The Call of God to a Holy Life

1^st Thessalonians 4

¹Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

²For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

³For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

⁴That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

⁵Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

⁶That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

⁷For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

⁸He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

Introduction:

Paul begins to give further instruction to these new believers. Remember that they lived in the Roman world, where, just as in the Grecian Empire before it, the public and private morals were very corrupt. Sexual sin, in particular, was rampant.

Corinth was far worse!

In Corinth, at that same time, where the church had even greater contamination, there was a gigantic temple to Aphrodite. It was called a “temple,” but the acts of “worship” involved having sexual relations with the temple prostitutes (for money.) The Encyclopedia Britannica records that in its heyday, that “temple” had 10,000 prostitutes, both male and female. Business was booming! I assume that sexually transmitted diseases were also flourishing there.

In Thessalonica, no such religiously oriented prostitution existed. But there was still the ungodly influence of the World, just as there is today. Paul begged the believers to live the way the apostles had taught them during their brief stay there. (That is what “beseech” means: “beg!”) They had been taught what sort of lifestyle pleased God. Paul begged them to “abound more and more” in that walk with God. They were to be growing in that relationship.

The Apostles’ Teaching

We can go through the Pauline epistles and see what sort of other things he is “likely” to have told them. Some they probably already knew, as some of these “new” believers in Christ were already well-taught Jewish believers, and others were Gentile proselytes to Judaism.

They all were gaining an understanding of the God of the Bible and a beginning of awareness of His Holiness. Some of the things Paul taught may have seemed to be “new,” and those were probably rooted in the “upgrades” that Jesus pointed out. He sharpened the understanding of the believers, to realize that sin is not just “outward actions:” It also includes the root thought or attitude that fostered the eventual actions.

Why is Sexual Sin a Good Example to Use?

In Romans 7, Paul used the example of covetousness. It is one of the prohibitions in the ten commandments and it is one that is entirely inward, though it will certainly bear outward fruit.

Still today, there are people who teach that “you cannot sin in your mind.” They teach that “until it results in an outward action, it is not sin.” Jesus refuted that, saying that when a person is angry without cause, they are in danger of judgment. In the same passage, He taught that when a man looks upon a woman to desire her, (That is what “lust” means: “desire.”) that he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. That is where sin begins. Every man who is honest with himself already knows this. But we can expand that concept to every other sin.

All sin begins in the heart! And that should not be a surprise: Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?” So how can we escape such a cycle of sin and death?

What does it mean to be Holy?

Verse three states that we are to be holy: we are God’s private property. That is what “sanctification” means: It means that we have been declared to be “holy.” It means that we are set aside for God’s private and exclusive use.

Remember that the vessels in the Temple of God were Holy, too. On more than one occasion, the temple was raided, and the vessels were stolen. In Daniel 5:3, 4, we see that the Babylonian king Belshazzar took those stolen vessels and drank from them, specifically “drinking as an act of worship to his idols.” He and all his family, friends and servants drank from those holy vessels and praised the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone. That was an blatantly blasphemous desecration of God’s property!

Result of Defilement

But here is the question to consider: having been defiled in that manner, were those vessels less holy? Were they not still God’s private property? The fact is, they did belong to God. When they eventually were returned to the temple, they had to be washed, and reconsecrated for Temple use: but after that cleansing, they were once again used for their intended purpose.

When we fall into sin, no matter how great or small, we are taking God’s private property and using it in a manner that shames Him, just as Belshazzar did! We still belong to God, but we are defiled by the sins we commit. Until that sin is confessed and fellowship is restored, we are just as defiled as those holy temple vessels had been by the wicked acts of Belshazzar and company.

What Vessels?

It is interesting, too, that, in verse 4, God chose to use the word “vessels” here, regarding us. (What vessels?) Since there was so much information about the “vessels” of the temple, and what happened to them, it is interesting that God chose to refer to our bodies as “vessels.”

In Romans 9:21-24, Paul pointed out that physical “vessels,” made of clay, by a human potter, could be destined for honor or dishonor, according to the intent of the maker. A flowerpot, for example, is usually made of cheap, common, red clay. It is used to hold beautiful ornamental plants, but it is relatively weak, very porous, and fragile.

Fine china, in contrast, is made of expensive kaolin clay. It can be fired at extreme temperatures and, as a result, it is much harder and stronger. Ironically, toilets and other such “vessels” are also made of kaolin clay. Their intended use is not the same as it is for “fine china.”

What is our intended Use?

But what the vessel is made of is not the question, here. The real question is, “What is its intended use?” We are intended for God’s use. Yes, we are weak and fragile, and we have many “frailties” built into us. But we are made for His honor. Especially after being born again, we belong to Him and are expected to live in such a way as to honor Him. We cannot claim that “our frailties made us do evil.” We choose to sin.

In contrast, the angelic hosts were created with none of our frailties, and yet a third of them chose to follow Satan into rebellion, despite knowing their Creator face to face. The reason God offers His Grace to us and not to them is that we have not seen Him, and we have no idea of the enormity of our rebellion. God says we received Grace because we sinned ignorantly. The angels did not sin ignorantly: they knew their Creator personally, and had seen His glory in person.

Possessing our Vessels

We are immortal spirit beings, dwelling in bodies of mortal flesh. We will exist somewhere, forever, either with the Lord, or apart from Him. Unlike the Spirit of God, our spirits have a “starting point,” at conception. Jeremiah 1:5 makes it clear that God knew us before He created us: He says His foreknowledge precedes the creation of each new spirit. And, from conception, that spirit lives in a body (sometimes called a “temple” or a “tabernacle”…a tent) of flesh. How we use that body, and how we use our minds, will either honor God or fail to do so. Paul teaches that, as born-again children of God, we are to walk with God in a manner that honors him.

Defrauding your Brother

How we live also affects others: For example, if you are unfaithful to your spouse, it doesn’t just affect you. It affects your spouse, and it affects the person with whom you committed adultery, and their other relationships are affected in turn. Children are affected, too: sometimes scarred permanently by the sins of their parents.

We cannot undo the effect of our sin. All we can do is confess it, and stop it! We are told to renounce that kind of behavior and live as the people of God. You cannot serve the flesh and simultaneously serve God. And in verse six, God warns that He still judges sin: don’t get the idea that people are “getting away with” anything.

This is not just an admonition to married people, either: the word he used here, translated as “fornication,” is “porneia.” It is a broader term than “adultery:” it simply means “sexual sin.” It is where we get our word, “pornography.” Satan begins his attack in the mind, luring us to lewd thoughts and tempting through the eyes and ears, as he lures us to sin.

But we are given the weapons of warfare to combat that attack: 2^nd Corinthians 10:4, 5 says, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but are mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imagination and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”.

Casting Down Imaginations!

That rather rules out the idea that “our inner thoughts are ok, so long as we don’t act on them,” doesn’t it? And the fact that the weapons are not carnal tells us that we can’t fight this battle in the flesh. Finally, he says that every thought is to be taken captive to the obedience of Christ.

“Secret sin” is not a secret! God is completely aware of every thought we entertain, for better or worse. Our lives are completely open to His gaze. I don’t know about you, but that is not an entirely comfortable thought, to me. It means that when I am thinking wrong thoughts (regardless of what kind) I am “doing” what those thoughts entail, right in front of God. I am defiling myself in His presence, even though I may protest that “I didn’t do anything!”

We are called to cast down our imaginations of sin (of every kind, not just sexual sin) and bring every thought into obedience to Christ.

God has not called us to remain in uncleanness, but to accept our new position (being “holy unto the Lord,”) and live that way!

He Who Despises

Is everyone going to respond well to this message? No…unfortunately, even among born-again believers there is a tendency to rebel. We all still have a Sin nature. But God warns us here, that if we despise this commandment, and rebel against it, we are not rebelling against man’s rules, but against God…the very God who gave us the Holy Spirit to seal us as His property. That is serious business, and sometimes has terrible consequences.

Sin Always has Consequences

Ananias and Sapphira died, physically, because they attempted a “secret sin:” God called them on it, and He made an example of them. He took them home on the spot.

We don’t always know what the consequences will be. I have known more than one believer who fell into sexual sin and contracted incurable diseases: One of them died of that disease. It all could have been avoided by stopping the sins where they began: in the heart.

Anger management is another area that can have terrible results. More than one believer has succumbed to anger, and ruined his or her testimony, or marriage, or has even been imprisoned because of his or her sin.

Ann and I knew a pastor who permanently lost his ministry, because of theft…shoplifting! (What a foolish choice!) And yet, it begins in the heart, just like every other sin. It had already affected his ministry, before he was finally caught. He confessed that he had been plagiarizing his sermons, too…(he called it “stealing” those sermons.) That whole sad story was completely avoidable! And so is the damage we incur in our own lives by our sins.

Embrace the Holiness of God! Allow Him to transform you from the inside, so that your life begins to reflect His holiness and so that His Love can freely flow through you. Only the Holy Spirit can empower you to live in such a way as to continually exhibit His Grace.

Lord Jesus, help us to apply the principle of practical holiness in our daily lives, so that we do not allow the enemy a foothold in our lives, but rather walk close to You, and in safety.

June 3, 2023June 3, 2023

To Increase and Abound in Love

1^st Thessalonians 3:11-13

¹¹Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.

¹²And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: ¹³To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

Introduction:

Last week we saw that the passion of the Shepherds, including that of the Great Shepherd Jesus, is for the people of God to thrive, spiritually, and to become strong and healthy, as believers, and to consistently reflect the priorities and compassion of Jesus.

Our “prime directive” from Jesus is quite different than that of the television series, Star Trek, where the characters insist that their “Prime Directive” is that they must not disturb any other culture’s pattern of thinking, or way of life. Jesus stated our Prime directive: “Love one another as I have loved You.” That is an utterly different direction, and it has entirely different results.

It is OK to talk about the Bad News!

Notice that Jesus did not hesitate to “disturb our way of thinking,” nor to warn us of impending doom. In fact, He spent more time warning of the coming Judgment than He did elaborating on the joys of Heaven.

Jesus came specifically to turn us away from our old way of life. He did not say that “whatever we are doing is fine,” or that “all ways were equally good.” Quite the opposite: He cut across the grain of every culture in the world, by stating that Sin is what stands between us and God, and that the result will be eternal condemnation, apart from God’s intervention. But God has intervened!

How did God intervene?

God intervened through an act of selfless Love…Agapé Love. Jesus summed it up in His famous statement, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” It literally says, “in this manner, God loved the World…” This is HOW God intervened. And, most importantly, His intervention included the whole world.

But Jesus cut across the smug self-righteousness of the Pharisees and Priests, and He also cut across the pompous worldly-wise self-confidence of the Gentile philosophers. He offered the absolute truth of God to Man, enclosed in Human flesh.

The One and Only:

He clearly stated His unique position as the only begotten Son. The Greek word is “monogene.” It means the “Crown Prince; the “Heir to the Throne.” He is not “one of many ways,” but the Way. Jesus the Messiah is not “one of many truths,” but the Truth. He is not “one of many sources of Life,” but the Life! His own “prime directive” was to satisfy the righteous demands of God’s Holiness on behalf of the entire human race. He fulfilled that directive by a perfect life and a perfect sacrifice at the Cross. He bought the whole World by the shedding of His Blood.

And Jesus gave us our prime directive, in John 13:34, 35. He said that we are to exhibit that same Agapé Love toward one another. We are to “intervene” by Love. We are not to allow other believers to just “slide off” into unfruitfulness and to become the wreckage Satan desires for each of us, but rather to intervene and encourage one another to press on, and walk in obedience to Christ. Remember that the command “Love one another” comes in the context of the foot-washing lesson, in John 13.

Galatians 6:1 clearly states that we are to help one another in the spiritual battle, and to restore one another to fellowship, as needed. This is all part of our “prime directive.”

What About the World?

Paul reiterates that “prime directive” of Agapé Love in 1^st Thessalonians 3:12. He expands upon it to point out that the command includes extending that Agapé love toward all people: not just other believers. We are not directed to “allow people to just go their own way,” but rather, we are to warn them that judgment is coming, and offer them the gift of God.

Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death” (There is the judgment!) “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” (There is the gift we are sent to offer!) This is how we are to love the world as Jesus did! It is by taking the necessary risks of rejection and possible persecution, and going ahead with the job of evangelism.

