Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘salvation’

A time of renewal for God’s people: Hezekiah’s reforms

Posted in 2 Chronicles 29, 2 Chronicles 30, 2 Chronicles 31, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 24, 2009|

In the past year or so, we have looked at several of the stories of the kings of Judah that come from 2 Chronicles: King Asa, King Jehoshaphat, King Joash, King Uzziah and now today we begin to look at King Hezekiah. Specifically the reforms he enacted in 2 Chronicles chapters 29-31 to renew and restore God’s people.

Some basics

  • Hezekiah began to reign when he was 25 and reigned for 29 years – 29:1
  • He “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.” – 29:2

Indeed, in Chronicles he is presented as the most righteous king since David and Solomon. And he is also given the most attention since David and Solomon, 117 verses in all.

Background

The northern kingdom of Israel had just been destroyed and taken off into captivity by the Assyrians in 722 BC. And Judah itself was in a precarious position.

King Ahaz (Hezekiah’s father) was horribly unfaithful:

  • He practiced all manner of idolatry, including child sacrifice, and he shut the temple down
  • The results were multiple military defeats and deportations of the population. They were heading down the path of the northern kingdom.

But then comes . . .

A Time of Renewal

This begins in the heart of Hezekiah:

“For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. Therefore the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror, of astonishment, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us.” – 2 Chronicles 29:6-10

How different he is than his father!

First of all 1. He restored the temple – During his first year, in the first month of the year, he acted. “He opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them” – 29:3. (The first month seems to refer to the first month of the calendar – see 30:2-3, but this may have also been the first month of his reign)

– He then charged the priests and Levites to purify themselves – 29:5-15

– And they then proceeded to purify the temple – 29:16-19. It had been ‘trashed.’ So, they carried out the “filth” it says, and they put it in the Kidron valley, the city garbage dump.

– After 16 days the temple was rededicated – 29:20-30

  • they gave offerings to atone for sin to seek forgiveness for Judah and even all Israel
  • and they worshiped with offerings, music, singing and bowing down.

The response of the people was overwhelming – 29:31-35. They brought so many sacrifices that there weren’t enough priests consecrated to handle them, so the Levites had to help the priests.

The result of this reform is articulated in vs. 35–36 – “Thus the service of the house of the Lord was restored . . . And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced” at what God had done and that it had happened so quickly.

But Hezekiah didn’t stop here, 2. He restored the celebration of Passover

This was certainly appropriate – As 30:9 makes clear. With the dominance of the Assyrian empire, the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered, and many in Judah had been taken away. Passover, you remember, celebrates God as their deliverer from the empire of Egypt. This was an expression of hope and trust in God against all empires that would destroy them.

But there was a problem. Since they didn’t finish cleansing the Temple in time during the first month, which is when Passover is supposed to be celebrated (they were two days too late), they had to celebrate it in the second month – 30:2-4.  (Perhaps they were drawing on some of the provisions for individuals from Numbers 9 about celebrating Passover the next month if you were ritually unclean or not able to assemble.)

– Hezekiah sent out a letter inviting all Israel to come – 30:1; 5-10. Not just Judah, but even those who were left of the northern kingdom of Israel. He was trying to reunite all Israel again. His letter was a powerful call to repentance and renewal.

– “A very great assembly” came. Even though many in the north had scorned the invitation, some did come, and all Judah turned out – 30:11-13

– They put away the idol altars in the city of Jerusalem – 30:14, throwing them into the garbage dump of Kidron to prepare the city.

– And then they celebrated the Passover and the associated feast of unleavened bread – 30:15-16

Then there was another problem, however, many ate the Passover “otherwise than prescribed” – 30:18. That is, they were not ritually clean, especially those from the north. This was an offense that could bring serious judgment (Leviticus 15:31).

But Hezekiah prayed and the Lord answered, “’May the good Lord pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.’ And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people” – 30:18-19. God looked at their intention, even if it didn’t meet the letter of the law, and had mercy.

Again, the response of the people was overwhelming. After the initial seven day feast, they decided to celebrate another seven days – 30:23

The result of all this was . . .

  • Great joy – 30:25-26. For it says “Since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.” Both northern Israel and the people of Judah together worshipping God in the temple.
  • God heard their prayers and blessed them – 30:27
  • As they left the city, the people cleansed the countryside of idol altars – 31:1

Finally, 3. He restored the priestly, Levitical system

– He reorganized them – 31:2

– He himself gave to support the temple – 31:3, providing regular burnt offerings

– He called the people to support the priests and Levites. As 31:4 notes, that they might be free to “give themselves to the Law of the Lord.” He called them to fulfill what Moses commanded concerning material support for the temple workers.

This part of the story may seem anti-climactic to us or mundane talking about priests and finances. But we have to understand that this was to sustain the reforms that had begun.

The priests and Levites could only continue to lead the people in faithfulness if they were supported. This was necessary to maintain the renewal that Hezekiah had begun.

And again, the response of the people was overwhelming. 2 Chronicles 31:5 says, “the people of Israel gave in abundance . . . they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything.”  Notice the emphasis on the word “heaps.”

  • “heaps” – v. 6
  • “heaps” – v. 7
  • “heaps” – v. 8
  • “heaps” – v. 9

The priests and Levites ate all they could and there was still this abundance (v. 10). They are like, ‘What should we do with all these heaps?’ And so Hezekiah ordered them to build storage chambers – v. 11.

A summary of Hezekiah’s reforms

“Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.” – 2 Chronicles 31:20-21

Some Lessons on Renewal

1.We learn how to deal with sin. Hezekiah is an excellent example here.

  • You need complete honesty. He begins right away with a brutally honest assessment of their sin. He said, they “have been unfaithful and have done what is evil in the sight of the Lord.” – 29:6. This is why God’s anger againt them in judgment.
  • You need actions of repentance to make things right.

He was urgent in his actions of repentance: He started right away when he came to power and he observed Passover even though the timing was off. Within seven months it was all done. The temple restoration in the first month; the Passover restoration in the second month; and the gathering of support for the priests and Levites in the third through seventh months.

He was diligent in his actions of repentance: He did not leave it for others to do. He initiated and oversaw each step as the text makes clear at every point.

And he was thorough in his actions of repentance: He dealt with the temple itself, the Passover celebration, and the priestly system to sustain this. He moved from the temple to the city to the countryside even into northern Israel. From the inside, out.

