and zeal were lacking. They clung to traditionalism, celebrating the bygone era of past heroes, putting plaques up on walls to celebrate achievements. They held on to old patterns of ministry long after they were not fruitful anymore. Finally, they shrank in number, growing smaller and smaller in number; the median age, decade by decade, inched slowly upward. There were fewer and fewer children — they were missing out, among other things, on the joy of listening to children sing in worship. (Dead churches may have grandchildren visiting occasionally but generally do not have many children regularly attending.) There were no youth, no young families. The church became old. (An aging church is not necessarily an indication of a dying church but it does depend on the zeal of all generations for growth and vibrancy; if you have very zealous older people with the younger generations being spiritually lifeless, then the church will not survive.) IV. Christ Commands the Remnant: Wake Up! Christ commands the remnant in verses 2-3, “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it and repent.” He calls on them to wake up. Jesus has the power to give life to the dead. In Revelation 1:18, He says, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” All Christians, individually, were dead at one point, were we not? Ephesians 2:1-5 says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But God, because of His great mercy with which He loved us, made us alive in Christ Jesus even when we were dead in transgressions and sins. It is by grace you have been saved…” God has the power, Jesus has the power to bring the dead to life, and He calls on this church to wake up. I love the mental images of Jesus raising the dead during His earthly ministry. In Mark 5, He comes in where the little girl who died had been placed; and He kneels by her bed and takes her hand so tenderly, and He says to her, “Talitha koum!” which means, “Little girl, get up,” and she opened her eyes, and woke up. That is the kind of power that Jesus has to raise the dead, as though they are sleeping. He says, “Wake up!” and they obey His command. It is not clear at all that He will give that kind of power to this church, however. When He said to Lazarus, “Lazarus, come forth,” He gave a resurrecting power to him. But here, it seems that they have chosen a tomb for themselves. They have willfully walked into deadness. He was calling on them to repent and walk out of their tomb, to wake up out of that spiritual deadness, and strengthen what remained and was about to die. Strengthen What Remains and is About to Die Verse 4 indicates that there was a remnant of people “who had not soiled their clothes.” He says, “They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.” They were not blameless. They were part of the slide into deadness, but they managed to keep themselves from defilement of doctrine and lifestyle. They were worthy, meaning they were genuinely born again. They were made worthy or qualified through Christ and would walk with Christ dressed in white, meaning they would be seen to be righteous in the sight of God. However, they were in great danger. He was warning them to strengthen what remained and was about to die. I picture a car accident, a person lying in the road, with wounds that are not immediately life threatening, bleeding rather significantly. There was a window of opportunity for this small remnant to wake up and take seriously what was happening. By the Word and the Spirit, “strengthen what remains and is about to die.” Remember and Repent He says in verse 3, “Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it and repent.” What had they received and heard that they needed to obey? Go back to the Gospel; saturate yourself again in God-Man-Christ response: Remember that there is a Holy God who created heaven and earth. Remember that He created you in His image, to have a relationship with Him — you are fearfully and wonderfully made; you are unique and special as a human being, but you have sinned. You have violated God’s laws, broken His Ten Commandments, broken His two Great Commandments to love God and love your neighbor. Remember that you have sinned, and therefore you deserve death. Remember that God sent His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, who lived under the law and perfectly obeyed every command of God His whole life, who never sinned; who did great signs and wonders to show His deity and power and compassion; and most of all, who died a substitutionary atoning death on the cross, in our place. Remember Isaiah 53:5: “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.” This is the Gospel, and if you simply repent of your sins, acknowledge that you are a sinner, and turn to Christ, all of your sins will be forgiven. Remember and repent; start being the Church again. I am saying this to all of you: they had received and heard and needed to obey this same Gospel that we have received and heard and need to obey. You may have been a Christian for decades, a genuine Christian, but you still need to hear that message again and again, to drink it in and hear it in your heart. Remember what you heard and repent of ongoing sin in your life. If you are here and you are still “dead in your transgressions and sins,” — i.e., you are not a Christian — you now know what the Gospel is; I just gave it to you. I am calling on you to come out of darkness into light; come from death to life by believing in Jesus. Warning: Verse 3: “But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” In Matthew 24, Jesus warns, “My coming is like a thief in the night who comes to steal; the owner of the house does not know at what time of night the thief is coming. You had better be ready at all times.” Revelation 3:2 is not talking about the Second Coming in which Jesus will come as a thief in the night. This is more individual, coming as a judge to that local church. This is similar to the warning He gave to the church at Ephesus that had forsaken their first love: “If you do no repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” Or to the church at Pergamum: “I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” Or