The Goal of Our Instruction
1 Timothy 1:1-7 (5)
January 17, 2016

As you know we are in the middle of our annual “Missions Month”
We are making a conscious effort to sort of re-focus ourselves
On our purpose and calling here in this world.

Last week we talked about the importance of proclaiming Christ.

We heard Paul plead with Timothy to avoid worldly and empty chatter
And to guard that precious treasure of the gospel.

We looked at some of the sermons of the apostles
So that we might get a better feel for exactly what they were proclaiming
And their messages were extremely similar.

You can sum up their subject with one word: CHRIST
They preached Jesus.

The Resurrection of Jesus
The Reign of Jesus
The Requirement of Jesus

Their focus was not on the sinner and his specific circumstance.
Their focus was on Christ and what He required.
And with this message these men literally turned the world upside down.

This morning I want to go a little further in our missions month emphasis.

I would basically begin by asking the question:
Why preaching Christ or proclaiming the gospel is so important?
(especially as it compares to preaching other good information)

We could certainly just answer, “Because the Bible says so”
The fact that we are commanded to preach the gospel should probably be enough.

But I am aware that most people are more pragmatic than that.
Most people like to know why we are called to do a specific thing.

So this morning let’s get a little more specific and honest.

The reason we preach the gospel
Is because only the gospel accomplishes our goal.

Romans 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

• Only the gospel reveals how sinful man can achieve the righteousness of God.
• Only the gospel produces genuine salvation.
Now think about that when you read other popular mission verses.

Consider this one:
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

You’ve certainly heard of that one.
It’s called “The Great Commission”

What is the goal there?
It’s pretty clear, it is to “make disciples”

The question has to be then: What exactly is a true disciple?
• How do we know what a true disciple is?
• How do you we know if we are making them?
• How do I know if I even am one?

A little insight into that is given just in what Jesus said here.
• Jesus said to baptize them “in the name of the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit.”

That would indicate that the person repented of their sin and placed their faith in Christ and evidenced both by their obedience in baptism.

• Jesus also said to teach them “all that I commanded you”

Which indicates that a disciple is what? OBEDIENT

But this morning I want to take focus on this a little bit more.
I want to know what a true disciple is
And I want to know how to make one.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 “According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

We definitely must be careful how we build.
The last thing we want to do is spend all of our time and all of our resources making false disciples.

It would be a tragedy of enormous proportion
To spend our lives in ministry only to see it all burned up at the judgment
And us only being saved “yet so as through fire”
IT’S IMPORTANT THAT WE KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO MAKE DISCIPLES.

AND HERE IS WHAT I HOPE YOU SEE THIS MORNING.
That the type of disciple that Jesus wanted us to make
Can only be produced one way.

The type of disciple Jesus called for is absolutely impossible to make by any type of human ingenuity or human effort.
• It is not a disciple that can be created through better education.
• It is not a disciple that can be made through therapy.
• It is not a disciple that can be made through counseling or manipulation.

The type of disciple that Jesus wanted was one only found on the other side of absolute regeneration and rebirth.

The type of disciple that Jesus required
Is beyond anything you can produce by any tool that you possess
Except the tool that is the gospel.

This morning we are returning to the book of 1 Timothy.
I gave you the backdrop to this book last week.

To give you the quick version, you know that some of the teachers in Ephesus had gone astray and were teaching “strange doctrines”

• They were caught up in “myths” and “endless genealogies”
• They were talking about things that Paul called “fruitless discussion”

But the real problem was what Paul mentioned in verses 3-4

“As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.”

The teaching of these Ephesian teachers was accomplishing something to be certain, but it wasn’t accomplishing the real goal.
It wasn’t furthering “the administration of God”

That is to say it wasn’t growing the kingdom.
Put another way, IT WASN’T MAKING DISCIPLES

• Was it making the church bigger? Possibly
• Was it making the church wealthier? Could be
• Was it making the church more relevant? I wouldn’t be surprised

BUT IT WAS NOT MAKING TRUE DISCIPLES
AND THUS IT WAS MISSING THE WHOLE POINT
And that is what Paul reminds Timothy of in verse 5.
(and this is the verse I want to dwell on for a moment)

Let’s look at it closely and see if we can’t
Draw our minds back to the main thing.
(5) “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

That is a simple verse with some profound information.

What is it that we are trying to produce?

This last Wednesday night I was able to speak to the youth (which I love to do) and was able to remind them that while we love them, friendship is not the goal.

We don’t just want to hang around them.
And incidentally that goes for everyone in here as well.

My dad used to set in his booth at Canton and call people in by saying, “Step right in to our little non-profit organization where we don’t want to make money we just want to make friends.”

If you knew my dad, you knew that was a lie.
He didn’t want any friends.
He wanted my mother all the time and half of his grandkids half of the time.

Well look I should be honest about the purpose of the church as well.
I’m happy to call you all friends, but friendship is not the goal.

Just like I told the youth Wednesday night,
We’re trying to produce Christ in you.
We’re trying to make you more like Jesus.
We are trying to make disciples.

THERE IS A GOAL TO WHAT WE ARE DOING.

What is “the goal of our instruction”? “LOVE”

Now I want to tap the brakes here for just a moment
And ask you not to just blow past this word too quickly.

We are often tempted to read that God wants us to “love” and say,
“Check, I have love for all sorts of people and things.”

Let me help you understand what Paul is talking about here.

There are three Greek words that are commonly translated “love”
• One is AROS – it’s the passionate, romantic type of love “I luv her momma”
• One is PHILEO – it’s what we call brotherly love “luv you man”
• And then there is AGAPE which is unconditional love.
John MacArthur wrote, “Agape is the love of choice, of will. It involves self-denial and self-sacrifice to benefit others.”
(MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1 Timothy, Moody Press, Chicago, Ill, 1995] pg. 18)

Agape love is the love that will sacrifice for someone else.
It is NOT that sensual emotion that sacrifices other people for you to get what you want.

Using other people to gratify your own desires is not agape love.

We are talking about a choice to put others before yourself.
Romans 13:8-10 “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

And Paul says that is “the goal of our instruction”

If you want to get more specific, listen to what Jesus said:
Matthew 22:35-40 “One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

The two greatest commandments: Love God & Love your neighbor

Incidentally there is no greater mark of a genuine disciple than this.

John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

1 John 4:20-21 “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”

And that is really the tip of the iceberg, but you get the point.

We are trying to produce people
Who love God more than they love this world,
More than they love their sin, more than they love anything else,
And people who will put the needs of others before their own.

“the goal of our instruction is love”
ANYTHING SHORT OF THIS IS NOT A TRUE DISCIPLE.

And because this is such an important issue,
Paul is going to take it a little bit further.
It’s not just love, it’s love from a specific type of person.

Pay attention, this is the goal.
#1 LOVE FROM A PURE HEART
1 Timothy 1:5a

The Bible is clear about the natural heart of man.

God saw it early on
Genesis 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Through Jeremiah God reiterated it again:
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”

The point is that since the fall the heart of man is deceptive and evil.
It is not pure; it is not holy; it is not clean

The natural heart of man most certainly DOES NOT
Love God or its neighbor in a self-sacrificing way.
There is no capacity for agape love in the evil human heart.

So, the goal of our instruction is to create “a pure heart”
That can and will love God in a sacrificial manner.

Now, this desire is for a pure heart is not new.
It is often revealed even in the Old Testament.

Psalms 24:3-4 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.”

After David’s affair with Bathsheba, he prayed:
Psalms 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Psalms 73:1 “Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart!”

Men understood the need for a pure or clean heart before God.

And according to Paul, this is what we are trying to produce.
We are trying to take a person with a wicked and evil heart
With no capacity to love God or man in a self-sacrificing way
And see them transformed into a person who can love God like that.

That’s the goal.
• It is not to make people smarter
• It is not to get people to attend more regularly
• It is not to motivate people to give more money
• It is not to convince people to be more religious

“the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart”

THE QUESTION IS: How do we make a disciple like that?
Obviously you see the difficulty.
Changing the heart is beyond human ability.

Religion has gotten good at changing people’s habits,
But changing people’s hearts is really asking for a lot.

It is reminiscent of the Sermon on the Mount
When Jesus rattled off those “You have heard…but I say” sermons.
• We can keep people from murder, but how do we keep them from anger?
• We can keep people from adultery, but how do we keep them from lust?

We might be able to change the habit, but how do we change the heart?

Well there is only one way for an impure heart to be made pure,
And that is through the work of the Holy Spirit.

We don’t have time to go there,
But take a close look at Romans 7 and 8.

In Romans 7 you have the lament of a person who knows their sin is bad, but they can’t seem to stop it.

Romans 7:18-19 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”

This man tries, but fails continually.

What is the answer?
Romans 7:24-25 “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”

Why Jesus?
Because according to Romans 8,
• Jesus came and condemned sin in the flesh,
• Filled His followers with the Holy Spirit
• And it is the Holy Spirit who then actually regenerates their heart and makes them clean.

Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
Only the heart that has been renewed by the indwelling Holy Spirit can be a pure heart.

And this event only occurs when people hear the gospel and believe it.