In the same way, when we have sin in our life:

  • We need complete honesty. This is the biggest obstacle to Christian renewal. We are not honest and don’t take responsibility for our wrong actions.
  • We also need actions of repentance. And these actions need to be urgent, diligent and thorough – from the inside out covering every part of us from inner attitudes to outward behaviors.

We need all this in order to be right with God and to receive his blessing.

2. We also learn what renewal looks like. Hezekiah provides the pattern:

  • We get rid of the “filth,” and recommit to God. They got the filth out of the Temple, the city and the countryside and renewed their covenant. So, also, we need to get rid of the filth in our lives and begin again to do God’s will. When you see this happening then you know that renewal is happening.
  • We experience a renewed relationship with God. They found forgiveness from God and worshipped God in the Temple and had joy. So also, we need to find forgiveness, to be in relationship with God through prayer and worship, and to experience joy. When you see this happening then you know that renewal is happening.
  • We reach out to others. They invited the northern tribes to turn back to God. And when we are renewed, we will take a concern for others and their relationship with God. When you see this happening then you know that renewal is happening.
  • We give to God’s cause. Just as they gave many sacrifices and gave an abundance for the priests and Levites that left great heaps, So we give to the work of the kingdom. Renewal, if it is real, will affect our purses and our wallets. When you see this happening then you know that renewal is happening.

3. We learn that God is the source of renewal

First of all, it comes from God’s mercy. God wants to renew us; God is willing to forgive us when we turn and repent.

As Hezekiah said in his letter of invitation to the Passover, “For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.” – 30:9. And as an example o this, the Lord was merciful on those who were unclean at Passover, but had a right heart – 30:18-19.

Second, renewal comes from God acting. Hezekiah initiated each aspect of the renewal: the temple, the Passover, and the Levitical system. But in each instance they all had to acknowledge that it was God at work:

  • The temple: With regard to the generous sacrifices of the people, “Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people” – 29:36 (NIV).
  • The Passover: “The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord.” – 30:12.
  • The temple support: “When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and his people Israel.” – 31:8.

God was the one doing all this, working in people’s hearts.

May God, in his mercy, so act among us, in our individual lives and in our church community, to bring us renewal and blessing. William

Read Full Post »

How to be ready for the great gathering

Posted in Luke 17, Matthew 25, Matthew 7, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 5, 2009|

Well today is Palm Sunday, the day we remember when Jesus presented himself to Jerusalem as king. 

We are looking today at “How to be ready for the great gathering” that is, the resurrection of the righteous. I think that this is a timely topic for Palm Sunday. Consider this: 

  • At Jesus’ first coming, he presented himself as king, but very few were ready
  • At Jesus’ second coming, when he appears in glory as king, will we be any more ready?

Review

We saw last week why we need to be ready for when Jesus returns and sends out his angels to gather those who claim him as Lord. We need to be ready because the unfaithful will be separated out from the faithful.

We saw how Jesus talks about this a lot. Here are just two examples:

  • Matthew 25 – parable of the bridesmaids: five make it in, five don’t
  • Matthew 25 – parable of the talents: two make it in, one doesn’t 

So there is a sorting process, and some who are gathered, or who seek to be gathered, will not make it into the eternal kingdom. While those who are found faithful will be gathered to Jesus, will be resurrected, and will receive eternal rewards.

Now we know that . . .

The foundation of our salvation is the gift of grace in Jesus 

It is based on what he did for us through his life, death and resurrection. To receive this gift, we must:

  1. Acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah, whom God has sent to be the Savior of the world.
  2. Turn from our old life of sin and wrongdoing, and commit to live a new life just as Jesus has taught.
  3. Ask for and receive the new life that comes through Jesus. This includes the forgiveness of our sins and also new life by the Spirit; new birth.

Without this you don’t get anywhere! This is the foundation. And this is all assumed in what our Scriptures talk about today, for Jesus is speaking to his disciples – Christians. 

The question that is focused on in our scriptures today is: Have we been faithful with the grace we have received?

It’s one thing to receive the mercy of God’s salvation. It’s another to continue on in that mercy until the end; to be faithful. It is as Jesus said, in the midst of the trials and testings of this life, “The one who endures to the end will be saved” – Mark 13:13

And on that day of sorting we want to be found among those who are faithful! So here are . . .

Three marks of faithfulness 

. . . that Jesus speaks of, that show us how to be alert and ready for his coming.

#1. Be Dead To Your Earthly Life. This comes from Luke 17:28-35 –

“Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.”

Jesus teaches us here that the great gathering of the resurrection will be like when the angels gathered Lot and his family out of Sodom. Jesus said, “Just as in the days of Lot (v. 28) . . . so it will be when the Son of man is revealed” (v.  30). So lets look at this comparison:

The Gathering from Sodom:

  1. Angels were sent to gather Lot and his family
  2. Lot’s wife longingly looked back to her home in Sodom
  3. She was attached to her life in Sodom  and was judged. She was sorted out of the faithful remnant.

The End Time Gathering:

  1. Angels will be sent to gather us (as we saw last week)
  2. We should not tarry or turn back. This is what Jesus is talking about in v. 31. In that day don’t seek to grab your possessions, or if you are in the field don’t turn back toward your home.
  3. So this raises the question for us – Are we attached to our earthly life?

As he says in v. 33, in the context of his second coming, “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.” This is a warning. Don’t be attached to your earthly life! That is, to your family, possessions, status and earthly plans.  

If you cling to your earthly life on the day of gathering, you will be sorted out, just like Lot’s wife. That’s why Jesus said, in v. 32 – “Remember Lot’s wife.” That’s the lesson here. She sought to preserve her life and so she lost her life. Don’t be like her.

We have to be able to let it all go, to lose it all in a moment – unsaved loved ones, our possessions, our projects and our earthly dreams. 

And the way to prepare for this is to choose now to die to your earthly life. In the words of Jesus “to lose your life.” Already now put God first above all else on this earth. Then you will be ready and not hesitant on the great day of gathering when the angels come for you. 

#2. Do the will of God, just as Jesus teaches. By far, Jesus talks about this the most when he speaks of being ready for the great gathering. 

