06-27-21 “Today’s Picnic needs some bold BBQ sauce!”

Scripture   Acts 31-4:31
DRAMA: Eanter in a wheel chiar as Jack, 43 year old man crippled from birth (the Acts 3 lame man) right up until Peter is going to respond. This is achronological taking place now and 2000 years ago.

Picture of Rev. Dr. Jeff Cooper, Senior Pastor, Ashland Church, Oregon, Ohio

(Photos courtesy of Becky Esbin)

Acts 3:1-4:31

Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer — at 3:00 pm.
A man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful…where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.
About to enter, he asked Peter and John for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Peter said, "Look at us!" He looked at them, expecting to get some $.
Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the Beautiful gate, and they were filled with wonder and amazement.
 
While the beggar held on to Peter and John,
all the people were astonished and came running to them in Solomon's Colonnade.
When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.”
"Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you — even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.'”
"Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.'  When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."
The priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. (from 3000?)
 
The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.'  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. "What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name."
Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."
After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: 'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.' Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
 
2 Cor 3:12-18
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

06-20-21 “What is the best thing a Father can do for his children?”

 Scripture   Hosea 1-2
          What is the single best thing a Father can do for his children? Here is a top 10 list:
10 Teach them to love this life (& teach them to love the church [teach means by example])
  9 Teach them to take responsibility.
  8 Raise them to leave
  7 Value education
  6 Discipline
  5 Provide
  4 Be there
  3 Grow up
  2 Love them unconditionally
  1 Love their mother (even if divorced) (even if their mother is not very loveable)

The way I would have listed the single best thing you can do for your children is to marry well.
I hit the jackpot with that one. (describe why)
Many women will marry outside their faith thinking they can influence their husbands into the kingdom. More often than not, they will not be successful. Not many men do that. Rarely do we find a man in church and his wife does not join him.
 
God said the best thing we can do for him (if we are married) is to show what His love looks like. Ephesians 5:25-33  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husband’s ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."  This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
          That kind of marriage shows the children (the world) what God’s love looks like.
 
          There is one Man in scripture who did not marry well. That was reflected in his children. In fact he did the opposite – he married pretty much the worst person he could have married. Oddly enough though, God used that marriage to show what God’s love looks like in a very profound way. Could God ever be so direct as to tell someone who they should marry? God told me I was going to marry Kim Gamble. I recognize that does not happen for most of us. We were not even on each other’s radar and as plain as I am standing before right now, God told me to marry Kim – it just took her a while longer to believe that was truly a message from God. This man in scripture who did not marry well was told by God who he should marry.
 
Hosea 1
The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel: (750 years before Jesus – the only prophet in Israel during the divided kingdom and it was at the very end of Israel’s existence as a nation – Judah was in the South and lasted a while longer)
2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord." So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 Then the Lord said to Hosea, "Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. In that day I will break Israel's bow in the Valley of Jezreel."
6 Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, "Call her Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them. Yet I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them — not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the Lord their God."
8 After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. Then the Lord said, "Call him Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”
          Notice a missing pronoun at the birth of the second two children. First Gomer bore HIM a son. The next two it simply says Gomer conceived and gave birth to a daughter and Gomer had another son. There is no HIM (Hosea) mentioned. That may be an oversite, or it may be that these were children of her prostitution.
          In either case, the children in his house are “Jezreel” = “He scatters”, Lo-Ruhamah = “Not loved” & “Lo-Ammi” = “Not my people” So far, Hosea doesn’t appear like he is going to get the ‘Father of the Year’ award.
10 "Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.' The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader (Jesus) and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.”
 
CHAPTER 2
Hosea 2:7
“She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, 'I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.'”
 
Hosea 2:13
“I will punish her for the days she burned incense to the Baals; she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but me she forgot," declares the Lord.
Hosea 2:14-17
"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. "In that day," declares the Lord, "you will call me 'my husband'; you will no longer call me 'my master.' I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked.
Revelation 2:4-6  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. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
 
Hosea 2:23
“I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one.' I will say to those called 'Not my people,' 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God.'"
 
 
Hosea 11:1-7
"When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. 3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. 4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.
          5 "Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent? 6 Swords will flash in their cities, will destroy the bars of their gates and put an end to their plans. 7 My people are determined to turn from me. Even if they call to the Most High, he will by no means exalt them.”
          They are without God – they are without their heavenly FATHER.
 