Titus 3:5-6 “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,”

So listen to me very closely here.
OUR GOAL IS NOT TO MAKE PEOPLE WHO KNOW SIN IS BAD,
BUT WHO CAN’T SEEM TO DEFEAT IT.

• We do that when we preach law but not the gospel.
• We do that when we preach morality, but not redemption.
• We do that when we preach condemnation, but not regeneration.

OUR GOAL IS NOT TO MAKE PEOPLE WHO ARE STRUGGLING TO BE RELIGIOUS IN SPITE OF THEIR IMPURE HEART.

Our goal is to take the gospel and proclaim it so faithfully
That it actually leads men to faith in Christ
Which allows the Holy Spirit to move in and regenerate their fallen heart into a pure heart that can genuinely love God.

Those who are religious or moral or educated,
But who do not love God with a pure heart are not genuine believers.
And we have no interest in making false converts.

A true disciple loves with a pure heart and that is what we are trying to produce.

#2 LOVE FROM A GOOD CONSCIENCE
1 Timothy 1:5b

Here we see the second attribute and that is “a good conscience”

Surely you are aware of what the “conscience” does.
The conscience is that inward moral compass you have inside of you.

We are all born with it.
It is not the Holy Spirit, but it is a sort of guide.

And it is the work of the conscience to produce guilt
When you do the things that you know to be wrong.
Romans 2:14-15 “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,”

So in one sense the conscience does work similar to the Holy Spirit in that when you do the things you know to be wrong, you feel guilty about it.

The main difference between your conscience and the Holy Spirit is that
Unlike the Holy Spirit your conscience can become corrupted and defiled.

BUT THE MAIN POINT IS THAT
THE GUILTY CONSCIENCE IS THE RESULT OF THE IMPURE HEART

If your heart is pure, then your conscience doesn’t get offended.
But if your heart is impure, then your conscience makes you feel guilty.

You can hide your iniquity from everyone around you
So you don’t receive human judgment, but your conscience knows better.

AND SO WHEN YOUR HEART IS IMPURE OR UNCLEAN
THEN YOUR CONSCIENCE IS OFFENDED.

Paul said our goal is to produce people with “a pure heart”
Whose “conscience” is “good” or clear or satisfied

• This would be a person who is not harboring secret sin in their life.
• This would be a person who is not secretly engaged in hidden sin.

This is a person whose heart has been made pure through the work of the Holy Spirit, who loves God genuinely,
And as a result does not feel guilt about the way they live.

Paul was this type of person
Acts 23:1 “Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, “Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.”

AND THAT IS WHAT WE SEEK TO PRODUCE.

Churches can be very good at holding up a moral standard over people
And really condemning people for violating that moral standard.

THE PROBLEM IS THAT:
This just teaches powerless sinners to be secret about their sins.

THE RESULT IS:
Religious people with an impure heart and a guilty conscience
Who are incapable of loving God the way He requires.

That is not the goal.
“the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience”

Our goal is to produce redeemed people who have been set free from sin,
Who have had their hearts washed clean and their consciences also.

And this only happens through the preaching of the gospel.
• Only the gospel leads men to faith in Christ.
• And only Christ performs that type of cleansing.

WE ARE OUT TO MAKE REAL DISCIPLES.

Those with a pure heart…Those with a good conscience
#3 LOVE FROM A SINCERE FAITH
1 Timothy 1:5c

And this may be the most telling of all.

Do you know why churches are filled with religious people who have a guilty conscience?
• Because those religious people have an impure heart.

Do you know why so many religious people in the church have an impure heart?
• It is because they have an insincere faith.

That is to say, their faith isn’t real.

The word “sincere” here is ANUPOKRITOS
It is the negative form of the word HUPOKRITOS

A HUPOKRITOS was a specific type of person in the New Testament.
You know many of them. You pay money to watch them.
Today we call them actors.

In the New Testament a person who performed on a stage
Was called a HUPOKRITOS.

That word is translated in your Bible as “hypocrite”

Jesus warned us about them didn’t He?
Luke 12:1 “Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”

Matthew 23:25-26 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.”

Paul said here that we are not trying to produce Pharisees.

We are trying to produce those with an un-hypocritical faith.
“the goal of our instruction is love from…a sincere faith”

The Bible is full of people who demonstrated a less than genuine faith.
Jesus encountered them all the time.

John 2:23-25 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

John 5:38-42 “You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. “I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.”

John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

The interesting fact about that group is by the end of the chapter
Jesus says this to them:
John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

John 8:47 “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

They were coming to Jesus for the wrong reasons.
• Maybe they wanted to be healed…
• Maybe they wanted bread…
• Maybe they wanted a king to defeat Rome…

WHAT THEY DIDN’T WANT was freedom from sin,
Because when Jesus said “the truth will make you free” THEY BALKED.

John 8:33-34 “They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.”

They weren’t interested in freedom from sin.
They wanted to keep their sin while reaping the blessings of God.

That is an insincere faith and that is NOT what we are trying to produce.

Our goal is to make genuine disciples.
People who want freedom from sin, not freedom to sin.

Our goal is to make people who exercise genuine faith in Christ.
• Faith that results in redemption and regeneration.
• Faith that results in a pure heart which leads to a good conscience.
• Faith that allows the person to be freed from bondage to the flesh and able to sacrifice that flesh and love God fully.
THAT IS WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO PRODUCE.

How do we make that type of disciple?
And again the answer is by preaching the gospel.

Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

This is why Paul is so adamant that we cling to the gospel.

Romans 1:13-17 “I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.””

Only the gospel has the power to lead sinful man with an impure and a defiled conscience to faith in Christ and regeneration.

This is why Paul told Timothy to be faithful in preaching:
1 Timothy 4:16 “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

If you want a positive example, look at the Thessalonian church.
(A church in the middle of extreme persecution)

1 Thessalonians 1:2-10 “We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you; for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”

1 Thessalonians 2:13-14 “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews,”

And you get the point.
The type of disciple Jesus wanted us to make
Was one who loved God
With a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

And there is no amount of human ingenuity
Nor religious program that can produce that.

The only thing that produces a true disciple is the message of the gospel.
“it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes”

So if you are serious about fulfilling the great commission
To go and make disciples
Then I implore you to be faithful in proclaiming the gospel.

The Benefits of the Prosperity Gospel
Job 20-21
January 10, 2016

My mom recently shared a blog on her Facebook page entitled:
“The One Thing Christians Should Stop Saying”

It was written by a man named Scott Dannemiller
And in it he talked about how his business had a good year.
Someone asked him about his business and he responded “God is blessing me”

And he talked about how quickly we throw that phrase out there today.
• This new car is such a blessing
• We finally closed on the house…feeling blessed
• Just got back from a mission trip. Realizing how blessed we are in this
country.

But he then went on to write about
How the theology behind those statements is so flawed.

How do you suppose the Guatemalan Christian would respond to that?
You know the man who is so poor he only owns the clothes on his back
And works for a dollar a day.

If God has blessed you with that new car,
Then what does it say about what God has done for him?
The man makes a solid point.

Can I give you the truth that might shock you a little bit?

Those poor believers in Guatemala
Are every bit as “blessed” as we are.

You say, “What?!?” “No”

TURN TO: EPHESIANS 1:3-14

Did you catch what Paul said was true for ALL believers?
We all have “every spiritual blessing”

Like what?
• Election (4)
• Adoption (5)
• Redemption (7)
• Revelation (9)
• Inheritance (11)

Notice “house” and “car” were not on the list.

Our blessing from God comes in the form of
Our spiritual state before Him and our eternal inheritance in Christ
And every believer on the planet shares equally in that blessing.

It might be that temporal gain, temporal money, temporal comfort
Aren’t really blessings at all.

I mean consider what Paul told Timothy
1 Timothy 6:6-10 “But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

And again:
1 Timothy 6:17-19 “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.”

• I’m not trying to paint things like earthly wealth or comfort as bad or evil.
• I’m not even telling you not to enjoy the good things you have.
• I’m not even going to tell you that those things didn’t come to you from God.

My point is that those things should not be considered “blessings”.

Jesus said they can even be HINDRANCES.
Matthew 19:23-24 “And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Now, this is not a sermon on money and what to do with it.

This is A SERMON ABOUT THE MINDSET that God blesses the faithful with temporal good and punishes the wicked with temporal bad.
We call that mindset: THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL

And you’ve learned by now that Job’s friends believed it.
They looked at Job’s suffering through the lens of the prosperity gospel
And decided that Job must have been wicked.

Tonight it’s Zophar’s turn to continue working against Job.
Tonight we will also see Job’s answer.

#1 ZOPHAR’S CLAIM
Job 20

I realize it’s been about a month since we last looked at Job,
But the last time Job spoke he was very direct to his three friends.
He had told them that despite his confusion and complaining
He knew his eternal fate was certain and secure.

Job 19:23-27 “Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! “That with an iron stylus and lead They were engraved in the rock forever! “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!”

Job knew that he was going to be just fine.

Furthermore he warned his friends that if they didn’t cool it with all the attacks they were going to be in trouble.

