5-27-18 Building up Memorial Stones

Scripture   Joshua 4:1-9

RETELL CROSSING THE JORDAN    (Joshua 3)

Early Spring 1406 (flood waters) 2 spies sent out – protected by Rahab the prostitute.

 

Josh 3:11-14   MSG          Look at what's before you: the Chest of the Covenant. Think of it — the Master of the entire earth is crossing the Jordan as you watch. 12 Now take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe. 13 When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the Chest of God, Master of all the earth, touch the Jordan's water, the flow of water will be stopped — the water coming from upstream will pile up in a heap."

          14 And that's what happened. The people left their tents to cross the Jordan, led by the priests carrying the Chest of the Covenant.

How many crossed the Jordan?

Num 1:45-46

All Israelites 20 years old or more who were able to serve in Israel's army were 603,550.

Num 26:51

The total number of the men of Israel was 601,730. Plus, women and Children.

TOTAL 1-2½ million people

ALL HAVE NOW CROSSED THE JORDAN

Josh 4:1-9 MSG

When the whole nation was finally across, God spoke to Joshua: 2 "Select twelve men from the people, a man from each tribe, 3 and tell them, 'From right here, the middle of the Jordan where the feet of the priests are standing firm, take twelve stones. Carry them across with you and set them down in the place where you camp tonight.'"

          4 Joshua called out the twelve men whom he selected from the People of Israel, one man from each tribe. 5 Joshua directed them, "Cross to the middle of the Jordan and take your place in front of the Chest of God, your God. Each of you heft a stone to your shoulder, a stone for each of the tribes of the People of Israel, so you'll have something later to mark the occasion. When your children ask you, 'What are these stones to you?' you'll say, 'The flow of the Jordan was stopped in front of the Chest of the Covenant of God as it crossed the Jordan — stopped in its tracks. These stones are a permanent memorial for the People of Israel.'"

          8 The People of Israel did exactly as Joshua commanded: They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan — a stone for each of the twelve tribes, just as God had instructed Joshua — carried them across with them to the camp, and set them down there. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones taken from the middle of the Jordan that had marked the place where the priests who carried the Chest of the Covenant had stood. They are still there today.

In the later years of his life, the great 19th century American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson suffered from an increasingly faulty memory. When things would slip his mind, he complained of his “naughty memory,” as he called it. Sometimes Emerson would forget the names of different objects. In order to speak of them, he would refer to them in a round-about way. For instance, when he could not think of the word “plow,” he would call it “the implement that cultivates the soil.” More important was the fact that he could not remember the names of people who were quite familiar to him. At the funeral of his friend, the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Emerson commented to another person, “That gentleman has a sweet, beautiful soul, but I have entirely forgotten his name.”

The loss of memory is a sad thing. It cuts us off from days gone by. It strips away the treasured residue of past experience. It erases our personal history and leaves us with blank pages. A gentleman commented: I was visiting in the home of a delightful older woman. Periodically in the course of our conversation she would stop and — after a moment’s silence — would remark, “I’ve forgotten what I was going to say.” After this happened several times she confessed, “It’s so humiliating to have your memory go bad.” Certainly it is unfortunate, inconvenient and at times embarrassing not to remember. Yet without a doubt, for some people the failure of memory is largely unavoidable…

…that is not always the case. Sometimes we are forgetful because we neglect that which has gone before us and become inattentive to those who have preceded us. We center all of our attention only on our own time and place. We act as though the present is all that matters and the past is some shabby thing that can be safely cast off and left behind like a worn-out pair of shoes.

Memorial Day has largely become an extra day off work. This holiday is not expressly religious. It is secular. However, it can serve to promote a value that is elevated throughout the Scriptures, that value being the importance of remembrance. A failure of memory is not just something which leads to personal inconvenience or social embarrassment. It is a spiritual danger. A failure of memory in those things which are most significant results in a failure of faith. Forgetfulness erodes the foundation of our relationship with God.

On several occasions, the bible uses Memorial Stones or something similar to help the people remember – like: Precious Stones in Arron’s breastplate, Lampstand of gold with continual fire, incense that always burns, Crown in the days of Zechariah, Blood on the door post from the Exodus, the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple.  All for the purpose of remembering ------- Oh, and the bread and the cup – take these; what? In remembrance of me.