Hosea 14:1-3
“Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! 2 Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: "Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. 3 Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say 'Our gods' to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.”
 
God will restore them, but not this generation. They will go into exile. God will restore them only through the son that makes God a Father – only through Jesus Christ, who, as a loving son, will take the punishment for all God’s other children.
 
What does this window of scripture show us about God and the mirror of scripture show us about ourselves?
WINDOW
PROSTITUTE: Not just the meaning of a woman who sells her body to others - Webster 1828
“To give up to any vile or infamous purpose; to devote to anything base; to sell to wickedness; as, to prostitute talents to the propagation of infidel principles, to prostitute the press to the publication of blasphemy.” To give ourselves willingly to sin.
 
God loves us, even though we have sinned. Even though we sometimes do right, we more often than not do what is wrong – we prostitute our selves to the world – and he loves us so much that he wants the single most intimate relationship possible – like that of a marriage – a covenant relationship. He is at work right now to bring us back to himself. John 3:16
 
VIDEO: A FATHER’S LOVE 

MIRROR
STORY: RETREAT WITH WORLD-WIDE IMPACT
In the book Second Calling, Dale Bourke writes that years ago, she attended a conference. When it was over, her friend Bruce offered her a ride to the airport. As they were about to leave, another man asked if he could join them. As they drove away from the hotel, she and Bruce asked the man where he worked, and he mentioned a Christian organization. Bruce said, “I have fond memories of that group, because I attended a retreat of theirs one time, and that’s where I became a Christian. It was in 1972 in New Hampshire.” Bruce went on to explain that eventually his whole family became Christians and went into Christian work. His sister was a Wycliffe missionary and Bruce himself became publisher of a major Christian publishing house, which brought many significant Christian books to the public. Bruce finished the story with a flourish saying that “when you think about it, that retreat had worldwide impact.” The man was silent. Dale and Bruce thought that maybe they were boring him. Then the stranger quietly said, “I led that retreat. It was my first time as a conference leader, and I felt like a total failure. Until this moment, I have always believed it was one of the biggest failures of my life.” Dale Bourke wrote, “What had seemed like the simple act of offering a ride to a stranger had turned into a powerful reminder that God uses our efforts whether we realize it or not. I may spend the rest of my life doing things that don’t seem at all successful. Yet only God knows the purpose. I am called simply to be faithful.”
 
          Just like Hoesa, no matter what the world has to offer, unlike Israel, we are to remain FAITHFUL to God!

6-13-21 “From Zero to Hero”

 Scripture  Judges 6-8

          Are you the last person God would ever use to do great things for him? Are you weak in your faith? In bible knowledge? In commitment? In physical strength? In looks? In finances? Could God possible use you to do something great for Him? If you see your self that way you are in good company.

Moses was a murderer and a runaway and God used him to lead a nation toward the promised land. David was a kid, the youngest brother in his family and God used him to kill a giant and become the greatest king of Israel. Peter fell asleep when Jesus needed him to pray, he denied Jesus when he needed him most, he looked away from Jesus for fear of the wind and waves and fell in the water, yet he preached a sermon that led 3000 people to believe in Jesus.

          Let’s look closely at one particular person in the bible who shows what can happen when we realize God sees more in us than we see in our selves.
 
HIStory of Gideon
Judges 6-8
Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.
6:7 When the Israelites cried to the Lord because of Midian, he sent them a prophet, who said, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. I said to you, 'I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me."
 
6:11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." (Man of valor / Man of fearless courage)
13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."
14 The Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"
15 "But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."
16 The Lord answered, (God’s thesis statement) "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."
17 Gideon replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you." And the Lord said, "I will wait until you return."
19 Gideon went in, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak. The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And Gideon did so. With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!" But the Lord said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die."
24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
 
25 That same night the Lord said to him, "Take the second bull from your father's herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering." So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime. In the morning when the men of the town got up, there was Baal's altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar! They asked each other, "Who did this?" When they carefully investigated, they were told, "Gideon son of Joash did it." The men of the town demanded of Joash, "Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal's altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it." But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, "Are you going to plead Baal's cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar." So that day they called Gideon "Jerub-Baal," saying, "Let Baal contend with him," because he broke down Baal's altar.
 