Job 19:28-29 “If you say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’ And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find?’ “Then be afraid of the sword for yourselves, For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, So that you may know there is judgment.”

We likened it to what Jesus told the religious elite in Matthew 7

Matthew 7:1-2 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”

It’s obvious that Zophar didn’t like the rebuke,
For he responds to Job by saying:
(1-3) “Then Zophar the Naamathite answered, “Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me respond, Even because of my inward agitation. “I listened to the reproof which insults me, And the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.”

Zophar didn’t like Job’s insulting reproof so he stands to fire back at Job.

And Zophar’s response is simple.
That it is obvious and common knowledge that it is the wicked who suffer.
(He’s just firing right back at Job;
Reminding him that his suffering is a consequence of his wickedness)

And to make his point Zophar reveals three truths about the wicked.
1) THEIR INEVITABLE FALL (4-11)

We don’t have to dwell on every word here spoken by Zophar
Because his point is clear.

It doesn’t matter what heights the wicked may attain to,
One thing is certain, they will come crashing down.
• (5) “the triumphing of the wicked is short”
• (5) “the joy of the godless momentary”
• (7) “he forever perishes like his refuse”
• (8) “he flies away like a dream”
• (9) “his place no longer beholds him”
Those all speak of an inevitable fall.
• He may reach great heights
• He may obtain great wealthy
• He may achieve great things

But rest assured, he’ll come crashing down.

(10-11) “His sons favor the poor, And his hands give back his wealth. “His bones are full of his youthful vigor, But it lies down with him in the dust.”

In other words, his sons will give back all his ill-gotten gain
And he will die young.

The IMPLICATION of Zophar is obvious.
• God won’t put up with the wicked very long.
• When He sees what they are doing, He will yank them down off their perch and throw them into the grave.
• He’ll kill them for their wickedness and then give their wealth back to those they took it from.

Zophar’s ACCUSATION is also obvious.

Zophar might as well say that
God has yanked Job down because of his wickedness,
Has seized his wealth, and is about to kill him for his godlessness.

After all, this is what God does to the wicked.
(According to Zophar)

Their Inevitable Fall
2) THEIR IMMEDIATE FUTILITY (12-19)

Here Zophar gives peculiar insight.
He actually reveals the enjoyment that the wicked receive
From all of their worldly endeavors and ill-gotten gains.

One must wonder how Zophar knew this.

None the less, Zophar reveals that even though the wicked may obtain riches and honor, God does not let them enjoy it.

(14) “his food in his stomach is changed to the venom of cobras within him.”
(15) “he swallows riches but will vomit them up”
(18) “He returns what he has attained…he cannot enjoy them.”

The wicked may cheat people and obtain wealth but God won’t let them enjoy it.
God will cause it to rot in their stomach until they are miserable and vomit it up.

Zophar is certain that this is reality for the wicked.
Everyone knows this…

Again, you hear the accusation framed right at Job.
Zophar is saying that Job’s bitterness and lack of comfort
Is simply a consequence for his wickedness.

All the wealth that Job had amassed has obviously turned against him and God has cast him down to the ground.

The wicked Inevitably Fall,
They experience Immediate Futility
3) THEIR INESCAPABLE FATE (20-29)

(21) “Therefore his prosperity does not endure.”

• Even when he gets “plenty” (22) “he will be cramped”
• (22) Everyone’s hand will be “against him”
• (23) “God will send fierce anger on him”

• He may flee (24) but he won’t escape.

• (26) An “unfanned fires will devour him”
• (27) “the earth will rise up against him”
• (28) “The increase of his house will depart”

Can you feel the negativity here?
Everything is going to go south for the wicked.

They may obtain riches, but God will not let him enjoy them,
Will eventually take them back, and then will punish him severely.

The wicked have it terrible in life.

Then if you want ZOPHAR’S POINT, he is very clear about it.
(29) “This is the wicked man’s portion from God, Even the heritage decreed to him by God.”

According to Zophar
• Wicked people don’t get to enjoy their wealth
• Wicked people end up losing their wealth
• Wicked people are hated by everyone and judged by God

And since all of those things have happened to Job,
Zophar asserts that obviously Job must be wicked.

That is Zophar’s claim.
And we don’t have to rehash again
How prevalent such thinking is EVEN IN OUR WORLD TODAY.

It is not uncommon for people to think that God rewards them with material gain when they are good and takes that stuff away when they are bad.

It is not a new thought.
It was happening all the way back in Job’s day.

Zophar’s Claim
#2 JOB’S CONFUSION
Job 21

Here from Job we also have a brief personal opening statement.

(1-6) “Then Job answered, “Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your way of consolation. “Bear with me that I may speak; Then after I have spoken, you may mock. “As for me, is my complaint to man? And why should I not be impatient? “Look at me, and be astonished, And put your hand over your mouth. “Even when I remember, I am disturbed, And horror takes hold of my flesh.”

It is Job’s ever familiar request for them
To stop accusing him,
To see how bad he is suffering,
And to offer him some comfort.

(5-6) “Look at me, and be astonished, And put your hand over your mouth. “Even when I remember, I am disturbed, And horror takes hold of my flesh.”

He just wants compassion, but as you know by now, he isn’t getting any.

So Job determines to respond to the sermon of Zophar.

Zophar said that the wicked have:
• An Inevitable Fall
• Immediate Futility
• Inescapable Fate

As you read chapter 21 you can almost hear Job respond like this:
“Well then I am confused.
Tell me, where exactly do you see that happening?”

• You claim the wicked aren’t allowed to enjoy their wealth, show me the wicked man who doesn’t.
• You claim the wicked are pulled down from their lofty heights, show me one who was.
• You claim the wicked are hated by everyone, judged by God, and die young. Do you have an example?

Because frankly I’m confused.
I just don’t see what you’re saying actually happening.

So just as Zophar had three points, JOB HERE ANSWERS THOSE THREE POINTS.
1) WHERE IS THIS IMMEDIATE FUTILITY? (7-16)

(7) “Why do the wicked still live, continue on, also become very powerful?”

That’s a pretty good question to consider.
Zophar said that God will knock them down,
Job wants to know why He ever lets them ascend to begin with.
• Why even let them stay alive?
• Why even let them get rich?
• Why let them grow to power?

Beyond that Zophar attested that even when the wicked do prosper, they don’t get to enjoy it.

Job says, that’s not what I see.
(8-13) “Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes, Their houses are safe from fear, And the rod of God is not on them. “His ox mates without fail; His cow calves and does not abort. “They send forth their little ones like the flock, And their children skip about. “They sing to the timbrel and harp And rejoice at the sound of the flute. “They spend their days in prosperity, And suddenly they go down to Sheol.”

“suddenly they go down to Sheol” doesn’t mean God kills them quickly.
It means that they don’t endure prolonged suffering in death.
They die in peace.

Zophar said the wicked are miserable with their wealth,
And Job says, “No they aren’t”

• “their houses are safe”
• “the rod of God is not on them”
• Their oxen mate “without fail”
• Their cows don’t “abort”
• Their children are happy as they “skip about”
• “They spend their days in prosperity”
• And they die in peace.

WHAT A MISERABLE LIFE!

What makes all this strange is that
They enjoy all this happiness while turning their back on God.

(14-16) “They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways. ‘Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, And what would we gain if we entreat Him?’ “Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand; The counsel of the wicked is far from me.”

They live happy and they live without God.
They reject Him, mock Him, question Him, and refuse to seek Him.

Job says, “Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand”

That is to say their prosperity is not of their own doing.
They reject God, and yet it is God who makes them rich.

(This is why Job doesn’t emulate them, he knows that it’s not their plan that works,
It is that God made them rich)

AND THAT IS WHERE JOB IS CONFUSED.
• Zophar says that the wicked don’t enjoy their wealth
• And Job says, “Yes they do”

They are wicked but God makes them rich and then lets them enjoy it.

And I should probably add that Job
Wasn’t the only one to ever make this observation.
Psalms 73:3-12 “For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, And their body is fat. They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them. Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of their heart run riot. They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high. They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth. Therefore his people return to this place, And waters of abundance are drunk by them. They say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.”

Asaph saw the same thing Job was seeing.

Zophar said the wicked didn’t get to enjoy their wealth,
But Job said, “that’s not what I see.”

Where is the immediate futility?
2) WHERE IS THIS INEVITABLE FALL? (17-26)

Zophar said the fall from their heights and come crashing down.

Job says, (17) “How often is the lamp of the wicked pu tout, or does their calamity fall on them?”

When do you see that?

Zophar acted like it was a concrete and regular occurrence,
Job would like to know where.

(17b-18) “Does God apportion destruction in His anger? Are they as straw before the wind, and like chaff which the storm carries away?”

Job’s obvious answer is “No”
The wicked seem to be doing just fine.

The best I can tell God isn’t judging them,
They aren’t being destroyed,
They aren’t being scattered,
They aren’t being removed.

If you want to honestly open your eyes and look at the world,
You’ll come to Job’s conclusion that the wicked are doing just fine

Zophar’s reasoning is obviously flawed.