Paul’s Example

In verse 12, Paul also concludes that they could take his and the other evangelists as a working model of how to apply this concept. Paul, Silas, and Timothy had taken the necessary risks to bring the Good News of Jesus to Thessalonica. They endured the danger there, just as they had done in Philippi, though in Thessalonica, they escaped further injury.

Remember, we read in Acts 17, that they had gone to the synagogue, in Thessalonica, probably still bleeding from the wounds received in Philippi. They accepted the calculated risk that the Jewish leaders might resent the message that Jesus was their true Messiah. The evangelists (missionaries,) showed all of the people in the synagogue (from the Jew’s own scriptures,) that the Messiah was expected to suffer death at their hands. They showed that Jesus had, in fact, fulfilled their scripture by subjecting Himself to the abuse, torture and crucifixion He had endured at Jerusalem.

Some of the Jews believed the message. Many Gentile proselytes believed. And the result was quite literally, a riot. It has often been observed that, wherever Paul went there resulted a revival, or a riot, or both. In this case, it was both. And yet, he said that the Thessalonian believers could take him and his fellow laborers as examples of how to live.

**What Effect Did Paul Expect in Their Lives?**

In verse 13, Paul said that if they committed themselves to that “Prime Directive,” the expected result should be that they would find their hearts increasingly established and strengthened in a practical Holiness, so that at the Lord’s return they would stand blameless before Him.

Positionally, believers have already been declared “holy” by God. Positionally, we already stand blameless before Him. (See Ephesians 1:4) Our position in Him, our salvation, is a gift. Nothing can alter that position. But, in terms of reward, all the results are very much conditioned upon responding to Him consistently in obedience.

Compare Two Ministries

Several times I have compared the ministries of Jeremiah and Jonah: Jonah got great “results,” but he had begun in complete rebellion, and even in the face of a major revival, he was bitter toward God for saving the enemies of Israel. God had to remind him that those people were precious to Him, too.

In contrast, Jeremiah poured himself out for the souls of the people to whom he was sent, though they abused him. He prayed and wept for them, seeking their repentance. But, as far as we know for sure, only two of his audience responded in faith.

We do have a choice How we serve!

Given a choice, I would rather be like Jeremiah than to be like Jonah! Consider how Jeremiah exhibited Agapé Love. Then compare Jonah. Jonah hated the people to whom he was sent, and was hoping to see them destroyed! He was bitterly resentful toward God for saving them, and said, in effect, “I knew you were going to do this! That is why I ran away to begin with!”

Yes, God rewards obedience, but He also rewards obedience from the heart: not just “outward compliance.” God knows our hearts. He honors His Word, simply because it is His Word! But he honors us for willingly joining with Him in the double harness of service that He offers.

Service is a Privilege.

First, it is a privilege reserved for those who have been born again, into His family. Secondly, it is reserved for those believers who willingly respond to the call of God.

In Isaiah 6:1-8, the prophet Isaiah heard that call: “Whom shall I send and who will go for us?” (We might call that a “rhetorical question,” as the call was being directed to Isaiah!) But Isaiah responded as though he were a volunteer, saying, “Here am I, Lord! Send me!” He was eager to join Jesus in the Work of the Gospel.

What about Counterfeits?

Do some people imitate the service of God? And are they possibly even earnestly coveting His favor and reward? Absolutely they do, and that may be their earnest hope. But if you circumvent the Cross, refusing to deal with your sins, then you are impersonating a child of God. As a lost person attempts to serve God without His approval, they are similar to the people we sometimes hear about who impersonate police officers. Some of them even buy uniforms, and paint their cars to look official, and then go out and attempt to arrest “bad guys.”

The problem, of course, is that it is a crime to impersonate a police officer. Thus, even if what they are doing while wearing that counterfeit uniform is technically a “good thing,” they will not be rewarded for their supposed “good deeds.” They will be punished for the crime of impersonating an officer of the law.

Jesus knows the Difference!

Jesus said that there will be people under judgment, who protest that they are the “good guys!” They will say, “But we did all these great things in your name!” And He said that His response will be “…but I never knew you! Depart from me, you workers of iniquity!”

He will not say that to any of His “born ones.” (By the way, the Greek word translated as “children,” in reference to those reborn into the family of God, is “teknoi,” meaning “Born Ones.”) He will not reject you for wrongdoing, though your rebellion or neglect may cost you much of the reward you had hoped to earn.

Practice, Exercise, and Growth

As with everything else in life, this new life in Christ takes practice to gain any stability. It is not something “natural” we are attempting, any more than it was “natural” for Peter to walk on the water with Jesus. It was impossible unless Jesus enabled him, and even then, the moment he shifted his focus to the surroundings, he began to sink. The same holds true for us!

It requires practice and exercise to gain experience and stability in a walk with Jesus. And it requires spiritual food to grow strong and healthy. In 1^st Peter 2:2, we are told, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby.” If we are not feeding on God’s Word, and practicing the application of His Word in our lives, then we cannot hope to grow strong and stable as believers. And we certainly cannot hope to become proficient at walking with Him if we do not consistently practice doing so.

Learning to Walk

When you were physically learning to walk, as a baby, success meant always getting up one more time than you fell down. As we are learning to walk with God, we often find that we have stumbled and fallen into sin. We confess it to God: (That is how we get up!) He forgives us, and we again set out to walk with Him.

Paul says that as we continue to practice exercising the Agapé Love in our relationships with others, including our outreach to unbelievers, we will become stronger, more effective, and more fruitful in our walk with Him. That growth and experience gives us great confidence as we go to meet Him, or, even just on a day-by-day basis, as we anticipate His return.

Perhaps this phrase seems small and unimportant, in the context of the things in the coming chapters, but since the Lord’s primary command is in view, we need to take it seriously, and consider how to apply it in our lives.

Lord Jesus, please open our eyes to the state of the World around us, and help us to see the people of the world as You see them: rather than seeing them as servants of the enemy, let us see them as victims of the enemy. Give us a heart of compassion to reach out to the lost around us, and to encourage one another as we see Your return approaching.

May 27, 2023May 27, 2023

The Passion of the Shepherds

1st Thessalonians 3:6-10

⁶But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you:

⁷Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: ⁸For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.

⁹For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God; ¹⁰Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith?

Introduction

Paul had sent Timothy to Thessalonica to find out how the church was doing. He had feared that because of the heavy persecution against the infant church, they might have collapsed under the load of abuse. But he was thrilled to find out that the Thessalonian believers were not just “doing well,” but truly flourishing! Back in chapter one he had alluded to that, saying that wherever he went, now, he was hearing about their rich testimony of grace, faith, courage and Agapé Love.

But there had been a time when he was unsure about them. That is understandable, since he had only been with them for three or four weeks at most. From a human perspective, that was simply not enough time to gain any stability in the Lord. But God was the One in control. Human strength is very limited, but God’s authority and ability is truly unlimited.

Fire on the Mountains

There is a book (no longer in print, but still available on the internet) called “Fire on the Mountains” by Raymond Davis. This book chronicles the beginning of the evangelical church in Ethiopia; before, during and after World War II.

In 1937, Mussolini’s armies invaded Ethiopia, and the missionaries were forced to leave both the country and the fledgling church they had led to Christ. Their years of labor and love had only resulted in 48 believers, who were scarcely trained in the scriptures at all, as not much of the scriptures had yet been translated into their language. The missionaries were heartbroken, of course, because they were sure that the church would fail under the extreme persecution, and especially without the careful teaching the missionaries themselves had been providing.

God Was at Work

The war ended in 1945, but it was another two years before the missionaries were allowed to return. So, they went back, expecting to have to start over and rebuild all the work that was lost during the war years. What they did not know was that God had protected His Flock, and He had caused it to thrive under the persecution!

They had left behind 48 believers who had only small portions of the scriptures in their own language. But, when the missionaries returned in 1947, they were met by a church numbering over 10,000 believers! Obviously, there were some serious needs for teaching and training, but, instead of a tiny group of fearful saints, there was now an army of enthusiastic, committed Christians!

Paul may have felt the same joy and amazement those missionaries felt. He knew how terribly the new believers had been treated by their unbelieving neighbors and fellow-citizens, and was fearful that his own work had gone to waste. But He didn’t know that God was at work in Thessalonica!

Human Doubts

We might say, “Well, he should have known!” But bear in mind that Paul was just as human as we are, and he was there to see the horrific treatment the believers received. I can easily see how he could begin to doubt the Grace of God sustaining the believers in his absence.

Pat James was justifiably fearful for the future of this church, here at True Hope. He had planted the church, and worked for years, teaching and encouraging and praying, and investing his own life for the future of the believers, here. Especially later, as Pat began to suffer from the disease that eventually killed him, he despaired of the future of the church he loved. The church was his passion, and his calling. Feeding the flock, and praying for the believers, and defending this flock against false teachers was what he lived for! So, he was heartbroken to see the church dwindling and then to know he was getting too sick to even continue the work!

But God had good plans for the church. It stabilized, after the initial shock of losing the founding pastor, and it began to get healthier. Finally, during the Covid pandemic, it began to grow, numerically. It was growing spiritually, as people became hungrier for the Word of God, and began to study on their own. God was tending to His flock, just as He did the church in Thessalonica, and in Ethiopia. And, in the last few years of their lives, Pat and Jan James had the joy of seeing the church prospering and growing.

Now We Live!

Paul said, “For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord!”

He felt that “life was worth the hard times” if the result was the stability of the believers and their firm walk with God! I’m sure Pat James felt the same way, seeing that the church he loved was growing and thriving, after he had thought it would fail and die.

I know, in my own life, it thrills my heart, too, when I see more than half the people in the church also showing up for Wednesday night service. I remember when it was difficult to get more than half a dozen people to attend on Wednesdays, and they seemed to mainly be there to “support the cause.” Now I see people who are eagerly feeding on God’s Word and anxious to understand it for themselves. That is the sort of thing that makes all the hard times and sad times worthwhile!

Easing our Fears

And, from a committed Shepherd’s point of view, it eases the fears of “what will happen to the church when I die or when I am forced to abandon the work?” The missionaries in the case of the Ethiopian church were convinced that all their work had been in vain. They were heartsick for ten years, praying for the fledgling church and the 48 believers they had left behind. They did not know whether they would ever be allowed to return. (Remember that, at the beginning of the war, all the battles seemed to be going in favor of the Axis powers.)

Had those dictators remained in power, the missionaries might never have returned. But, again, God was at work. Ten years is a long time, from a human perspective, but it is less than a blink of the eye, to God! And, in the absence of the evicted missionaries, He had worked miraculously. The church blossomed, strictly because of God’s Work, not their own.

The Passion of the Shepherds

Every shepherd who is earnestly responding to the call of God to feed and strengthen the flock is gripped by the sense of urgency and vital importance of feeding the flock on the Word of God. And, since God gave us the Written Word of God as the “designated sheep food,” we also reasonably expect and anticipate spiritual growth and health to result from that food.

Sometimes it takes time for people to thrive, as was the case in Ethiopia and in the Dom people of Papua New Guinea, where Jim and Judy Burdett invested their lives. Other believers may thrive immediately, as did the churches in Thessalonica, and Philippi..

Corinth was one of those cities, where despite the initial positive reception of the Gospel, there was a thick “layer” of carnality and worldly behavior to be “peeled away” before they could begin to flourish. Paul was there for about eighteen months, but both of his letters to that church are almost completely devoted to corrective teaching. They had problems!

Paul was in Ephesus for about two years. and they seem to have done well. I do not know why one group of people will respond well and another will respond with only moderate interest, but it seems to be more dependent upon the recipients than upon the messengers. Paul brought what was effectively the same message, everywhere he went, but the responses varied wildly.

How will they Respond?

His heart’s desire in every case, though, was that the people would feed on the Word and thrive on that clean food. When I worked as a teacher, in the industrial trades, one concept I held to is that “teaching has not been accomplished until learning occurs.” It is not sufficient to “recite” a great pile of facts or theories: if your audience is either not grasping what you are saying, or cannot see how to apply them, then “reciting” is all you accomplished. When learning has truly occurred, your students can put into practice the concepts you have taught, and use them in everyday life. That is the result of teaching.

When I taught the principles of welding supervision, most people seemed to respond well, but when I heard reports back from the shop floor, how at least some of them were applying what they had learned in class, it brought me great joy. Because then I knew that “teaching had truly been accomplished!”