We will focus in on one example: Matthew 7:21-23 –

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” 

  • Notice that they confessed Jesus as Lord. They looked to him as the Messiah.
  • They did works by the Spirit of God – prophesying, casting out demons and performing miracles 
  • And they ministered in the name of Jesus

These are disciples that thought all was OK in their lives. Indeed they thought that they were outstanding followers of Jesus, waiting for their commendation. But they don’t make it in!

Why? They did not obey the will of God. Jesus has just taught about this in the Sermon on the Mount, right before this passage – much of it focused on what it means to love our neighbor. They didn’t practice this.

As Jesus says in v. 21 it is “the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” who “will enter the kingdom of heaven” on that final day of sorting.

But these people knowingly allowed sin to remain in their lives. They chose not to deal with it. This is why Jesus said, “depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” They are sorted out due to continued unrighteousness in their lives.

What do we learn about being ready for the great gathering? Obey God in every part of your life. Put into practice all that Jesus has taught and modeled for us. Hold nothing back; no part of your life. 

And when you fail, repent and find forgiveness and move forward again. Endure in your obedience until the end.

#3. Do your work for the Kingdom. That is, whatever God has called you to do, whatever God has gifted you to do, make sure you do it.

Jesus speaks of this in several passages, but we will focus on the familiar Matthew 25:14-30, the parable of the talents. Here’s a summary:

  • Jesus, the master is going away 
  • And so he gives to his servants specific tasks to do according to their abilities, while he is gone
  • Two worked hard at their tasks and were blessed when the master returned
  • One didn’t work. He was lazy and did nothing and was judged. Jesus says about him, “Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” – Matthew 25:30.

It will work the same way for us on that final day when Jesus returns. If you do nothing to work for the kingdom, you will be sorted out as well.

What do we learn about being ready for the great gathering? Serve Jesus with your life, your gifts, your time, your resources. Find out what Jesus wants you to do, and then get busy! Work hard to advance the kingdom.

A final note

Now, I know it can be a somber thing to think about this business of being sorted, and some being sorted out. But we are given this teaching (and there is a lot of it) so that we can examine our lives and make the changes we need to make in order to be ready. So that we can indeed be found faithful. 

But, having said that, lets end on a more joyful note. For if you:

  1. Die to your earthly lives so that you are ready to go
  2. Do the will of God and 
  3. Work hard for the kingdom – you will be blessed! 

You will hear these words from Jesus, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We will have Jesus’ seal of approval before all of creation.

He will say, “You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.” We will be rewarded for our faithfulness; for all of our troubles and sacrifices for him. It will all be more than worth it.

And he will say, “Enter into the joy of your master.” We will have joy with Jesus for eternity in the kingdom of God. (Matthew 25:21)

William Higgins

Read Full Post »

Why we need to be ready for the great gathering

Posted in Mark 13, Matthew 13, Matthew 24, Matthew 25, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 29, 2009|

We’re continuing on in our series on the second coming today. Last time, two weeks ago, we went through the second half of the Olivet discourse. We looked at what I called “Jesus’ Roadmap to the End” – with its three major points:

1) The destruction of Herod’s Temple and the events associated with this, which happened within a generation of Jesus’ words, just as he said they would.

2) The times of the Gentiles – a time when God is working with the nations of the world for both salvation and judgment, as people respond to the gospel. This is the time we live in, and we don’t know how long it will continue.

3) The return of Jesus and the resurrection of the righteous.

We also saw how once the Temple was destroyed, Jesus could come at any time. Nothing else has to take place in the scheme of things.

And finally we saw how no one knows the time, not even Jesus. The Father will make the call for when the times of the Gentiles are over and Jesus will return.

Today we begin to focus on what Jesus talks about the most with regard to his coming – that We must be ready! Next week we will look at “How to be ready for the great gathering.” In other words, how to be ready for Jesus’ return and the resurrection of the righteous. Today its “Why we need to be ready for the great gathering.”  We begin by looking in more detail at . . .

The resurrection of the righteous

1. It will happen after Jesus returns and the nations experience great tribulation. Matthew 24:30 talks about the second coming and this time of suffering when “all the tribes of the earth will mourn.” And then Matthew 24:31 (the next verse) talks about the resurrection of the righteous. There is a sequence here.

2. The resurrection is called a “gathering” (as in our title today). Mark 13:27 tells us that after Jesus returns, “he will . . . gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.” 

This gathering language is used in other places:

  • In Matthew 13:30 (the parable of the weeds) speaking of the resurrection, Jesus says, “. . . at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ‘Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn’” – a reference to resurrection.
  • In 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Paul says, “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him . . .” – again, speaking of the resurrection of the righteous.

Also, the word “taken” is used for the resurrection. Jesus said in Luke 17:34, “one will be taken, and another left.” The one taken is resurrected. The phrase “caught up” is also used in –  I Thessalonians 4:17.

Whatever the language, the point is that we will be brought to Jesus, from all the ends of the earth and gathered around him.

3. Angels will be involved in this gathering. They are not always mentioned, but they are involved.

Matthew 24:31 tells us that Jesus “will send out his angels . . . and they will gather his elect . . ..” And as Jesus said in Matthew 13:39 (the parable of the weeds) speaking of the resurrection, “the reapers are angels” who will gather us to himself.

4. The resurrection will be signaled by a trumpet blast.

  • Matthew 24:31 speaks of “a loud trumpet call.”
  • I Corinthians 15:52 says that at this time “the last trumpet . . . will sound.”
  • In 1 Thessalonians  4:16 the resurrection is accompanied by “the sound of the trumpet of God.”  

5. The faithful who die before Jesus’ return will be first. At death they go to be with the Lord (as Paul talks about in several places) and they will come with Jesus as he returns in the clouds.

  • They will receive their resurrection bodies first. Their souls and their new bodies will be joined.
  • And then the faithful who are alive will be resurrected. Our current lowly bodies will be made imperishable.   

Paul teaches on this in I Thessalonians 4:13-17 and I Corinthians 15:52.

Finally, and the point we are heading to – 6. Those who are gathered will be sorted. For the dead in Christ, this happened at death. But for those who are alive when Jesus returns – as the angels gather us – there will be a process of separating those who are faithful and those who are not.

The angels will gather in all who profess Jesus as Lord; who look to him as the Messiah (Matthew 7:21; 25:11; Luke 13:25). But not everyone who is gathered, or seeks to be gathered will make it into the eternal Kingdom.

