The Church’s Power
Acts 1:1-11
February 5, 2012

Well tonight we begin a new study in the Word of God.
It is always fulfilling to me (and I hope you)
To dive into a dedicated study of a book of the Bible.

(Acts is an intimidating book to me)

That being said, I do think the main them of the book of Acts is clear.
“It is the record of how Christ grew His church”

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.”

It is apparent that Acts is the record of how Christ did that.
(and continues to do that)

And right off the bat, I think that addresses one of the ways
That the book of Acts is most commonly misapplied.

While it is true that we can learn principles and techniques from the apostles as we watch them endure suffering and evangelize a lost world,
By in large this book is not meant to magnify certain ministry practices.

This book is about God at work, not men at work.

In fact, You will see several times throughout the book that men
(even Godly men like the apostles)
Would have gone in a different direction
Had God not had sovereign control over their circumstances.

For example:
In Acts 8 we are familiar with Philip being directly told to take the desert road to Gaza, something he would not have done, and yet there he met the Ethiopian eunuch.

In Acts 9 we find Ananias directed to a house on Straight Street to witness to Saul, a place he would not have gone on his own.

In Acts 10 we see Peter being directed to the house of a Gentile named Cornelius, a place Peter would not have gone.

In Acts 16 we find Paul trying to go everywhere on mission except where God desired, the Holy Spirit literally forbidding him from speaking in some regions.

None of those indicate disobedience on the part of the apostles,
It simply reveals that in and of themselves
They did not know how to grow Christ’s church.

The plan was Christ’s, He is sovereign, and that is very clear in this book
So we don’t really study this book in order to learn ministry techniques from the apostles, although they are great examples of Christian living.

We study this book to have our faith encouraged
That Christ knows what He is doing as He builds His church,
And we can trust His will and His commands as He does it.

We will see Christ grow His church:
• In spite of intense opposition (He actually converts the greatest adversary)
• Across racial barriers (saving Jew and Gentile alike)
• Through doctrinal confusion (circumcision and things like these)

And this growth is even chronicled throughout the book.

The beginning
Acts 1:15 “At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together)…”

But it isn’t long before the number explodes.
Acts 2:47 “… And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

And then the growth continues.
Acts 4:4 “But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”

Acts 5:14 “And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number,”

Acts 6:7 “The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.”

Acts 11:21 “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.”

Acts 14:1 “In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.”

Acts 16:5 “So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.”

Acts 17:4 “And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women.”

And so the point of this book is clear.
This is the record of how Christ built His church.

And we will see His sovereign hand over her
And learn to trust that He knows what He is doing,
So that we may trust Him as well.

We also know that Luke has a historical purpose in mind.
This was an account written for Theophilus.

Acts is the second volume to Luke’s work for this man.
(The gospel of Luke being the first)

And so Luke’s purpose is also clear.
Luke 1:1-4 “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.”

That work is being continued here.

And so as Luke begins this second volume,
He does so by very briefly reminding Theophilus of where he left off.

(1-2) “The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.”

So Luke reminds Theophoilus what the first volume was about.

The first volume was “about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven”

And so to get the fullest understanding of Acts
I suppose we could go and do a full study on the gospel of Luke.
(I’ll trust you to get that done before we meet again next week)

Luke closed his gospel with these words:
Luke 24:44-53 “Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. “You are witnesses of these things. “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God.”

So Luke closed his gospel by hearing Jesus commission His disciples.
“You are witnesses of these things”

He mentioned that the disciples would be
“clothed with power from on high.”
And then Luke bore witness to Jesus being “carried up into heaven.”
And that was the end of the first volume.

Now Luke writes again to pick up the rest of the story.
At the first of that first volume Luke said he wanted
“to compile an account of the things accomplished among us”

AND SO LUKE BEGINS THE 2ND PART OF THE STORY
THE ONLY PLACE HE CAN

And that is with the Holy Spirit.
• This book is not about the superior ministry techniques of the apostles…
• This book is not about the amazing oratory skills of the apostles…
• This book is not about the amazing fortitude of the apostles…

This book is about the power the apostles had to do what they did,
And it is that power that Luke introduces right off the bat in his story.
And so tonight, the story continues.

In our text tonight there are 5 things I want you to see
In regard to how Jesus put His church in motion to go change the world.

#1 HE PRESENTED HIMSELF ALIVE
Acts 1:3

It is obvious that this was a necessary beginning for the church.

We recently read in Matthew:
Matthew 16:21 “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.”

And we have talked about how each of these aspects was necessary.
• He had to suffer publicly to become a merciful and faithful high priest.
• He had to die to atone for sin.
• He had to be raised to claim victory over death.

We are all aware that if Christ dies, but does not rise,
Then our faith is in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:14-18 “and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. “Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.”

It was necessary for Christ to rise from the dead,
And certainly necessary to present “Himself alive after His suffering,”

He had to prove He was alive, and that Hell was defeated.
He “presented Himself alive after His suffering, with many convincing proofs”

Luke 24:36-43 “While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.” But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them.”

All of those could be seen as insignificant things on a normal daily basis,
But the fact that Christ did them after dying on the cross
Makes them absolutely miraculous.

He was alive, He could speak, He could be touched, He ate food.
He simply presented Himself alive.

And not just once, “but appearing to them over a period of forty days”

Perhaps the most extensive account of this is found in 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.”

Seeing Christ was not a one-time event…
It was not like seeing a vision or a spirit, He was flesh and bone…
Jesus was alive, and He proved it continually over a forty day period.

But that is not all He did.
He also took that time to reinforce a very important truth.

“and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.”

When you read the post-resurrection accounts in the Scriptures,
Or even when you read the first part of the book of Acts,
There is little doubt that Jesus had tunnel vision.

It was all about the kingdom.

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.”

Mark 16:15-16 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”

Luke 24:46-48 “and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. “You are witnesses of these things.”

John 20:21 “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

And of course we could read the entire account of John 21
And listen to Jesus tell Peter three times to take care of His sheep.

It was all about the kingdom.
It was all about evangelism.
It was all about the growth of the church.

When Jesus first introduced the church back in Caesarea Philippi He ended by warning the disciples not to tell anyone about it.

But now that atonement has been made and hell is defeated,
Jesus says, “Go and tell everyone!”

However, He did not tell them to go right away.
For there is a second thing He did.

He Presented Himself Alive
#2 HE PROMISED THE HOLY SPIRIT
Acts 1:4-5

And again this is a very important step that Jesus took
In regard to the beginning of His church.

“Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me;”

So He had been talking about the kingdom,
But the mission didn’t start just yet.

And this is very important to grasp.
The book of Acts really rests upon these few verses.

Jesus had a passion for the entire world to know about
What He had accomplished through His death and resurrection.

But He did not want the disciples going
In their own strength or by their own wisdom.
And we know why.
On their own, the disciples can’t do it. (Just look at the gospels)

In the gospels the disciples are selfish, ambitious, weak in faith,
Uncompassionate, given to tradition, moody, weak,
And they desperately lack endurance.

• We see Peter sinking in the water because of his little faith…
• We see James and John wanting to call down fire on the Samaritans…
• We see Philip telling Jesus there is no way to feed the multitude…
• We see the disciples wanting to send the Canaanite woman away…
• We see them ridiculing Mary for pouring perfume on Jesus’ feet…
• We see James and John arguing over who can have the best seat…
• We see the rest arguing over who is the greatest…
• We see Peter continually trying to wreck the purpose of Christ…
• We see them sleeping in the garden…
• We see them fleeing during the arrest…
• We even see Peter denying the Lord three times…

Their preaching is weak…
Their faith is weak…
Their power is weak…
Their endurance is weak…
They were not cut out to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

They needed help!
They could not do anything until the Holy Spirit arrived.

Now Jesus had already spoken about Him a little.
John 14:16-17 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”

John 14:25-26 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

John 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”

But it wasn’t just Jesus.
Even John the Baptist knew the necessity of the Holy Spirit.
“for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

And so Jesus told them to wait.
He was passionate about their mission,
But at the same time He was adamant that they
Be equipped before they embark upon it.
He Presented Himself Alive, He Promised the Holy Spirit
#3 HE PRIORITIZED THEIR MINISTRY
Acts 1:6-7

Now of course this is not surprising,
We know the disciples have a propensity to miss the point (as we all do)

“So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

• Jesus had no gone through suffering…
• Jesus had now endured death…
• Jesus had risen from the dead…
Now is it time that we finally get the kingdom?

But if you remember from our study in Matthew,
The suffering of Jesus is only half of the equation.

He said we must follow Him.
And that entailed our suffering as well.

The disciples were failing to grasp one very important part.
WE HAVE WORK TO DO.

So Jesus answers:
“He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;”

You are on a need to know basis,
And timing is not something you need to know.
We are simply called to obey.