Since the learning and spiritual growth of the church is the whole goal of the shepherd, it becomes the driving passion, taking precedence over virtually everything else. We want to know that the principles of God’s Word are not just being placed in the mental “library shelves” of believers, but are being implemented in the “Living Room.” They are no longer just head-knowledge, nor just “fun-stuff-to-know-and-tell:” They have become a living, working reality.

That is what Paul was anxious about, and that is what brought him great joy, when he heard the answer!

Who are the Shepherds?

There are a wide variety of “shepherding jobs” that a believer can step into. It is not just the “Pastors, Elders, Deacons, etc.” It can include any believer who matures to the point that they devote themselves to feeding the flock around them. It can be simple mentoring, as several people in my life have served. It can be formal teaching. It can be just drawing alongside a younger believer and being an encourager.

When your heart is exercised to “do the will of Him who sent you and to finish His Work” as Jesus said, then you are becoming “one of the shepherds,” in a practical sense. You are joining with Jesus in that job, and He will assign you tasks as He sees fit.

If you are interested in what the work of the Shepherd entails, please read Ezekiel 34:1-10. If that passage stirs your heart and sounds to you like a “call to action,” then you should consider whether God is directing you to join with Him in the job of feeding His flock.

If you are devoting yourself to praying for the believers around you, and seeking their stability, growth, and blessing, then you probably are one of the shepherds, even if you don’t see yourself that way.

How does God see the Matter?

In Hebrews 5:12, 13, the writer admonishes the believers, saying “You should have been teachers by now, but instead, you now require someone to re-teach you the things you should have mastered long ago. Instead of maturing, you have become babies again!” What a sad thing to have to say to a flock! What a hard thing to have to hear about yourself!

How should We See it?

But what we can “take away from” that passage is that all believers are called to grow at least to a level where we can function as examples and mentors for younger believers and encourage them to grow up too. Does that mean you have to teach? Not necessarily. But it does mean that we are called to bear fruit, in the sense of spiritual reproduction, and that new believers ought to find us to be faithful examples of the Love of Christ as well as faithful Ambassadors, and handling His Word in a faithful manner. We are not to stagnate in babyhood, as believers. We are to grow to maturity.

The Passion of Jesus, the Great Shepherd … is to see us grow to be like Him! That is called “discipleship!” We are to follow Him and learn to be like Him. That is the result of choosing to join Him in double harness and to learn from Him as we work beside him.

Lord Jesus, raise us up to walk in Your footsteps, and to serve with you, caring for the scattered flock in this world.. Give us Your Compassion and commitment to Your Word. Make us the disciples You have called us to be!

May 20, 2023May 20, 2023

That No Man Should Be Moved

1^st Thessalonians 3:1-5

¹Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone; ²And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:

³That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.

⁴For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know. ⁵For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.

Introduction

Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers partly because he simply misses them, as he wrote earlier. But he was also concerned for their spiritual well-being. He knew that they had been under persecution, and he was fearful that they could be turned aside from their faith by the harsh trials and become unfruitful.

Notice that, in verse five, he pointed out the enemy who sought to cripple them spiritually. It seems appropriate to spend some time on how that enemy attempts to cripple believers.

Paul was fearful for the believers at Thessalonica. He had heard nothing of them for a long time; so, he feared they may have been ensnared by the enemy in some way, and become unfruitful.

Who is the Enemy?

This seems pretty self-explanatory, but God spells out for us that our enemies do not include other humans, even when they are acting like enemies. Ephesians 6:12 states that our enemies are not “flesh and blood.” He names several categories of demonic creatures (which I can’t define, because the scripture does not define them.) And, in 1^st Peter 5:8, we are admonished to “be sober, be vigilant, for your enemy the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” That leaves no question as to the identity of our ultimate enemy and his desire regarding us..

So, What are the Enemy’s Plans for You?

Remember: You are Secure Forever:

Just as a preliminary word of encouragement, let me assure you: Satan cannot take you away from Jesus! But he will try to make you think he can do so.

In John 6:37, Jesus said, “he that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out.” And, in John 6:39, he said, “This is the Father’s will, which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”

In John 10:27-29 He said, “²⁷My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: ²⁸And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. ²⁹My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰I and my Father are one.”

No Created Being Can Separate us from the Love of God.

Also, in Romans 8:38, 39, Paul confirms that “³⁸… I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, ³⁹Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Finally, in Hebrews 13:5, God says, “…I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” So, when you feel fear of “losing your salvation,” or fear that God may abandon you, remember these things:

Jesus will never “kick you out.”
God the Father has willed that Jesus will not lose a single one who has trusted in Him.
No one can “pluck you out of His hand.”
That includes all the fallen angelic hosts, including Satan himself.
That includes you! You are a created being: you cannot separate yourself from His Love.
God will never leave you, nor forsake you!

Do remember that you can ignore God and fail to experience His peace and His Joy, and the confidence of knowing that you are “still on His team.” 1^st John 5:13 says He wants you to know that you have eternal life.

**Because You are “on God’s Team,” Satan desires to cripple or destroy you!**

Just as an army, retreating before a powerful enemy, will seek to destroy anything they have left behind, so their enemy cannot use it, Satan desires to render you useless to God.

He cannot do anything to you without God’s permission, but he can entice you to walk out from under God’s protection, and thus you may become a target for his attacks.

If he can cause you to doubt God’s Character and Grace, then he can make you live as though you were not “on God’s team.” He will attempt to lure you into immorality, or fear, or pride, or any other manifestation of your old Sin Nature. Then other people will see you as being “no different than any other sinner” (or worse, because you claim to belong to Jesus, but are living as though you never knew Him.) If he can do that, then he has succeeded in destroying your testimony, and it will no longer matter “what you say:” everyone around you has already read the “testimony of your life,” in your behavior.

We have already been warned of this, and in Philippians 1:29, it is spelled out, “for unto you it is given, in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Jesus did not promise an “easy life” to believers: He said, “these things I have spoken unto you that in Me you might have Peace. In the World, ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the World.” (John 16:33)

What about Fear?

Does Satan use fear against us? Absolutely, he does! We can be so overwhelmed with fear that we are completely unable to function. Where does the fear come from? It is not coming from God: In 2^nd Timothy 1:7, He says, “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

We can be distracted by (and dwell on) the Internet News, and be drawn into the countless conspiracy theories that abound there, and we will be ensnared by fear. Even if some of the “scary things” on the news are true, there is nothing we can do about any of them, as a rule.

But what God says, we can obey. I do not need to know all the horrible plans Satan has for the World. All I need to know is who my true Master is, and all I need to do, is walk where He says to walk. That is why the Psalmist says, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul.” The News can’t do any of those things! Satan will use it (or any of a thousand other distractions) to do exactly the opposite.

What about Anger?

There were plenty of things for the Thessalonian believers to feel angry about. They had been grossly mistreated by the unbelieving World. They had lost their belongings in some cases, and had been physically attacked, in others. There were false teachers there, insisting that, without becoming Jews and following the Mosaic Law, they could not be saved.

Those things probably engendered both fear and anger. But both reactions are fruitless. Only Light dispels darkness. Anger from believers will not prevent the anger of others around them. God says for us to drop it. Love has a better hope of dispelling anger. And forgiveness has a better chance of producing internal healing than does resentment. In James 1:20, God says, “The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

What about Pride?

In the sense of “arrogance,” we truly have nothing to feel “proud” about, Our birthplace, from a human perspective, is strictly an accident. Whatever family we were born to, again, was not of our choosing. We can enjoy all those things and be grateful that we had good upbringing, or that we have been brought up in an environment where the Bible is honored and taught. But, once again, we had nothing to do with that fact. We either embraced it and valued it or we did not, but we had no part in making it happen.

Our gifts are just that: gifts. Perhaps we have worked hard to build upon the talents we have been given, but that talent was inborn, not earned. If I was born color-blind, or even completely blind, I have nothing to be ashamed of: but as a sighted person, I cannot feel “proud” that my eyes are functional, and even that function is diminishing, as I age.

Some people have music going inside all the time, without thinking of it. I’m one of those people, but it isn’t something I chose. And it isn’t always good. A “bad song” can get stuck in my head just as easily as a “good song.” But when I wake up in the morning, there is already a song cycling through my mind, for better or worse. It is nothing to engender pride at all: it is just there. Same for most other things.

Clean Pride

Can I feel “proud of my children” or “proud of a worker” whom I trained? Sure, but the clean “pride” of grateful, joyful satisfaction with the results of one’s labor is not the same as an “arrogant attitude” that says, “because my kid is a champion wrestler, I must be somehow better than you.” That kind of pride is always offensive, and always destructive: Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

What about Unbelief?

Unbelief among believers? That sounds like a contradiction in terms, but it is very common. Think of Peter: He believed God enough to “get out of the boat!” But moments later, unbelief kicked in, and he instantly sank. We suffer from the same malady!

Unbelief is the cause of our not having the confidence to just go ahead and do what God has commanded us to do. Unbelief is what makes us fear the future, and fear abandonment by God, even when we know His promise that He will never leave us.

Satan attacked the simple faith of Eve, by first questioning God’s Word, then denying it entirely and accusing God of dishonesty…claiming that God had a hidden agenda and that He had lied to her and Adam. Satan still does that today. If he can cause you to weaken in your trust of The Savior, then all of his weapons are empowered to draw you away into abject failure and defeat.

What about the Desire for Fleshly Gratification?

We always have a choice: we can believe God …or not. We can obey God …or not. We can trust Him …or not. And our old Sin nature, one of our other enemies, is in league with the Evil One. Jeremiah said, regarding our old Sin Nature, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked…” Our old nature clamors for attention and demands pleasure. But it is completely corrupt: Romans 8:7 says that even God can’t fix it! So, He gave us a new nature!

The World, (Our third enemy) says, “Follow your heart! Your heart will never lead you astray!’ But God says my heart is the most likely agent to deceive me! I have had my whole life to practice listening to the three enemies of my soul. I’m an expert at sin and unbelief. It takes practice to learn to listen to God instead of my old sinful heart.

So, when the World, in popular music, says, “How can something so wrong feel so right?” We should recognize the faulty reasoning it offers. Who engineered that flawed logic? And, ultimately, who is attempting to lure us away to sin? Satan is the Spirit at work in the World, and our old sin nature agrees with both our other enemies. They all work to convince us that if it feels good, it must be good. God gives the answer in Galatians 5:16 “… walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.”

We always have a choice.

How you respond to God’s Written Word is a choice you make daily. Remember that since Jesus is repeatedly identified as being the Living Word of God, the way we respond to the Written Word is truly how we are responding to the Living Word. When we ignore the written Word, we are also ignoring the Living Word.

We have choices to make every moment. If we continue to make bad choices, then the enemy can draw us away and make us unfruitful in the service of Jesus.

Lord Jesus, please grant that we will be aware of the choices we are making and choose to walk in the light as You are in the Light. Enable each of us to serve You in the way You want us to serve. Help us to remember that we are Your Ambassadors.

May 13, 2023May 13, 2023

The Joy of the Shepherds

1^st Thessalonians 2:17-20; (Comparing Matthew 11:28-30; Acts 20:28-31; Hebrews 13:17; 1^st Peter 5:1-4; John 4:34)

1^st Thessalonians 2:17-20

¹⁷But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. ¹⁸Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.

¹⁹For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? ²⁰For ye are our glory and joy.

Introduction:

At various times, over the years, we have examined the scriptures that explain the “Work of the Shepherds.” We will do so again, in the near future, but today we will address a parallel idea: What brings Joy to a Shepherd?

In 1^st Thessalonians 2:17-20, Paul first says that he has tried more than once, to go visit the Church in Thessalonica. He misses them, and longs to see them again. He says that Satan was the culprit who prevented his return to Thessalonica. (How did Paul know? We are not told.)

Please don’t jump to the conclusion that Satan is personally involved when you don’t get to do the things you want to do. Satan is not omnipresent (he is not “everywhere at once,”) nor is he omniscient (he doesn’t “know all things.”) He does not “cause you to sin:” You are perfectly capable of sinning without his involvement. (However, he definitely approves of your sin, so, if you want to “please the enemy,“ just keep it up!”

But, in this case, somehow, Paul was aware that there had been Satanic intervention, preventing his return to Thessalonica. We are not told how he knew. It is just a fact.