Job goes on:
(19-21) “You say, ‘God stores away a man’s iniquity for his sons.’ Let God repay him so that he may know it. “Let his own eyes see his decay, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. “For what does he care for his household after him, When the number of his months is cut off?”

Zophar attested that a man will get rich, die
And then God will take all that wealth from his children.

Job says, “well, that’s pointless!”
If you really want to teach the wicked a lesson
Then you at least ought to do it will the wicked man is still living.
The wicked don’t care what happens to their kids.

The simple fact is that God is not destroying the wicked.
This inevitable fall you speak of simply isn’t true.

When we went to Zimbabwe for the first time back in 2005
We were told about a wicked president they had named Robert Mugabe. Many in Zimbabwe even think the man is demon possessed.

In 2005 he was 81 and had throat cancer.
11 years and two rigged elections later, they’re still waiting for him to die.

There is quote from him out on the bulletin board in the hall that says, “I have died many times, this is how I’ve beaten Christ”

If Zophar was right that man should have been kicked out of office and killed years ago, but he’s still there.

That’s the point.
• Where is this immediate futility?
• Where is this inevitable fall?
It just isn’t happening.

Instead, Job maintains that God works in mysterious ways
That just don’t seem to make sense to us.
(22-26) “Can anyone teach God knowledge, In that He judges those on high? “One dies in his full strength, Being wholly at ease and satisfied; His sides are filled out with fat, And the marrow of his bones is moist, While another dies with a bitter soul, Never even tasting anything good. “Together they lie down in the dust, And worms cover them.”

That is to say suffering and prosperity make no sense to us.

• Why does one man suffer and another not?
• Why does one die in comfort and another in pain?

There is no reason to this; only God understands why.

But you cannot say that it is determined by whether or not a man is wicked, because that simply is not the case.

This immediate futility and inevitable fall you speak of just aren’t happening.
3) WHERE IS THIS INESCAPABLE FATE? (27-34)

Job begins here by getting personal with Zophar.
“Behold I know your thoughts, and the plans by which you would wrong me. For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman, and where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?”

• I know what you’re thinking.
• I know how you are accusing me.

You say, “the wicked have their houses destroyed, by the way Job, where’s your house?”

I get what you are implying.

But you are still wrong.
• They don’t have immediate futility
• They don’t’ have an inevitable fall
• And here they don’t have an inescapable fate.

Remember Zophar held that they would hated, punished, and killed.
• Zophar spoke like they would be outcasts in the world.
• Zophar made it sound like their bodies would be cast aside in mass graves beside the road.

Job 20:27 “The heavens will reveal his iniquity, And the earth will rise up against him.”

Well again Job says, “That’s not what I see.”

(29) “Have you not asked wayfaring men, and do you not recognize their witness?”

It’s a tricky verse.
It’s easier to understand if you translate that last word like the NIV
And call it “accounts”

In other words.
You say the wicked are destroyed and lose their homes and live in futility.

But have you ever stopped
And asked one of these travelers coming through.
(generally these travelers had a fair amount of money
And were typically considered dangerous or wicked – strangers)

Job wants to know, did you ever ask them HOW they got their money?

The reality is, the wicked just don’t suffer like you say.
(30-33) “For the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity; They will be led forth at the day of fury. “Who will confront him with his actions, And who will repay him for what he has done? “While he is carried to the grave, Men will keep watch over his tomb. “The clods of the valley will gently cover him; Moreover, all men will follow after him, While countless ones go before him.”

Verse 30 makes it sound like they wicked will be destroyed and we certainly understand why the translators would word it that way.

However, that translation really misses the point of what Job is saying.

I prefer again the NIV here which says, “the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, that he is delivered from the day of wrath.”

The context of the story tells us that is a favorable translation.
(it’s not always about the specific word, context matters too)

If I tell you Carrie is “hot”
You had better listen to the context to know what I mean.
• She could be good looking
• She could be sweating
• She could be angry
• She could have a fever
• She could be impatient

So it is here.
Job’s point is that the wicked
Don’t ever seem to be getting what they deserve.

They always seem to escape trouble, not fall into it.

• According to verse 31, no one confronts or punishes them.
• According to verse 32, they aren’t rejected at death, instead people guard their graves.
• Verse 33 says their burial is peaceful and the way they die makes other people follow their path.

I mean, come on, ever been to the funeral of a wicked man?
• It’s not awful.
• People don’t cheer.
• They weep, they cry, they tell fond stories, they bury them with respect, and tell other people to be like them.

This notion that the wicked live in futility, fall from their perch,
And suffer at the hands of the world simply isn’t true.

And then comes Job’s point.
(34) “How then will you vainly comfort me, for your answers remain full of falsehood?”

“Why would I listen to you, you don’t know anything about anything.”
In short, your theology DOESN’T HELP

Let that sink in for a minute.
Zophar’s theology did not help Job.

AND WITH THAT WE SUM UP THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL.
IT DOES NOT HELP

Jeremiah 23:25-32 “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!’ “How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? “Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who steal My words from each other. “Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ “Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the LORD, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the LORD.”

There is no benefit to you or to anyone else
For you to believe even the smallest part of the prosperity gospel.
It isn’t true and it doesn’t help.

Telling people they are blessed because they are rich is not true.
Telling people they are cursed because they are poor is not true.

And if you’ll listen to the writers of the New Testament,
They are screaming this.

I want to close with you turning to: 1 Timothy 6:3-19

• (3-10) Paul there condemns anyone who preaches the prosperity gospel
• (11-16) Paul tells Timothy what we should pursue
• (17-19) Paul explains the perspective those who are rich should have

That is helpful, the prosperity gospel is not.
Because it simply isn’t true.
There are no benefits to the prosperity gospel.

Bearing Witness of Jesus
1 Timothy 6:20-21
January 10, 2015

Well, I am a little torn this morning.
It is always difficult for me to pause in the middle of a book study, but I am also heavily conflicted, sensing the need to honor this annual missions month we have.

So we’re going to stop briefly and come back to Hebrews a little later.

But for the time being I want us be drawn back
To our purpose and our calling as a church.

In 1 Timothy 3:14 Paul wrote:
1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”

The church is literally “the pillar and support of the truth”
We have the message.
We are those charged with PRESERVING it and PROCLAIMING it.

This is really a good place for us to begin our missions’ emphasis.

Lest we grow comfortable
• In simply meeting together
• And fellowshipping with one another
• And enjoying our corporate worship,
We must be reminded that
We are left here on earth for much more than that.

If it were only about fellowship and worship and hearing the word of God,
THEN WE’D ALREADY BEEN IN HEAVEN
For those things take place there on a far greater scale than they do here.

There is one thing the church does on earth that
She does not do in heaven and that is the work of missions.

It is the only explanation as to why we are left here.

Jesus’ last words on this earth were clear.
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

• We are ambassadors for Christ.
• We are missionaries of the kingdom
• We are those who preserve and proclaim the truth

And this morning we are going to start this journey
At the very end of Paul’s first letter to Timothy.

First, a little background (which is always important)

• On Paul’s third missionary journey he traveled to Ephesus where he encountered some disciples of John.

• Paul led them to faith in Christ and then spent two years preaching and growing the church in Ephesus.

• At the end of that journey Paul was headed to Jerusalem and he decided to sail past Ephesus so that he wouldn’t be delayed,

• But he did land at Miletus and call for the elders of the church at Ephesus to come and meet with him.

Paul reminded them of his ministry in Ephesus.
Acts 20:17-21 “From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

And then Paul issued them a very strong warning.
Acts 20:28-30 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

That warning proved to be prophetic
Because by the time we get to the book of 1 Timothy
Paul’s warning has become a reality.

1 Timothy 1:2-7 “To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”

And with the opening of the book
You begin to understand Paul’s purpose in writing this letter.
The church at Ephesus had lost her way.

They had grown infatuated with
“strange doctrines”, “myths”, and “genealogies”

In short, they were focusing on the wrong things.
THE FALL OUT WAS that instead of furthering the kingdom of God
THEY WERE ONLY PRODUCING “speculation” or arguing.

Paul called what was occurring in Ephesus “fruitless discussion” from men who literally had no clue what they were talking about.

• They made “confident assertions” about the Law,
• They even sounded intelligent
• But Paul said “they do not understand either what they are saying or the
matters about which they make confident assertions.”

To put it mildly the church had sort of lost her rudder.
• She had forgotten that she was a pillar and support of the truth.
• She had forgotten what the truth she was to proclaim was.
• Thus she had grown fruitless and had failed to further the kingdom of God.

She had missed the point and she was failing to fulfill her purpose.

Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to right the ship.
And throughout the letter (and the 2nd one as well)
Paul continually calls Timothy back to the basics.

Over and over we hear phrases like
• “fight the good fight”
• “point out these things”
• “give attention to Scripture, exhortation and teaching”
• “Pay close attention to your teaching”
• “Teach and preach these principles”
• “Preach the Word”

But Paul really drives home his point and purpose for the letter
In the two closing verses of 1 Timothy.

“O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” – which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.”

It is clear to us that God had “entrusted” something to Timothy.
Paul doesn’t spell it out in that verse,
But from the rest of the letter it is obvious.

IT WAS THE GOSPEL.

