7-30-17 At many Times and in Various Ways

Scripture:  Ephesians 2:19-22

Hebrews 1:1-3a

In the past (before our time) God spoke to our ancestors (people in our faith family who died before we were born) through the prophets (who were the prophets?) at many times and in various ways, (God uses the personality and skills of different people to proclaim His word) but in these last days (we are still in these last days) he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.  (The prophets were imperfect messengers of God’s word in that they revealed a small part of God’s word whereas the Son reveals all of God’s word…according to John, Jesus is God’s word…made flesh)

          The prophets were ordinary people called by God to speak on his behalf. They were passionate about the living God and many gave their life for His purpose. You don’t have to go back 3000 years to see people with such passion:

Maximilian Kolbe (Polish Franciscan, died at Auschwitz), 1941

Edith Stein (Carmelite nun, died at Auschwitz), 1942

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, (April 9, 1945) Lutheran Pastor and member of the German Resistance

Wang Zhiming (1907 - December 29, 1973) Chinese pastor, publicly executed

Martin Burnham, 2002 missionary killed by terrorists after being held captive for a year.

Jacques Hamel – Priest killed in the 2016 Normandy church attack.

So too, many of the prophets died for their faith in God. How then can we take our faith or leave it? How can it be such an easy thing for us? Why do we (I) seek comfort more than the cross of Christ?

          Who are the Prophets?

SLIDES FOR EACH SECTION BELOW:

Old Testament Prophets

Major Prophets

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel

Minor Prophets

Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Other Prophets

Elijah, Elisha, Gad, Micaiah, Nathan, Samuel

New Testament Prophets

John the Baptist, John the Revelator, Agubus, Anna, Barnabas, Paul the Apostle

What is the role of a prophet?         Deuteronomy 18:18-20

I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.

God speaks to us through the prophets      Hosea 12:1

I spoke to the prophets, gave them many visions and told parables through them."

God reveals His plans to the prophets.     Amos 3:7

Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

Why did God send prophets?         2 Chronicles 24:19, NKJV.

“Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the LORD; and they testified against them, but they would not listen.”

The gift of prophecy is intended to build up the church and unify it.  Ephesians 4:11-13, NKJV. "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;"

Jesus didn’t come to get rid of the law and the prophets, rather to reveal all of it perfected and complete: Matt 5:17-20   "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Luke 18:31-33

Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again."

Acts 10:42

All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

Acts 28:24-25

From morning till evening Paul explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.

Ephesians 2:19-22

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

          As a church we are to be a prophet of God and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ through everything we do – through our programs, our worship, our service and through the lives of each individual believer.

Elijah and the widow of Zarephath / Rich man in hell – Lazurus and Abraham

Luke 16:27-31   "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' "'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

CORNERSTONE

My hope is built on nothing less / Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame / But wholly trust in Jesus' name

When Darkness seems to hide His face / I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale / My anchor holds within the veil

Christ alone; cornerstone / Weak made strong; in the Saviour's love
Through the storm, He is Lord / Lord of all

7-23-17 Tent Camping…with Jesus!

10 pics 01-10 / 3 seconds each (transition from song to preaching as I walk to the platform)

Scripture:      2 Corinthians 5:1-5

Who has ever been tent camping?

As a kid, we used to tent camp at Kelly’s Island with my dad.

As a youth, I tent camped a few times.

As an adult, I have not done tent camping much. When I was a youth pastor in Kansas City we went tent camping in the Ozark mountains – it was so cold Kim stayed in the van.

Camping in a tent can be miserable – or it can be wonderful…it brings you closer to nature, and closer…literally to your family or friends.

It seems God enjoyed tent camping and that style of camping (not like todays’ popular glamping which is glamorous/camping), but the simplicity of a tent is where God seems to relate to us. It is also a perfect way for understanding our theme text:

Hebrews 1:1-3a

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets

at many times and in various ways,

but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,

whom he appointed heir of all things,

and through whom he made the universe.