6:33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.
6:36 Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised—look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew — a bowlful of water.  Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew." That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.
7:1 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.'" So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. But the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go." So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." 300 men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. The Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place." So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the 300, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. During that night the Lord said to Gideon, "Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore. Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed." His friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands."
When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands." Dividing the 300 men into 3 companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside. "Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, 'For the Lord and for Gideon.'" Gideon and the 100 men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
When the 300 trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled far away. Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, "Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah."
So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.
Gideon and his 300 men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. He said to the men of Succoth, "Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian." But the officials of Succoth said, "Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?" Then Gideon replied, "Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers." Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about 15,000 men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a 120,000 swordsmen had fallen.
Gideon then returned from the battle. He caught a young man of Succoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Succoth, the elders of the town. Then Gideon came and said to the men of Succoth, "Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, 'Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?'" He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers. He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town. Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?" "Men like you," they answered, "each one with the bearing of a prince." Gideon replied, "Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the Lord lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you." Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, "Kill them!" But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid. Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Come, do it yourself. 'As is the man, so is his strength.'" So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels' necks.
The Israelites said to Gideon, "Rule over us — you, your son and your grandson — because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian." But Gideon told them, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you."
Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon's lifetime, the land enjoyed peace forty years.
8:29 Gideon went back home to live. He had 70 sons of his own, for he had many wives. Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god and did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. They also failed to show kindness to the family of Gideon for all the good things he had done for them.
 
 
Peter is the opposite of Gideon
Matt 26:31-41
Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: "'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." Then he fell asleep
          Peter said,  "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." yet, Peter denied serving Jesus 3 times by falling asleep. That next morning, Peter denied knowing Jesus 3 times before the Rooster crowed to announce that a new day had begun.
 
2 Cor 12:9-10
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
 
The paradox of the incarnation
There is a great paradox in the notion of God becoming Man. Augustine (Bishop of Hippo and great theologian 400AD) expressed it this way: “Man’s maker was MADE man that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that Truth might be accused of false witnesses, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow WEAK; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.”
APPLICATION
For loves sake, God became as humble as man had become proud.
"God MADE him who had no sin to become sin for us, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Cor 5:21
 
Hebrews 11:32-34 says, “I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength”

06-06-21 “Change for the Tax Collector”

Scripture   Luke 19:1-10
Luke 19:1-10
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."  6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. (Rev 3:20)
          7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'"
          8 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."
          9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

I spent my childhood involved in creative play. When it was time to grow up, I went to college. I started out poorly, but I kept climbing the educational tree. Most people would have never imagined that I would graduate college, but I did 41 years ago TODAY. As a child, I loved to climb trees and build treehouses. There is something about being in a tree where you truly get a bird’s eye view of the world around you.
As I have gotten older, I have learned to love cutting down trees.  Trees play such an important role throughout scripture from creation and the fall (man’s first sin was related to a tree, to building massive structures with the cedars of Lebanon, to parables about trees being planted by the river of life. And in HIStory for today, we are focused, as Jesus was, on one particular sycamore-fig tree in a particular city at a particular time.
 
The city was Jericho = oldest inhabited city on earth. Lowest city on earth 864’ below sea level (Jerusalem 2500’ above sea level).
The timing of this story took place in 1400 BC (3421 years ago). What year this event happened is not as important as what week it happened and the events that preceded and would follow it. Let’s look back at Luke 18
1-    Parable – A cry for mercy to a judge
2-    Parable – Pharisee & a tax collector – the tax collector finds forgiveness when seeking mercy
3-    Jesus blessing babies saying we must have faith like them
4-    A ruler asked how to get eternal life. Jesus said to him – “Go sell all you have and give to the poor and come follow me.” He went away sad because of his great wealth. Jesus said, whoever leaves everything for me will find eternal life. Then he said we must now go up to Jerusalem where I will be killed - and then rise again.
But there were two more everyday ministry things to happen before Jesus got to Jerusalem.
1)    Just before arriving in Jericho, the healing of a blind man and 2) having lunch at a home in Jericho with a guy had just climbed a tree.

 

The blind man seeks out Jesus directly.
Zacchaeus is just casually observing Jesus and Jesus seeks him out.
 
Entered – passing through = he was not staying; he was going from one place to another. Galilee to Jerusalem.
The word ENTERED. Just before getting into Jericho, a blind man was on the roadside and called out to Jesus to heal him, and Jesus did. The man followed him and word about Jesus spread quickly and the entire town came out to see this miracle working Jesus. It became like a parade you would see for a major sports team today. People were crowding the street so much that by the time one man arrived (he was not a tall man) he couldn’t see Jesus so he did what most people would do, found a way to get a better view. He climbed a nearby tree.
SYCAMORE-FIG TREE = This tree was not native to the area – it was a botanical outsider. It is fitting that a tax collector – someone who was considered a social outsider by Jews because he collaborated with the Roman authorities – should be sitting in that particular kind of tree. These things don’t happen by chance. I am sure there were other trees Zacchaeus could have used but he (or God) chose to have him sit in a tree that represented the kind of people Jesus seeks out.
WEALTHY TAX COLLECTOR:
          Zacchaeus was not your run of the mill IRS agent. He was a Chief Tax Collector meaning he had others working for him who would collect taxes all over the area from travelers, for certain goods they would sell or purchase. They would gouge people to become wealthy. They knew it was wrong, but the love of money is the root of all evil, which is why tax collectors were so associated with being sinners.
          “When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up…” Jesus knew Zacchaeus was there, even before he got there, just as much as, even though he had not seen Nathanael, he knew he was under a what? A fig tree! Hmmmmm. Moral of the story – if you don’t want Jesus to see you – don’t hang out around a fig tree – besides that, you might get caught up in a curse.
          Jesus knows who we are, what we have done, where we are, and exactly what we need. He knew that a few words to Zacchaeus would not be enough. Jesus had to show him the full extent of his love by entering his home and sitting down to a meal with him. Also, Jesus had no time to waste and said, “Come down immediately, I MUST stay at your house today!”
          It is amazing that Zacchaeus not only responded but that he gladly welcomed Jesus to his home.
          All the people were gossiping about Jesus going to the house of a sinner. Jesus was about to die for the sins of the whole world and some people had nothing better to do than to criticize Jesus for loving someone.
          We have no idea what was said during that meal, but I am guessing that Matthew must have been involved in the conversations as he could relate, having also been a tax collector and now has been with Jesus for 3 years. Matthew’s life was changed and likely shared his testimony with Zacchaeus.
          RESPONSE:
8 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."
          Zacchaeus repented in the area of sin that was greatest for him MONEY. It appears he opened his safe, took out half his money and promised to give it to the poor. On top of that, he still had enough money to pay back anyone he had cheated, 4 times as much as he had taken from them. Someone pointed out that he said he would do this, but we have no evidence that he did it. True – but we can assume he did and if not, it was the total attitude and complete heart change that was important even if he didn’t follow through 100% with his new intentions. Jesus believed him and said that what he had done was evidence of his new found salvation.
9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.”
          “SON OF ABRAHAM”  - he came to Jesus, not by his attitude or actions – they were evidence of what he did have – which was faith in Jesus just like Abraham had faith to take his own son’s life (which by the way he did not end up doing, but it was still counted as righteousness before God.
 
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
          This tax collector needed a change in his life. Jesus is the only one who could give him that change. What about you? Are you a tax collector? Are you a sinner in need of a savior who can change your attitude, actions, and the content of your heart?
 
Psalm 18:16-19     The Message
But me he caught—reached all the way from sky to sea; he pulled me out of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos, the void in which I was drowning. They hit me when I was down, but God stuck by me. He stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved—surprised to be loved!
 
But what about others?
Stephen Sondheim
Careful the things you say - Children will listen
Careful the things you do - Children will see and learn
Children may not obey,-  but children will listen
Children will look to you for which way to turn - Co learn what to be
Careful before you say 'Listen to me' - Children will listen
 
Oliver
Where is love? -  Does it fall from skies above?
Is it underneath the willow tree…that I've been dreaming of?
 
It would seem to me, if we have been sought out and found by Jesus, then we ought to serve him by stopping, looking around, and seeing who we can see up in a tree, in a grocery store line, at a ball game, at work or at school and say, I need to have lunch with you today, come to church with me as together, we feast on God’s word (THEME VERSE ON BANNER)

 
Communion
“O Come to the altar”