This will be when, in Jesus’ words, “those who are considered worthy to attain . . . to the resurrection from the dead” (Luke 20:35) will be blessed. They will be given resurrection bodies and will receive the rewards of the faithful. And as we will see, those who are not worthy will be cast away from Jesus.

This is why we need to be ready!

This is the moment of our greatest hope, for resurrection life and blessed reward. But it is also the moment of our greatest testing. Have we been faithful to our Lord and King? Or have we squandered his grace and mercy? And the truth is that not all will make it in.

Jesus speaks of this on a number of occasions. Here are some of them:

Matthew 7:21-23. This is Jesus speaking about the final day.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

As Jesus teaches here rather straightforwardly, “many” who confess him as Lord and even do works of the Spirit will not make it in. Rather, Jesus says to them, “’I never knew you; depart from me” – v. 23.  They are sorted out.

The parable of the bridesmaids: Matthew 25:1-13. In this parable about the second coming, there are ten bridesmaids waiting for the groom, Jesus. As we know, five made it because they were ready, and five did not make it in because they were not ready.

When these last five came back later to try to get into the wedding banquet they said, “’Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he (Jesus) answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’” – vs. 11-12.

The parable of the talents: Matthew 25:14-30. This is a familiar story. The master gave his three servants tasks to do while he was gone.

When the master returned, the second coming, two servants had worked hard and they entered in. But one did not work, and he was excluded.

Jesus said about this last one, “Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” – v. 30.

The parable of the weeds: Matthew 13:24-30; 37-43. We have already looked at this in part. At the end of the age, as v. 41 says, “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,” that is, all the weeds. And then the wheat, the faithful ones, will be gathered. 

Those who are a part of Jesus’ kingdom, who are not faithful are separated from those who are faithful.

Jesus said about the weeds, “Throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” v. 42.

The parable of the fishnet: Matthew 13:47-50. The net of the gospel has collected fish of every kind. Some Christians who are faithful, and some who have responded to the gospel, but are not faithful.

As v. 49 says, “The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous.” It concludes by saying of the former, “throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” – v. 50.

As we see in all these examples (and there are more) there is a sorting process. Some who are gathered, or seek to be gathered, will not make it into the kingdom. This is why . . .

Jesus calls us to be ready

He calls us to be alert. At the end of the Olivet discourse he says, “Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.” – Mark 13:33. He also says, “And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” – Mark 13:37. We will look at how to be ready and alert next week.
 
William Higgins

Read Full Post »

What are you looking forward to?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on March 1, 2009|

 Today we begin a series of teaching on Jesus’ second coming.

Now there are lots of debates about exactly how this will all unfold. For instance, what happens just before or after Jesus returns. And these discussions will continue on and people of good faith will disagree. That’s not our focus today.

Our focus is: What we have to look forward to when Jesus returns.

Scripture tells us that in our lives in this world we will have trials and tribulations. It will not always be easy.
We will suffer. We will experience disappointment, discouragement, even despair at times.

Yet as Christians we know and believe that there is hope for our future. Lets look at this . . .

1. Jesus will return

As bad as the world is around us; as much as it is broken and full of evil and seemingly beyond hope of repair – certainly with regard to what God’s will is for it – we know that there is one who is coming who will fix it.

Jesus said about himself, “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father . . .” – Matthew 16:27. He also said, “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” – Mark 13:26.

 Paul said it this way, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:16.

Jesus has not left us to ourselves. He will come. And he will come through on his promises to us.
 Here are several notes about his coming:

  • It will be a literal, bodily return – Acts 1:11. The angels said to the disciples, ‘Just as you saw him ascend into heaven (with his resurrection body), so will he return in the same way.’
  • Everyone will see him return – as Jesus said in Luke 17:24, “For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.” He is countering here the idea that his coming will be a spiritual or secret return that only a few will know about (Luke 17:23; also Matthew 24:23-26). He is saying there will be nothing hidden about it. No one will be able to miss it.
  • It will be glorious – Mark 13:26 & Matthew 16:27. As we saw from these verses, he will come “with great power and glory” and “with his angels in the glory of his Father . . ..” It will not be like the humble infant born in a manger, who lived in poverty and was unjustly killed. He will come with the splendor and majesty of the king that he is.

2. Jesus will rule over the earth

Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you . . . the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne” – Matthew 19:28. This throne speaks to his rule as King over the earth.

It is at this time that our prayer – “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” will be truly and completely fulfilled.

Now a part of his rule has to do with judging. Jesus said, “the Son of Man is going to come . . . and then he will repay each person according to what he or she has done.” – Matthew 16:27.

This is when what Jesus said in Luke 14:11 will come true, “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

  • Those who are on top now because of evildoing and oppression will be put down.
  • Those who are on the bottom now because of righteousness and commitment to Jesus will be raised up and blessed.

King Jesus will right all wrongs and bring true justice and peace to the world.

3. We will be resurrected

In Mark 13:27 Jesus says about himself, “And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.” The angels will “gather” us up, a common (harvesting) metaphor for the resurrection in the teaching of Jesus.

As Paul teaches in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:

  • Christians who have already died will be raised first, and then
  • Christians who are still alive at Jesus’ return will be given new resurrection bodies

Resurrection means that our earthly bodies will be transformed. Paul says that Jesus will “transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”- Philippians 3:21.

Our resurrection bodies will be like Jesus’ supernatural body and like the bodies that angels have. We will be able to appear and disappear. We can eat food, but we don’t have to.

Resurrection also, of course, means that we will be immortal. Paul said, “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.” – 1 Corinthians 15:52-53.

We will experience the full reality of Jesus’ defeat of death. Our new bodies will live forever, without suffering. What a blessed change this will be!

4. There will be a huge celebration

This is called the Messianic banquet; an end time celebration for the faithful, with Jesus.

Jesus said of this, “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 8:11. He also talked about his disciples eating and drinking, “at my table in my kingdom” – Luke 22:30.

This is what he said at the last supper, “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” – Matthew 26:29. Think of it. He is waiting in heaven to celebrate with us!

This is also pictured as a wedding banquet: For instance in the parable that Jesus tells in Matthew 22:1-14 and also in Revelation 19:9 which says, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb.” It’s going to be an amazing party!