Remember Jesus’ admonition to Peter?
John 21:18-22 “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!” Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”

Jesus taught Peter that same lesson there.
It doesn’t matter what I do with others, it doesn’t matter what My timing is.

All that matters is that you do what I ask of you.
“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.”
I am not interested in you figuring out the timing,
I’m telling you to be active as a witness.
The church didn’t need planners, the church needed witnesses.

And they will be “witnesses”

We know what a witness is.
It is someone who gives an account of what they have seen and heard.

They are to go and share that truth.
• In “Jerusalem” (their town)
• In “Judea” (their state)
• In “Samaria” (their region)
• And “even to the remotest part of the earth.”

All around our church we have these little signs that read,
“Everyone has the right to hear about Jesus”

That is what Jesus was telling His disciples.
Go and tell everyone!
“you shall be My witnesses”

Interestingly enough the Greek word for “witnesses” is MARTYS

He wasn’t necessarily telling them to go be martyrs.
He was telling them to go share the truth with the world.

But the world treated His witnesses so badly that to be a witness
Became synonymous with being a martyr.

So Jesus told them He didn’t need men who knew the timing,
Just men who were dedicated to take the truth to the ends of the earth,
Using the power that the Holy Spirit would supply.

And they did to such an extent that the world saw them
As those who would give their lives to publish the message.

And this is really the foundation to the work of the church.

• Christ suffered, Christ died, Christ rose and made the church possible,
• Now by the power of the Holy Spirit, the church would grow through the sacrificial witness of those who know Christ.

So He Presented Himself Alive; He Promised the Holy Spirit; He Prioritized their Ministry
#4 HE PROCEEDED TO HEAVEN
Acts 1:9

Now obviously we could spend quite a bit of time
Talking about the implications of the ascension.

I don’t want to stay here long,
Just to say that this is what began His great high priestly role.

Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

And this is really the virtually unseen power to the book of Acts.

Now, Jesus does make some appearances here.
• We all remember His appearance in the conversion of Saul.
• We remember His appearance giving a standing ovation to Stephen.

But even more than that is the continued assistance
He gives through continual prayer for his church.

And so the ascension is of vital importance.

It also means the last command He ever gave was to be His witnesses.
“His last command, our first priority”

He Presented Himself Alive, He Promised the Holy Spirit, He Prioritized their Ministry, He Proceeded to Heaven.
#5 HE PROVIDED INCENTIVE
Acts 1:10-11

Here the disciples continue to gaze intently into the sky,
And at once “two men in white clothing stood beside them.”

Obviously these men are angelic messengers
And they really bring a breathe of practicality into the equation.

“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

In other words, there is no time to just stand here being star gazers.
We have work to do.

And beyond that, there is incentive.
He “will come” again.

Remember when Jesus told the disciples to follow Him even into death, He ended that statement by saying:

Matthew 16:27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”

That is the same incentive we see here.
He left you with a mission,
Rest assured He will return to evaluate how you did it.

And there is really the beginning of the church.
• We have the fact that Christ died and rose again.
• We have the command to bear witness of that to the whole world.
• We have the power through the indwelling Holy Spirit to accomplish this task.
• We have the Christ interceding on our behalf.
• We have the judgment as a constant incentive to do it well.

And it is with that that Christ put His church in motion
To go and save the world.

And today it continues.
It is not us at work, it is Him at work through us,
Sovereignly working to bring about His kingdom.

He has paid all that need be paid.
He has provided all that need be provided.
Now He sends us to go and do our job of bearing witness to the world.

THAT IS THE CHURCH.

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.”

Zophar Speaks Up For God
Job 11
October 25, 2015

As you know we are working our way through the book of Job
And as we do we are learning some very valuable truths.

SUFFERING IS NOT ALWAYS THE RESULT OF SIN
• Job was upright
• This suffering was not due to some sin
• This suffering was because he was righteous
HOW NOT TO MINISTER TO THE BEREAVED
• Job’s friends gave him bad theology
• They accused him of sin
• They offered no comfort
• Promised him ease if he would repent
TO WATCH OUR ATTITUDE IN THE MIDST OF SUFFERING
• Saw this from Job last time
• He started to accuse God of injustice
• It didn’t appear to him that God was doing right

And since suffering is promised in this life,
Those are all things we need to know.

We need to know that
• Suffering is not always a consequence (Job’s friends)
• Suffering does not mean God is messing up (Job)
• People who suffer need compassion

Those are real and practical truths
That we should be learning from this book.

On a theological level we are learning
The absolute ridiculousness of the prosperity gospel.

• That false gospel that promises health, wealth, and happiness for all of God’s children.

• That false gospel that blames all misfortune, suffering, sickness, poverty, and pain on the victim and claims that no redeemed child of God should ever have to endure it.

But as we are learning with Job,
That doctrine is of no value on the day of suffering,
For it has no answer for the suffering of the righteous.

In today’s prosperity gospel the claim would be, “You just don’t have enough faith”,
In Job’s day it was, “You must have sin because God wouldn’t do this if you were righteous”

But the basics are the same.
When the bottom falls out it is always the fault of the sufferer.

It is because of:
• The sufferer’s Sin
• The sufferer’s Stupidity
• The sufferer’s Stubbornness

And you will see all three of those accusations
Unfolded here against Job from Zophar.

Listen to him talk about Job’s Sin
(6c) “know they that God forgets part of your iniquity”

Listen to him talk about Job’s Stupidity
(12) “An idiot will become intelligent when the foal of a wild donkey is born a man.”
He’s actually calling Job that “idiot” there.

Listen to him talk about Job’s Stubbornness
(13) “If you would direct your heart right and spread out your hand to Him”
Obviously imploring that Job has been stubborn about his sin
And thus the reason for all this trouble.

According to Zophar, Job is suffering
Because he is sinful, stupid, and stubborn.
And that is the prosperity gospel in all its glamour and glory.

And because of that the prosperity gospel misrepresents God.

• It is right in that it puts an emphasis on faith and righteousness

• It is right in the assertion that God has a basic desire for you to be prosperous (after all He created man there and Jesus redeemed us to take us back there in heaven)

• It is wrong however in that it asserts that God won’t allow affliction in the life of one who is pleasing to Him.

• It is totally ignorant of the fact that suffering is a very effective tool in the hands of God.

Yes, suffering can be used to grab a sinner’s attention.
• But it is also used on the righteous to make them even more righteous.
• It is used to teach the righteous needed qualities like endurance or compassion
• It is used as a means to accomplish God’s redemptive plan. (see Joseph or Paul, or even Jesus)
• Apparently here it is used as a means to demonstrate the strength of the bond God has with His children

But the prosperity gospel is ignorant of all those realities,
And thus is a poor representative of God.

In fact God will even say so at the end of this book.
Job 42:8 “Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”

God is going to tell these men that
They spoke a false doctrine regarding Him.

And that is especially interesting today
Because Zophar is actually going to speak up in defense of God.

If you’ll remember, last Sunday night we heard Job begin to cross the line.

In Job 9&10 we heard Job begin to get a little big for his britches
(and we talked about how God is going to address that)

But Job actually began to question what God was doing a little bit.
He even accused God of wronging him by allowing this suffering.

Job 9:17 “For He bruises me with a tempest And multiplies my wounds without cause.”

And according to Job, God didn’t just wrong him, but has wronged others.

Job 9:22-24 “It is all one; therefore I say, ‘He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’ “If the scourge kills suddenly, He mocks the despair of the innocent. “The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?”

Job was right that God is sovereign over all things,
But Job was crossing a line in that he was asserting
That God was wrong in some of what He was doing.

Well, it is obvious that Zophar just couldn’t take that.
He feels the need to instantly rise up in defense of God.

The problem is that Zophar’s defense of God isn’t true.
What we really have is Zophar defending his view of God, not God.

In fact, Job is going to call him on that very thing in the next chapter:
Job 13:7-8 “Will you speak what is unjust for God, And speak what is deceitful for Him? “Will you show partiality for Him? Will you contend for God?”

So literally we have Zophar standing up to defend God,
But he’s not right in what he says.

And I think this is a good reminder for you and me.

We live in a world that prompts a lot of reaction.
Thanks to things like email and facebook and all other forms of social media, people can hide behind the safety of their screen and just spew out all sorts of offensive rhetoric.

And you won’t have to see that stuff very long
Before you’ll have the same urges hit you like the ones that hit Zophar.
It is that urge to speak up and defend God.
(I certainly have those moments)

What you and I have to be certain of is that in our response
That we are actually defending God and not just our view of Him.

This will prove to be Zophar’s problem.
He rises up to defend God in response to Job’s accusations.
The problem is that his defense isn’t correct.

There are two main points to this chapter.
#1 ZOPHAR CONFRONTS JOB
Job 11:1-12

Here we find Zophar’s response to the last statement of Job,
And it comes in the form of two main accusations.