1 Corinthians 9:17 “For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.”

1 Timothy 1:11 “according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.”

The gospel is no ordinary message.
It is in fact the most powerful weapon we have
In our quest to grow the kingdom.

Romans 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

The gospel is God’s powerful message for salvation.
• Only the gospel reveals the way to receive God’s righteousness.

• And this is important because as the rest of Romans 1 indicates those who do not have God’s righteousness are under God’s wrath.

• The gospel reveals that the unrighteous are made righteous by faith.

It is this powerful message that drives the growth of the kingdom.
The gospel is absolutely essential.

AND GOD HAS “ENTRUSTED” THIS MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH.
God trusted us to PROTECT the gospel and to PROCLAIM the gospel.

The problem that Paul points out
Is that “some” have “gone astray from the faith”

Only their defection is not what you immediately think.
• They didn’t deny Jesus.
• They didn’t join a different religion.
• They hadn’t turned atheist.

No, they had “gone astray” in a much more subtle fashion.

They had “professed” what Paul called “worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge””

They hadn’t necessarily rejected the gospel,
They had just put it on the back burner.

They were much more enamored with
What was perceived as “knowledge”

Make no mistake, the gospel is the most powerful message in the world,
But people will NOT applaud you as intellectual if that is all you proclaim.

1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

And the sad reality is that many at Ephesus
Felt the need to have esteem from the educated community.

They didn’t want to be considered foolish like the rest.
They liked being considered intelligent and educated.
So their messages slowly deviated from the simple message of the gospel
Into conversations of a more “worldly” and scholarly manner.

They may have been interesting topics, but they weren’t powerful ones.
In fact, Paul called it “empty chatter”

That which has no value for the kingdom.

Jeremiah 23:28-29 “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?”

This simple question being:
Why would you replace the powerful message of God
For a man-made message that has no power?

These at Ephesus were doing it
BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO BE CONSIDERED INTELLIGENT.

Paul warned Timothy not to.
Paul told Timothy to “guard” the gospel
And to “avoid” the “empty chatter”.

This is certainly how Paul ministered.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”

• Paul had no problem avoiding those worldly conversations.
• Paul had no problem sticking with the gospel message.
• Paul had no problem being considered weak or foolish or uneducated.
• He was not ashamed of the gospel.

And this was what he wanted from Timothy.
DON’T BE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL!

2 Timothy 1:13-14 “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”

2 Timothy 2:14-16 “Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness,”

He wants the church to be a shining beacon of truth
In a world full of darkness and error.
AND THIS IS OUR CALLING.
To faithfully proclaim the pure and unadulterated gospel of God.

It is the message God had entrusted to us.
It is our purpose on this earth.
It is our calling.

WE MUST AVOID getting too “cute” and “trendy” and “relevant”
WE MUST EMBRACE the gospel as the treasure that it is.
WE MUST PROCLAIM it faithfully and continually
As our only tool for advancing the kingdom of God.

I can’t think of a better place to start our mission emphasis
Than with a call to re-commit ourselves
To the preservation and proclamation of the gospel.

SO:
What is the gospel?
What exactly is it that we are supposed to proclaim?

Now granted we could spend a couple of years and work our way through Romans
Where the gospel is explained thoroughly, but I want to be simpler than that.

Certainly you are not going to go into your workplace
And quote the entire book of Romans to a co-worker.

Rather, what I want to know is:
What exactly am I expected to proclaim to someone in that moment of encounter that I am granted?

When I’m at the gas pump or in the grocery line or in the breakroom and the opportunity presents itself, what am I supposed to proclaim in that moment?

That is what I want to look at.
To answer that we are going to look at 5 sermons from the book of Acts.
3 of them from Peter
2 of them from Paul

They were also men ENTRUSTED with the gospel.
Galatians 2:7 “But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised”

Both of these men were entrusted with the gospel
And both of these men had opportunities to preach that gospel to the masses.

We are going to take a skim look at exactly what they preached
To see what they meant when they encouraged us to preach the gospel.

Now to be certain we get the main idea,
I’m going to give you their three main points from the start.
If you look at their sermons you will see three consistent points.
If you can cover these three in your proclamation of the gospel,
Then you’re doing what they asked.

1) The Resurrection of Jesus
2) The Reign of Jesus
3) The Requirement of Jesus

Remember those three

Now let me FLESH EACH OF THOSE OUT a little more real quickly.

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS (includes)
• How He was wrongfully killed
• How God raised Him from the dead
• How this was prophesied in the Old Testament
• How His resurrection was witnessed by many

That means that for the apostles preaching the resurrection of Jesus
Implied proclaiming His sinless life, His undeserved death,
And God’s approval of Him.

THE REIGN OF CHRIST
• How the resurrection proves Jesus is God’s King
• How the resurrection proves Jesus is God’s Judge
• How the resurrection proves Jesus is God’s standard
• How the resurrection proves Jesus is the Only One

They continually mentioned how the resurrection proved that
Jesus was God’s perfect standard of holiness
And the plumb line by which we will all be judged.
(His righteousness is the righteousness we need)

Jesus then, by means of His resurrection, becomes indispensable to us.

THE REQUIREMENT OF CHRIST
• Repent
• Believe

And often added in is the necessity of fruit
Simply to indicate that your repentance and your faith are genuine.

This was the message preached over and over again by the apostles.
Let me show you.

TURN TO: ACTS 2:22-40
Obviously this was Pentecost
The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues
The crowd accused them of being drunk
Peter arose to explain what was really happening

• (22-32) He preaches the Resurrection of Christ (Psalms 16:8-11)
• (33-36) He preaches the Reign of Christ (Psalms 110:1)
• (37-40) He preaches the Requirement of Christ

Obviously more we could say, but you get the basics of the sermon.

The result?
Acts 2:41 “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.”

TURN TO: ACTS 3:11-26
Here Peter and John have healed a lame man and the crowd is gathering.
Peter explains where the power from the miracle came from

• (11-16) He preaches the Resurrection of Christ
• (14, 15) He preaches the Reign of Christ (“Holy and Righteous One” & “Prince of Life”)
• (17-26) He preaches the Requirement of Christ

You see it again,
• How Jesus was holy and innocent and wrongly killed.
• How God demonstrated His approval of Jesus by raising Him from the dead.
• How all the power, judgment, and salvation comes only in Christ.
• How you should repent and believe.

The result?
Acts 4:1-4 “As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”

One more sermon of Peter.
TURN TO: ACTS 10:34-43
Interesting sermon because Peter
Isn’t even trying to convert the people he is talking too.
(This indicates the power of the gospel to save
Even if the proclaimer of it is less than capable)

Peter is talking to Cornelius and really is sort of nonchalantly just giving him the facts about what happened, but you see the same basic points here.

• (34-41) He preaches the Resurrection of Christ
• (42) He preaches the Reign of Christ (“Judge of the living and the dead”)
• (43) He preaches the Requirement of Christ

And even though Peter was not trying to convert these Gentiles,
The gospel was powerful and that is precisely what happened.
You’ll notice that even Peter is shocked.
Acts 10:44-48 “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.”

But again, it is that same simple message.
Peter preached it over and over again
And God was using that message to grow His church.

Let’s move on to Paul who was entrusted with the gospel for the Gentiles.
TURN TO: ACTS 13:16-41
Paul goes on his first missionary journey and stops in Pisidian Antioch
And entered the Synagogue to preach.

He does add to his sermon about the promise of a coming savior (16-25)

• (26-37) He preaches the Resurrection of Christ (Psalms 2:7 & 16:10)
• (33, 35) He preaches the Reign of Christ (“My Son” & “Holy One”)
• (38-41) He preaches the Requirement of Christ

The message HASN’T CHANGED from Peter to Paul

TURN TO: ACTS 17:22-31
Here Paul has had to flee persecution and has wound up in Athens alone,
But all the idolatry stirred him up to preach the truth.

He is dealing with those who are ignorant of God’s truth
So Paul definitely begins with a more basic truth about God. (22-29)
Then in verse 30 Paul comes to the gospel message.

(30-31) You see all three elements present
• Resurrection – “raising Him from the dead”
• Reign – “He will judge the world…through a Man”
• Requirement – “all people everywhere should repent”

So you see that same basic and yet simple gospel.
The Resurrection of Jesus
The Reign of Jesus
The Requirement of Jesus

And we could look at other basic statements throughout their ministries.

Peter:
Acts 4:8-12 “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead — by this name this man stands here before you in good health. “He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Paul:
Acts 16:31 “They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Acts 17:2-3 “And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.”

Acts 18:5 “But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.”

But you get the point.
It’s always there isn’t it?

They always talk about how God raised Jesus from the dead,
Which indicated that Jesus is in fact God’s Anointed King,
Which means you must submit to whatever He requires.

Those elements were always present.

Now, if I might make an OBSERVATION for us to close out this morning
And to give you something to ponder throughout the coming week.

It seems to me that there is a very noticeable difference
In the way the apostles preached the gospel
And the way many seek to preach it today.

Here it is:
The gospel of the apostles was focused on Jesus, not the sinner.