5. We who have been faithful will be rewarded

We will be “blessed.” This is the message of the beatitudes in Luke 6 & Matthew 5. As the word indicates, we will be happy, blissful and fully and truly contented. And with good reason!

  • The eternal kingdom will be ours. Matthew 5:3 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
  • We will see God. Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” We will be close to God and be able to be in God’s presence.
  • We will have joy with Jesus. Matthew 25:21 says, “Well done, good and faithful servant. . . . Enter into the joy of your master.”
  • We will inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5 says, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” [Now, although it is often thought that we will spend eternity in heaven, the reality is that God made us for this earth and it is our destiny to be here. It would be better to say that when Jesus returns – heaven will come down to earth. This is also pictured in another way in Revelation 21. We do not go up to be in the new Jerusalem. It comes down out of heaven, and it says that now God dwells with us, that is, on earth.]

So, all of these rewards will be ours. God will give us the earth, we will have joy with Jesus, we will see God, and possess the kingdom forever. We will indeed be blessed!

6. We who have been faithful will rule with Jesus over the earth

As we see in the parable of Luke 19:17 & 19, those who serve Jesus while he is gone with their various assignments, will receive various levels of rule, based on their service.

Paul says it plainly – “If we endure, we will also reign with him” – 2 Timothy 2:12.

In 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 he gets more specific about this rule. He asks the Corinthians – “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” That is, the people that have lived on the earth. And also he asks, “Do you not know that we are to judge angels?” These are beings that are beyond our understanding and yet we will be involved in judging them.

7. All things will be made new

What Jesus will do will extend even to the entirety of the cosmos – the heavens and the earth.

Jesus talks about “the new world,” when he comes in Matthew 19:28. Literally, it means the “regeneration.” Another translation renders it “the renewal of all things.”

Romans 8:21 talks about this and says, “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” In other words, it will be made new and glorious just like our bodies will be new and glorious.

John saw this prophetically in Revelation 21:1 – “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away . . ..”

So the message today is, whatever your circumstances are, and this earthly life can be both difficult and cruel, as Christians we have something to look forward to.

To summarize Paul from I Corinthians 2:9 – what God has prepared for us who love him is:

  • beyond what any eye has seen
  • it is beyond what any ear has heard
  • it is beyond what the human heart can even imagine

That is what we have to look forward to. This is our hope.

And it is this that keeps our current struggles in perspective as we remember the bigger picture.  And this is what gives us the strength to move forward, faithfully following Jesus in the midst of our difficulties.

William Higgins

Read Full Post »

Seeking Out The Lost

Posted in Luke 15, tagged , , , , , on February 22, 2009|

We are planning a special outreach event on March 22nd – Bring a Friend Sunday. That is, a friend who is not yet a Christian, or a Christian who doesn’t already have a home church.

The idea is to bring in some visitors and make some connections. We want to reach out.

So I want to share some teaching this morning to help us get focused on outreach and our need to be thinking, praying and acting to “Seek out the Lost.” This comes from Jesus’ example and his teaching.

1. Jesus’ purpose in coming was to seek out the lost

 This is what Jesus says about himself in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Jesus is teaching us that God sent him for this very reason. This was Jesus’ mission; the focus of his existence; why he came to earth.

The purpose of Jesus was “to seek out and save the lost.”

2. Jesus was not satisfied that some were lost

Remember the parable of lost sheep? Jesus said in Luke 15:4-5 – “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?”

And then remember the parable of the lost coin? Jesus said in Luke 15:8 – “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?”

These parables teach us, among other things, that

  • Jesus was not satisfied with the 99 sheep who were fine
  • Jesus was not content with the 9 coins already accounted for 

-all of us who come here regularly and seek to follow Jesus.

He was not satisfied because one was still missing.

3. Jesus worked hard to seek the lost

To use the language of the parable of the lost sheep, he had to “go after” the lost one – Luke 15:5.

He didn’t stand next to the 99 and yell out to the lost one, “come on over here!” He didn’t say, “that sheep knows where we are, let him come and join us if he wants to.”

As the parable pictures, he had to do something. He had to work. He left the 99. He went after the one, walking and looking, seeking it out.

To use the language of the parable of the lost coin, he had to “seek diligently” to find that which was lost –  Luke 15:8.

He didn’t figure that one day the coin would simply show up. That someone would stumble across it.

As the parable pictures, he did something. He had to work. He lit a lamp, he swept the house and he searched carefully.

Searching for what is lost requires work. It can be tiresome, inconvenient and frustrating, but Jesus did it nevertheless.

Jesus sought the lost even though it was hard work.

4. Jesus sought the lost even though many were undesirable or unlike him 

  • The sheep were no doubt dirty, muddy, bleeding or sick.
  • The coin was no doubt dusty, dirty and covered with cobwebs.

Jesus sought out tax collectors, sinners and prostitutes.

  • These were people that did things that were wrong and offensive.
  • These were people that were different from him; from a different background and a different social setting.

Yet he sought them and welcomed them – Luke 15:2.

Even though the lost were often undesirable and unlike him, Jesus sought them out anyway.

5. Jesus sought the lost even though others didn’t approve

Luke 15:2 says, “And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’” And not only that, since Jesus was with sinners, they began to call him a glutton and a drunkard – Luke 7:34. It ruined his reputation.

But Jesus was not deterred, for though

  • He made some people mad
  • He made the angels in heaven rejoice

As Jesus said in Luke 15:10, “there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Jesus sought the lost even though others did not approve.

6. Jesus sought the lost even though many rejected him

Mark 6:1-6 tells the story of how his hometown rejected him and they asked him, “Who do you think you are?”

Matthew 8:28-34 tells the story of how Jesus healed a demon possessed man, and how afterwards the people of the town asked Jesus to leave. “Can you leave us alone!”

The truth is most people ended up rejecting Jesus, but he sought out the lost anyway.

7. Jesus sought the lost because he loved them

Matthew 9:36 says, “When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus felt for them and their situation; he had compassion.

And so in Matthew 10:6 (right after this) he sends his disciples to “go . . . to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” His love moved him to send out his disciples to help him find the lost.

Jesus sought the lost because he loved them.

Sisters and brothers, as we see in this last verse . . .

We are to be like our Lord and seek out the lost as well

1. Like Jesus our purpose is to seek out the lost. Jesus sends us out to finish what he came to do. This is our mission statement; the very focus of our existence – to seek out the lost.