like Jezebel: “I will strike you and your children dead.” He has that power to come at the time of His choosing. He says, “You had better wake up and repent and do it quickly, or I will come to you; and you do not know when I am coming.” V. Christ Promises Rewards to the Overcomers As with all of these letters, Christ promises rewards to the overcomers. Look at verse 5: “He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and His angels.” The overcomers, those who by faith in Jesus are more than conquerors, will receive the same cleansing from sin and will be covered in white robes of righteousness. A Name that will Never Be Blotted Out Jesus says, “I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life.” The Book of Life, which we will see again in Revelation 20, is where He writes the names of all of the elect who have repented and trusted in Christ and who will spend eternity with God in Heaven. He is saying, “I will never blot out your name; you have eternal life and you will most certainly live forever.” Some, inferring the opposite based on what He says, twist this to say, “Yes, but He does sometimes blot out some people’s names.” There is no verse in Scripture that teaches that those who are genuinely born again, have crossed over from death to life, and have been justified and forgiven by Almighty God can later cross back over from life to death, be unjustified, and consequently condemned. That cannot happen. He is actually promising the opposite: “I will never blot out your name from the Book of Life, but you will live forever.” Furthermore: “I will give you a name, and I will speak that name to my Father, and to the angels.” Think about that. Isn’t that awesome? “I will give you a name that will never be blotted out. Do not care about your reputation in the community. Do to care what other people think. That does not matter. What matters is what I will say about you. I will give you a name and a reputation that will live forever. I will speak your name to my Father. I will not be ashamed of you. I will pronounce your name to the Father and I will tell the angels what you did. I will tell the angels and my Father your history and your works.” What an honor. That is the reward to those who overcome. VI. Applications Be Fearful, Fight Deadness! Understand Deadness Can Happen to Us First, be fearful and flee deadness, oh, church. It is vital for us to hear and tremble at God’s Word. Do not ever say, “That could never happen to this church.” Oh, it could happen. We must be on our guard constantly. Step by step, we can slide into apostasy. We can give up our personal prayer time. We can start to cut corners in the prayer closet and taking in the Word of God. We can start playing bit by bit, more and more with sins, little sins, and then, bolder and bolder. Last week, I talked about secret sexual sin. That will do it — that will kill a church. We can lose our taste for genuine Christian fellowship. We start to pick holes in the garments of other Christians, to find flaws in them, and make excuses for not going to church. And that happens a little at a time. We slide into apostasy and it can happen. Instead, we must keep before us the marks of a healthy church. I will not review them again today, but you can look them up. Rely on the Holy Spirit Second, pray. Pray that the pulpit ministry here would be vigorous and not shrink back from proclaiming the whole counsel of God’s Word, all of it. Pray that we would be vigorous in sharing the Gospel in this community, sacrificially bold in sharing with lost people right around here. Pray that we would continue caring about unreached people groups and missions. Pray that we would have a heart for the poor and needy, that we would be sacrificial toward those who are struggling and suffering, not just in our part of the world, but even, for example, in East Africa with the famine happening right now, that we would sacrificially give to care for them. Pray that we would care about holiness and be fighting sin by the power of the Spirit, vigorously active in each other’s lives. Pray that we would be vibrant in prayer; and that when we come together for corporate worship, it is an electric time of celebrating — not just Easter, but every week — the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. Closing Prayer Close with me in prayer. Father, we thank you for the time that we have had to look at this warning of a church that was alive and had a reputation for being alive, but became dead. God, I pray, protect us from that. I pray for the elders of this church, myself and the other elders, that you would help us to be vigilant over ourselves and over the flock which the Lord has entrusted to our care. I pray that we would not be arrogant. I pray that we would be humbled, that we would be on our knees and our faces, saying, “Oh, God, we could die. If you don't strengthen us, we will.” Please, you are the vine, Lord Jesus; we are merely the branches. Help us to abide in you and bear much fruit. God, I pray for more evangelistic fruit. I pray for more baptisms. I pray that the church, the people in this church, would be courageous and share the Gospel with lost people. And, oh, Lord, lead us to people who are ready to hear. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
The Gospel in this Third Commandment is that the name of the Lord is our hope. We have broken His Ten Commandments and are under condemnation. His open door of salvation to all proclaims grace through this commandment, "For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).
The Gospel in this Third Commandment is that the name of the Lord is our hope. We have broken His Ten Commandments and are under condemnation. His open door of salvation to all proclaims grace through this commandment, "For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).
After encountering a holy God upon the mountain, the people now receive His Ten Commandments. Patterned after other ancient treaties, the people are about to enter into a covenant relationship with Yahweh. They will be His subjects and He will be...
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