Glory and Joy in Working for Jesus

But, in verses 19 and 20, Paul says something pretty important: He says that the believers, there in Thessalonica, were his Glory and his Joy. He specifies that they are his hope for blessing, and honor, at the coming of Christ.

They will be his Joy, to see them standing before Jesus, and knowing that he had been a co-laborer with Jesus in getting them there!

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus said some odd things:

²⁸Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

I am told that the Greek word, here, translated as “yoke,” was specifically the double-harness made for two people to pull together. It allowed two workers to unite their strength and move a much heavier load. Jesus was inviting those who were wearied by their own attempts to serve God, in their own strength. He invited them to join Him in double-harness and find rest, because of His strength. And He promised they would learn to walk with God and learn to join Him in His Work. He said that the burden would be easy and light, compared to what they had been attempting alone.

Choosing Partnership With Jesus

But the bottom line is that, when we choose to join Jesus in that double harness, we become co-laborers with Jesus. We are seizing the opportunity to serve with Him! This is true, whether we are in an official position of “working for God” or serving, unseen, and just faithfully doing what He asks us to do. (This is not something “reserved for church leaders.”)

As we walk with Him and serve with Him, we learn His priorities, and gain His perspective. He changes our thinking about essentially everything. Things that once seemed important to us have become rather trivial from our new perspective. Goals we once felt strongly about may become irrelevant. And, yes, the result is “rest to our souls.” Our anxieties over the fears of this world begin to fade away, and the very temporary, shallow “joys” of this world are becoming less attractive to us.

**Are You “Called to service?”**

Whether you know it or not, the short answer is “YES!” If you are a believer, then you are called to be a disciple. You are called to work with Jesus and to follow Him in all things.

For three decades, I frequently wanted to leave the vocational job God had given me. But Ann and I were both aware that God had provided that job. Unless He directed me elsewhere, I was to “stay put!” So, I stayed there, and worked, and taught, and took opportunities to counsel and encourage believers, there at work.

I was working with Jesus there, just as much as I was working with Jesus in the churches I served. But I was grateful when the time came to leave. Being laid off after that long in service was not a grief to me: it was a relief!

Job Security for Believers

There are no “layoffs,” though, in God’s service. He has called us to serve. We may remember Samson, and ask, “but wasn’t Samson ‘laid off?’” Yes, Samson was in trouble because of his careless attitude toward the calling of God: He suffered losses because of his sin. (In the game of Hockey, they have something called a “penalty box.” Samson was in the “penalty box,” but he was still on the team.) And God chose to use Samson again, one last time, before he died.

All Believers are Called to Service

In Romans 8:28-30, we see that every believer is called to service. Revelation 5:9, 10 and Hebrews 13:15 teach us that every believer is called as a priest in the Body of Christ. We are called to serve Jesus as did the priests in the Old Testament, bringing sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, interceding for others in prayer, and acting as His ambassadors to those around us, This service is both in blessing and serving them, and in offering His grace and forgiveness through the Person of Jesus.

We are called to be His hands, feet, and voice, as His Ambassadors. But we are working with Jesus. Jesus said, in John 15:5, “apart from me ye can do nothing.” That is the literal truth. The things God has called us to do are impossible on our own: but He does not ask us to do them on our own. He says “take My yoke upon you and learn of Me.”

And the Joy we will receive in hearing “Well done, thou Good and faithful Servant,” will surpass all the hard things we have experienced along the way. If you have led others to faith in Christ, then they will be a special, personal joy to you at his coming. If you have drawn others to walk with Him, then their lives, in which they honored Him, will also be a joy to you.

Daniel 12:3 says, “…then they that be wise will shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars, for ever and ever.” There is a reward for a faithful walk with Christ. And part of that reward is sharing in His joy.

So, going back to the original question…:

What brings Joy and Blessing to Shepherds?

In Acts 20:28-31, Paul gave some instructions to the elders of the Ephesian church. He addressed them as “overseers” and as shepherds. He exhorted them to do the work of tending to God’s flock. Paul warned them of the hidden dangers to the flock. He told the Ephesian elders that they were to “stay put,” in Ephesus, and tend to the flock they shared as their responsibility for oversight and teaching.

He warned them that predators would come (“grievous wolves”); false teachers, attempting to draw away disciples after themselves, and not concerned for the flock. But they were to feed the flock, and to guard against those predators. Nothing was said in that passage about “joy.”

In 1^st Peter 5:1-4, Peter did much the same thing, but not to a specific group of elders: rather, to all elders of churches throughout the church age. He told them that they were to feed the flock, and care for them, providing a spiritual and physical example for the others to follow. They were not to allow the question of payment to be their motive for service…money was not the point of their service.

No Hierarchy in the Church

They were told that they are not “the bosses.” Not “lords” over the flock, but serving as examples. And he concluded that there would be specific reward for having served well in that capacity. He calls it a “crown of glory that passes not away.” And when will they receive it? When the Chief Shepherd comes. When Jesus, the true Shepherd, returns to claim His own. They have joined Him in His Work, and will share in His Joy.

There are five such “crowns” mentioned in the New Testament, but we need to keep in mind that the Greek word translated as “crown” in all five cases, is the word “stephanos,” meaning “a victor’s crown,” (not “diademos,” meaning a royal crown.)

The Olympic champions were crowned with laurel leaves, honoring their accomplishments, But laurel leaves wither and fade. This crown, and the others, like it, are said to not fade away. We are not told much more about any of these “crowns,” so I am not going to attempt to elaborate on them.

Future Reward

But we can see, that one result of faithful service is the joy of God’s pleasure in our work.

Jeremiah had a very rough ministry. And, in spite of his suffering, as a prophet, as far as we know, only two people believed his message during his lifetime. So, did he receive the joy of Christ, saying “Well done!”? I expect he did! He served absolutely faithfully, weeping for the grief he felt, at the constant rebellion of his countrymen.

How about Jonah? Thousands of people were saved through his ministry. So… does he get a better reward? I seriously doubt it! Why? Because he served in a very poor attitude, hoping the people to whom he brought his message would reject it and be condemned!

So, is it possible for a servant of God, serving as a shepherd, to not experience that joy? Evidently it is!

Missing out on Joy

Hebrews 13:17 gives the general warning to all believers, regarding the leadership of the churches: (This is not in regard to civil leadership: it has to do with “those who keep watch over your souls.” Civil leaders are not in that category.)

¹⁷Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

Leaders whose flocks rebel against the Word and which follow the world’s patterns of beliefs and behaviors still have to give account to God, for “what happened on their watch.” They feel personally responsible for the results of their teaching and or leadership. The leaders of the failed church at Laodicea (for example) will not be joyful at the Lord’s return. They will grieve the loss of blessing and honor that should have been theirs to share before the Lord, with those people.

Finding Joy as a Shepherd

A shepherd feels joy to see the spiritual prosperity of those he has been called to feed. He feels joy in sharing that work with his fellow shepherds and in seeing new leaders growing up from within the flock. He rejoices in the spiritual health of that flock. Numbers are a side issue. The primary concern is the spiritual health of those he serves.

A shepherd can miss out on joy in this life because people reject his teaching. (That was the case for Jeremiah. But he has eternal joy in Jesus’s satisfaction with his work.)

Or he can miss out on joy in this life and the life to come, because he had wrong motives in service, (as Jonah showed us.)

But if the shepherds over a flock are missing out on Joy, for whatever reason, it also affects the flock. Speaking to all the flock, Hebrews 13:17 says, “it is unprofitable for you,” if the shepherds have to report failure in their ministry.

Feeding on God’s Work

In John 4:34, Jesus said, “My meat (my food) is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His work!” A faithful shepherd echoes that central purpose and passion. He finds his sustenance in the Person of Christ, and in obedience to Him. He looks for satisfaction and Joy in the service to which he is called. (This is true for all believers, not just the shepherds.)

In Matthew 25:21, Jesus said, ”²¹His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” We seek to join Jesus in the work, and to share in His Joy!

But the greatest joy a shepherd can have, in this life, is to see God’s Word taking root in the lives of the flock, and to see their lives reflecting the Glory of God, as they are transformed by His Word. To see new leaders being raised up by the Spirit of God, so he does not feel fearful about what will become of the flock when he himself is no longer able to serve.

Pat James, the founding pastor, here at True Hope, became too sick to serve, and he feared that this church would fail. But Richard Banham and I reported frequently to him, letting him know that the church was flourishing again, and Pat and Jan James rejoiced in that news. They had Peace and Joy, knowing that the flock was doing well.

This is the Joy of the Shepherds!

Lord Jesus, teach us to follow You in such a way as to bring Joy to You, and so that we may share in Your Joy.

May 6, 2023May 6, 2023

How do We “Receive the Word of God?”

What does it mean, to “Receive the Word of God?”

1^st Thessalonians 2:13-16

¹³For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

¹⁴For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: ¹⁵Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: ¹⁶Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

Introduction:

Remember, the books of 1^st and 2^nd Thessalonians sprang out of a history of persecution. Within three weeks after the Gospel had first come to Thessalonica, the percecution had begun. The unbelieving Jews physically attacked anyone who professed faith in Jesus as the Messiah. And the attacks did not stop when the Apostles left town.

Paul cited the overall rejection of God, and His Word, and His Prophets, and of Jesus Himself. He pointed out that, as a nation, the Jews had officially rejected their own God, killing His prophets and crucifying the Messiah, all while claiming to be the people of God.

Jesus had first declared this sad truth, at length, in Matthew 23.

Matthew 23:29-39.

“²⁹Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, ³⁰And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

³¹Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. ³²Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. ³³Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

WHO sent the prophets?

³⁴Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: ³⁵That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. ³⁶Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

³⁷O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! ³⁸Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

³⁹For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

**This was National Response, not Individual.**

Though many Jews had believed in Jesus, and had trusted in Him as their Savior, and believed in Him as the Messiah, Jerusalem rejected Him and eventually crucified Him. Jerusalem was the “official leader” of Israel as a nation. And Jesus warned them that they will not see Him again, until, as a nation (Jerusalem leading the way) they repent and trust Him as their Messiah.

Paul reiterates this truth, but He first expresses his joy that the Thessalonian believers did not fall into thatcategory. They had received the Word of truth “not as the word of man,but as it is in truth, the word of God.” Paul went on to say that the result of them receiving that Gospel as the Word of God was that the Word had begun to have a powerful effect on their lives: He said, it “…effectually worketh also in you that believe.” So, how does one receive the Word in that way? How can we allow God’s Word to have that sort of effect in our lives?

Receiving the Word of God

Romans 1:5 uses an odd phrase. It says that the Gospel went out “for the obedience of Faith.”

Sometimes, the only response required, is that we “believe God,” as opposed to believing some other source of information. (John 6:28. 29) But, when we read in Hebrews 11, about the people we consider the Biblical “heroes of faith,” we can see that in every case, faith was demonstrated by an action. Throughout the Bible we see that, in reality, Faith is an Obedient Response to a Revealed Truth.

As we studied through the books of Moses we saw, repeatedly, that, despite the abundant unmistakable proofs of God’s faithfulness and care for them, the Children of Israel rebelled, and they chose to not “believe God.”

In virtually every case, the result was that they wanted to return to Egypt. They remembered the abundant and cheap food in Egypt, and they equated Egypt with “easy life.” They had forgotten that they had become slaves there, and had even begun to be victims of attempted genocide.

Contrast between people’s responses to the Word of God

When Moses and Aaron brought them the Word they had just received, from God, in person, in the wilderness, they quickly forgot who they were dealing with, and they rebelled. They did not respect His Word as the Word of the Living God.

In contrast, the Ninevites were enemies of Israel, but when Jonah warned them of the coming Judgment, they believed God. The whole city repented of their sins, and God postponed the coming Judgment.

Jesus testified that those ancient Ninevites would bear witness against Israel in the final Judgment, because they had repented at the Word, coming through Jonah (who was a very reluctant prophet.) The citizens of Jerusalem had not repented, though God’s Word came to them from the mouth of God, the Son: Jesus, the Messiah!

That is a very sharp contrast. The enemies of Israel, in Nineveh, though grossly ungodly people, had repented at His Word, But, in Jerusalem, His “own” people chose to kill the messengers!

How did I receive the Gospel?