1) JOB YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN SIN (1-6)

(1-3) Then Zophar the Naamathite answered, “Shall a multitude of words go unanswered, And a talkative man be acquitted? “Shall your boasts silence men? And shall you scoff and none rebuke?”

It is obvious that Zophar is upset about Job’s recent tirade
To claim that God had treated him wrongly.

And Zophar here rips into Job as one who is full of hot air.
• He tells Job you talk too much.
• He tells Job you think too highly of yourself.
• He tells Job that your disdain for God warrants a rebuke.

You can see that Zophar did not appreciate what Job had to say.

And the main issue Zophar has with Job
Is that Job claims innocence before God.

(4) “For you have said, ‘My teaching is pure, and I am innocent in your eyes.”

This has really been the main problem all of Job’s friends have with him.
He is suffering and yet maintains that he has done nothing to deserve it.

None of Job’s friends are buying that.
They all believe that he must have done something sinful to warrant such treatment and they are bent on finding out what it was.

So every time Job maintains innocence it just sets them off a little farther.

And this time it is Zophar, livid that Job would still say he is innocent.

And listen to his response:
(5-6) “But would that God might speak, And open His lips against you, And show you the secrets of wisdom! For sound wisdom has two sides. Know then that God forgets a part of your iniquity.”

The problem all along has been that Job’s friends
Were certain that Job must have sinned, but they had no clue what it was.

Zophar here says,
“I wish God would just speak up and reveal what it is you did.”

And remember, the reason these friends are so adamant about finding out Job’s sin is because they want to make sure they don’t make the same mistake.

This isn’t really about helping Job, it’s about protecting themselves.

And now, Zophar wishes that God would help them out
By revealing what Job did to deserve all this.

He wishes God would “show you the secrets of wisdom! For sound wisdom has two sides.”

Literally there Zophar says “for sound wisdom is folded double”

Zophar says that God knows exactly what you did,
But He has concealed it in a letter that is folded up so that we can’t see it.

They never doubted that Job did something wrong,
They just haven’t been able to figure out what it was.

And that is when Zophar makes his most critical claim.
“Know then that God forgets a part of your iniquity.”

Now this is not a statement of pardon or redemption
Where Zophar is trying to promise Job that God has forgiven him
And chosen to forget his sin.

On the contrary, Zophar is saying, “Job you have so much sin that God has forgotten part of it.”

In other words, YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN SIN
This notion that you are innocent and suffering unjustly is about as far off as it gets. Not only are you a sinner, but you are obviously a bad sinner.

In fact you have so much sin, that God can’t even get through it all.
He’s forgotten some of the stuff you’ve done.

That’s the prosperity gospel for you.
You wouldn’t be suffering like this if you weren’t a really really bad man.

You have forgotten sin
2) JOB YOU HAVE FALSE WISDOM (7-12)

Zophar is again challenging Job’s words.

You will remember that Job spoke of God’s transcendence.
Job 9:5-12 “It is God who removes the mountains, they know not how, When He overturns them in His anger; Who shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble; Who commands the sun not to shine, And sets a seal upon the stars; Who alone stretches out the heavens And tramples down the waves of the sea; Who makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south; Who does great things, unfathomable, And wondrous works without number. “Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him. “Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him? Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’”

Job there said that God was transcendent (beyond us in all He does)
Granted Job saw that in a negative light, but still he maintained that
God was in some regard unfathomable.

Zophar here throws that back in Job’s face as though Job is a fool.

(7-10) “Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty? “They are high as the heavens, what can you do? Deeper than Sheol, what can you know? “Its measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea. “If He passes by or shuts up, Or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him?”

Now it sort of sounds here like Zophar is simply saying that
It is impossible for any of us to fully understand God or know what He is doing.

BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT HE IS SAYING.
In fact, in verse 13, he is going to explicitly tell Job
Exactly what God wants and that is repentance.

Zophar is not honoring God as transcendent,
Zophar is rebuking Job as being too stupid
To know what God is doing.

It seems obvious to him what God is doing,
And so he is rebuking Job for not picking up on it.
In fact, notice his harsh rebuke of Job:
(11-12) “For He knows false men, And He sees iniquity without investigating. “An idiot will become intelligent When the foal of a wild donkey is born a man.”

That is to say, “Job, you don’t know what God is doing,
but He knows what you are doing.”

And then comes his brutal jab at Job.
“An idiot will become intelligent when the foal of a wild donkey is born a man.”

“idiot” there literally translates “one who is hollowed out”
We would call them “brainless” or “an air-head”

And that is how Zophar is referring to Job.

A modern day equivalent would be like this.
“A brainless man [like you] will understand what God is doing when pigs fly!”

He is telling Job that he is stupid
And that is why he can’t see what God is doing.

Furthermore as stupid as Job is,
There is no chance that really he will ever see what God is doing
So he should just take their word for it.

It’s a real comforting speech that Zophar is giving him.

You could sum up the first 12 verses like this:
“Job you’re talking without brains and you’re too stupid to understand what God is doing, but if He’d open His mouth and speak, you’d see that it is because you are about as bad a sinner as there has ever been.”
You have forgotten sin
You have false wisdom

And again, why would Zophar be so cruel?

Because that is the harsh reality of the prosperity gospel.
It has no choice but to blame adversity on the sinner,
Even when there is absolutely no proof.

It is either the sufferer’s sin
Or the sufferer’s stupidity
Or the sufferer’s stubbornness

And that is clearly what Zophar tells Job.

So there is the confrontation

Zophar confronts Job
#2 ZOPHAR COUNSELS JOB
Job 11:13-20

Well now that Zophar has taken Job down a notch
And revealed that he is too stupid to know God expects…

Zophar (who apparently does know what God wants)
Begins to explain to Job exactly what he should do.

And the answer, like the two friends before him, is repent.
(13-14) “If you would direct your heart right And spread out your hand to Him, If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, And do not let wickedness dwell in your tents;”

All of those are statements of repentance.

And again, it is important that you understand the balance here.
Those two verses taken by themselves are not bad verses.
Repentance is a necessary thing.

• Repentance was the message of every Old Testament prophet
• Repentance was the message of John the Baptist
• Repentance was the first message of Jesus
• Repentance was Peter’s message at Pentecost
• Repentance was Paul’s message at Athens

Repentance is essential.

The problem is the application of it here by Zophar.
He is not telling Job to repent of his attitude toward God
(which would probably be accurate)

Zophar still maintains that sin is the reason for Job’s suffering
And if he wants his suffering to go away then he must repent.

In fact, look at what Zophar says next.
(15-19) “Then, indeed, you could lift up your face without moral defect, And you would be steadfast and not fear. “For you would forget your trouble, As waters that have passed by, you would remember it. “Your life would be brighter than noonday; Darkness would be like the morning. “Then you would trust, because there is hope; And you would look around and rest securely. “You would lie down and none would disturb you, And many would entreat your favor.”

Those are some pretty hefty promises aren’t they?

If you would just repent, let me show you what would happen.

You’d get HONOR
(15) “Then, indeed, you could lift up your face without moral defect, and you would be steadfast and not fear.”

You’d get EASE
(16-17) “For you would forget your trouble, As waters that have passed by, you would remember it. “Your life would be brighter than noonday; Darkness would be like the morning.”

You’d get HOPE
(18a) “Then you would trust, because there is hope;”

You’d get REST
(18b) “And you would look around and rest securely.”

You’d get PEACE
(19) “You would lie down and none would disturb you, and many would entreat your favor.”

WOW!

If Job would just admit whatever sin it was that he did,
And would repent of it and turn away from it.

Then God would instantly remove all of this pain and grief and despair
And would replace it with honor, ease, hope, rest, and peace.

However, if Job won’t repent, but chooses to stubbornly stay in his sin, then God will continue to crush him until he is destroyed.

(20) “but the eyes of the wicked will fail, and there will be no escape for them; and their hope is to breathe their last.”

Notice the reference to desiring death?
That is what Job has said.

Zophar is indirectly calling Job one of those wicked men
Who is suffering so badly that he wants to die.

So Zophar’s solution becomes clear.
He is certain that he knows exactly what God is doing.
God is crushing Job to get him to repent so that He can bless him.

And I suppose this message would be accurate
If Job was suffering because of unrepentant sin.

But you and I know that is not the case.
Job was a blameless and upright man.
That means Zophar has stepped up to tell Job what God was doing
And Zophar didn’t have a clue.

Do you see the danger of speaking for God when you are dead wrong?

LET ME SHOW YOU ZOPHAR’S MISTAKES
OBVIOUS LACK OF COMPASSION

This is what will bother Job the most.
Job 12:4-5 “I am a joke to my friends, The one who called on God and He answered him; The just and blameless man is a joke. “He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt, As prepared for those whose feet slip.”

All Job really wanted from his friends was a little encouragement and sympathy, and he received none.

And let me remind you that this was not like Jesus.
• Yes Jesus confronted sin
• Yes Jesus warned people of its danger
• Yes Jesus called for repentance

But He always did it based on truth and wrapped in compassion.

His compassion drips out of the pages of the gospels
And so at the very least (even if you are aware of a specific sin)
Don’t fail to be compassionate to those who hurt.

Job’s friends had an obvious lack.

JUDGMENT WITH A LACK OF EVIDENCE
They had no problem condemning Job
When they had no clue what he had done wrong.

This is what will anger Elihu later.
Job 32:3 “And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.”

These men took circumstances that were difficult
And merely assumed they were caused by sin.
Then, in their self-righteousness, they passed judgement on Job.

Scripture clearly forbids such hypocrisy.
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.”

The word there for “judge” is KRINO which means “to condemn”

Scripture clearly teaches that when a brother sins and you know about it that you should confront that sin,
But under no circumstances should you condemn based on speculation.
PROMISE OF EASE UPON REPENTANCE

Very simply, they promised something they had no right to promise.
This promise was based upon the assumption that
God only uses suffering to lead men to repent.

That isn’t true and it misrepresents God.
And this is what had God so angry.

Job 42:8 “Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”

These friends blatantly misrepresented who God was
And what God was doing.

And here is why these failures are so dangerous.
They were actually partly to blame
For encouraging Job’s sour attitude toward God.

We saw it last week, but Job’s attitude took a bit of a turn.
He actually started blaming God for not treating him fairly.

WHY?
Because Job knew he had not sinned
And yet he was being told continually by his friends
That his suffering was punishment from God.

Therefore Job’s only recourse was to say God was unjustly afflicting him.

Now, what if Job’s friends had responded accurately and told Job.
• We don’t know why you are suffering.
• We want you to know that we are sorry and we are praying for you
• We also want you to know that God is sovereign He is using it for a perfect purpose even if we don’t know what it is.
• So we want to encourage you to trust God.

What a difference that would have made.
Maybe then Job would have been encouraged
To draw near to God in the midst of his pain instead of to accuse Him.

And that is the danger of their misrepresentation.

With their bad theology
They were actually encouraging Job to disdain God.
They were telling Job that God was someone who He was not
And instead of causing Job to love God,
They was causing him to be angry at Him.
That is NEVER the goal.

Job himself said:
Job 6:14 “For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend; So that he does not forsake the fear of the Almighty.”

But they didn’t.

So as we come to the end of the first round between Job and his friends
These are the issues that we must recognize.

• The Cruelty of Forgotten Compassion
• The Foolishness of Factless Condemnation
• The Danger of False Counsel

Job’s friends were guilty of all three.

And not only did they not help Job in the least,
But they will also earn a serious rebuke from God
For their blatant misrepresentation.

Jesus said:
John 7:24 “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

That would have been good advice for Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.
IT IS CERTAINLY GOOD ADVICE FOR US.

How To Be Perfect
Hebrews 10:1-18
October 25, 2015

This morning we are going to talk about how to be perfect.
There’s a reasonably good chance that upon hearing that statement
You may actually scoff a little.

I mean, after all we are often told “Nobody’s perfect”
It’s the age-old human cop out.

There are no perfect husbands, no perfect wives
There are no perfect children, no perfect parents
There are no perfect bosses, no perfect employees

Our society is more than willing to accept the standard of imperfection.
We all feel better about ourselves if no one expects perfection.

There is a problem here of course.
That problem is that God demands perfection.

Leviticus 11:44-45 “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. ‘For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.'”

Peter reiterated that in the New Testament:
1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

Jesus certainly enforced this
The Jews had also adopted this “Nobody’s Perfect” attitude.
They assumed that when Messiah came He would help them see
Which commands mattered and which ones didn’t.

Remember the Rich Young Ruler when he asked Jesus what he must do to obtain eternal life. Jesus told him to keep the commandments. His response was, “Which ones?”

They assumed the bar would have to be lowered.

Matthew 5:17-20 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

And in case you didn’t catch it there, notice how He ended Matthew 5.
Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Obviously society isn’t cool with statements like that.
Our world doesn’t see perfection as attainable.

Yet, not only does God demand perfect holiness the Bible says
He will pour out His wrath on anyone who is less than holy.

Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death…”

I’m not making this up, God demands perfection.

Are you ready for me to shock you further?
I’m about to give you a fact about myself that only two people in the world know about me. (My mom and my wife)

“I am perfect”

Some of you may have already assumed that, but for those who were unaware, I’ll just lay it out there. I am perfect, I am holy, I am righteous.
And I’m not joking.

In fact this morning I’m going to tell you how you can be perfect too.
That is actually what the writer of Hebrews has been building to.

This morning I’m so glad you’re here
To walk through the first 18 verses of this 10th chapter with me.
This is the culmination
This is the mountain top
This is the big point

This morning the writer of Hebrews
Is going to bring all of his arguments to a head.

• All the little truths…
• All the O.T. passages…
• All the points…

He’s bringing them all together here in the first 18 verses of this chapter.

In these first 18 verses we get 3 powerful truths.
Now, they aren’t new to the book of Hebrews,
He’s been all over them for some time now.

But here he gives you the final culmination
Of all the research and all the work
To lay out for you the three main things he wants you to understand.
I can’t stress these enough,
I’ve you’ve felt lost at times throughout this study, grab these three truths.

#1 A SYMBOL, REPEATED PERPETUALLY, CAN NEVER SAVE
Hebrews 10:1-4

You remember that the writer just spent chapter 9 giving us a parable.
It was the parable of the Day of Atonement.

The writer asked us to look at 4 symbolic realities from that parable.

1) The Existence of the Veil
Man is separated from God

2) The Execution of the Sacrifice
Blood is the requirement for a broken covenant

3) The Expiation of the Sinner
That blood must be taken to God to appease His wrath on sin

4) The Emergence of the Priest
The priest coming out reveals that God accepted the sacrifice

The writer revealed to us that
Everything that happened on the Day of Atonement didn’t actually work.

It was a parable, it was a symbol
• It wasn’t real heaven, it was just a tent
• It wasn’t an acceptable sacrifice, it was just a goat
• It wasn’t taken to God, it was just taken behind an earthly veil
• It didn’t accomplish real forgiveness, it just symbolized it

The problem was that so many of the Jews had missed the point. They performed that ritual so long that many of them
Started to believe that there was power in the ritual.

Somehow they came to believe that
Building a tent, killing a goat, and sprinkling blood on a man-made altar
Would actually bring forgiveness.

Welcome to the dangers of religion.
Religion can easily cause people to trust in a symbol or a ritual rather than in God who is Savior.

And welcome to all the weird traditions people undertake
Because they think it benefits them somehow.

• You’ve seen Hindus bathing in the Ganges river to wash away sins.
• Mormons wear sacred underwear to protect them.
• In western India parents have their babies dropped off of a 50’ temple into a sheet which is said to make their children more intelligent. http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/11-04/unusual-religious-rituals-around-the-world.html

• Some under the banner of Christianity handle serpents and drink poison as a means of testing their faith.

We could go on and on and on with bizarre religious behavior.

What is common in all of these bizarre instances is that
People starting placing too much value in what is symbolic.

AND THAT IS WHAT HAD HAPPENED IN JUDAISM.
They performed the symbol and yet thought that it appeased God.

Before long the symbol became more important than anything else.

But the writer of Hebrews is clarifying that
THERE IS NO POWER IN THE SYMBOL.
(1) “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.”

Did you catch the problem?
The Law… All those sacrifices…
“can never…make perfect those who draw near.”

• Attend every Jewish festival
• Kill thousands of goats
• Present millions of wave offerings
• And at the end of the day you still will not be perfect.

That is tragic since we’ve already established that
Perfection is all God accepts.

Do you want proof they can’t make you perfect?
(2) “Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?”

If you are a person who likes “logic” and “reason”
Then this verse is for you.

Let’s say that on the Day of Atonement
That offering actually did what it was supposed to do.
Let’s say it actually atoned for all the sinner’s sin.

If that happened wouldn’t the offering have stopped?

If those people had actually been forgiven they would have had a clean conscience and would no longer feel the need to sacrifice.
But that is not what happened.
That sacrifice didn’t make them feel forgiven
And that is why the kept coming back.

(3) “But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.”

Those sacrifices didn’t make you feel forgiven,
Those sacrifices only reminded you that you were a sinner.

THERE AGAIN IS RELIGION.

Make no mistake religion needs sinners.
Religion needs people that it can threaten and terrify and command.

That’s how religion gets power
That’s how religion gets support
That’s how religion gets funded

The worst thing for religion is permanent forgiveness.
Then it loses it’s hook.
Indeed that is never the goal.

What religion wants to do is get people enslaved.
You have to keep coming back here
And keep doing this thing over and over and over OR ELSE.

• If you don’t bathe in the Ganges
• If you take off your sacred underwear
• If you don’t attend this service
• If you don’t partake in this sacrifice
• Then you aren’t pleasing to God.

That’s how religion flourishes – NEVER LET THEM OFF THE HOOK
(For a detailed study here, go read Galatians)

That is what the Law did.
Come back year after year and be reminded that you are a sinner!

That is all the Law did.
• It didn’t forgive anybody.
• It didn’t make anybody feel forgiven.
• All it did was continually remind people that they didn’t measure up to God.

Now the question is:
WHY DIDN’T THE LAW FORGIVE PEOPLE?

IT COULDN’T
It was just a symbol and a symbol,
Regardless of how many times you repeat it, it can never save.

(4) “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

Just let that sink in for a second.
• Do you really suppose that killing a goat makes you right with God?
• Do you really suppose that getting dunked in a baptistery makes you right with God?
• Do you really suppose that eating crackers and drinking grape juice makes you right with God?

Of course not, those are symbols.
A symbol, regardless of how many times you repeat it, can never save.

I mean do we really suppose
That God is sitting up in heaven and men are requesting entrance and He is saying, “Nope, not until you drink a little more grape juice.” “Nope, not until you eat a few more crackers”

Do you catch the absurdity?
They were killing a goat and that has no power over anything.

I mean let your banker call and say, “I’m going to foreclose on your house because you are behind on your payments.” And you say, “I tell you what I’ll do, I’ll kill a goat.”

Let your boss call you into his office and say, “You’re doing a lousy job and I’m going to have to let you go.” And you say, “Instead of that, why don’t we just kill a goat?”

That’s how absurd it is to think religious ritual can save you.
That’s how absurd it is to think religious symbols can make you perfect.

They never can – it is the first major point of the writer of Hebrews.
A symbol, repeated perpetually, can never save.

#2 A SAVIOR, ROBED IN PERFECTION, DID FINALLY SATISFY
Hebrews 10:5-10

So first we come to grips with the fact that
All of those religious efforts were terribly insufficient.
They never worked.

That means sinners remained in their sin and still needed forgiveness.

What are they to do?
(5-7) Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE. “THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.'”
Here is the writer’s third major text he wants to preach to you.
• He started with Psalms 110:1-4 about Melchizedek
• Then he went to Jeremiah 31:31-34 about the New Covenant
• Well now he’s on to Psalms 40:6-8

I wish we had time to go back and study the whole Psalm
Because it is absolutely amazing.
It is a Psalm that literally lays out the reality of salvation.

The writer of Hebrews recognized it as a Messianic Psalm
Because he attributes verses 6-8 as being about the Messiah.

This Psalm perfectly makes the writer’s point.

“Sacrifice and offering You have not desired”
That’s been the whole point. God doesn’t want a dead goat!

Psalms 50:7-15 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you; I am God, your God. “I do not reprove you for your sacrifices, And your burnt offerings are continually before Me. “I shall take no young bull out of your house Nor male goats out of your folds. “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. “I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats? “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”

Isaiah 1:11-14 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies — I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.”

Jeremiah 7:21-24 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh. “For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘ Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ “Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward.”

God didn’t want sacrifices.
What did He want? Obedience!

He only allowed the sacrifices as a way to show them
The enormous cost of disobedience.

But the Israelites completely missed the point
And started placing all the value in the sacrifice.
But when Jesus came He did it the right way.
“Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me.”

When God sent Christ into the world, He didn’t send Him with a pet goat.
He didn’t say, “Now Jesus, you go down there and show them the proper way to sacrifice a goat.”

He just sent Jesus to be a living example of perfect obedience.

And that is what He did.
(6-7) “In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sins You have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold I come (in the scroll of the book it is written of Me) to do Your will, O God.”

I didn’t come to sacrifice goats, I came to live a perfect life.
I didn’t come to be religious, I came to be righteous.
I didn’t come to perform ceremonies, I came to be perfectly holy.

(8-9) “After saying above, “SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them” (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, “BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second.”

And notice the end of verse 9.
The writer is making another Old Testament point.

The fact that Psalms 40:8 said “I have come to do Your will” means this.

God was taking away the first ordinance (that He would accept goats)
And establishing the second (that He would accept Christ)

In Psalms 40:6-8 Jesus was saying, “I will come and be the sacrifice. I will come and be the offering. You don’t want goats, so I won’t offer them. I will offer My own perfect life.”

And then notice the power of verse 10.
“By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

How many times did Jesus offer His righteous life to God? “once”
What did He accomplish in doing so? “we have been sanctified”

Do you know what “sanctified” means?
It means “set apart as holy”

Now do you know why I tell you I am perfect?

Because Jesus made me perfect in God’s eyes
When He offered His perfect life as a payment for my sin.

He did what bulls and goats never could.
He satisfied God’s requirements.

There is just no over stating the wonder and majesty and perfection
Of the sacrificial death of Christ.
It is bigger than huge, it is everything!

And that is the second main point the writer wants you to know.
A symbol, repeated perpetually, can never save.
A Savior, robed in perfection, did finally satisfy.
#3 A SINNER, RELYING ON HIS PAYMENT, IS FULLY SANCTIFIED
Hebrews 10:11-18

Now here comes the awesome comparison.
He’s going to put that priest at the Day of Atonement
Side by side with Christ.

(11-14) “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”

First comes the earthly priests.
• Do you see them?
• Do you see them standing?
• Do you see them “daily ministering”?
• Do you see them “offering time after time the same sacrifices”?
• Do you see that they “never take away sins”?

Now look at Christ.
• He didn’t offer man sacrifices but “one sacrifice for sins for all time”
• He isn’t standing because He’s finished, He “sat down”
• And He didn’t offer a sacrifice that didn’t work. “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”

That’s it!
That’s the beauty!

At that moment on the cross when Jesus offered Himself to God.
He took every single person who would ever believe in Him
And He made them perfect!

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

Colossians 1:19-20 “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

Matthew 27:45-54 “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

When Jesus died on the cross something happened
That no Day of Atonement had ever accomplished.
THE VEIL CAME DOWN!

For the first time since the fall in the garden access to God was available.
And the only way that is possible is if sinners are made perfect
Because no one else gets into the presence of God.

That is what Jesus did on the cross.
He made those who trust in Him perfect, acceptable to God!

The headlines in heaven read:
• “Sinners made perfect by shed blood of Jesus”
• “Veil comes down, access to God granted through death of Jesus”
• “Forgiveness achieved through crucifixion of Jesus”

We call that freedom!
It is the exact opposite of religion!
• God isn’t out there holding my sin over my head as a means of making me perform a certain way.

• God has declared me perfect, forgiven, a child whom He loves and simply says, “You’re welcome to come to Me anytime you want”

That is what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
And that is the point of the writer of Hebrews.

Now listen as he brings his argument full circle.
(15-18) “And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, “THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,” He then says, “AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

Do you recognize that passage?
It is Jeremiah 31, that passage on the New Covenant that he introduced to us back in chapter 8.

He is reminding you of the promised effect of that new covenant.
“their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

The promised effect of that new covenant
Was forgiveness of all your sins.
And the writer wants you to know that it happened.

To which he says: “Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

In other words, you no longer need the Day of Atonement.
• You don’t have to go to Passover anymore.
• You don’t have to attend the feat of booths any more.
• You don’t have to bind that Law on your forehead.
• You don’t have to bring God any more goats or bulls or grain offerings.

Your religious ceremonies are no longer needed.
Jesus satisfied God’s requirements.
Jesus paid your debts.

You are forgiven – You are free – You are now perfect

And that is true for every single sinner
Who places their faith in Jesus Christ.

They are now perfect.
Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Jesus did what the Law couldn’t do.
He surrendered His perfect life as an offering for sin,
We are now declared perfect before God.

Do me a favor this morning if you’ve placed your faith in Jesus Christ.
Take a deep breath in. Now let it out.

Your labors are over
Your work is over
God is pleased and there’s nothing left for you to do

MercyMe has a great album out about this awesome new covenant and the salvation of Jesus. It’s called “Welcome to the New”

There are many great songs on that album.
One of my favorites is a song called “Flawless”

There’s got to be more Than going back and forth From doing right to doing wrong ‘Cause we were taught that’s who we are. Come on get in line right behind me You along with everybody Thinking there’s worth in what you do. Then Like a hero who takes the stage when We’re on the edge of our seats saying it’s too late, Well let me introduce you to amazing grace.
No matter the bumps, No matter the bruises, No matter the scars, Still the truth is The cross has made; The cross has made you flawless. No matter the hurt Or how deep the wound is. No matter the pain, Still the truth is The cross has made; The cross has made you flawless.
Could it possibly be That we simply can’t believe That this unconditional Kind of love would be enough To take a filthy wretch like this And wrap him up in righteousness? But that’s exactly what He did.
Then Like a hero who takes the stage when We’re on the edge of our seats saying it’s too late. Well let me introduce you to grace, grace, God’s grace.
No matter the bumps, No matter the bruises, No matter the scars, Still the truth is The cross has made; The cross has made you flawless. No matter the hurt Or how deep the wound is. No matter the pain, Still the truth is The cross has made; The cross has made you flawless.
No matter what they say, Or what you think you are, The day you called His name He made you flawless. He made you flawless.

And that is so true!
I am perfect because of Jesus.

And that is so the cry of the writer of Hebrews.
• Leave your religion behind!
• Leave the toil and the labor of the system!
• Latch on to Jesus!

• So what if they’re kicking you out of the temple.
• So what if they’re telling you “No more sacrifices”
• So what if they’ve said you can’t participate in the feasts any more.
WHO NEEDS THEM?
FURTHERMORE WHO WANTS THEM?

A symbol, repeated perpetually, can never save.

We’ve got Jesus!
And A Savior, robed in perfection, did finally satisfy

So that a sinner, relying on His payment, is fully sanctified.
All I have to ask this morning is do you trust Christ?
• Would you be willing to call upon His name for forgiveness of your sin?
• Would you be willing to leave behind all the efforts?
• Would you be willing to leave behind all the enticement of the world?

• Would you be willing to say, “I’ll lose it all, just give me Jesus!”?

Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

Final Encouragement
1 Thessalonians 5:25-28
May 8, 2011 (pm service)

I know it has again been a while
Since we have been able to study this book of 1 Thessalonians.
But you are familiar with the wonderful truths we have gleaned from it.

This was a letter all about: “How to be an Encouraging Christian”

1 Thessalonians 3:1-8 “Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this. For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know. For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain. But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you, for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord.”

And just in reading that text you can not only feel the relief in Paul’s heart,
But you can also sense his joy.

He was encouraged to continue on fighting the good fight
All because his work in Thessalonica had proven genuine.
This church had encouraged him.

He in turn wrote this letter back to encourage them.

And that encouragement came gentle as a mother at times.
1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 “But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.”

That encouragement came stern as a father at times.
1 Thessalonians 2:10-11 “You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children,”

But it was encouragement none the less.

And in this letter Paul has given many enlightening
As well as practical truths.

• First comforting them in regard to the end and the resurrection,
• Then also showing them the certainty of their coming sanctification.
And now we get to the end of this letter.
It is the final encouragement that Paul gives before he signs off
And leaves them to the work of being the church.

And although it is easy to sort of skip over these 4 verses
As sort of the benediction, it is a mistake to do so.

For in these words we find much more
Than just a benediction or even passing thoughts.

What we find are the final truths
That Paul wished to leave on their mind and hearts.

What we find is Paul’s encouragement as to how to be a faithful church.

AND I FIND THIS VERY ENCOURAGING.

Often times when you seek as to how to be an effective church
The strategy that is presented is one beyond our reach.

• It either requires a large number of musicians or soloists.
• It requires a facility to house certain events.
• It requires a budget to fund enormous events.
• It requires manpower to exercise a certain program.

And I know that often times when looking into things of that nature
I really tend to end up more discouraged than when I started.
(Routinely happened after the Pastor’s Conference in Jacksonville)

For many of the programs and events and strategies
Are in reality beyond our reach.
Either because we don’t have the manpower,
Or the money, or the facility, or the talent.

And it can leave a person wondering:
DID JESUS REALLY LEAVE THINGS IN SUCH A WAY THAT SMALL CONGREGATIONS JUST CAN’T BE SUCCESSFUL?

And then I read the Scripture.

Passages like what Paul said:
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.”

I see that all the various programs might not be as necessary as I thought,
For Paul purposely shied away from them.
SO WHAT CAN WE DO?
If we are a small church like the Thessalonians were…
If we are a new church like the Thessalonians were…
If we are a church in a hostile environment like the Thessalonians were…

Well, that is precisely what Paul reveals.
God’s plan for the church was never limited to the mega-church.

• That STRATEGIES that God endorsed are just as available to the small congregation as they are to the large one.
• The METHODS God commands are just as available to the poor congregation as they are to the rich one.

God’s intention for the church knows
No economic, numerical, cultural, or facility based limitations.

God’s plan to being a faithful and effective church
Will work for every congregation;
large or small – rich or poor – talented or mundane – facility or none.

And they are the four things
Paul leaves on the heart of this Thessalonian church.
#1 PRAY FOR THE LEADERS
1 Thessalonians 5:25

Paul begins this closing section with a very clear statement.
“Brethren, pray for us.”

Could there really be anything more significant?

What that statement really indicates is Paul’s undying commitment
And reliance upon God’s sovereign power.

Recently there have been some who have really spoken out
Against the sovereignty of God,
Especially in regard to matters concerning evangelism and prayer.

Their argument is that if God is sovereign over salvation then why evangelize, and if God is sovereign over the events of life, then why pray.

But that is to completely miss the point.

Understanding God’s Sovereignty does not diminish a prayer life.
Instead it puts a much greater emphasis on prayer.

• Doors can’t be opened unless God opens them.
• A man can’t come unless God draws him.
• A man can’t repent unless God grants it.
• A man can’t exercise faith unless God gives it to him.
• A man can’t stay saved unless God secures him.
And with that understanding,
It is clear to see why Paul pleaded for prayer.

Had Paul thought any less of God’s sovereignty he might have said,
“Brethren, help us out with evangelistic strategies for this region.”
“Brethren, if you know of any popular speakers send them to us.”

But Paul knew that God is sovereign.
So Paul said, “Brethren, pray for us.”

We need God’s help in all areas of our ministry.

Those who are God’s messengers are in desperate need of prayer.

These men are not only seeking to discern the truth of God’s word,
But are also trying to present it in an accurate and understandable way
To men who have no human ability to understand it.

They face the opposition of the enemy
And the opposition of the carnal human heart.

And more times than not their work is rejected.

The men who speak for God need prayer.

Gardiner Spring wrote:
“O it is at a fearful expense that ministers are ever allowed to enter the pulpit without being preceded, accompanied, and followed by the earnest prayers of the churches. It is no marvel that the pulpit is so powerless, and ministers so often disheartened when there are so few to hold up their hands. The consequence of neglecting this duty is seen and felt in the spiritual declension of the churches, and it will be seen and felt in the everlasting perdition of men; while the consequence of regarding it would be the ingathering of multitudes into the kingdom of God, and new glories to the Lamb that was slain!
On his behalf therefore, and on the behalf of the beloved and respected brethren in the ministry, the writer would crave an interest in the prayers of all who love the Savior and the souls of men. We are the dispensers of God’s truth and at best fall far below our mighty theme. The duties of our calling return upon us with every returning week and day. They often come upon us with many conflicting demands. They sometimes put a demand upon all our thoughts, and at the very time when we have lost the power of thinking; and sometimes they call for all the intensity and strength of our affections, just at the time we are the least capable of expressing them. There is also associated with these demands that pressing distress, and decaying anxiety, which exhausts our vigor, cripples our courage, and drinks up our spirits. And then, in addition to all this, there are so many disappointments in our work, that we desperately need the sympathy and comfort of the prayers of God’s faithful people!
(Sited in 1 & 2 Thesalonians commentary by John MacArthur, pg. 212-213)

Gardiner Spring referenced even that very illustrative event
Which occurred in the book of Exodus.

Exodus 17:10-13 “Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.”

What great imagery of the necessity of prayer.

It is no wonder Paul said, “Brethren, pray for us.”

Thanks to the New Testament we are not at a total loss of what to pray.

Ephesians 6:19 “and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,”
Paul wanted to preach boldly and he wanted to preach the mystery with clarity. He asked the Ephesians to pray to this end.

2 Thessalonians 3:1 “Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you;”
There Paul wanted success in his preaching ministry and he asked the Thessalonians to pray that men would respond to his preaching.

Hebrews 13:18 “Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.”
The writer of Hebrews wanted to live holy with a good conscience and to practice what he preached, and so he asked for prayer.

Colossians 4:3 “praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;”
There was Paul in prison, unable to go to others, asking the Colossians to pray that God would grant him opportunities to share the gospel even though imprisoned.

Romans 15:30-32 “Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints; so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.”
There Paul prayed for success in his ministry plans.
He wanted to be able to help the needy and not to be caught by the wicked, and to ultimately fulfill his desire to come to Rome.

And these are just some examples of how to pray for your leaders.

And so regardless of money, size, talent, or facility,
A church can be faithful by praying for its leaders.
“Brethren, pray for us.”

So first, Pray for the Leaders
#2 LOVE THE BRETHREN
1 Thessalonians 5:26
“Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.”
THE KISS WAS THE COMMON GREETING OF AFFECTION
To the cheek of a friend
To the feet of one you wished to honor

Today it could be seen as a handshake or a hug, but you get the idea.

The point to be seen is not they style of affection, but the recipients of it.
“Greet all the brethren”

Not some of the brethren, but “all the brethren”

This is an unmistakable call to love the people of God
Simply because they are the people of God.

It is not about personalities…
It is not about popularity…
It is not about someone’s wealth or honor…

There is a universal commanded love
That must take place among all the church of God.

Listen to Jesus on the night before He was crucified.
John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 15:12-14 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. “You are My friends if you do what I command you.”

John 17:20-23 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”

And please don’t miss the importance of this.
We talk a lot today about loving the lost, and we should.
We talk a lot today about loving the least, and we should.
We talk a lot today about loving your neighbor (everyone) and we should.

But what Jesus refers to and what Paul refers to here
Is our love for the brethren.

It is by our love for each other that the world recognizes
There is something different about us.

This is what the early church did.
Acts 2:43-47 “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
This is what blew the world’s mind.

Here was an organization that took care of all the poor in their midst.
No one in the church went without.
Here was an organization that regarded the elderly in its midst.
The widows were fed.
Here was an organization that regarded the outcast in their midst.
Everyone was welcome to come to the fellowship meal.

And there was such a strong love amongst themselves
That it literally left those outside the church wanting it.

THERE IS A TREMENDOUS CALL
TO LOVE YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST.
1 Timothy 6:1-2 “All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against. Those who have believers as their masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but must serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. Teach and preach these principles.”

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t love the lost.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t love the least.

But the thing that Jesus said would get their attention
Faster than anything is when they see us loving each other.

• And you don’t have to be a big church to love the brethren.
• You don’t have to be a wealthy church to love the brethren.
• You don’t have to be a talented church to love the brethren.
• You don’t have to have gymnasium to love the brethren.

Pray for the Leaders, Love the Brethren
#3 SPREAD THE WORD
1 Thessalonians 5:27

And please notice here the weight that Paul puts behind the command.
“I adjure you by the Lord”

This is no suggestion.
This is not optional.

Paul seemed to understand that the letter he wrote
Did indeed come as inspiration from the Holy Spirit of God,
And therefore it must be read.

“to have this letter read to all the brethren.”

And notice who it is to be read to: “all the brethren”

There again we talk a lot about preaching to the lost,
And that is vitally important.

But do not neglect or miss the importance of
Spreading the word of God among those who are saved.

Make sure you give God’s word to God’s people.

And I absolutely love this.

If you have ever sat and just read through the pastoral epistles.
(1 & 2 Timothy; Titus)

It is impossible to miss all the emphasis Paul puts
On spreading the word of God throughout the church.

1 Timothy 4:11-16 “Prescribe and teach these things. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. 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.”

TURN TO: 2 TIMOTHY
1:8 – 1:13 – 2:2 – 2:14-16 – 2:24-25 – 3:16 – 4:2

Titus 2:1 “But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.”

Titus 2:15 “These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”

And we quickly understand that the teaching and preaching of God’s word
Is not just for the lost.

Paul understood it as extremely valuable for those who are the redeemed.
Psalms 19:7-11 “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”

And we could literally go on and on and on with passages
About the value of God’s word.
It is God’s word that God’s church needs.

Ephesians 4:11-15 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,”

It is vitally important that the church have the word of God
And that their lives be saturated in it.

So make sure that everyone hears God’s word.
You don’t have to be rich to do that.
You don’t have to be big to do that.
You don’t have to be talented to do that.
You don’t have to have huge facilities to do that.

Pray for the Leaders, Love the Brethren, Spread the Word
#4 TRUST CHRIST
1 Thessalonians 5:28

And you are familiar with this type of statement.
It is the way Paul likes to open his letters and it is the way Paul likes to close them.

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

And obviously we can’t think of His “grace”
Without thinking of the mercy and redemption on our behalf.

We obviously understand and appreciate His great sacrifice for us.

But really I think Paul has something more in mind
When he writes this statement.

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 “Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

What Christ was offering Paul was more than just forgiveness.
• Christ was offering strength to Paul.
• Christ was offering the ability to persevere to Paul.

And this strength was so great that it actually led Paul to say, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties…”
And certainly this makes sense for the Thessalonians as well.
They lived in a hotbed of persecution.
Paul himself had been run out of that city.

If they were to survive, they needed a double dose of grace.

In order to be a faithful and successful church
They needed to learn to rely on the Lord.

And namely because the Lord would never fail them.
2 Timothy 4:9-18 “Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service. But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching. At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

What a difference the Lord made in Paul’s life in ministry,
And it is this same grace in which the Thessalonians needed to walk.

And with that Paul is finished.
• The Thessalonians were young in the faith…
• The Thessalonians were a relatively small group of believers…
• The Thessalonians lived in a hostile area…

But Paul encouragement to them was simple.
They didn’t need money, or great facilities, or talented musicians, or even a lot of manpower.

They simply needed to pray for their leaders.
They needed to love the brethren.
They needed to spread the word to one another.
They needed to trust Christ.

FRIENDS, ANY CHURCH CAN DO THAT.

Any church can do it, and every church should do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

Achieving Sanctification
1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 (23-24)

I really do apologize for the way our study in 1 Thessalonians
Has been butchered up here of late.

I realize it is difficult to fully grasp something
When you only get exposed to it once every 3 weeks or so.

But none the less we are back in our study of this great book.
(The sad part is that after tonight it will be a few more weeks
Before we are able to finish it)

But because it has been several weeks let me refresh your memory a little.

You know that this letter was written all about encouragement.

• Paul started this church in Thessalonica and then was promptly run out of town, leaving these new believers to sort of fend for themselves.

• When he could stand it no longer he sent Timothy back to find out how they were doing.

• Timothy returned with encouraging news that the Thessalonians stood strong.

• This news obviously encouraged Paul in the ministry.

• Paul in turn wrote this letter to the Thessalonians to also encourage them.

Partly in regard to specific issues like the truths
About what happens to believers when they die.

But Paul also wrote to continue to give basic Christian encouragement.

Because none of us are a completed work yet, we all are in need
Of a little push here and there to help us stay the course.

That is what Paul has been doing for the Thessalonians.

We spent 4 Sunday nights covering verses 12-22
And talking about what it means to strive for sanctification.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification;”

We know that God wants us sanctified,
And therefore it is something that we strive for.

True Christians have within themselves a desire to be holy.
True Christians aren’t without sin, but they wish they were.

We are all familiar with that penetrating passage Paul wrote in Romans 7,
And how Paul lamented that he was a man with sin in his life,
And far too often Paul admitted that this sin affected his behavior.

Romans 7:19-20 “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”

Paul still sinned.
But Paul hated it.

Romans 7:24 “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”

Paul had to recognize that there was sin in his life,
But he did not have to be content about it.

We see this reality in his life again in the book of Philippians.
Philippians 3:12-14 “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Paul wanted perfection.
Paul wanted righteousness.
He didn’t have it yet, but he strived for it.

And that is really the attitude of a true believer.

• We must be honest and humble enough to recognize that sin still remains in various areas of our lives.
• Yet we must also be of the mindset that it is not welcome and we must do all that we can to remove it.

And if you share that same mindset in regard to sin,
Then 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 has been very enlightening to you.

For Paul outlined for us 8 directives to help us strive for sanctification.
1) HONOR YOUR LEADERS
2) LIVE IN PEACE
3) ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER
4) LOVE ONE ANOTHER
5) REJOICE ALWAYS
6) PRAY WITHOUT CEASING
7) IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS
8) TEST EVERYTHING

These were practical ways in which we do our part
To be as holy as we know how to be.
But while these are wonderful applications to the Christian life,
You and I still know that these still don’t seem to be enough.
For no man, on his own, has ever achieved this righteousness.

Despite the effort no one has ever fully rid their life of sin.
Despite all the work, despite all the effort sin still remains in our lives.

And that is why in Romans 7 Paul outlined his striving against sin,
Yet in the end was resigned to say, “Wretched man that I am who will set me free from the body of this death?”

Paul worked at it as hard as anyone and yet
Even Paul realized that on his own he would never achieve it.

If you and I are to ever be fully righteous, we will need help.
And that is the point of the text tonight.

The title tonight is not “Striving for Sanctification”
The title tonight is “Achieving Sanctification”

These final two verses tell us how our striving actually becomes a reality

(4 things)
#1 THE PROVIDER OF SANCTIFICATION
1 Thessalonians 5:23a

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you”

“sanctify” translates HAGIAZO
It literally means to set apart.
It carries the idea of being set apart from sin and thus to be holy.

And this is of course what we are looking for,
And as Paul noted, none of us has thus far been able to achieve.

And that is what makes this statement so great!
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you”

We fail miserably at ridding ourselves of sin,
And Paul here reveals that God “Himself” will do it.

And don’t you love the fact that Paul adds the word “Himself”.

It reminds us that God isn’t
Delegating out your sanctification to someone else.

“If you want something done right, you better do it yourself.”

God wants your sanctification done right.
He “Himself” will do it.

GOD HAS ALWAYS TAKEN SALVATION AND SANCTIFICATION
AS A PERSONAL OBLIGATION.

1 John 2:25 “This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.”

With something as important as salvation and eternal life,
God did not delegate it out to one of His subordinates.
God took care of it Himself.

1 Peter 2:24 “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

As John also said:
1 John 2:2 “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

Furthermore, when we face temptations in this life
That threaten our progress as we seek to be holy,
We can rest assured that God had nothing to do with it.

James 1:13 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”

And even when we face trials or hardships we can be confident
That it is God who will fashion it for our good.

1 Peter 5:10 “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”

And so you get the picture.
While God has certainly delegated out some aspects of His kingdom…
Angels certainly made announcements
We preach the gospel
He takes care of sanctification personally.

That is also why Paul refers to Him as “the God of peace”

That doesn’t mean that He is a peaceful God.
Scripture says that He is angry at the wicked every day.

Rather, “God of peace” means that He is the God who provides peace.
He is the God who makes peace.

It was God who sent His Son to make peace between Himself and sinners.
It is God Himself who sanctifies men.

BECAUSE HE IS THE GOD OF PEACE,
HE TAKES SANCTIFICATION PERSONALLY
One of His 8 covenantal names is:
Jehovah Mekadesh (The Lord who Sanctifies you)

Leviticus 22:32 “You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the LORD who sanctifies you,”

AND WE KNOW GOD AS A SANCTIFIER.

WHAT DID HE DO TO THE 7TH DAY OF THE WEEK?
He sanctified it as holy.
WHAT DID HE DO TO THE TENT OF MEETING?
He sanctified it for Himself.
WHAT DID HE DO TO THE TEMPLE?
He sanctified it.
WHAT DID HE DO TO THE FIRSTBORN?
He sanctified them for Himself
AND WHAT DID HE DO WITH ISRAEL?
He sanctified them as a people for His own possession.

God is a sanctifier.
He does it “Himself”

Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

HOW DOES HE DO IT?

Have you ever faced a trial or a hardship?
Hebrews 12:10-11 “For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

Have you ever read the Scripture and had your sin exposed?
John 16:8-11 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”

Jesus Himself likened to a washing, when He washed Peter’s feet saying:
John 13:10 “Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”

And so whether it is discipline from the Father…
Conviction from the Spirit…
Or washing from Jesus…
We know that God does indeed do the work of sanctification.

He is the Provider of Sanctification
#2 THE PICTURE OF SANCTIFICATION
1 Thessalonians 5:23b

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame”

And I hope you notice what God’s sanctification looks like.

“sanctify you entirely”

“entirely” translates HOLOTELES

It is a compound word used only here in Scripture.

HOLO means “whole” (holistic)
TELES means “the end”

When you put it together it means
“all the way through” or “through and through”

God sanctifies every single part of you.
God leaves nothing untouched.
God leaves nothing unchanged.

This is spelled out even more as you read on in the verse.
“and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame”

Over the years there has been debate as to whether man is
A trichotomy of spirit, soul, and body.
Or if “spirit and soul” refer to the same thing and man is just a dichotomy.

And if you want to hammer that out, that is fine,
But either way we can understand what Paul means.

God is not interested on cleaning up your outside apart from your inside.

We call that hypocrisy, and that has never pleased God.

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.”

All you have to do is read the Sermon on the Mount
What about heart murder?
What about heart adultery?
What about a lack of integrity?
What about giving or praying or fasting for show?

God has no interest in just cleaning up the body and not the soul.

His sanctification is penetrating.
He does it “entirely” through and through.

One of the best illustrations of this would be the woman at the well.

A woman that Jesus fully confronted,
Even bringing up her promiscuous past.

Some would have resented His speech as meddling or judgmental.
In reality it was Jesus unwilling to leave any sin alone.

And that is how God sanctifies.
He has no interest in a clean outside with a dirty inside.

However, God also has no interest in a clean inside with a dirty outside.

This was what many of the Greeks believed.
It was part of the Gnostic religion.

It was the idea that since the body was dying anyway, that all that really mattered was the soul. Therefore live however you want in the body, just make sure your soul is clean.

Paul sort of shot that down when he wrote to the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 “Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

The reality is that if God makes you clean on the inside,
Then He expects it to affect your outside.

Philippians 2:12 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;”

I like the term “work out your salvation”.
It carries the picture of moving what is inside to the outside.

If your heart is made righteous, then let that filter to your tongue.
If your mind has been redeemed then let that filter to your hands.

This is what God has in mind with sanctification.
He wants a clean inside.
He wants a clean outside.

He will “sanctify you entirely”

He will make sure that you are “preserved complete, without blame”

“complete” translates HOLOKLEROS

James 1:4 “And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

God is working to complete His work in you.
He is not stopping short.

In one sense He works on all of you
And in another sense He finishes the work.

The end result is that all of you will be completely sanctified.
That is why Paul calls it “without blame”

And this is an interesting picture.

The Greek word for “without blame” is AMEMPTOS
Literally meaning “blameless” or “without fault”

Archaeologists who have excavated the site of Thessalonica
Have found it easy to identify the graves of the believers in that city.

For the graves of the believers all had the same word: AMEMPTOS
Obviously they loved what Paul had to say and did cling to that hope.

And so you see that God is the Provider of Sanctification
And that Sanctification is entire, it permeates your entire being.

Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

The Provider of sanctification, The Picture of Sanctification
#3 THE PURPOSE OF SANCTIFICATION
1 Thessalonians 5:23c

“preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
And I hope by now we all understand the reason
Why sanctification is so important.

Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”
It is the desire of Christ that His bride be “in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”

When Christ returns for His bride
He wants to find you in glory in beauty in holiness.

None of us want to be embarrassed to be found by Him in sin.
1 John 2:28-29 “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.”

Imagine the wedding day and Him to come and find you
In sweat pants covered with paint and an old ratty T-shirt.

And God has promised to be the One who makes sure we are ready.
God will not only wash our outside,
But He will also give us attitude lessons to work on our inside.

He is making sure that when the Lord returns we are ready to meet Him.

The Provider, The Picture, The Purpose
#4 THE PROMISE OF SANCTIFICATION
1 Thessalonians 5:24

At this point we can clearly see that God is in the sanctifying role
And we even see what that is and why He will do it.

We understand the need and what it is.

But we also know that there is still one glaring obstacle to overcome.
ME

Hasn’t that been the obstacle that kept us from sanctifying ourselves?

Colossians 3:5 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”

Romans 6:11-13 “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

Yet, despite knowing that we should kill off the old man,
We have found that to be easier said than done.

So even though sanctification is the work of God,
How can we be sure that we won’t mess it all up?

BUT HERE IS THE BEAUTY
Your sanctification will occur.
Not based upon your submission…
Not based upon your obedience…
Not based upon your willingness…

Your sanctification will occur based upon His faithfulness.

“Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

The guarantee of sanctification is not a guarantee based upon you,
But is a guarantee based upon God.

God is faithful to finish what He starts.
Philippians 1:6 “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Consider that great passage in Romans.
Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

It is not as though God boasts of a 70% graduation rate,
Where 7 out of every 10 people foreknown actually make it to heaven.

No, God bats 1,000.
Because He predestines 100% of those He foreknows.
He then call 100% of those He predestines.
He then justifies 100% of those He calls.
He then glorifies 100% of those He justifies.

God finishes what He started.
He is faithful like that.

“He also will bring it to pass.”

Psalms 37:5-6 “Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday.”

1 Corinthians 1:4-9 “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

This is why we also love the 23rd Psalm.

Psalms 23 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

And of course we love that Psalm on a variety of levels,
But one of those reasons is because of where it ends.
“I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

BUT HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED WHY?

It is not because of what you do.
In fact that Psalm only records you doing two things.

• One is dwelling in God’s house.
• The other is dying. “walk through the valley of the shadow of death”

Those are the only things that Psalm says that you will do.

God does the rest.
• “He makes me like down”
• “He leads me”
• “He restores my soul”
• “He guides me in the paths of righteousness”
• He is with me
• He comforts me
• He prepares a table before me
• He anoints me
• He follows me with goodness and lovingkindness

The point is that God does it all.
And this is the hope and assurance
We take into the process of sanctification.

DO WE STILL STRIVE?
Absolutely we want it to.

BUT WE ALSO REJOICE, KNOWING THAT GOD WILL MAKE IT CERTAIN.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”