The Son is the radiance of God's glory

and the exact representation of his being,

sustaining all things by his powerful word.     

          The omni-present or Everywhere present God – came to a specific people/person (Jews/Moses), at a specific time (Over 3400 years ago), in a specific place (foot of Mt. Sanai = Gulf of Suez & Aquaba)…a tent.

          Before there was a formal Tabernacle – Moses had a simple tent where he met with God:

Exodus 33:7-11

Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the "tent of meeting." Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. (Ex 13:21-22 By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. [Pillar is designed to hold up a building – temple of God / Were these pillars man made or divine?]) Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

Tents of Israel pic Notice that the people all lived in a tent – and God was showing that he came to them in a form that is understandable yet miraculous – a miracle pillar of fire and cloud but also residing in a tent even as they did.  As the community moved toward the promised land and had an understanding that God came to live among them – God instructed Moses to have them build Him a more permanent Sacred Tent called the “Tabernacle”. mishkan: dwelling place, tabernacle. 

RNM – the tabernacle video 3:00 minutes

          God was serious about “tabernacling” dwelling with the people in a way that was familiar to them – in a tent.  As the video said, this lasted until David – through his son Solomon, built the first more permanent Temple – designed very much like, and for the same purpose as the mobile tabernacle – it was a sacred tent made from stone, wood and gold instead of canvas. The pillar of smoke and fire were no longer present, but the shekinah glory of God still rested in the holy of holies.

          When the Babylonians destroyed the temple, Ezekiel describes it as the glory of the Lord leaving the scene (tent) and going back to heaven. The Greek word skenoo used in John 1:14 literally means “to pitch a tent.” In Greek, the word for tent is skene — which is the word from which we get our English word, scene. Early Greek actors used tents as changing booths for their performances; and eventually, when scenic backdrops were used for their plays, the same word was applied. Over time the word skene began to be applied to any scenic background, and hence the word scene has come down to us with that meaning.

This word skene (tent) is the very word used in the New Testament to refer to the tabernacle of God used by Israel in their early worship of God. In the Greek NT therefore, the word translated “tabernacle” is skene — “the tent” The writer of the book of Hebrews calls it “the true tent [skene] that the Lord set up” (Hebrews 8:2).

Hundreds of years later God returns to pitch his tent – this time not made with human hands but God himself in the flesh. John wrote that the glory of God had come back—this time in a new tent — in the body of Jesus Christ. “…and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father…” (John 1:14). God’s presence was bound by a little tent outside the camp to a larger tabernacle to the temple – all mere representations of the true tabernacle/tent – Jesus himself.

Now the Mt. of transfiguration makes sense – When Moses and Elijah appear to Peter James and John = Peter wants to build TENTS for them to stay in so they can worship them. However – a “cloud” appears and hides Moses, Elijah and Jesus form their view and God says: “This is my son, worship him” and the cloud is gone and only Jesus remains.

And what did Paul say? (who was BTW a...“tent” maker)  2 Cor 5:1-5  Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Spoke thru prophets in the past – now thru his son – the old tent / the new tent!

CONCLUSION

          We began talking about that first TENT where Moses met with God. Do you remember where it was located?  Exodus 33:7  Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the "tent of meeting."

          Now we know that God has tented among us in Jesus – where do we meet Jesus?  Hebrews 13:11-14   The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

7-16-17 Is it time for a reboot?

Scripture:     John 21:15-19

TITLE SLIDE:

Does your PC not seem to run as well as it once did? Wait – you thought I meant Personal Computer – NO – Presence of Christ. Is the presence of Christ not what it once was? Are you like the first church mentioned in the book of Revelation – the church of Ephesus? Rev 2:2-5  I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.

          You have gone to church for many years and you serve in several areas but you feel burnt out – spiritually lethargic – uninspired? Well, sounds like a case of a lost first love. We will come back to this text in a little bit to find a solution to our situation.

There are not a lot of examples in the NT of a reboot because it does not cover enough time, though there are some. The OT is full of reboots.  Adam and Eve sinned, they had to reboot in a new location outside of paradise. Cain killed able, God gave Adam and Eve Seth and other children. God hated how His creation was living and he killed them all except his Noah reboot team. God’s people were enslaved in Egypt and God gave them a reboot right through the Red sea across the Jordan River and into the Promised land. When the people offended God, He was always raising up a remnant to reboot the Hebrew people to be in right relationship with Him. While the Jews were in Exile, Jerusalem was in shambles and God used Nehemiah to reboot the city, and restore the word of God.

The best reboot example in the NT is Peter. As predicted by Jesus, he denied even knowing Jesus - 3 times. After the resurrection, during breakfast on the beach Jesus reboots a discouraged failed Simon Peter. John 21:15-19 (Not this text on a slide)

When they had finished eating,

Jesus: "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"

Peter: "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

Jesus: "Feed my lambs." "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"

Peter: "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

Jesus: "Take care of my sheep." "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

Peter: (hurt Jesus asked him the third time) "Lord, you know all things; you know that I

            love you."

Jesus: "Feed my sheep. " (3 times denied – 3 times rebooted) Jesus accentuated the reboot by using the exact same two words he had used to call Jesus in the beginning): "Follow me!"

Sometimes long term Social Networks (relationships) need a reboot. The only way they get rebooted is when you do something different – not when you wait for someone else to do something different.

Computer Reboot may refer to any of the following:

A reboot is the process of restarting a working computer using hardware (e.g. a power button) instead of software. Rebooting is sometimes necessary after installing a software program, installing operating system updates, to recover from an error, or to re-initialize drivers or hardware devices.

A HARD reboot vs. a SOFT reboot

A reboot may be a cold or hard reboot, which means the power was physically shut off and then turned back on. It can also be a warm or soft reboot, which means the system restarted without loss of power.

Note: Users should only perform a hard reboot if the computer is completely frozen, as it may damage hardware components.

          Spiritually speaking we only need a hard reboot one time. God started us up and we used our own intelligence to determine how our life should be and we were not living by God’s way – we lived without faith in Christ. In that case, we need a complete shutdown to allow the bad stuff to go away (that is called forgiveness and cleansing). Then we are restarted or rebooted with everything aligned for a fresh start. To not get sluggish again this may require a change of friends, location, external situations.

Or maybe you are just a bit distant and need a soft reboot requiring a change of thoughts, attitudes and perspectives. This is the person in the church who has been a Christian for awhile and the Christian life has simply become routine. Church attendance, worship, financial giving, bible reading, prayer time, fellowship, are less than they were at first. Inviting people to New Life in Christ or even inviting people to church has taken a distant back seat. If any of those are true – it is time for a soft reboot – you don’t need unplugged or completed shut down, because your hardware is working fine – it is your software that needs rebooted – your thoughts, attitudes, perspective – it is time to regain your first love with the passion you had at first.

          Over time churches can get tired, lethargic and distant from God and may require a hard reboot (like FBC Jerome) or a soft reboot where some reorganization is needed.

          Every church will need some kind of reboot at least every 10 years, if not sooner.  10 years ago, Ashland Church rebooted by making a major change in location, and now we are ready for another reboot which is why we are going through the church Unique process. Insanity is to keep doing the same things in the same way and expect different results.

In his book "Crazy Love", Francis Chan put it this way: people who truly follow Jesus care about the Kingdom, live lives that connect with the poor, do things that don't make sense in terms of worldly success or wealth, will seek humility not recognition, take joy in loving people, will be known as givers, not takers, will orient their lives around eternity; and will be characterized by committed, settled, passionate love for God.

Isn't choosing to be changed an absolute necessity of entering into God's Kingdom? Cardinal Newman once said: "to live is to change, and to live well is to change often." In other words, if we always do what we've always done, we will always get what we've always gotten.

The culture around us is not changing to make church growth and evangelism easy – in fact it is always working to make it harder. As the culture changes – our methods and systems and procedures must ALWAYS be changing founded on the unchanging Word of God and Jesus who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!

3 REBOOT STORIES [FOCUS ON JESUS]

1               James & John (Salome) Sit at your right and left hand in heaven.

2               Peter walk on water

3               Thomas needs to see nail holes in Jesus’ hands

Jesus said (SLIDE) “Follow Me”

7-2-17 I Pledge Allegiance…

Scripture:       Psalm 139:14

Red Skelton’s Pledge of Allegiance / https://youtu.be/TZBTyTWOZCM

On July 4th, 1776, The United States declared its independence from Great Britain. Sometime after, once that declaration had been printed, 56 brave men signed that document known as "The Declaration of Independence" and pledged their allegiance to this new nation.

Do you have any idea what price these men paid?

* Five were captured and tortured by the British before they died.

* Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned to the ground.

* Two lost their sons in the war.

* One had two sons captured.

* Nine fought and died from wounds or the hardships of the war.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British navy. He sold his home to pay his debts and died in rags.

Thomas McKean was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in Congress without pay and he died a very poor man.

Thomas Nelson’s home was seized by the British at the Battle of Yorktown and used as a command post. He urged General George Washington to open fire on it. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt.

FREEDOM HAS ALWAYS EXACTED A PRICE.

We may stand out of respect for the flag, but we kneel in worship and adoration before the cross.

          For any president term of office – it is not a period, rather a comma. For the King who dies on the cross, it is not a comma and not a period; it IS and exclamation point!!!

Gal 4:1-7

What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Gal 4:21-23 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.

WE ARE BORN OF ONE OF TWO WOMEN – Slave woman born the natural way (sin) or the Free woman born the Spirit (miracle) way (forgiven) Hagar/Ishmael and Sarah/Isaac

Gal 4:28-31   Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. But what does the Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son."  Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

Do you remember what it says in Hebrews 1:1-3a

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.     

Gal 5:1-6 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

The free woman, and her husband and son learned that freedom would cost a price. (Abraham and Isaac – ram (lamb) caught in the thicket. The ram took Isaacs place. The ‘Lamb’ takes our place.

Stripped of clothes and all worldly possessions – he died between those who had broken the law///he died for those who had broken the law. He died to take the penalty for the law breakers. Not those like the thieves who broke civil laws – but for all mankind since Adam and Eve who broke the law of God. For everyone enslaved to sin – Jesus died in their place so they could be set from the guilt and penalty of sin knowing that trying to keep the law would never make us holy as God had designed, only the holy one on the cross – trusting in him – could ever make us holy – fit for eternal life – free from the sin that held us in slavery. Our shakles broken, our chains are gone. We are set free to live on and on as we now know where our allegiance lies – with the lamb of God who came to die.

Begin CD music: “I Pledge Allegiance”

Chorus opening

I have heard how Christians long ago
Were brought before a tyrant's throne
They were told that he would spare their lives
If they would renounce the name of Christ
But one by one they chose to die
The Son of God they would not deny
Like a great angelic choir sings
I can almost hear their voices ring

I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
With all my strength, with all I am
I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb

Now the years have come, and the years have gone
But the cause of Jesus still goes on
Now our time has come to count the cost
To reject this world, to embrace the cross
And one by one let us live our lives
For the one who died to give us life
Till the trumpet sounds on the final day
Let us proudly stand and boldly say

I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
With all my strength, with all I am
I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb

To the Lamb of God who bore my pain
Who took my place, who wore my shame

I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb

I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
With all my strength, with all I am
I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb

I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
With all my strength, with all I am
I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb

I pledge allegiance to the Lamb

to the Lamb