IMPORTANT MEMORIAL STONES

SLIDES - PIB BRICKS     -     WEDDING RING     -     Rock - NOV. 4, 1974

What Memorial Stones have you built to remember what God has done for you? How often do you view them? Let me suggest one Memorial Stone you ought to visit often – it is a Stone that points to the Living Stone – the Bible – visit it often and it will remind you of the Living Stone…

1 Peter 2:4-5   As you come to him, the living Stone — rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

5-20-18 The Pillars of Creation!

2018 THEME BANNERS

  

Scripture  Genesis 1:14-19

And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning — the fourth day.

NEBULA = (plural nebulae or nebulas) a cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky either as an indistinct bright patch or as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter.

(POC 1 SLIDE)  “Pillars of Creation” in this photograph taken by the Hubble Space Telescope of elephant trunks of interstellar gas and dust in the (POC 2 SLIDE)  Eagle Nebula nearly 7,000 light-years from Earth.  NASA scientists named this nebula “Pillars of Creation”, (POC 3 SLIDE)  because the gas and dust are in the process of forming new stars.

The phrase “pillars of creation” originated in a sermon given by an English Christian minister Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) to describe the birth of Jesus Christ.

“And now wonder, you angels, the Infinite has become an infant; he, upon whose shoulders the universe hang s …he who created all things, and bears up the pillars of creation.”                                      SPURGEON’S SERMON

Oh, can you conceive the yet increasing wonder of the heavenly hosts when the deed was actually done, when they saw the crown taken off, when they saw him unbind his girdle of stars, and cast away his sandals of gold? Can you conceive it, when he said to them, “I do not disdain the womb of the virgin; I am going down to earth to become a man?” Can you picture the angels as they declared they would follow him! Yes, they followed him as near as the world would permit them. And when they came to earth they began to sing, “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.” Nor would they go away till they had made the shepherds wonder, and till heaven had hung out a new star in honor of the new-born King.

[: And now wonder, you angels, the Infinite has become an infant; he, upon whose shoulders the universe does hang, hangs at his mothers breast; he who created all things, and bears up the pillars of creation, has now become so weak that he must be carried by a woman! And oh, wonder, you that knew him in his riches, while you admire his poverty! Where sleeps the new-born King? Had he the best room in Caesar’s palace? Had a cradle of gold been prepared for him, and down filled pillows, on which to rest his head? No, where the ox fed, in the dilapidated stable, in the manger, there the Saviour lies, swathed in the swaddling bands of the children of poverty! Nor there does he rest long; on a sudden his father and mother must carry him to Egypt; he goes there, and becomes a stranger in a strange land. When he comes back, see him that made the worlds handle the hammer and the nails, assisting his father in the trade of a carpenter!

Mark him who has put the stars on high, and made them glisten in the night; mark him without one star of glory upon his brow—a simple child, as other children.

Bible Reading: Genesis 1

For centuries man has been trying to discover the origins of the universe, only to find that it is bigger, more complex and more amazing than we can comprehend and that the more we learn, the more there is to learn ~ infinitely more. Words fail to describe the enormity of the universe where distance is measured in light-years which are insanely fast In one year, light travels approximately 186,000 miles per second OR 6 Trillion miles (6,000,000,000,000) per year. We live on a very small planet called Earth orbiting around a pretty small star that we call the sun.  We are in an area of the universe called The Milky Way galaxy which contains approximately 200 billion stars.  Andromeda, our neighbor galaxy, is 2 million light-years away from The Milky Way. Andromeda and The Milky Way along with about 54 other dwarf galaxies are called The Local Group!

Theories abound about how the universe started, but fail to answer the ultimate question, “What existed before there was something?  From where did the ‘something’ come?”

The first book in the Bible is called Genesis meaning “beginning.”  Genesis 1 answers the five W’s ~ who, what, when, where and why ~ about creation.

Genesis 1:1-5

In the beginning (WHEN) God (WHO) created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (WHERE) 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. (WHAT) 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day.

WHY DID GOD CREATE?

Gen 1:26-27

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

King David asked essentially the same thing:

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers … what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" (Psalm 8:3-4).

Why did God make us?

First, it wasn't because he needed us: "The God who made the world and everything in it … is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything" (Acts 17:24-25).

And he didn't make us because he was lonely. Long before we were here, God already had "company" with his Son and the Holy Spirit, referred to in Genesis 1:26, "Let us make man in our own image."

And he didn't make us because he needed his ego fed. It's not like God made us to satisfy some craving to be worshiped. God is totally secure in who he is—without us.

Second, despite not needing us, God chose to create us anyway, out of his great love: "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). Yes, God loved us before he even created us. It's impossible to get our heads around that idea, but it's true; that's what "everlasting" love means.