Many times today the focus is really on the sinner.
• The sinner’s needs
• The sinner’s pain
• The sinner’s guilt
• The sinner’s benefit

Many times people seek to preach the gospel
And they spend more time focusing on the sinner than they do Christ.

But this was NOT how the apostles preached the gospel.

THEIR FOCUS WAS ALWAYS ON CHRIST.
Who He was – What He did – What He requires
That is in fact what Jesus meant by calling them “witnesses”

• They weren’t psychologists.
• They weren’t social workers.
• They weren’t out trying to analyze the needs of humanity and then trying to creatively reveal how Jesus was the answer to all of life’s problems.

They were very simply proclaiming the truth about Jesus.

Listen to Peter:
Acts 4:19-20 “But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Listen to Paul
Colossians 1:28 “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.”

Do you see the difference?

Jesus said “you will be My witnesses”
That is: you will simply tell the world about Me

I fear what has happened is that we fail to obey the command
Because we are busy trying to accomplish the goal.

LET ME EXPLAIN.
• We see that Jesus wants sinners saved
• We see that God desires to reconcile all men to Himself

And so we set out on achieving that goal.

But Jesus never told us to achieve the goal.
Jesus told to bear witness of Him
And through that HE would achieve the goal.

Remember this?
Matthew 16:18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

Who will build the church? (Jesus will)

But men like those in Ephesus stray from that thought.
They choose worldly knowledge
Because they think they can be more effective.

God’s command to us is that we proclaim the truth about Christ.
And when we preach the simple gospel message,
God will use that to bring sinners to Himself.

And the apostles grasped that.
They went out simply proclaiming Christ.

The Resurrection of Christ
The Reign of Christ
The Requirement of Christ

• They weren’t focused on the felt needs of the sinner
• They didn’t even really spend a lot of time analyzing the specific problems of each sinner.
• They just took Jesus and laid the truth about Him out before sinners and Jesus did the rest.

It is the power of the gospel message.
• Jesus came to this earth and lived a sinless life.
• He was killed according to the plan of God and by the hands of sinful men.
• God raised Him from the dead to indicate His approval of Him.
• God then exalted Him to the highest place as Lord, King, and Judge.
• And now God demands that everyone repent of their sin and believe in Jesus.

And that message universally applies to every human
Regardless of their specific circumstance.

That is the message Paul was asking Timothy to guard.
“O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” – which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.”

Does that make sense to you?
As we begin our mission month I just want to make sure
That we are all rightly focused on exactly what we are entrusted with.

We go and bear witness to
The life, death, resurrection, reign, and requirement of Jesus Christ.

AND TO FURTHER START US OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
This morning we are going to observe the Lord’s Supper.

It is that reminder of Christ’s death.
It is that reminder of Christ’s sacrifice.

Missions is all about proclaiming Jesus Christ and Him crucified,
This morning we approach the table of the Lord
To re-focus our hearts on that every truth.

As always we will have a time of preparation
And then we will partake of the table of the Lord.

The Focus of Faith – Part 3 (Observing God’s Promise)
Hebrews 11:8-22 (13-16, 20-22)
December 27, 2015

This morning we are continuing with our study of faith
As found in Hebrews 11.

This chapter is a great study in and of itself,
But it is always important that you always remember the context.

This chapter was written to struggling Hebrews.
Hebrews 10:32-35 “But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.”

I must remind you that the people to whom this chapter was written
Were people who were losing everything in this life.
• Their property was being seized…
• Their freedom was being seized…
• Their reputation was being slandered…

Imagine enduring that…

Beyond that, as I’ve told you several times,
They were losing their right to the temple and all Jewish worship.

That is why in chapter 13 the writer will say:
Hebrews 13:10-14 “We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.”

Because of Jesus,
These people were literally losing everything they could see.

That is why the writer is continually asking them
To focus on what they can’t see.

After all:
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

The writer is asking them to walk by faith, not sight.

He was asking them to truly believe
That even though they may lose everything in this life,
That they have a greater reward waiting in the next.
THAT IS FAITH.
And that type of faith is so much bigger than the fleshly type today
That seeks only to claim the things of this world.

The writer was not asking these suffering Hebrews
To believe God would restore the fortunes & comforts of this life.
He was asking them to believe that in eternity it will all be worth it.

FAITH IS ESSENTIAL.
In fact, the writer told us that we cannot please God without it.

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

We must have faith that looks beyond this life and into the next.
This is where hope and strength and encouragement and peace are found.

And in order to ILLUSTRATE his point
We have been looking at those whom the writer will refer to as
“so great a cloud of witnesses”.

• Men and women who were in similar situations and who handled them exactly as God desired.

• Men and women who because of their faith were made pleasing to God and became heirs of His righteousness.

Thus far we’ve seen THE REWARD OF FAITH
(Abel, Enoch, and Noah)

This was three gave God faith and as a result were granted righteousness.
They were made pleasing to God.

We are currently looking at THE FOCUS OF FAITH
(Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph)

Five people who received great promises from God,
But who also never received the fulfillment of those promises in this life.

Yet despite having not received the promises, they never wavered.
They never stopped believing, their gaze went into eternity.

We talk about their focus when we talk about their faith.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

That was them. They had focus.
We’ve been in this section for the past two weeks.
I told you that there are two main points.

We are currently in the first.
#1 THE PEOPLE
Hebrews 11:8-12, 17-22

We already looked at Abraham.
• We saw WHERE HE SETTLED
• We saw WHY HE STAYED
• We saw WHAT HE SACRIFICED

Abraham left Ur of the Chaldeans because God promised him land
And descendants like the sand of the sea.

Abraham never saw either.
He lived in the land, but he never owned it.
He had a son, but never saw those multiplied descendants.

And yet Abraham never stopped believing God’s promise.

Last time we looked at Sarah.
• A 90 year old woman whom God promised a child.
• She started out weak in faith, but when God asked her if anything was too
difficult for Him, she said “no” and never wavered again.

She had the son and named him Isaac,
But she too never saw the rest of the promise.
And yet she believed.

This morning I want to look at the next three people in this section.
ISAAC, JACOB, AND JOSEPH
Obviously we can’t cover a complete rundown on these men here.
Together they cover more than 25 chapters of the book of Genesis.

From our study of Genesis you may remember
The main things we learned from these three men.

ISAAC TAUGHT US GRACE
• If you’ll remember Isaac was kind of the spoiled brat of the patriarchs.
• More negative is written about him than positive.
• He always seemed to carry that “spoiled rich kid” mentality.

But despite his lack of merit, God graciously chose and stuck with him.

JACOB TAUGHT US SANCTIFICATION
• Jacob was that cocky youth. Deceptive, willful, fleshly.
• We remember him showing off in front of Rachel and we remember him getting deceived by Laban.

More than anything the story of Jacob is about a TRANSFORMATION.
It is the process of God taking Jacob and making him Israel.
His story is a story of sanctification.

JOSEPH TAUGHT US PROVIDENCE
• Easily the best of the bunch, and yet Joseph suffered immensely.
• Betrayed and sold at age 14 by his brothers.
• He went from son to slave, slave to prisoner, and prisoner to ruler.
• And yet none of those things were due to anything that he had done either good or bad. Rather, God was using him to save the Messianic line.
• He taught us how to view the difficult circumstances in our lives through eyes of God’s sovereignty.

If you weren’t with us when we studied through Genesis, I’d definitely invite you to look that study up on our website.
But we obviously can’t rehash it all here.

Instead we are going to run through these three rather quickly
As the writer only wants to focus on what happened at their death.

Look at Hebrews 11:20-22

“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.”

His focus is clearly on the mentality and mindset of these men
As they were dying.

LET’S LOOK AT ISAAC.
“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.”

• Here was Abraham’s promised son.
• He was born miraculously and even protected by God on several occasions.

Beyond that, the promises that God had made to Abraham,
He had reiterated to Isaac.

Genesis 26:24 “The LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham.”

Isaac was the child of promise and God reiterated the promise to him.

But here we find Isaac at the end of his life.
• Guess how many acres he owned? (0)
• Guess how many descendants he had? (2)

One might think that at this point
Isaac would have renounced all this land and descendants talk.

After all, Isaac saw his dad and mom believe this their whole life
And they never received it.
Now he is in the same boat.

Yet, here he is at his death, and instead of warning his boys not to be so gullible, “Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.”

If you remember the story you will also find it a little humorous.

Genesis 27:1-4 “Now it came about, when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” Isaac said, “Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death. “Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me; and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.”

There is another chapter that gets misunderstood in the book of Genesis.

Most people talk about how Jacob stole the blessing.
(first the birthright, then the blessing)

Well it is true that Jacob lied,
But I would remind you that Jacob did not steal the blessing.

It was Esau and Isaac who were trying to steal it from Jacob.
God had already given it to Jacob.

Isaac is clearly not the best role model.
• He is disregarding God’s chosen.
• He is supplanting God’s chosen with his own selection.
• His decision making is all about the flesh, not the Spirit
(Esau was the man’s man)

Clearly Isaac had flaws.

But the writer focuses on the one area where he did have faith.
He believed his descendants would flourish.

(Granted he tried to give it to the wrong son, but he believed the promise none the less)

And thinking Jacob was Esau, Isaac said:
Genesis 27:27-29 “So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said, “See, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed; Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine; May peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, And may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you.”

Hopefully there you hear that initial promise made to Abraham:
Genesis 12:2-3 “And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

This is that original promise and it is obvious that Isaac believes it.

It certainly wasn’t because he saw it.
• Isaac had not been a blessing to anyone around him.
• Isaac did not own the land.
• Isaac had only two sons.

But here he was dying and still believing the promise.

WE MOVE ON TO JACOB
(21) “By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.”

Again the writer bypasses all the early trials and lessons of Jacob’s life
And moves directly to the time of his death.

Now Jacob (like Abraham and Isaac) had also heard directly from God regarding the promise.

Genesis 28:10-15 “Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place. He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

And here we find that even though Jacob
Had not received this promise of land or multitude of descendants,
He is also continuing to believe.

In fact, if you remember our study of Genesis you remember that
Jacob really came into his own at the end of his life.

Jacob did not even die in the land of promise.
He died in Egypt.

And even though Egypt was good to Jacob and his immediate children, JACOB REFUSED to let any of his children grow comfortable there.

He insisted that they continue to look “beyond Egypt”.
Remember the story “as he was dying”?

Genesis 47:29-31 “When the time for Israel to die drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Please, if I have found favor in your sight, place now your hand under my thigh and deal with me in kindness and faithfulness. Please do not bury me in Egypt, but when I lie down with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.” He said, “Swear to me.” So he swore to him. Then Israel bowed in worship at the head of the bed.”

• Joseph was second in command in Egypt…
• They settled in Goshen and were growing rich…
• Life was good in Egypt
But Jacob refused to let his family lose sight of the promise.

And before he died the writer reminds how he blessed Joseph’s boys.
Genesis 48:1-4 “Now it came about after these things that Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. When it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel collected his strength and sat up in the bed. Then Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.’”

At the end of that conversation Jacob said this to Joseph.
Genesis 48:21-22 “Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and bring you back to the land of your fathers. “I give you one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”

I hope you see the faith involved here.

Jacob just gave Joseph a double portion of land he didn’t own.
• Jacob never took any land from the Amorite with his sword.
• He was looking prophetically at the coming conquest under Joshua.

Imagine if a member of your family passed away and in the will they left you 2,000 acres in the heart of Texas. (but you found out they didn’t own it)

The point here is that Jacob was believing.
• He never owned that land.
• He wasn’t even dying in that land.
• Yet he so believed it was his that he deeded it to his sons.

He never quit believing the promise.

AND THEN TO JOSEPH
(22) “By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.”

There again the writer bypasses all the issues of Joseph’s life
And just focuses in on his death.

Here was Joseph.
• He was removed from the land of promise at age 14.
• He never returned there again.
• Yes, he did ascend to some pretty lofty heights in Egypt, but that still was never the goal.
• God used that to save Israel, but Egypt was never the final plan.

And here is Joseph, now at the end of his life.

Genesis 50:22-26 “Now Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s sons; also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born on Joseph’s knees. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.” Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.” So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.”

The interesting part about Joseph is that unlike Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Joseph never heard the promise directly from God.
He learned it from Jacob.

Joseph never saw anything from the hand of God that would have led him to believe that Israel was ever going to own that land.
• Do you know how long Joseph lived in Canaan? (14 years)
• Do you know how long Joseph lived in Egypt? (96 years)

And yet, Joseph so believed it that he gave the Israelites
A perpetual reminder that one day it would happen.
He made them take an oath to take his bones when they went.

Here was three men on their death bed
And yet still believing a promise
That was older than the United States of America.

Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph had focus.
They did not look at the circumstances, they looked at God’s promise.

That was the people.
Now let’s look at the second point of this section.

#2 THE POINT
Hebrews 11:13-16

Having seen those 5 illustrations
I think this passage will just about preach itself to you.

There should be almost no problem gaining the point here.

But let me quickly point out 5 realities that are listed here about these people.
1) THEIR DEATH (13a)
“All these died in faith, without receiving the promises,”

That has really been the point over the past few weeks hasn’t it?

It is really becoming the forgotten aspect of faith in our culture today.
Everything we know hinges upon instant gratification.

We live in a day of
• Drive-through windows
• Overnight shipping
• Instant downloads
• Walk-in doctor’s offices
• Microwavable dinners

We have crafted a culture that expects instant gratification.
Waiting on things in our culture has become the ultimate inconvenience.

So it’s not surprising that religion has even crafted a theology
Where-by you no longer should have to wait on God.

They market it under the banner of faith.
• You just claim it
• You just speak it
• You just believe it
• And God will do it for you.

But that sort of thinking really undermines the very point
Of the type of faith the writer of Hebrews is talking about.

He’s talking about faith
• That patiently waits and waits and waits and waits.
• That never stops believing regardless of how long it takes.
• That endures even through death.

“All these died in faith, without receiving the promises,”

It’s easy to see why they are our examples.

Abraham was 75 years old
When God first promised the land and all those descendants.
His great-grandson Joseph died at age 110
And they still hadn’t received it.

But they all died “in faith” still believing.

Their Death
2) THEIR DESIRE (13b)
“but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance,”
In other words
• They heard the promise.
• They saw what it was.
• AND THEY WANTED IT,
• Even though they never were allowed to touch it.

They “welcomed them from a distance”
They chose the future over the present.

It is the same thing we are called to do every time
We choose to store up treasure in heaven instead of treasure on earth.

Paul wrote to Timothy:
1 Timothy 6:17-19 “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.”

It is what Jesus said:
Luke 12:33-34 “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Those types of things are difficult for us to do
Because we are being asked to give up what we can touch
In order to obtain what we can’t touch;
Simply with the belief that it will one day be better.

All these faced that exact same decision and all these chose the future.
• They saw it
• They “welcomed” it
• But in this life it was always “from a distance”

Their desire was for the future.

Their death, Their desire
3) THEIR DECISION (13c-14)
“and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.”

There are a couple of things that make it clear
That they chose the future over the present.

And the first is their confession.
They “confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.”

Remember Abraham?
Genesis 23:4 “I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me a burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

How about Jacob?
Genesis 47:7-9 “Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?” So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.”

These men did not beat around the bush.
They knew they were “strangers and exiles”

But here is the interesting truth that the writer of Hebrews reveals.
He does NOT say that they were “strangers and exiles in Canaan”
He says they were “strangers and exiles on the earth.”

They knew that this life was not their inheritance.

Philippians 3:17-21 “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”

It is the Christian understanding that my inheritance is not here.
It is the Christian understanding that my home is not here.

Jim Reeves sang, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through. My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me through heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”

That was the belief of these 5.
They knew their reward was heavenly,
Not earthly and they confessed that to others.

The writer goes on to say: (14) “For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.”

In other words it is clear what their decision was.
They chose the next life and confessed that to others.

Their desire was for a better country and that is what they chose.

Their death, Their desire, Their decision
4) THEIR DEVOTION (15-16a)
“And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.”

This is a very important verse
(especially as it pertains to the Hebrews who were receiving this letter)
Because it speaks of the staying power of these patriarchs.

They weren’t waiting for heaven because they had no other option.
They did.

In fact the writer says “if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.”

It wasn’t that they had no other option but to wait for heaven.
It is that they chose to wait for heaven.

“But as it is they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.”

Now let me ask you to pay attention to that statement for a second.

I think the temptation is to read this verse and say, “If Abraham had wanted to return to Ur, he could have, but he chose to stay in Canaan.”

And I don’t think that’s missing the point.
Certainly that is true.

But I think there is a greater point.
The writer is clear that the desire was for heaven, not earth.

I think this verse also applies to men like Jacob and Joseph.
Where did these men die? Egypt.

They also would have opportunity to return to their country,
But they didn’t.

I think the writer is giving some pretty good insight
About the eternal perspective of the patriarchs.

Their desire was not just for a patch of land (even Canaan).
If that is all it was, certainly Joseph
Could have gone back there at some point in his life.

No, their desire was for heaven.
It was never about what they could obtain in this life.

Not only did they choose God’s inheritance over the worlds
They CONTINUED to choose it
Every time a different opportunity presented itself.
THINK ABOUT THAT.
• Is this world really what you want?
• Is houses and farms and land and money here really the goal?

These people were willing to live as stranger and aliens
And their main goal in life was not to change that.
Their main goal was to please God and receive what He had for them.

1 Timothy 6:7-10 “For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

They are living illustrations of the parables Jesus gave:
Matthew 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

They just believed the value of God’s kingdom
Far out-weighed the value of anything here.

So every time they received the opportunity
To choose eternity over this life
They continued to make that choice.

They were devoted.

Their death, Their desire, Their decision, Their Devotion
5) THEIR DESCRIPTION (16b)
“Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”

What a way to be described!
“The people of whom God is not ashamed”

Do you see how this directly applies to those Hebrews?
They were losing everything in this life
And were contemplating forsaking eternity to get it back.

The writer says, “NO!” Instead be like the patriarchs who gladly forsook this life for the next and continued to do it even when faced with death.”