When I first heard the Gospel it meant nothing to me: So, I did not see that I was a lost sinner, needing a Savior. I doubted the truth of the Bible as a whole and I equated the “Bible stories” with Greek mythology, and other “legendary” history. Initially, I was not antagonistic toward Jesus, but He seemed irrelevant to me and my life. Eventually I did become more antagonistic toward the Gospel, and I began interrupting believer’s attempts to share Christ with the lost.

But when I was eighteen, a classmate shared a rather obscure verse with me that caused me to start thinking seriously. She asked me for my definition of Sin. I had no solid answer, because, by that time I considered myself an atheist. But after a moment, I replied that, “I suppose that, if I were to do something that violated my conscience, then it must at least be a sin against myself. And, if there is a God, then (it would seem) that would have to qualify as a sin against God, as well.”

What changed my thinking?

She replied, “Chet, that is exactly what God says!” I was surprised to hear that: so, she opened her Bible, and showed me James 4:17 “Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

I was amazed! I thought “God agrees with me!” (What an incredibly backward and vain idea!) But, inwardly, I thought, “Then all I have to do is live with a clean conscience, and God will have no problem with me!” (Can you hear the laughter from the angelic host?) So, I tried to do that, but, of course, what immediately resulted was that my conscience was awakened, and I became aware of all my bad motives and evil thoughts, and the filth that came out of my mouth.

**I Was Dealing With God, not Man!**

Within a month, I was getting quite depressed and hopeless, because, for the first time, I was keenly aware that I was a condemned sinner! (As you know, that’s the bad news of the Gospel!) Then I began to take God’s Word more seriously. I tried to read it, but I couldn’t understand it.

But when I threw myself on His Mercy and received His Grace, by Faith, then His Word began to come alive for me. I began to understand it, at least at a “baby food” level. You see, that is when the Gospel became “Good News!” And that Good News has become better and better, over the last fifty years. The more I learn of His Word and the more I experience His Grace and His Mercy, the sweeter that “Good News” has become to me.

Testing the Concept

Initially, I did not receive the Gospel as the Word of God. But after I did, and I actually knew the Author, I still had to make some “adjustments.” I truly believed that the Bible was the Word of God, but that belief had not been seriously tested.

A young roommate in Bible school confronted me about my (then) opinion that “Evolution and Creation could somehow be reconciled, as both being true.” He said, “No, Chet, they are mutually exclusive! They could both be false, or one true and the other false, or vice versa, but they cannot both be true.” When I started to protest, he cut me off, and gave me a series of examples from the Creation story in Genesis, each of which was diametrically opposed to what Evolution claims.

I was stumped! It was clear that I had to make a decision!

**The Decision We Always Face:**

Ultimately, I decided that God’s Word had to stand. I chose to believe God’s Word, and allow Him time to show me why that was a good choice. And, over the last 48 years, the proof has piled higher and deeper, that the Creation account is accurate. I realize that not everyone agrees about this, and I try not to argue with people about it. But: it turns out that not only it is accurate, but it is also critical to the Gospel. Why?

Because, if “death came into the world through Adam,” (as Romans 5:12 states,) then the hundreds of millions of years of death, procreation, and more death, and change (necessary for evolution of humans to have occurred) cannot have happened. 1st Corinthians 15:22 confirms this fact, reminding us that we “all died in Adam.” There are other similar arguments, comparing scripture with physical science.

Whose Authority Matters?

But even without all the extrabiblical studies, comparisons, and arguments, I eventually realized that the core issue is that Jesus Christ treated the Creation account (and all the Old Testament) as history… as fact. (Not as mythology, or fables or any other sort of fiction.) He acknowledged the metaphors that are hidden there, and He expanded upon some of them. But neither He nor any of His Apostles gave room for any doubt that the entire Old Testament was given by direct inspiration of God. It was to be taken as truth, and as truly being the literal “Word of God.”

I was only beginning to comprehend “Who Jesus Is,” as the Incarnate God: God, in the Flesh. It had not yet occurred to me that the Bible is HIS Word. But I did know that He was my Savior, and He is the author of truth. I could rest in that alone. Any evidence beyond that central fact was just “extra.”

How do We Receive the Word?

When we hear teaching from the Bible, we are told to read carefully, check what we hear against other parts of Scripture, and make sure it is sound doctrine. Ask questions. If we don’t know where to find them, we are supposed to ask for supporting passages. (See Acts 17:10, 11.)

But once we know the teaching is correct, and we agree that the Bible truly is God’s Word, then our response becomes critically important: “What will we DO with that information?”

There is an old saying, “The distance between knowledge and wisdom (or understanding,) is usually about sixteen inches.” The implication is that “You may have the information in your head, but it has not found its way to the heart.” Another way I have heard the same idea taught, is, “You have that idea in your library, but you have not moved it into your living room.” It is not yet affecting your behavior.

We are Accountable

Once we know what God says, then we become accountable for that information, and we are called to respond! We can no longer argue that “Well, that is just what so and so believes!” If you know for sure that God says it, then it doesn’t matter who taught it to you. The young girl who initially shared James 4:17 with me was only seventeen. But God used her to speak to me! The young man who first confronted me about the disconnect between evolution and Creation was only eighteen (I was almost 21.) But he was right, and God used him to speak to my heart!

How you respond to God’s Word reveals how you are “receiving” His Word. And it should be an indicator as to how your walk with God is going. Remember: In John 1:14, we see that Jesus is the “Word made Flesh!” And, Revelation 19:13 says He is “The Word of God.” How we respond to the Written Word is exactly how we are responding to Jesus, the Living Word of God! Give that some thought!

Lord Jesus, please awaken us to our desperate need to feed on Your Word, and to respond as though You were speaking directly to us, face-to-face. Raise us up to walk as Your Disciples.

April 29, 2023April 29, 2023

“That You Would Walk Worthy of God:”

That You Would Walk Worthy of God

1^st Thessalonians 2:1-12

¹For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain:

²But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.

³For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:

⁴But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

⁵For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:

⁶Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.

⁷But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:

⁸So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.

⁹For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.

¹⁰Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:

¹¹As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,

¹²That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

Introduction:

In chapter one, Paul said he was thankful, that wherever he went, even in other nearby countries, people told him what they knew about his own ministry in Thessalonica, and the resulting transformation in the lives of the Thessalonian believers. That would be a thrill to any teacher!

Lost Protegés

When I was teaching welding and other classes in my vocational career, it was very frustrating that our company refused to adequately pay our trainees for the skills they had, after completing our training. Rival companies would routinely offer them a starting pay of $10/hr. more than we paid our trainees, specifically because they knew our training was superb. The result, obviously, was that we frequently lost those employees, and no one could blame them for leaving.

On the other hand, we teachers had the satisfaction of knowing that the people we trained were superior workers, and in demand among all our rivals! Recruiters often stood on the sidewalk outside the plant, offering job opportunities to all our employees as they left at the end of work.

But God’s children are His forever: He has never lost one of them. There is an Enemy, seeking to “derail” the life of any believer who is careless enough to be ensnared by him. But we cannot be “taken away.” Romans 8:38, 39 assures us that nothing can separate us from the Love of God. What Paul was thrilled to hear, in the first chapter, is that his “pupils” were genuinely walking with God. Their testimony preceded him, wherever he went!

**Reminder: How the Gospel Came to Thessalonica**

We had to read Acts 17:1-10, to see how the Gospel came to Thessalonica. But the Thessalonian believers were there! All Paul needed to do was to remind them of the traumatic situation surrounding his ministry in Thessalonica, and his departure from there. They had experienced it with him.

They also knew what had happened in the previous town, at Philippi. When Paul arrived in Thessalonica, he and Silas bore the recent wounds, still unhealed, from the beatings received at Philippi,. The Thessalonian believers knew exactly what had happened.

The Example of Paul and Silas

They also knew that, rather than being hesitant, or fearful about preaching in Thessalonica, Paul and Silas had plunged right in, and boldly shared the truth of Jesus with the Jews and proselytes at the synagogue. They were fearless in the face of sharp resistance, and even the eventual riots that drove them out of town. Why?

Because (as Paul explains in verse three) their message was the straight truth, and they had no “hidden agenda.” There was nothing in their message that might shame the Messiah. No deceit, no uncleanness, no guile. They had nothing to hide. Paul lists several things that were missing in their lives that were common among false teachers, who had a definite hidden agenda.

What was Missing?

No deceit
No uncleanness
No guile
Not trying to please men, but God
No flattery at any level: they told the straight truth.
They were not “acting pious, to hide their greed for gain.”
They were not seeking personal honor, either from the believers or from anyone else.
They were never a burden to the believers: they did not seek “handouts,” as Apostles.

In Contrast to the False Teachers::

They were gentle toward the believers, not arrogant or judgmental.
They freely gave out the Gospel of God…there was no “Cover Charge.”
They freely “poured themselves out” for the benefit of the new believers.
They found temporary work, by which to pay their own way. (see verse 9)
They behaved in such a way that any witness could confirm their personal
- Holiness,
- Righteousness ( In Old English, the word “just” means “Righteous.”)
- and Blamelessness.
They exhorted and comforted the believers as a father would his children, and encouraged them to live in a manner worthy of their new calling: the Calling of God, unto His Kingdom and His Glory.

What Can We Learn for Today?

There are two ways to look at this passage, as believers:

We can see the contrast between false teachers and faithful teachers of God’s Word, and learn to be watchful and careful about what kind of teachers we allow to influence us.
We can see what sort of people we ought to be, as we emulate the faithfulness of Paul and other leaders whom God has sent (especially those we can see in God’s Word.) In that case, we learn what to eradicate in our own lives and what to emulate, as we seek to be disciples of Christ.

All of the values listed in this passage, both negative and positive, are taught elsewhere in the New Testament, as specific directives to Church-age believers. The warnings against false teachers and their danger to believers are also expanded upon there.

Warnings against False Teachers

2^nd Peter 2:1-22 gives us the most descriptive warnings against false teachers, but it requires careful reading to keep in mind who the passage refers to. The entire chapter is about false teachers and those unbelievers ensnared by them.

Paul warned the Ephesian elders against false teachers, in Acts 20:28-31. He reminded them that such “wolves” would arise even from among the leadership of churches. He said their goal would be to draw away disciples after themselves…that is, away from sound teaching and a core commitment to Jesus. And Jesus said such men were “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

Matthew 7:15-23

¹⁵Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. ¹⁶Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? ¹⁷Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. ²⁰Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

²¹Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Notice that He does not say, “I once knew you, but you wandered off and got lost!” He says, “I never knew you.” In Luke 6, Jesus also said that the “fruit” He addressed was their teaching, not just their lives. A man can look good on the outside, but be hiding something evil inside.

Luke 6:43-45

⁴³For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. ⁴⁴For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. ⁴⁵A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

The fruit in question is both their lives and their teaching! Both have to be good.

A Sad Example:

Ann and I once knew a church leader who seemed an absolutely stellar pastor. His behavior was blameless: he was full of good works. If there was physical work to be done, he was “first in and last out.” If someone was hurt or sick, he was the first one there to help them, or to visit them in the hospital. He seemed to be a wonderful and gracious shepherd.

But there was a persistent pattern of bad teaching, both privately and from the pulpit. He frequently cast doubt on the truth of God’s Word. He gave people books written by pagan philosophers, without warning them, that “This is interesting, but it directly conflicts with God’s Word!” Other times, in a Bible classes, or from the pulpit, he clearly stated that some portion of the Bible was “just mythology:” not to be taken literally.

When he was pressed for a firm answer, he finally admitted that he did not believe the Bible was the Word of God. You see, he “did good things,” but he turned people away from God’s Word. He was a false teacher.

The Imitation of Christ

Ephesians 5:1 says, “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children.” We are to take Him as our example, for our values, our priorities, and our practices.

The Hebrew Christians were exhorted to see Jesus as their example and leader, and follow Him.

Hebrews 12:1-4 “¹ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, ²Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. ⁴Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

They knew that the Judgment of all the World was coming. Peter addressed these same believers, in 2^nd Peter 3:11, and said, “…therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness…?”

A Fragrance of Christ

Our lives are to reflect the presence of Christ. In fact, we are said to be a “fragrance” of Christ.

2^nd Corinthians 2:14-16 says that we are a “sweet savour” or “fragrance” of Christ, to the saved and unsaved, alike. Believers will recognize the Holy Spirit in our life, and rejoice. Unbelievers will see the difference as well, but resent it as the smell of coming judgment. They will assume that we are judging them, though we are not. We earnestly desire their salvation and blessing because we also see that coming judgment, and we do not want them to be destroyed by it.