2. Like Jesus we cannot be satisfied that some are lost. We can’t be satisfied with the 99 sheep that are found, or with the 9 coins already in the purse. With those who already have found Jesus.

  • We cannot be satisfied because one is missing
  • We cannot be satisfied until what is lost is found

3. Like Jesus we are to work hard to seek out the lost. We have to go out. They will not come to us. They are, after all, lost. Which by definition means they don’t know their way back! They can’t find their way to us.

Searching can be tiresome, inconvenient and frustrating. But nevertheless, we are to do the work that is necessary to seek out the lost.

4. Like Jesus we are to seek the lost, even though many are undesirable or unlike us. They are dirty, as it were, from their very lostness (which, by the way, we were as well in our lostness). They come from different walks of life than we are familiar with.

Yet we are still to seek them out and welcome them.

5. Like Jesus we are to seek the lost even if some do not approve or grumble that we do so, or slander our reputation.

We do this because we know that the very angels of God rejoice when the lost are found.

6. Like Jesus we are to seek the lost, even if it brings us rejection. So that people say to us, “Who do you think you are?” Or, they tell us, “Go away!”

Most people will not respond to us, but we seek out the lost anyway.

7. Finally, like Jesus we are to seek the lost because we love them. They are harassed and helpless and need a Shepherd. And so we must act. And in acting we reveal our love for them.

We show them the path to Jesus and to new life and new hope.
______________

Now I know that many of us are intimidated by this, and so we are reluctant to reach out on our own.

And that’s why we are providing you with, what is a fairly simple way to do this – to invite a friend to church for a special service and a meal.

We want you to begin this week by thinking and praying about who you might ask. And then when you have the person or persons in mind, to begin to pray for them.

This is where you can start, and then next week, I’ll have some more information for you.

William Higgins

Read Full Post »

God’s People

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on January 25, 2009|

Today the Elders and I are introducing to you a proposed  Cedar Street Baptism and Membership Covenant for our congregation. What this is really about is understanding and remembering who we are, what we are about, and what binds us together as God’s people.

Since we’re introducing this, I thought I would share with you this morning on the theme of “God’s People” and highlight portions of the Covenant in the process.

First of all . . .

God calls us to be a part of his people

God’s purpose has always been to form a community, not just save individuals; to have a community of the redeemed.

Our culture is so individualistic that we sometimes reduce our faith down simply to a personal relationship with God. When, in fact, it is that, as well as being a part of God’s new people; being in God’s covenant community.

We know this was true in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 7:6 Moses said to Israel, “The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”
In Isaiah 43:20-21 the Lord speaks of “my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.”

That this is still true is evident in 1 Peter 2:9 which refers back to these two verses (and others) and applies them to Christians. It says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Notice the same themes – a chosen people; a people of his own or treasured possession.

God seeks for a people who will follow after him; a community that is his own; that will proclaim his praise to the world.

And so sisters and brothers, those who are God’s are to be a part of God’s people.

  • This is certainly a part of what baptism is about. When we are baptized, we become of our own mature choice, a part of God’s people. As Acts 2:41 says, those who were baptized were added to the church body in Jerusalem.
  • And we are to continue to be a part of God’s people, active, engaged, fully committed and participating throughout our lives. As Hebrews 10:25 says, we are not to neglect “to meet together, as is the habit of some.”

We are to be a part of God’s people. This brings us to the question . . .

What does it mean to be a part of God’s people?

1) It means that we confess our faith in Jesus. Matthew 16:15-18 records this conversation. Jesus said to his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! . . .. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church . . ..”

Jesus is saying – it is on the foundation of this apostolic confession of him as Savior that God’s people is built.

And so to be a part of God’s people means that: We confess our faith in Jesus as our Savior.

[The covenant we are proposing calls us to this in the first section on confession under questions 1, 3, and 6.]

A second aspect of what it means to be a part of God’s people is that . . .

2) We confess our experience of salvation. In Acts 2:38 Peter said to the crowd on the day of Pentecost, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Here on this day, when the church was fully formed by the coming of the Spirit, what does Peter tell the crowd to do, which leads to their being a part of God’s people? He points to several spiritual experiences:

  • He speaks of repentance; a change of heart; sorrow for our wrong deeds, which comes from God working in us.
  • He speaks of the forgiveness of our sins; of experiencing God’s mercy and release from our sins, our guilt and our shame.
  • He speaks of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit; of having God’s Spirit come into our heart and give us new life and power.

So to be a part of God’s people means that: We confess that we have experienced God’s salvation in our lives.

[Again, the covenant, in section one, calls us to confess this in questions 2, 4 and 5. And just as Peter also notes in Acts 2 we acknowledge that we are willing to be baptized as a testimony to this inward spiritual transformation in question 7.]

Finally, with regard to what it means to be a part of God’s people, the fruit of our faith in Jesus and the salvation he gives us is found in new kind of life . . .

3) We commit to love God and others from now on. Matthew 22:36-40 recounts a discussion of what God wants from us as his people. Someone asked Jesus, “’Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’”

All that God wants; God’s will for his people is summed up in these two commands to love.

So to be a part of God’s people means that: We commit to love God and others.

Now, love of God and others is not just a warm fuzzy feeling, an emotion, or an inner intention:

  • To love God means to obey God – I John 5:3. This verse says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.”
  • To love others is to act in practical ways to help them, as Jesus teaches in Luke 10:30-37 in the parable of the good Samaritan.

[The covenant we are proposing calls us to this kind of love of God and others in the second section on commitments. There are two sections on love of God and three sections on loving others.]

Alright, we have looked at how God wants us to be a part of his people, and what this means: confessing our faith in Jesus, confessing our experience of salvation and committing to love God and others. Let me end by saying that . .

It is a blessing to be a part of God’s people

Oh its true, since we are all human and weak and fail, we will experience problems. If you have been a part of any church (there is no perfect church) for long enough:

  • you will be involved in misunderstandings and conflict
  • you will see pride, hypocrisy, thoughtlessness, gossip and sometimes downright meanness
  • you will see the full range of human sin

And it will cause disappointment for sure. We don’t always live up to the ideals that are in the Scriptures and that we have attempted to spell out in the covenant.

But let me say, that God is also here among us, and in the midst of his people throughout the world. God’s Spirit is at work in our midst to bless us.