No, they never received the land.
No, they didn’t always live in comfort.
But they received something far more valuable.
They received God’s favor and God’s inheritance.
“for He has prepared a city for them.”

Remember the warning the writer gave in chapter 10?
Hebrews 10:37-38 “FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.”

So the application is simple.
• People who trade eternity for this life do not receive God’s pleasure.
• People who trade this life for eternity are people God is not ashamed of.

WE CALL IT THE FOCUS OF FAITH.

This life will continually present us with difficult decisions.
It is imperative that we always
Look beyond what we can see into what we can’t see.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

The Best Gift Giver
Romans 8:28-32
December 25, 2015

Well there’s really no doubt about it…our world is changing.
And you probably have your own thoughts about what those changes are
And whether you think they are for the better or not.

The one thing I see changing our world more than anything else
Is the rise of social media.

It’s not that people have become more opinionated in recent years,
It’s just that it’s much easier for people
To broadcast those opinions for the world to see.

You no longer have to go to a beauty shop or farmer’s co-op to get the latest news.

It’s really easy today for anyone to air their opinions about everything.

Proverbs 18:2 “A fool does not delight in understanding, But only in revealing his own mind.”

Or you could follow the common secular proverb I often heard growing up, “Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought of a fool, than to open your mouth and prove it.”

POINT BEING we live in a world
Where we are constantly bombarded by people’s opinions.
• Opinions on politics
• Opinions on refugees
• Opinions on religion
• Opinions on sports and movies, etc.

And this time of year we get bombarded with
People’s opinions on Christmas.

It started out with whether or not Starbucks
Should put “Merry Christmas” on their cups.

And I’m sure you’ve run across several on your own.

But this year there were two posts that I ran across
That caused me to stop and think a little more.

One was a blog from a lady who wrote “Becoming a Christians Ruined My Love of Christmas”

Now, I should say that the lady made great points in her blog
About the real meaning of Christmas, which is of course the coming of our Savior
And how she had to learn to focus on that.

But in the middle of the blog she made this statement.
“The rank materialism became too much to bear, and the Christmas season morphed from being a time I savored into something I tried to survive each year. Santa Claus, Christmas trees, the holiday jingles—they all felt like pagan oppression. When people complained about a war on Christmas I often smirked and thought to myself, Where do I sign up? Honestly: When a sale at Crate & Barrel gets entangled with the birth of Jesus Christ, something has gone horribly wrong.”

So it was obvious the shopping and consumerism of the season
Genuinely bothered this woman.

I then ran across another post from a lady who basically wished Christmas was over. She lamented that “They’ve already started decorating from Christmas in the stores…it’s sickening!”

She went on to lament how Christmas was nothing but a pagan holiday that was merely hijacked by the church so that they could feel good about buying each other presents.

In her mind Christmas had nothing to do with Jesus.
Her family instead celebrated Hanukah.
(which oddly enough isn’t Christian either)

I even happened to run across an older lady in Lowe’s who asked me if I’d seen Rudolf yet. I responded, “I don’t know, I guess”. To which she sneered at me, “It’s just a pagan holiday” as she pushed on down the aisle.

But I have to admit that with all the joy surrounding Christmas
That I was getting bombarded with
It did at least cause me to step back and do some thinking.

See, I love giving gifts.
I love receiving gifts.

If you’ve ever read the book by Gary Chapman “The Five Love Languages” then you’ll understand when I tell you that “Gift Giving” is one of my love languages.

I love it.

But now I’m starting to feel guilty for wanting to do it.
• I’m starting to feel guilty for wanting to grant the desires of my kids.
• I’m starting to feel guilty for wanting to make someone happy through a present.

• Did that sort of thinking just make me out to be a pagan?
• Was I just using Christmas as an excuse to gratify the flesh?
• Have I missed the point?

And I’ll tell you the answer I came up with.
NO
• The desire to give and receive gifts does not make me a pagan.
• Finding joy in giving someone what they desire does not make me fleshly.
• Enjoying a time of year where people give gifts to one another doesn’t condemn me for failing to understand the true meaning of Christmas.

In fact, I realized that those desires were put in my by God Himself.

Do you know why?
GOD IS GENEROUS

Now look I’m not saying that it’s ok to seek earthly wealth or treasures…
I’m not saying greed isn’t a sin; even called idolatry…
I’m not saying that our happiness can be found in stuff…

Obviously not

But the desire to give gifts to people is not pagan.
That is how God operates.

Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

God is a generous giver.

Listen to James:
James 1:16-17 “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

Every good thing given came from God.

Listen to the Psalmist:
Psalms 84:11 “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

He gives us the necessities of life.
He gives us good things to enjoy.
He pours grace upon grace.

In fact Paul even says He gives spiritual gifts.
Ephesians 4:8 “Therefore it says, “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.”

What is more the Bible says that
God loves it when people are generous like He is generous.

2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

And Jesus said that being a generous giver
Actually makes you more like God.

Luke 6:35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.”

Certainly you get my point.

There’s no reason to let a “grump” during the Christmas season
Make you feel “unchristian” simply because
You delight in giving good gifts to people you love.

That is exactly who God is.
God is generous.
God is gracious.
He continually gives undeserving people far more than they deserve.

And incidentally, not everything He gives is overly spiritual.
Matthew 5:44-45 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

• There the gift is just “sun” and “rain”
• He gives “seed” to the sower
• He gives children who are called “a blessing from the Lord”

Yes God is far more concerned about the spiritual than anything else
But that doesn’t mean He never gives anything else.

GOD IS GENEROUS

And without a doubt the pinnacle gift God ever gave was His Son.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

That is a tremendous gift.
There’s never been another like it.

You’ll never give a gift to anyone in this life
That even comes close to equaling the value
Of the gift God has given to you.

Ephesians 1:3-8 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.”

Wow! Listen to the working.
• “blessed us with every spiritual blessing”
• “predestined us to adoption as sons”
• “grace, which He freely bestowed on us”
• “the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.”

I mean there’s no way around it.
God is generous
He gives great gifts

He’s not a “Ba-Humbug” who sat up in heaven
Bemoaning the fact that people like to be good to one another.

God set the standard for what it means to give gifts to people.
God has outdone us all!

So when it comes to the Christmas season, I decided:
I’M NOT GOING TO SUPRESS THIS DESIRE TO BE GENEROUS – I’M GONNA EMBRACE IT!
I love that God is generous
I love that God is gracious

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”

God’s generosity was what caused Him to give me salvation.
God’s generosity was what caused Him to send His Son for me.

And certainly we celebrate that on Christmas.

And THIS MORNING I just want to take this to a NEW LEVEL.
I want to show that God’s generosity not only causes us gratitude,
BUT IT ALSO GIVES US HOPE.

Yes, God has already been generous and we should be grateful.
But it is also the generosity of God that gives us hope for the future.

Consider your kids.
My kids almost drove us nuts for two weeks shaking presents under the tree. All they could talk about what not being able to wait for Maw-Maw (who we all know is the real Santa-Claus) to get here.
WHY?
They anticipated Christmas because they know that
Their parents and grand-parents will be generous.

They DON’T just sit around and say, “We are so thankful for that one Christmas were we got all those gifts, even though we know we’ll never get another good one.”

They’re grateful, but they are also excited,
Because that when you are dealing with a generous person,
The best is yet to come.

And that is precisely what I want you to understand about God.
No, God doesn’t owe us another thing in this life.
If all we ever got was Jesus, that’d be more than enough.

BUT GOD IS GENEROUS

And so we also have this anticipation
Because we know the best is yet to come.

Listen to what Paul wrote in Romans 8
(READ 28-30)

I just read those verses to put you back in the mind-set of chapter 8.
Paul is simply reminding you of God’s glorious plan for you
And reminding you that God’s plan never fails.

God is the engine behind redemption.
God isn’t just a God of good intentions, God is a finisher.
Those who are called end up glorified.

That then caused Paul to ask a very familiar question:
(31) “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

It’s a good question to ponder.

And then you’ll remember that Paul goes in to another series of questions
TO REITERATE HOW SECURE OUR SALVATION IS.

I just want to focus a little on the first one he asks.

(32) “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

Do you catch the point?
• We aren’t dealing with a stingy God.
• We aren’t dealing with a hesitant God.
• We aren’t dealing with a frugal God.

We are dealing with a generous God who goes over and above
When it comes to giving.

And Paul here asks people who have already received the gift of His Son.
(We’ve already opened that one)

Paul asks those people: “How will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

Think about it.

Based upon what you know of God,
Is there any doubt in your mind whatsoever
That He’s going to start withholding good from you now?

ABSOLUTELY NOT

He is a God so generous that He gave His Son.
I can’t wait to see what He gives next.
And I have hope because I know He’ll give it.

This Christmas I simply want you
To feel the love and generosity that God has for you.

He is a good and gracious and generous Father.

He already gave the best Christmas gift you ever received
When He sent His Son.

And because of that we know that
He will also “freely give us all things.”

Luke 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”

Enjoy the generosity of God.

And when you have the opportunity,
Demonstrate that generosity to others.

Merry Christmas!