To Review, Then:

What kind of behavior should we desire to emulate?

Being gentle toward other believers, as well as to unbelievers.
Freely giving out the Gospel of Christ to unbelievers
Freely “pouring ourselves out” for the benefit of other believers.
Being productive, working to pay our own way, and to help those truly in need.
Living so that others can recognize the presence of Jesus in our lives, by personal:

Holiness, Righteousness, and Blamelessness.

We hope to exhort and comfort other believers. We hope to encourage one another to live in a manner worthy of the Calling of God, for His Kingdom and His Glory. We do not seek to be honored by other people, but rather to bring honor to Jesus.

We try to avoid any behavior or words that would dishonor Him. The epistle to the Ephesians is largely given to teaching believers how to live for God.

Ephesians 4:25-32 says:

²⁵Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. ²⁶Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

²⁷Neither give place to the devil. ²⁸Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

²⁹Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. ³⁰And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. ³¹Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: ³²And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Following our Leader

In those seven verses, we see the same characteristics listed for us as were listed in the lives of the Apostles. In fact, in 1^st Corinthians 11:1, Paul said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” That is a pretty bold thing to say, as a human “follower of Jesus.”

But the key words, there, are “…even as I also am of Christ.” Paul was not some “cult-leader,” demanding that everyone just blindly follow him. He said, “As far as you see me following Jesus, you can follow me.” The Corinthian believers were with Paul for much longer than these people in Thessalonica, and they still had very messed-up lives. In their case, Paul effectively said, “OK, look! Do you see what I am doing, in following Jesus? Do that!”

A Hard Task?

Personally, I would hesitate to tell someone, “Follow me, as I follow Jesus,” because I am keenly aware of my failings. But that is how we are told to live: Our lives are to reflect the light of Christ in such a way that others can confidently follow our examples.

That is a tough assignment! But that is the same assignment we had when we raised our children, and we seldom thought, ”But, I don’t know if I can do this!” We just raised our kids as best we could, living day by day. We tried to set a consistently good example, as well as giving clear direction to our children in their growing up years.

That is how we are to approach the Christian Life, as well. It is not “hard:” it is completely impossible, apart from the Holy Spirit presiding over our lives. Remember that Peter had to “get out of the boat” to begin to walk on the water with Jesus. But he had to focus on Jesus every moment to stay on top.

Lord Jesus, we ask that You keep our attention focused on You, so that we are not entangled and weighed down by the distractions of the World around us. Raise us up to be the Men and Women of God you have called us to be.

April 22, 2023February 23, 2024

An Introduction to the Thessalonian Letters

Introduction to the Thessalonian Letters

1^st Thessalonians 1:1-10; Acts 16:12-40; Acts 17:1-10

Introduction to the Thessalonian Letters:

In Acts 16 and 17, we see the background for the letters we are about to study. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas had planted a small church in Philippi, in a very short time. They had encountered a young slave woman, there, who was demon-possessed. They freed her from that possession, but they suffered beatings and imprisonment for their trouble.

Why planting a Church at Philippi became a “Short-term Mission:”

There, at Philippi, they met Lydia, who took the missionaries into her home. She supported them in that way for the few weeks that they remained in Philippi. They also met the Philippian Jailer, who, through a miraculous sign, was convinced of his need for a Savior. He begged Paul and Silas to tell him how he could be saved. They told him in simple terms, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” (Acts 16:31) They had already told him the Gospel: Now, he believed, along with his entire household, and was baptized.

But the city magistrates asked them to leave, because they were afraid they would be in trouble with Rome, for having beaten Roman citizens who were not convicted of any crime. So, Paul and Silas visited Lydia one last time, and comforted the new believers they were leaving behind, and then they left Philippi, probably still bleeding from those beatings.

Yet Another “Short-Term Mission:“

In Acts 17:1-10, Paul and Silas passed through two towns, Amphipolis and Apollonia, and arrived in Thessalonica, a city in northern Greece. (It is still there, today, but the name in Greek is “Thessaloniki”) It was the capital of one of the four Macedonian districts of Rome.

The Jewish community there was relatively new when Paul arrived, but they had a synagogue, and as was their regular practice, Paul and Silas presented the Gospel to the Jews first. (Why? Because Jesus was the fulfillment of their (Jewish) scriptures, and He was their (Jewish) Messiah. Paul always gave them the first opportunity to receive the Lord.)

The Source of the Trouble

Paul and Silas preached Jesus as the Messiah, right there, in the synagogue. For three sabbaths, running, he showed them from scripture the necessity of the Messiah having been executed and rising from the dead. This was a confusing idea to the Jews. They had read all the scriptures about the Messiah, but the picture they had formed in their own minds was that of a “champion” who would “drive out the Romans and all other enemies of Israel.”

The notion that the Messiah had to be executed, fulfilling Isaiah 53, and Psalm 22, and to physically become their true Passover, was just too strange. And rising from the dead, though plainly taught in Isaiah 53:10, and Psalm 16:10, was apparently simply beyond their imagination.

Some Believed!

But, as strange as the message was to them, some of those Jews believed, and a large number of the Greek Proselytes believed, too, as well as a number of important women of that community.

But the unbelieving Jews were moved by envy, and they deliberately gathered those who would be willing to start a riot. They attacked the home where Paul and Silas had been staying, but the two missionaries were not there. So, they seized Jason, the homeowner, and some of the new Thessalonian believers, and they dragged them before the magistrates.

False Accusations

The accusers claimed that Paul and Silas were causing trouble, and teaching people to disobey Roman Law. Of course, that was a total fabrication: they had done no such thing. However, the Magistrates demanded a bond of Jason and the others, anyway. and let them go. But the damage was done: It was too dangerous for both the new believers and for the missionaries, if Paul were to remain in Thessalonica, so Paul and Silas were forced to leave town, by night, and they headed off to Berea.

A Functioning Church in Less than a month!

It is important to notice that they were only in Thessalonica for a minimum of two weeks plus a few days, up to a possible maximum of a month…they preached three sabbath days. (If they had showed up on a Sunday or Monday, say, and preached that Sabbath, and the two following Sabbaths, but were run out of town before the fourth sabbath, then it would have still been less than four weeks.) Why is that important? Only because I find it amazing that they left a functioning church in Thessalonica, with qualified leadership, after such a short time!

How was that possible?

Remember; they offered the Gospel first to the Jews and to the Gentile proselytes. That group of men was already well taught in the written Word. All it required was that they learn how the Old Testament taught the Messiah, and that Jesus completely fulfilled all the prophecies. They believed, and were truly committed to Him from the first. Once they believed, they stepped from being responsible, faithful men of God in the Old Testament sense, to being very responsible and faithful men of God in the New Testament sense; and essentially overnight!

Qualified Leaders

Those qualified leaders were filled with the same Holy Spirit as were Paul and Silas. They had the Written Word to study, and there really was no option for Paul and Silas to stay…so they stepped into their new responsibilities and became the first elders in the Thessalonian Church.

Did they need further teaching? YES! That is why these two letters were written! But these letters are addressed to us as well. Paul wrote these two letters to encourage the believers in their new faith. But remember that he had left a small, healthy, functioning church there, after less than a month’s contact. There is no reason that believers today cannot grow into maturity much more rapidly than they seem to do in our country, today.

So, as we begin to read through the letters to the church at Thessalonica, let’s try to read carefully, to see what they already knew by the time Paul and Silas left.

1^st Thessalonians 1

¹ Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

What can we learn from the Salutation alone?

Paul and Silas and Timothy, (and the other apostles authorized by Jesus) never went around calling themselves by any honorific term, such as “Reverend, the Right Reverend, Vicar, Father, Bishop, Archbishop,” or any other such title. They just went by their first name! (Never “the Apostle Paul” or any such title.) They did not elevate themselves over the people.
This letter was to the church, not to the church leaders.
They recognized the position of the believers: The believers were in God, and in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is our position as believers, even when we are not “living up to what we know to be right.” The position is permanent.
As always, Paul offers Grace first, then Peace. If you have not received God’s Grace, in Salvation, you cannot be at peace with Him, let alone experience the peace of God. In John 14:27, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you: My Peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” That peace (both with God and of God) was bequeathed to His disciples. Only believers can receive it!

What were Paul and the other missionaries thankful for?

²We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; ³Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; ⁴Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. ⁵For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

⁶And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost. ⁷So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

⁹For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; ¹⁰And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Let’s list the things Paul mentioned in verses 6-10. They were thankful for:

The Believers themselves!
Their Work of Faith
Their Labor of Love
Their Patience (endurance) of Hope
Their Election of God
They became followers, not just of “Paul & Co.,” but of the Lord Himself
They received the Word in much affliction, but,
They also received the Word with the Joy of the Holy Spirit.
Their Testimony spread everywhere!
They became examples throughout the entire Roman world where Paul traveled: everyone knew of their testimony and their transformed lives. Wherever Paul went, the people he met told him about the church at Thessalonica!

The Testimony of Thessalonica

What was told to Paul wherever he went? The testimony was powerful and effective, but what did it include? The people in faraway places had heard of the church at Thessalonica:

They knew about the riotous response of the unbelieving Jews. They knew that the Thessalonians had been idol worshippers. They knew how the Thessalonian believers had turned to God, which resulted in their turning from their idols. (It is never the other way around: we do not “clean ourselves up” so we can approach God. We come to Him as guilty, helpless sinners, and He cleans us, from the inside.)

They knew that the Thessalonian believers were waiting for Jesus’s appearance from Heaven. (So, they knew of the Second Coming!) They knew about the Resurrection. They knew that Jesus had saved the believers from the coming Judgment. That is quite a testimony!

What about the matter of “Judgment?”

We are often told that “You should focus on positive things: don’t belabor the topics of ‘Sin, and Guilt, and Judgment!’ People are far more attracted to a Loving God!”

That sounds good, but: Jesus spent far more time and energy warning the world of the coming Judgment than He did trying to explain the Glories of the Coming Kingdom, (much less describing Heaven itself.) And, in John 12:32, Jesus said that His Crucifixion was what would draw people to Him. Not all the subsequent blessings He offered! It was the Judgment!

The bad news of Sin and Judgment is necessary for the Good News of Christ to make any sense. If His death was not for the specific purpose of freeing us from the wrath of a Holy God and the eternal judgment to come, then it is not good news at all! It is a tragic miscarriage of Justice, wherein the Only truly Good, and Righteous One was murdered! That is not “Good News!”

**But virtually all “Good News” is predicated on some preexisting “bad news.”**

The bad news, in this case, was that I was lost and on God’s Death Row, for eighteen years, because God says “the wages of Sin is Death.” But the terrible news is that it was not only I, but also the whole human race, suffering under that same condemnation. And, since we have no way to “unbreak God’s Law,” we were doomed, unless He chose to extend His Grace to us. And He did exactly that, by substituting Himself for us at the Cross; taking our sins upon Him and suffering the Judgment of God, Himself.

Think about it: If there are no consequences for our sin, or for the overall wickedness of the whole human race, then what are we to be “saved” from? He was given the name Jesus, (meaning “Jehovah is Savior”) because He was to “save His people from their Sins!”

Those Thessalonian believers knew all this, and other people had heard about it through them. We need to grow to have that kind of testimony, ourselves! We need to grow!

Lord Jesus, train us up as Your disciples. Fill us with Your Spirit and let us shine as lights in this dark World. Give us the Wisdom to know how to act and what to say…and the courage to do Your Will.

April 15, 2023April 15, 2023

After the Resurrection: What Now?

Matthew 28:11-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 24:45-53; John 21:1-24; Acts 1:1-9

Introduction:

Last week we spoke of the Resurrection and the effect it has upon believers. Some of those effects are what we call “positional truth:” They are permanently true because of your position in Christ, from the moment you trusted in His shed blood as full payment for your sins. Others are conditional truths, that should be true of every believer, but, in reality, are only true as far as believers are willing to walk with Jesus by faith, and obey Him.

After the Resurrection

In Acts 1:3, we are told that Jesus spent forty days with the disciples, teaching them, and making final preparation for His departure at the ascension. In Matthew and Mark, not much is said about this time period between the resurrection of Jesus, and His ascension.) Both simply point out that the Lord gave His last request, that they are to go out as His ambassadors; His witnesses, and “Preach the Gospel to everyone; make disciples in every nation, and His promise was that He Himself would be with them, empowering them to serve.”