God is love (1 John 4:8), and because of that love and his wonderful creativity, he made us as the recipients of His creativity and love. (Finger print Unique)

[: Jesus, without one star of glory upon his brow—a simple child, as other children. Yet, leave for a while the scenes of his childhood and his earlier life; see him when he becomes a man, and now you may say, indeed, that for our sakes he did become poor. Look at his robe, it is woven from the top throughout, the garment of the poor! As for his food, he oftentimes did hunger; and always was dependent upon the charity of others for the relief of his wants! He who scattered the harvest over the broad acres of the world, had not sometimes wherewithal to stay the pangs of hunger? He who dug the springs of the ocean, sat upon a well and said to a Samaritan woman, “Give me a drink!” He rode in no chariot, he walked his weary way, foot sore, over the flint stones of Galilee! He had not where to lay his head. He looked upon the fox as it hurried to its burrow, and the fowl as it went to its resting-place, and he said, “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but I, the Son of man, have not where to lay my head.” He who had once been waited on by angels, becomes the servant of servants, takes a towel, girds himself, and washes his disciples’ feet! He who was once honored with the hallelujahs of ages, is now spat upon and despised! He who was loved by his Father, and had abundance of the wealth of affection, could say, “He that eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.” Oh, for words to picture the humiliation of Christ! What leagues of distance between him that sat upon the throne, and him that died upon a dead tree! :]                  (POC 4 SLIDE)  

          Jesus, who brought into being the star making Pillars of Creation is crucified under a starless dark sky in the middle of the day so that we (you and I) can stand for all to see, as His new eternal Pillars of creation.

5-13-18 What an amazing gift from God!

Scripture  1 Kings 3:16-28

It’s Mother’s Day! Some motherly advice …

At times it may be difficult to get the attention of your children … if that happens just try this …

The quickest way for a mother to get the attention of her children is to sit down and look comfortable.

          Well, get comfortable mothers and let me share with you what an amazing gift God has given by the birth of children through the ages:

     Children are a gift from the Lord, they are a reward form him. Psalm 127:3 paraphrased

EVE

The Original Mother — more specifically, of Cain, Abel, and Seth (and several unnamed others)

You have to feel a little bit of sympathy for the girl who didn’t have a mother to ask about how things were for her back in the day. When the kids had a temperature or were teething she just had to figure it out on her own, but, then again, nobody could look at her and tell her that she was doing it all wrong. She had the mother of all heartache, too. Her sons were involved in the first homicide. She was the first mom to have to bury her child with no other family around to offer support.

          Imagine when Eve became pregnant and gave birth – no hospital – no epidural – no experience to even know what was happening except maybe having seen an animal give birth. Adam had to call God(9)11 to know how to deliver the baby. Imagine their recognition of what God had done by giving them children – what a gift…then tragedy when Cain killed Able. They did have other children. Adam and Eve and their children are the beginning of the human race, and even in their sin, they helped set up a redeeming relationship between Jesus and us. What an amazing gift from God.

SARAH

Mother of Isaac

This is the mom who gives hope to everyone who waited a little late to get started on the Mommy Track. Not that she didn’t try. God made a promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. This led Sarah to the logical conclusion that she would be the mother of many nations. When that wasn’t happening in a timely manner, Sarah decided to give her handmaiden Hagar as her maternal substitute. This resulted in a child but not the child. And “the” child is representative of “the” only son of God who would come later as a sacrifice for all mankind. When the messenger of the Lord told Abraham that it really would be Sarah that was going to deliver the promised baby, Sarah overheard, laughed, and promptly got in trouble for it. But consider the joy at almost 100 years old resigning yourself to the fact it will never happen and you are blessed with a beautiful baby. What an amazing gift from God.

ELIZABETH

Mother of John the Baptist

Her story is very similar to Sarah in that she accepted that she would never produce offspring for the husband she loved. Then God showed up and blessed her in her old age with the birth of John the Baptist who became the forerunner of Jesus. What an amazing gift from God.

REBEKAH

Mother of Jacob and Esau

For every mom who has ever had the temptation to play favorites with her children, pay attention to Rebekah. She didn’t just play favorites, she was an accessory to one of the biggest Daddy Dupes in all of history. Scripture says that Isaac loved Esau because he was an outdoors-man but Rebekah loved Jacob. Rebekah was in collusion with Jacob to take the birthright from his older brother. Turns out that this family rift lasted for a long time. Rebekah reminds us that it is a dangerous thing to use maternal power for manipulation. Twin Boys, what an amazing gift from God – a gift that Rebekah misused. It is emblematic of the fact that Jesus himself would one day be betrayed by those closest to him.

BATHSHEBA

Mother of Solomon

Bathsheba was well-named as it was her “bath-ing” that attracted the attention of King David. Their illicit affair resulted in the birth of a son. David tried covering it up by having her husband come home from military service to sleep with his wife to make it seem like it was his baby. That didn’t work so King David sent her husband to the front lines where he was killed. David thought he had gotten away with it. Nathan confronted him and David repented bitterly. But we never really hear how it all affected Bathsheba. Their son, Solomon, turned out to be a peaceable ruler whose wisdom was legendary. Bathsheba’s motherhood gives women hope that, regardless of the circumstances surrounding your pregnancy and the birth of your child, God can redeem any situation. You never know, you might just have the wisest person ever on the planet staring back at you from that high chair. Or, like Mary, who circumstances around the birth of her son were also quite extraordinary, she had the son of God staring back at her from his high chair. Even though Bathsheba’s son was born from a sinful act, Solomon was still an amazing gift from God.

JOCHEBED

Mother of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam

You just have to give it up for her and the midwives who, in their act of civil disobedience, allowed Moses to be born. Those midwives, when asked by the pharaoh why they were not killing the boy babies as commanded, replied that the Hebrew women were “too vigorous” and popped those babies out before they could get there! Thus baby Moses was born but had to be sent down the river (literally) with his sister serving as lookout, only to be pulled out of the water by the pharaoh’s daughter, who secured the services of Moses’ biological mom to nanny him. Moses’ mom shows us that the determination and ingenuity of a desperate mother can result in surprising circumstances. This story points to Jesus, the one who was rescued form Herod who had all the Bethlehem babies killed and went to Egypt for safety, then like Moses led the people out of slavery in Egypt, Jesus leads us out of slavery to sin. What an amazing gift from God.

HANNAH

Samuel

          Hannah was unable to conceive. In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord. And she made a vow, saying, "O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life.” That is exactly what God did and she carried through on her promise and Samuel became great among God’s people. Even as Hannah was desperate to have a child, so to the world was desperate for a messiah to come which would happen years later when Jesus was born. What an amazing gift from God.

Mother EUNICE and Grandmother LOIS

Timothy

These women taught Timothy the scriptures from the time he was a baby. The result was nothing short of miraculous – Timothy became a great man of God and largely responsible for the growth of the early church. Paul treated timothy like a son and recognized his faith in Jesus was a direct result of his mother and grandmother’s teaching, example and influence on him as a young child. What an amazing gift from God.

MARY

Mother of Jesus

          Mary gives birth to the son of God but still has to change his diapers, tend to is skinned knees, feed him and see that he is educated. She neglects to make sure he is with them on a trip home from Jerusalem and leaves him behind. She was not the first or last mother to have a child go missing and experience the relief on finding him. She pushes him to be the best version of himself at a wedding in Cana. And then we see Mary at the crucifixion. Disciples may scatter, followers may be in hiding, but a mother stays when the rest of the world walks away. In fact, Mary is a rich tapestry of real motherhood: a lot of excitement followed by years of work and moments of intense pain, while seeing her son care for her even as he is dying for the sins of the world he makes sure she is taken care of by his friend and disciple, John. What an amazing gift from God

*        Mary giving birth to Jesus seems like the logical place to stop, but there is one more birth story that truly shows what an amazing gift children are to mothers who love them more than life itself.

TWO PROSTITUTES

Baby Split in two

          1 Kings 3 is the story where Solomon is offered whatever he wants by God. He asks for wisdom to rule God’s people. God is pleased with his answer and grants him wisdom along with what he did not ask for – wealth, security and a long life. As he is worshipping and sacrificing to the Lord – his very first case comes before him which will test his newly acquired godly wisdom. The case has to do with true motherhood and the recognition that children are an absolute amazing gift from God.

          1 Kings 3:16-28

Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. One of them said, “My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us. During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him. So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. The next morning, I got up to nurse my son — and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne.”

The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.” But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.” And so they argued before the king.

The king said, "This one says, 'My son is alive and your son is dead,' while that one says, 'No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.'” Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.” The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!” But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!” Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”

When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.

          The love of a real mother is a willingness to give up her baby if it would benefit her baby. CHILDREN: What an amazing gift from God.

          It is the gift of God, the birth of a child that makes you a mother, a grandmother, an aunt or any other relationship that allows you to know the great gift an opportunity to raise a child in the ways they should go. This gift comes from Jesus, and the greatest way to say thank you for this amazing gift from God is to dedicate that child to God and do all you can to teach by words and example that Jesus is the true son of God and in him alone is found eternal life through receiving a new birth and being born again where God, in you, wants to make all things new!

5-6-18 Melchizedek 2.0

Scripture Genesis 14:1-24

Genesis 14

At this time Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (the Salt Sea). For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

MAP SLIDE         

 

5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.

Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar — four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

          13 One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

          17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).

END SLIDE

          18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand."

          Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

          21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself." But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me — to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share."

Abram’s tithe

When Abram came back from his victory over Ked uhr la o’ mer, and the other kings, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in Shaveh Valley (also called King’s Valley). And Melchizedek, who was king of Salem and also a priest of the Most High God, brought bread and wine to Abram, blessed him, and said, “May the Most High God, who made heaven and earth, bless Abram! May the Most High God, who gave you victory over your enemies, be praised!” And Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the loot he had recovered.

The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Keep the loot, but give me back all my people.” Abram answered, “I solemnly swear before the Lord, the Most High God, Maker of heaven and earth, that I will not keep anything of yours, not even a thread or a sandal strap. Then you can never say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’” (Gen 14:17-23, GNB)

This is a story of two kings. First, we have the King of Salem who represents Jesus. His name means king of righteousness and he is the prince of Salem which means peace.

Melchizedek-who-represents-Jesus shows up unexpectedly and does a most Jesusy thing: he serves communion. Remember, this was before Passover and the cross. Melchizedek appears, as out of thin air, with bread and wine and saying, “Let’s give praise and thanks to God.”

And why should we thank God? “Because, Abe, God has been good to you! He gave you this extraordinary victory. One small clan against four professional armies. Do you really think you won on your own?”

Abram could have replied, “My goodness, you’re right. We should’ve been slaughtered. Surely God was with us!” The lights go on and Abram has an encounter with grace. What does he do next? He gives God’s man a tenth of all the loot, thus treating him as a partner in his endeavor.

Now for the second king. The king of Sodom speaks a generous line – “keep the loot” – yet Abram refuses his gesture. “I want nothing from you. Not even a sandal strap.” (think ahead to Jesus and JTB-not worthy to untie his sandals) A minute ago Abram was gushy and grateful; now he’s proud and hard. “I don’t want anyone saying you helped me.”

Clearly something has changed.

The two kings

SLIDE

 

  

If Melchizedek represents Jesus, the king of Sodom represents self. (Remember, Abram would not have gone to war except his nephew Lot found Sodom pleasing to the eye. Lot walked by sight, trusted his own judgment, and the result was a disaster.) END SLIDE

  

SLIDE

 

 There are some neat contrasts between these two kings: Melchizedek promotes trust in God; Sodom inspires self-trust. Melchizedek is the king of righteousness; Sodom is self-righteous. Melchizedek gives grace; Sodom gives law. Melchizedek asks for nothing; Sodom says “give me.”

What do we learn from this?

If you are thinking, “God gives us grace so we can tithe,” you’ve missed Melchizedek and found Sodom. Like Lot, you’re relying on your own understanding to draw a moral lesson that is not there.

Melchizedek does not appear in the story for the purpose of extracting money from Abram. He shows up to draw attention to God’s goodness. “God gave you…” And if Melchizedek showed up unexpectedly in your story, he would say the same thing. “You are blessed because God has given you …” This is grace, and when you see it you will respond with generosity because grace gives birth to grace. It happens effortlessly.  END SLIDE

Melchizedek 2.0

Luke 19:1-10  (not for the screen – I will paraphrase it)

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."  So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'" But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

A similar thing happened when Jesus had dinner with Zacchaeus. Like Melchizedek, Jesus showed up unexpectedly bringing the favor of God to a man who did not deserve it, and the result was generosity.

Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. (Luke 19:8)

No one told Zac to give half his stuff away. It was a spontaneous and joyful act made in response to grace. When you meet the Giver of all good things, it makes you want to give.

Do you see the difference between law and grace? The law demands generosity and kills it. “You’re not getting a sandal strap!” But grace boasts of God’s goodness and asks for nothing, and the fruit is crazy generosity.

Tithing under grace?

          Does God come to us selfishly like the King of Sodom, saying, “Give me?” OR

          Does God come to us in grace like the King of Salem, saying, “I bring you blessings”

          Which king would you rather respond too?

          How will you respond?

                    Like the widow and give God 100%?

                    Like Zacchaeus and give God 50%?

                    Like Abram and give God 10%?