And God helps us to move beyond our fleshly human weakness, and to turn away from our self-centeredness and our pride. God does his work in us and we see the fruit:

  • when we walk with each other through hard times with encouragement and support
  • when we struggle hard to work through conflicts and seek peace with each other
  • when God uses us to minister to each others’ needs
  • when we love each other deeply from the heart and sacrifice for each other

This is God at work.

We are blessed to be a part of God’s people – to have fellowship, community, common experiences, bonds of love, commitment to each other and our shared goals, and the strengthening that all this gives – which we wouldn’t have if we just isolate off by ourselves.

God calls us to be a part and he does so for our own good.

William Higgins

Read Full Post »

Good News of a Great Joy

Posted in Luke 2, tagged , , , , on December 21, 2008|

I want us to think briefly on a theme that was interwoven throughout our program today and the Christmas story itself, and that theme is joy.

This comes from Luke 2:10-11.  The angel of the Lord came to the shepherds and said, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord.’”

We live in a world that is often not joy inducing. Just look at the headlines on any day, in any given paper and you will see stories and pictures of suffering, injustice, and death. And in our own lives we all experience our share of pain, sadness and even despair at times . And because of this – – – we often struggle with joy.

And yet the angel of the Lord comes and says, “I bring you good news of a great joy.”

(more…)

Read Full Post »

“How to Receive New Life by the Spirit”

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on August 3, 2008|

There’s good reason to talk about this because life without God is miserable. The Scriptures describe our life apart from God in bleak terms. To put it simply . . .

We are Spiritually Dead

Ephesians 2:1 says, “And you were dead in (your) trespasses and sins.” To spell this out a bit more, this means: (more…)

Read Full Post »

How to Find Forgiveness

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on June 29, 2008|

Someone once said that the Christian teaching on sin is the one Christian teaching that can be empirically verified . . . you can just look around with your own eyes and see its true. You don’t need faith to see all the wrongdoing, evil and the lack of love in this world. You just need to turn on the daily news – or just look in the mirror. And I say this last part because . . .

Sin is something we have all done

All of us have acted rebelliously against God, doing what is right in our own eyes instead of listening to our Maker. And all of us have injured others through our actions and our words – or perhaps by not doing or saying what we should have. It is just as Paul says in Romans 3:23 – “all have sinned.”

And we must recognize that sin has disastrous consequences:

Sin destroys our relationship with God. In Isaiah 59:2 the prophet tells us, “. . . your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you . . ..” We can’t have a relationship with God when we are knowingly choosing to do wrong and sinful things.

Sin also destroys us. Although at the time (right?) we think – “hey, this isn’t so bad” or “this will get me out of a difficult spot.” But we really do end up paying a price.

  • We experience guilt & shame (unless our heart).
  • We are given over to the power of sin. This is God’s judgment. God says, “I don’t want this for you, but if that’s what you want, I will let you have it . . . But its gonna take over your life.” Sin works like a drug addiction. It seems pleasing at first and then it takes over our lives.
  • We experience the misery of sin, as the “other shoe” drops and we start reaping the results of our actions.
  • We are overwhelmed by death. James 1:15 says, “Sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.” Sin destroys us.

So if this is where you find yourself today – alienated from God and suffering under the misery of sin,  whether you call yourself a Christian or not, I want to tell you . . .

How to find forgiveness

 . . . how to be set free from this downward spiral; how to be released from the power and the penalty of sin. Let’s look at this:

Step #1: Look to God – God has provided the way for us to be forgiven and there is no other way:

  • we can’t work our way out of the problem, trying to earn our own forgiveness
  • we can’t compensate for it by being really good in some other area of our life
  • we can’t pay the psychiatrist enough or go to enough therapy to get rid of the root problem of our sin
  • no pharmaceutical prescription will give us forgiveness
  • no self-help program or the latest self-help book
  • and no false religion can do it.

God has provided the way, and that way is Jesus.

Jesus, looking ahead to his death on the cross said, “This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” – Matthew 26:28. Without getting into all that he is saying here, the key for us is that his death brings us “the forgiveness of sins.”

Look to God, for Jesus is the way to find forgiveness.

Step #2: Confess your sins to God. Psalm 32:3-5 talks about how when the writer kept silent about his sins he was miserable. And then v. 5 says, “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” 

You can see the connection between confession and forgiveness. There was no release, only misery, until there was confession.

Like in the Psalm, the natural human response is to hide our sins, to find excuses, or to focus on others’ faults. We want to live in denial. But if we want to be free, we have to be completely honest with God. Look, God already knows everything you’ve done – Why try to hide it? You have to come clean with God.

As Proverbs 28:13 says, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

Now a part of confession is that you take responsibility for your sins; you own them. They are yours. It is what you have chosen; it what you have done. We don’t like it, but that’s a part of what confession means. 

David’s prayer to God in Psalm 51:3-4 is a model for us. After he had committed horrible sins he prayed, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you . . . have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.” He’s saying, I did it and the consequences are my fault.

Step #3: Express your sorrow. If we see things rightly, we come to understand that our actions – our sins – have caused God and others pain. And this should cause us to feel badly for what we have done against God and others.

  • Paul talks about “godly sorrow” in  2 Corinthians 7:8-10.
  • David spoke of his “broken and contrite heart” after his sin in Psalm 51:17.
  • James says to those who have sinned, “Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.” – James 4:9. James is saying, “Feel it!”

There is an emotional component to this that can be healing both to us and for those we have wounded through our actions as they see our sorrow.

Express your sorrow for the wrongs you have done.

Step #4: Turn from your sin. Turn away from it and commit to do God’s will from now on.

  • Proverbs 28:13 says, “he who . . . forsakes his transgressions will obtain mercy.”
  • Ezekiel 18:30-32 says, “Repent and turn from all your transgressions; otherwise iniquity will be your ruin. . . Turn then, and live.”

A part of this turning is that you commit to make things right with others – as best you can.

  • If you have sinned against others, seek peace with them, as Jesus talks about in Matthew 5:23-24.
  • If you have harmed them in a way that can be restored, make amends to them, just as Zacchaeus said in Luke 19:8, “if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” He tried to make it right.

Step #5: Ask God to forgive your sins. Ask for God’s mercy. Just as the tax collector in the story of Luke 18:13 – prayed, pray “God be merciful to me, a sinner!”