Mark concludes that they did so, but he leaves out the fact of the Holy Spirit’s arrival (in Acts chapter two;) that it was after the coming of the Holy Spirit that they became fearless evangelists. They were hiding until that day.

In Luke, some important details are added. These details happened in the room where Jesus proved to His disciples that He was not a ghost, by eating some broiled fish and honey. But after he had convinced them that He was truly alive, He said some things, that reveal to us an important key to understanding the Bible. Please open your Bibles to Luke 24, verses 44-53.

Luke 24:44-53

⁴⁴And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

⁴⁵Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

⁴⁶And said unto them, [Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: ⁴⁷And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸And ye are witnesses of these things.]

⁴⁹And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

⁵⁰And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. ⁵¹And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.

⁵²And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: ⁵³And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

Notice that in verse 44, He reminds them that His life had been completely devoted to fulfilling the prophecies about Himself. Everything from the Torah (The books of Moses) and all the Prophets, including the Psalms, that had referred to Him, either openly or obliquely, had been fulfilled.

Then it says “He opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures…” Our tendency is to read that verse as if there were a period, after the Word “scriptures.” But there is not! There is a comma, as the next three verses tell how He opened their minds so they could understand the scripture. If we read that sentence with an inserted period, a full stop, then it seems that Jesus performed some miraculous “brain augmentation” that supernaturally enabled the disciples to understand the scriptures.

But the key to understanding, that Jesus gave them, was to see that the Redemptive Plan of God, fulfilled in the events of the last few days, including the crucifixion, and the resurrection, and their subsequent outreach to the entire world, is the central theme of the whole Bible.

And He told them that they were the witnesses He intended to use. He also reminded them that the Holy Spirit was the One who would empower them as His witnesses, and that they were to wait in Jerusalem until The Holy Spirit came. (They did not know God’s timing. When Jesus ascended, there were still seven days left before the feast of Pentecost. Pentecost was fifty days after the Passover; Jesus spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, as predicted, and forty days with the disciples. There were seven days left before Pentecost.)

The last two verses are interesting, too, because they skip the forty days that Jesus spent with His disciples, teaching them, and preparing them for the task before them. They skip straight to the ascension, and His final blessing. It is also interesting to see that His final blessing (which, as we see in the Old Testament, is prophetic of their lives to come) turns out to be the final issuing of the Great Commission, as we see in Acts 1:8, 9. The Great Commission is the Blessing!

The Gospel of John is the only record of the time Jesus spent with the disciples before the ascension. And not all of it is what we would expect. Please turn to John 21:1-24

John 21:1-24

¹ After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.

²There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.

(Seven of the remaining eleven Disciples were there.)

³Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. ⁴But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. ⁵Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. ⁶And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

⁷Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

⁸And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. ⁹As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. ¹⁰Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. ¹¹Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.

¹²Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. ¹³Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. ¹⁴This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.

¹⁵So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. ¹⁶He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

¹⁷He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

¹⁸Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

¹⁹This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

²⁰Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? ²¹Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?

²²Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.

²³Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? ²⁴This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.

Lapsing into the Old Life

At least seven of the Disciples, with Peter leading the way, were lapsing back into their old way of life. Jesus had specifically called them away from that life, saying “henceforth ye shall fish for men!” Bear in mind that most of these men had a commercial fishing background: they were not just deciding to “go catch a few fish” for dinner, or go there for recreation: they were reverting back into their old way of life!

So, when Jesus revealed Himself to them as we read in this passage, they were like children caught in some sort of mischief…afraid to talk to Jesus. But Jesus only addressed Peter:

He called Peter by his old name, Simon Bar-Jonas, since he had dropped back to his old job. Jesus asked whether Peter was more committed to Jesus than He was to the fish. (The “Love” he asked about in Greek, is the Agapé love—the fully committed, unconditional love we are commanded to have toward one another, in John 13:34, 35.)

And He was not asking “whether Peter loved Jesus more than he loved the other disciples,” as He had already commanded them all to love one another in the same way He had loved them. The issue was the fish. “Are you more willing and more committed to pouring your life into my priorities than you are to catching fish for the market?” Or is it just, back to “business as usual?”

Peter definitely understood the question as it was asked, because he chose a different word for “Love,” to give his reply. He did not use the Agapé word for love, but Philéo…meaning, “Yes, Jesus, You know I am fond of you! I have affection for You! I like You!” This is a totally different idea, not even addressing Jesus’s question. Jesus did not respond to the verb change: He just said, “then feed my lambs!” (The Greek word, here, translated as “feed” is boskō, and it simply means “feed.”)

Jesus asked the same question a second time, using the same verb, Agapé, and Peter answered, again using the word for affection; not a fully committed, unconditional love. Jesus again ignored the verb change, and said, “then shepherd my sheep!” (This word, poimaine, is a different view of the job… not just feeding. Some Bibles translate both as “Feed.” But the poimaine word means the whole job of caring for a flock, as described in Ezekiel 34:1-10.)

Jesus spoke a third time, this time using the same verb Peter was using: “Simon, son of Jonas, do you even like me? Do you even care??” Now we see that Peter was grieved, because the third time, Jesus used the same verb he himself had used. He answered, and said “Lord (master) You know all things! You know that I like you! You know I am fond of You…that I have affection for you!”

Perhaps Peter was simply unwilling to profess “unconditional love”, as he had previously done, knowing that the last time he had done so, he also utterly failed, and denied he even knew Jesus. But Jesus simply answered, “then feed [boskō again] my sheep.” (“Take the job seriously, and do what I have asked you to do!”)

He then told Peter, “Follow Me! (Keep being the Disciple you were called and trained to be!)”

Peter looked around and saw John, and asked “What about him? What do you want him to do?” Jesus answered, “What is that to you? You follow me!”

This is either the third or the fourth time Jesus had to call Peter away from the fish. Scripture tells us that Peter served faithfully, after this, and that he was eventually martyred for his faith.

We can see the transformed lives of all of the disciples after they were indwelt by the Holy Spirit. All of them were faithful, and history and tradition (hard to sift out which is which) tells us that most (or all) were eventually martyred.

What about Us?

I don’t want to get too specific, here, because obviously, I don’t know the future, nor do I know God’s will for any individual. But what we can see, here, is that we are to leave our old way of life behind, to whatever degree we are called to do, and remember that we now live for Him, not for ourselves. The fact of the resurrection has made some definite changes in our lives, simply because we have been placed into Christ. We can read about those changes, among other places, in Ephesians 1:3-14.

Some people simply live out that changed life in the same place they were when they were first born again. They may do the same job, and associate with the same people. But Jesus expects that how they do that job, and how they interact with the people around them is definitely to change. We are no longer part of the world. We are part of Jesus, and we are called to act like it.

We are called to lay aside our old priorities and embrace the priorities of Jesus. In John 4:34, He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work!”

Embracing His priorities, and His values, is the essence of discipleship. And, just as it was impossible for the disciples to do the job apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit, it is also impossible for us to live that life apart from Him doing it through us. Every believer today receives the Holy Spirit at the moment they trust in Jesus as their Savior.

But we still have our old sin nature, and we are engaged in a lifelong struggle to maintain submission to Christ so that the new nature is in evidence, and the old self is set aside. We are secure in Him, but the fight is real. We cannot “just coast.”

Peter finally left behind his beloved occupation and identity as a commercial fisherman, and he never went back. He had something better, and something more important to do.

And, so do we! We need to examine our own lives and ask how the Lord would have us to change, in order to honor Him.

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to the reality of Your Word and allow us to feed upon it as Your disciples. Help us to walk in Your footsteps and be the men and women of God that You have called us to be; Ambassadors for Your Grace.

April 2, 2023April 2, 2023

The Trial of Jesus, and The Cross

The Trial and The Cross

Matthew 26:57-27:50; Mark 14:51-15:38; Luke 22:54-23:47; John 18:12-19:37

Introduction

The Trial and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ could be seen as both the saddest and the most triumphant story in History.

It is the saddest, if all we see is that the only truly Righteous person who has ever lived was falsely charged, given a mock trial, and executed as a criminal, along with real criminals.

It is the “most triumphant” if we see two things:

Jesus was the promised “Seed of the Woman” of Genesis 3:15, who would “crush the Serpent’s Head,” and, in the process, be wounded Himself. His victory was in the Cross, even though from a temporal view, it seemed to be His defeat, and Satan’s Victory.
He laid down His life of His Own accord…to take it up again, three days and three nights later. He completed His work of providing salvation for the Human Race, right there on the Cross. The phrase “It is Finished” is translated from the Greek “tetelestai.”It is not a gasp of defeat, but a cry of triumph! It means “paid in full!” It means, “it is completed!”

Full Context Needed

Without the full context of the scripture: we tend to only see the mock trial, the rush to judgment, the gore, the torture, and the cold-blooded cruelty of His enemies, beating him on the head with a papyrus reed, punching Him with their fists, scourging Him with whips, ramming a crown of heavy, sharp thorns into His scalp, plucking out His beard, and parading Him before the jeering crowd, before stripping Him naked, and spiking Him to a wooden cross, to hang there, dying in agony. We are fearful at our own implied guilt, as well, if we see that it was for our sins He died.

But, rather than emphasizing either the gory physical details, or the emotional impact of the crucifixion, let’s just look at the given facts, and try to learn What really happened, and Why.

So, What Happened?

Beginning at the arrest:

Did you notice that Jesus directed his own arrest? He was the one acting in authority, and not they! But Peter drew his sword, but attacked the servant of the high priest, not a soldier, slicing off an ear. (“Peter; that really isn’t helping….”) It was late at night: maybe Peter couldn’t see clearly: that might explain why Judas identified Jesus up close, by kissing him. But Jesus healed the man’s ear. It even gives his name: “Malchus,” meaning “counsellor.”

All his disciples abandoned him, though some followed from a distance, and some even went inside the house where the mock trial was happening. It is difficult to discern where all the things happened: Only in John 18:13, 24 do we see that Jesus was first sent to Annas, and that Annas had sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas. The others simply say he was “sent to the High Priest.”

So, Jesus arrived at the house (“palace,” John 18:15) of the High Priest. Peter followed at some distance, with John. John went inside, as he knew some of the palace staff, but Peter waited outside. Then John came back and spoke for Peter, so that he also came in, but the woman at the door said Peter was a follower of Jesus, but Peter denied it.

The Trial in the High Priest’s House

Caiaphas questioned Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine. Jesus said, in effect, “Why ask me? You have thousands of witnesses.” Everything he did was in public. A temple officer stepped in, and slapped Jesus, saying “Do you speak to the high priest that way?” Jesus’ only answer was, “If I said evil, tell us what it was—if I spoke well, then why are you striking me?”

In Matthew 26:59-65 the priests sought witnesses to testify against him so they could condemn him, but they found none with any accusation of a crime. They finally found two who agreed that “He said he could destroy the temple (meaning the one built by Herod), and rebuild it in three days.” That was a misquote, and would not even be a crime, ordinarily: rather just a symptom of being mentally unbalanced. But Jesus had not specified the temple of Herod. He had said “this temple”, in reference to His own body. Also, nothing about his destroying even that temple: He said if they did, he would raise it up in three days. (John 2:19-22).

Jesus Answered to the Name of God

Jesus did not answer further questions, until the High Priest commanded Jesus “by the Name of the Living God”, to tell whether He was the Christ, the Son of God. Then Jesus replied, “I AM, and you shall hereafter see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62)

That was what they had been waiting for! They said, “Blasphemy! We have no further need of witnesses! We have all heard him!” Jewish law forbade the abuse of prisoners, but they spent the rest of the night physically and verbally abusing Jesus (Matthew 26:67, 68.) In the morning, they took him to Pilate to get official condemnation.

Meanwhile, twice more, servants accused Peter of being with Jesus, and he violently denied it, cursing, and swearing that he did not know Jesus…and then the rooster crowed. Matthew says Peter remembered Jesus’ words, and he went out, and wept bitterly. But the priests bound Jesus again, and took him away to Pilate.

Matthew 27:11, ff (In Pilate’s Court)

Pilate asked Jesus, “Art thou the King of the Jews?” In Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus answered “Thou sayest;” similar to “You said it!” in our own culture. But, in John 18:34, Jesus also asked a counter-question: “Are you asking this on your own, or did someone tell you this about me?” (Jesus invited personal inquiry.) But, Pilate refused, and said “Am I a Jew? Your own people and chief priests have brought you to me: what have you done?”

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now is my kingdom not from hence.” Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered “Thou sayest that I am a king (again, an affirmation). To this cause I was born and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth heareth my voice.”

Pilate Knew Jesus was Innocent

Pilate did not ask how one would be “of the truth”—he cynically answered, “What is truth?” Possibly it was a philosophical question, but he immediately walked out. He was not expecting or desiring an answer… he just revealed his belief that there was no real truth. Either way, Pilate then walked out and told the Jews, saying “I find no fault in him.” Pilate had a sense of legal protocol, or perhaps even justice: he declared that as far as he could tell, Jesus was innocent.

Pilate represented Rome, not Israel. It was Roman law he sought to enforce, and uphold. (He cared nothing for the feelings of Jews, but he was afraid of causing a riot!) He offered, as the Passover festival was at hand, to release Jesus, in keeping with their tradition of releasing a prisoner at Passover. They shouted, “No! Not him! Barabbas!” (Mark 15:7 saysBarabbas was a robber; a bandit, who had led a rebellion, and committed murder in the process. He was in prison, and slated to die.) (Interestingly, “Barabbas” means “son of his father”. Who did Jesus say was the father of sinners at large? John 8:44)

Herod Got Involved

In Luke 23 Pilate tried to “pass the buck”, as it were: Since Jesus was from Galilee, he sent Jesus to Herod for judgment. Herod was glad to see Jesus: he had hoped to see a miracle. He asked Him many questions, but Jesus gave no answer. Then Herod and his soldiers put the scarlet robe on him (that we read about in Matthew.) They mocked him and finally sent him back to Pilate.

In Matthew 27:15-25 Pilate saw that it was sheer envy that motivated the Jews. He again offered to turn Jesus loose, but the priests had persuaded the people to shout for Barabbas to be released, so that they see Jesus destroyed (v. 20). The governor asked the people again, “Which one do you want me to release? Jesus or Barabbas?” They answered, “Barabbas!”

Pilate’s Question

Pilate asked, “What then shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?” (What an eternally appropriate question!) And they all said “Let him be crucified!” Pilate asked “Why? What evil has he done?” But the people cried out more and more, saying “Let him be crucified!” Pilate saw that a riot was about to start, so, he called for a bowl of water, and ceremonially washed his hands, saying “I am innocent of the blood of this just person: you see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be upon us and our children!”

This curse they claimed for themselves will continue to plague them until the return of Christ, when they will finally recognize him whom they have pierced, and mourn for him in Zechariah 12:10. Some Christians today still hold this against the Jews, because “they killed Christ!” This is wrong, as Paul points out in Romans 9-11: they are precious to God, and should be precious to all believers.

Passage to the Cross

Pilate delivered Jesus to be scourged, and the Roman soldiers (accustomed to violence and cruelty as a part of their job as soldiers) began to further abuse Jesus after scourging him: spitting on him, jamming a crown of thorns down on his head, dressing him in the scarlet robe, again, and giving him a papyrus reed for a scepter, bowing down before him, saying “Hail, king of the Jews!” Then taking the reed from him, they beat him over the head with it. (Papyrus reeds are not strong, compared to wood, but they are thick, and could do real damage.)

Finally, they stripped the robe off of him, temporarily gave his own clothes back, and led him off to Golgotha. He bore his cross himself, to begin with, but all three synoptic gospels say that a man named Simon was taken from the crowd and forced by the soldiers to carry Jesus’ cross for him. (Matthew 27:31, 32; Mark15:20, 21; Luke 23:25, 26)

None of the Gospels say why Simon was made to carry the cross. Tradition holds that Jesus was weakened by the loss of blood and the constant abuse, and could not carry it himself. John says Jesus was carrying it (John 19:16, 17), so probably tradition is correct: Jesus could not carry it very far, and the soldiers forced someone from the crowd to carry it.

Where was Golgotha?

The scripture (Hebrews 13:10-13) points out that Jesus died outside the city, so, if that were all I knew, I would say that the shrine inside modern Jerusalem, identified as Golgotha, is not correct. There is another location, outside the city, (called “Gordon’s Calvary,” after the man who suggested it) that has also been claimed. All we know is that he died outside the city.

But! History shows that the present day “Old City Wall” was actually built by the Turks in the 17^th century! The real “Old City Wall” excluded both the traditional place and “Gordon’s Calvary.” Originally, both places were “outside the city wall.” Possibly the traditional location is really correct. I’m not sure it matters. Nothing more is said about it in scripture, and we are not supposed to be making “shrines” of these historic spots, anyway.

The Crucifixion

God does not give many details of the crucifixion. Psalm 22:16 says that his hands and feet were pierced. The gospels tell us nails made the holes. Jesus offered his hands to Thomas, saying, “…put your finger in the holes!” The traditional view of a big spike through each palm and one through the two feet is probably correct. Some say that “a hand would tear, so it had to be the wrist.” But people have been hung up by a pierced hand or even just a finger, so that argument is false. Also, the hand of a working carpenter, of that time, would be exceptionally tough; Jesus’s hands were not likely to tear! So the tradition is probably correct on that count as well.

Pilate wrote a sign: “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS” in three languages, Hebrew, Greek and Latin. The Jews were offended, and demanded that the sign be changed to read, “He said he was King of the Jews.” Pilate just said, “What I have written, I have written.”

The Cross, the Crucifiers, and the Annointed One

The style of the cross is not told. Given the figure we saw in the original Passover (the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts) it seems the traditional view is correct on this as well: It fits the Old Testament figure. John 19:23, 24 does say that they took his garments—all of them—and divided them between the four soldiers who carried out the crucifixion. The fifth garment was in one piece, and they elected not to tear it, but cast lots for it (fulfilling Psalm 22:18.) Finally, they sat down to watch Him die. These were Roman soldiers…it was “just a day’s work,” to them.

While Jesus hung naked on that Cross, the crowd mocked him. People passing by mocked him. The thieves (both of them) mocked him, too. This is the usual response of the Lost World. One of the thieves repented, and defended him against the other thief. Then He turned to Jesus and asked to be included in His Kingdom. Jesus told him “Today you will be with me in Paradise!”

Final Prophecies Fulfilled

Mark 15:25, 33, 34 After three hours on the Cross, darkness came over the land for the next three hours (From noon until three PM.) Then Jesus called out “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani?” (“My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”) That fulfills Psalm 22:1. This was the very thing Jesus had dreaded…that He and the Father would be separated from fellowship, as God the Father judged God the Son for the Sins of all of humanity for all time. It was temporary, in Jesus’s case, but with permanent results: He perfected forever those who believe.

Jesus knew that all the things he had come to do had been completed, and he called out “I thirst.” Someone ran and got a sponge full of vinegar (a cheap, sour wine the poor people drank) and offered it to him on a spear (fulfilling Psalm 69:21). After that, everything really was done: He cried out, in Greek, “Tetelestai!” (It is finished!—all done!) And gave up the ghost, saying “Into thy hands I commend my spirit!” (Luke 24:46, fulfilling Psalm 31:5)

Immediate Result of the Death of Christ

The veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. There was a great earthquake: Rocks split, graves opened, and many believers who had died, revived and walked into the city, where they were seen by many. The centurion and those that were with him changed their mind about who they had crucified. They said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” The centurion himself glorified God, and said “Certainly this was a righteous man!” And the rest of the spectators, shocked by what they had seen, smote their breasts and returned to their homes. (Luke 23:47, 48)

Why Did it All Happen?

To Fulfill Prophecy

All the things in Jesus’s birth, life, teachings, death and resurrection were to fulfill prophecies given hundreds and in most cases, thousands of years before His birth. His own prophecy (in John 12:32, 33) was that if He was lifted up above the earth (crucified) He would draw all men unto Himself. He also said He had come to give His life a Ransom for many. He was to be lifted up in same manner as the bronze serpent from the account in Numbers 21:5-9 had been lifted up, that “Whosever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:14, 15)

The details of the crucifixion including the scourgings, the beatings, the outpouring of His blood, the plucking of His beard, and the piercing of His hands and feet, were all laid out in the Old Testament, and all had to be fulfilled to the letter. (Such prophecies were frequently joined with prophecies of the resurrection, the second coming and His eternal reign as King of Kings, so it was a very confusing mix for a person to try to “sort out,” and to believe, since they could not know how it would all be fulfilled.)

To Provide Redemption

From the earliest scripture (Job 19:25-27) the Redeemer was predicted, and His second coming along with the fact that He was the Redeemer. But His work as the Redeemer was carried out at the Cross. The resurrection of the righteous dead (Job included) would not be complete until His return as the King (including both the Rapture of the Church and the Return of the King.)

The Redeemer had to be closely related to the one(s) being redeemed. He had to be free Himself, He had to have the price of redemption, and He had to be willing to pay that price to provide that redemption. These are the rules we are given for the Kinsman-Redeemer, and are demonstrated in the Book of Ruth, where Boaz showed all four aspects of the “goel:” the “kinsman-redeemer.”

Having seen that the prophecies were all fulfilled in Christ, and that He is the One Redeemer, we are left to receive Him by Faith, and rejoice in the Eternal Life He gives. We join Him in His work of reaching the lost World with that same offer of Life.

Lord Jesus, fill us with the Joy of Your Person and Work, and lead us to walk in Your footsteps.

The Call of God to a Holy Life

1st Thessalonians 4

Introduction:

Corinth was far worse!

The Apostles’ Teaching

Why is Sexual Sin a Good Example to Use?

What does it mean to be Holy?

Result of Defilement

What Vessels?

What is our intended Use?

Possessing our Vessels

Defrauding your Brother

Casting Down Imaginations!

He Who Despises

Sin Always has Consequences

To Increase and Abound in Love

Introduction:

It is OK to talk about the Bad News!

How did God intervene?

The One and Only:

What About the World?

Paul’s Example

What Effect Did Paul Expect in Their Lives?

Compare Two Ministries

We do have a choice How we serve!

Service is a Privilege.

What about Counterfeits?

Jesus knows the Difference!

Practice, Exercise, and Growth

Learning to Walk

The Passion of the Shepherds

1st Thessalonians 3:6-10

Introduction

Fire on the Mountains

God Was at Work

Human Doubts

Now We Live!

Easing our Fears

The Passion of the Shepherds

How will they Respond?

Who are the Shepherds?

How does God see the Matter?

How should We See it?

That No Man Should Be Moved

Introduction

Who is the Enemy?

So, What are the Enemy’s Plans for You?

Remember: You are Secure Forever:

No Created Being Can Separate us from the Love of God.

Because You are “on God’s Team,” Satan desires to cripple or destroy you!

What about Fear?

What about Anger?

What about Pride?

Clean Pride

What about Unbelief?

What about the Desire for Fleshly Gratification?

We always have a choice.

The Joy of the Shepherds

1st Thessalonians 2:17-20

Introduction:

Glory and Joy in Working for Jesus

Choosing Partnership With Jesus

Are You “Called to service?”

Job Security for Believers

All Believers are Called to Service

What brings Joy and Blessing to Shepherds?

No Hierarchy in the Church

Future Reward

Missing out on Joy

Finding Joy as a Shepherd

Feeding on God’s Work

What does it mean, to “Receive the Word of God?”

1st Thessalonians 2:13-16

Introduction:

Matthew 23:29-39.

WHO sent the prophets?

This was National Response, not Individual.

Receiving the Word of God

Contrast between people’s responses to the Word of God

How did I receive the Gospel?

1^st Thessalonians 4

**What Effect Did Paul Expect in Their Lives?**

**Because You are “on God’s Team,” Satan desires to cripple or destroy you!**

1^st Thessalonians 2:17-20

**Are You “Called to service?”**

1^st Thessalonians 2:13-16

**This was National Response, not Individual.**

**I Was Dealing With God, not Man!**

**The Decision We Always Face:**

1^st Thessalonians 2:1-12

**Reminder: How the Gospel Came to Thessalonica**

1^st Thessalonians 1:1-10; Acts 16:12-40; Acts 17:1-10

1^st Thessalonians 1

**But virtually all “Good News” is predicated on some preexisting “bad news.”**