The prayer of David in Psalm 51:1-2 is a good pattern for us – “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;  according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!”

Forgiveness is a gift of God to us and you need to ask for it. Just as Jesus says in Matthew 7:7 about all of God’s good gifts to us – “Ask, and it will be given to you.” 

Step #6: Claim God’s promise by faith. We know that God always keeps his promises, so we can claim his promise to forgive us and know that God will do just as he says he will do.

Here is a promise to hold on to – “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” – I John 1:9.

Claim this and stand on it! God is faithful and just and he will do it.

Finally let me just say that if you take these six steps . . .

You can have joy

 . . . from knowing that:

Your sins are covered – Psalm 32:1 says, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
God doesn’t count your sin against you anymore – Psalm 32:2 says, “Blessed is the person against whom the Lord counts no iniquity.”
God doesn’t remember your sin against you anymore – Jeremiah 31:34 says, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
God casts your sins away – Micah 7:19 says, “God will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
God removes your sins far away – Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”
God erases your sin – Isaiah 43:25 says, “I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake.”

All of these are just different ways of saying the same thing – our sins are gone!  Think of it – your sins will no longer separate you from God and your sins will no longer destroy you. As Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Do you want to be free of the misery of sin? Do you want to have a relationship with God? Do you want to know the joy that forgiveness and new life brings? Well, you have to act! You have to do something. God has already acted in Jesus, and he is waiting on you. Follow the six steps. Act to find forgiveness and new life. William Higgins

Read Full Post »

Are You Ready for a Visit from God?

Posted in Luke 19, Revelation 3, tagged , , , on March 16, 2008|

 In the story of the triumphal entry, on Palm Sunday, Jesus is presenting himself as a king to the capital of his people – Jerusalem. But then, in Luke’s telling of the story, Jesus pauses before he enters the city and speaks. And this is what I want us to look at today under the title “Are You Ready for a Visit from God?”

Luke 19:41-44 – “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.’”

I would like to pick up on this last phrase “the time of your visitation”  to make the point that . . .

This was a visitation from God

God was coming to Jerusalem in the coming of Jesus. Now this idea is not new. God “visiting” people is a regular theme in Scripture:

  • The exodus – when God came to see Israel’s suffering in Egypt and deliver them – this is called a visitation of God in Genesis 50:25.
  • The return from exile in Babylon is a visitation of God. Jeremiah 29:10 says, “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.” And God brought them back to Judah.
  • The second coming – when Jesus will return and all humanity will stand before him is called “the day of visitation” in 1 Peter 2:12.

God doesn’t just visit in these big kinds of events. God also visits people throughout the course of history, even just individuals:

  • Ruth 1:6 says, Ruth heard that  “the Lord had visited his people and given them food” – at a time of famine. God provided for his people in a specific situation.
  • Luke 7:16 notes that the people said “God has visited his people!” when Jesus raised a young man from the dead.
  • Acts 15:14 speaks of the giving of the Spirit to Cornelius and his family as a visit from God. 

As you can see, God does various things in his visits – acts of mercy and salvation, the giving of the Spirit, miracles, and provision of needs. In other places, that we could look at, God even comes to visit judgment on people. God does various things when he comes for a visit.

In our story, on Palm Sunday, God is coming to give them “peace.” This word means wholeness and blessing; it means salvation. Jesus is coming to fulfill the promises of God to his people. But . . .

Jerusalem wasn’t ready for God’s visit

They were clueless. Jesus already knew this. He had already predicted before – “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed . . .” – Luke 9:22.  And all this in Jerusalem.

So he knew they weren’t aware of what God was doing:

  • As he says in v. 42 –  “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.”
  • And he says in v. 44  – “you did not know the time of your visitation”

They didn’t know what was going on.  As a result of this, they don’t receive Jesus, or the peace he brings. As the story goes on to tell, they oppose what God is trying to do through Jesus.

Instead of peace (because they weren’t ready and opposed Jesus) they receive God’s judgment. Luke 19:43-44 says, “For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you . . ..”

This is a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD about 40 years later. This was a horrendous event where many hundreds of thousands died and the city was destroyed. This is prophesied here by Jesus and carried out by the Roman armies.

And this causes Jesus to weep, as v. 41 says, “when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it.” He knew what was coming.

This is a sad story from history, but we shouldn’t let it stop there – thinking only of the past and of other people. Because this has to do with us. And we can learn from this. That’s because –

God still visits us today

I am sure we can each testify of times when God has visited our lives. How God has come to us in a powerful way and has blessed us. But God doesn’t just visit us as individuals. God also visits churches. And this is what I am focusing on today.

An example of this is Revelation 3:20. Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” This is a familiar passage. This is not talking about an individual being saved (despite any sermons you may have heard or tracts you have seen). This is Jesus talking to a whole congregation – the church of Laodicea. His purpose is to get them back on track again with their Christian lives and to remold their Christian community.

And this is framed in visitation language. Jesus is visiting them – coming by for supper – as it were. God visits us as congregations.

And so I ask – “Does God want to visit us at Cedar Street?” I don’t know what you believe, but I believe the answer is unequivocally – yes!

As we pray and seek the Lord, I believe that God has something for us.

  • I believe that God wants to bless us and give us more of his Spirit.
  • I believe that God want to show us more of who he is and do great things in our midst.
  • I believe God wants to bring his salvation to us and through us to others.
  • I believe that God wants to challenge us, to move us out of our ruts and comfort zones and push us forward.

But, after reading the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, we have to ask ourselves – 

Are we ready?

We are not different than the people in our story – the people of Jerusalem. That is to say, we are just as capable of blowing it as they were.

The people of Jerusalem were busy with their schedules and so are we. The people of Jerusalem were satisfied with the way things were, by and large, and don’t need Jesus coming in and changing things. And so often we are satisfied with the way things are.

So what I am saying is that we need to be alert and not just coasting in our Christian lives and in our congregational discernment.

May we not be caught unaware as God seeks to move among us, as I believe he will. May God’s visit not be hidden from our eyes so that we don’t know the time of our visitation.

In the language of Revelation 3:20 May we hear Jesus’ voice when knocks on our churches door and may we let him in.

Let us be alert and let us receive what God has for us as he moves in our midst. William Higgins

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »