Exodus 30:22-33; The Holy Anointing Oil

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20120527_exodus30_22-33.mp3

05/27 Exodus 30:22-33 The Holy Anointing Oil (40:9-15)

We are coming to the end of the instructions for the elaborate tent in which God will symbolically dwell with his people. After all the things are made, they are to be made holy or set apart for God. The people also, who will serve him as priests, are to be set apart as holy to the LORD. This is what the anointing oil is for.

Exodus 30:22 The LORD said to Moses, 23 “Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane, 24 and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. 25 And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. 26 With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, 27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy. 30 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. 31 And you shall say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. 32 It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’”

Then in chapter 40, we see God’s instructions for applying this oil.

Exodus 40:9 “Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. 10 You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy. 11 You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. 12 Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water 13 and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. 14 You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, 15 and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”

Everything in the tabernacle was to be anointed with this special oil.

Practical Uses of Oil

In our culture we don’t think of using olive oil for much outside of cooking. So it might be helpful to look first at some of the practical uses of oil in biblical times. Oil was considered a treasure (2Ki.20:13), highly valued for its many uses. Of course, oil was used for cooking (Lev.6:21), and was included with most of the sacrifices. We already saw that pure beaten olive oil served to fuel the lamps that illuminated the holy place (Ex.27:20). Oil was also applied to people and to things. Oil was applied to metal and leather objects to prevent them from rusting and keep them in good working condition (2Sam.1:21; Is.21:5). There were medicinal uses for oil. Oil was applied to people’s heads to kill lice. Oil was used to treat wounds and soften scabs (Is.6:1; Lk.10:34). Oil was applied to newborn babies (Eze.16:9). Oils were used to treat the sick (Mk.6:13; Jam.5:14). Oil was used to keep the skin soft and beautiful (Esther 2:12; Ps.104:15) Perfumed oil covered odors and made things smell good (Sol.1:3). Oil, wine and grain were evidence of God’s blessing.

Oil for Consecration

Oil was also used for consecrating, or setting something or someone apart for a specific use or duty. In this passage in Exodus, we see both the furniture and the people of the tabernacle set apart to God by the application of the sacred anointing oil. This particular formula of oil and fragrances was to be used exclusively for the tabernacle. It was not to be duplicated or used for any common thing. It was not to be put on anyone but the priests. We are told in verse 32 that it is holy, and it is to be treated as holy. This distinctive smell was to be associated exclusively with God’s presence.

Kings were also to be set apart for service by anointing with oil. We see David anointed to be king of Israel in 1 Samuel 16.

1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward…

Jesus the Anointed One

The Hebrew word for anointing is where we get the word Messiah, which means ‘the anointed one’, or ‘the one set apart to God’; it is translated in the Greek as ‘Christ’.

We see Jesus, who fulfills the role of the promised Messiah, who holds the title of the Christ, speak of his anointing in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth.

Luke 4:17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus here claims to have been set apart or anointed by God for service. But we are not told anywhere that Jesus was ever anointed with oil. Jesus was anointed with the Spirit. One chapter earlier, in Luke 3, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus at his baptism, and in chapter 4 verse 1, he is described as ‘full of the Holy Spirit’ and as ‘led by the Spirit’. In verse 14 he returns victorious from temptation ‘in the power of the Spirit’. And then he reads from Isaiah 61 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me.’ and he says ‘today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’. Jesus is the anointed one, the Christ, anointed with the Holy Spirit. When Peter preaches in Acts 10, he points out:

Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

God anointed Jesus, not with oil, but with the Holy Spirit. Notice that the triune God is at work here; the Father anoints the Son with the Holy Spirit. Jesus, the Christ, the Anointed One, perfectly fulfills the roles of anointed prophet, priest and king. As prophet, he speaks God’s words to his people. As priest, he brings God’s people into God’s presence through sacrifice. As king, he rules over God’s people with justice, righteousness and compassion. Jesus is the Anointed One, the anointed Prophet, Priest and King. He is anointed, not with fragrant oil, but anointed by his Father with the permeating presence of the Holy Spirit.

This anointing oil had several spices blended together to make a pleasing aroma. Listen to how Isaiah describes the various aspects of the Spirit’s role in the life of Jesus.

Isaiah 11:1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

What a fragrant aroma is this! Wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, the fear of the LORD. Isaiah goes on to describe the outflow of the Spirit-empowered life of Jesus in righteousness, equity, justice, faithfulness. Jesus is our great example of what the Spirit-controlled life looks like.

Spirit Poured Out on Believers

God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit. But did you know that this anointing with the Spirit is the New Covenant blessing that comes to us who believe in Jesus? Jesus, our great High Priest, was anointed by his Father with the Holy Spirit, and we, chosen to be ‘a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession’ (1Pet.2:9), are also anointed as priests with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus told his disciples that his Father would send the Holy Spirit.

John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:26 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 have said to you.

John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

John 16:7 Nevertheless, 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.

Imagine! ‘It is to your advantage that I go away’. Jesus is telling his disciples that he is leaving and where he is going they cannot yet come. They don’t fully understand what he is saying, but sorrow has filled their hearts. And then he says ‘it is to your advantage that I go away.’ What could be better than having Jesus, in person, physically here with us? Better than having Jesus physically here in our presence is having the blessing of the Spirit living inside of you. ‘It is to your advantage that I go.’ Do we, followers of Jesus, believe him?

In Acts 1, the resurrected Jesus is commanding his disciples to wait for the promised Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” …8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus says his followers will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Not merely anointed, poured on the head, flowing down on the beard and on the robes, but immersed in, totally submerged in, drenched with the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament prophesies we see promise of the New Covenant blessing of the Spirit poured out.

Isaiah 32:15 until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.

Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

Ezekiel 36:27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Ezekiel 39:29 And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.”

Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

These various Hebrew words for ‘pour out’ carry the idea of ‘pour out until nothing is left’ or ‘empty out’; ‘pour out or flow like molten metal’; ‘pour or gush out’; the idea of abundance and generosity is captured well by the New Testament word ‘immersed’ or ‘baptized in’. God promised that he would pour out his Spirit on his people, that he would put his Spirit within them.

All Believers Have the Holy Spirit

The Father anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

Jesus fulfilled his promise to his disciples at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on them. But who does this promise apply to? Is it for the original disciples only, or is it also for us? What are the requirements for receiving the blessings of the Holy Spirit? Peter extended the invitation to everyone.

Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “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. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

To repent is to have a change of mind and heart, to turn; to turn away from what you were hoping in and holding on to and placing your trust in something different. Turn away from your own good works and self-righteousness and turn to Jesus for forgiveness of sins, and Peter says ‘you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’. But what about water baptism? Does this verse say that water baptism is a prerequisite for receiving the Holy Spirit? No. Water baptism was the outward act that represented the inward change of heart. We see this later in Acts. Peter was called to bring the good news of forgiveness by trusting in the finished work of Jesus to the Gentiles.

Acts 10:44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God.

Peter proclaimed the good news, and the hearts of his hearers responded by turning to Jesus with faith. Immediately, the Holy Spirit was poured out on them. They had not been water baptized. They had not done anything.

Acts 10:46 …Then Peter declared, 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

Remember, Jesus said that his followers would be baptized or immersed in the Holy Spirit. Water baptism is a physical picture of this spiritual reality. These Gentiles who believed in Jesus were evidently immersed in the Holy Spirit. Everyone there could see evidence of his presence in their lives. Peter is arguing that the symbol (water baptism) be allowed because the reality that it pictures (Spirit baptism) had already happened. This is the consistent teaching of the New Testament.

Titus 3:4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

It is not the washing with water that matters, but the washing of regeneration – the new life created by the Holy Spirit. And notice, this is not done sparingly or reluctantly. God pours out the Holy Spirit on us richly, lavishly.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 1 that God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing; and then he goes on to list: election, predestination, adoption, redemption, forgiveness, inheritance; and he goes on to say:

Ephesians 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

When you heard and believed the good news of salvation in Jesus, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. Every believer in Jesus has every spiritual blessing in Christ; every believer has been immersed in the Holy Spirit. No exceptions. Paul tells us in Romans 5:

Romans 5:5 …God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

And he tells us in Romans 8

Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him

If God’s Spirit does not dwell in you, that is evidence that you do not belong to Christ, because everyone who belongs to him has God’s Holy Spirit poured out on them. The anointing oil marked off and set apart things and people as God’s, and gave them a distinct fragrance. God sets us apart as his by pouring out his Holy Spirit on us.

1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

The Spirit as a Guarantee

The Holy Spirit is never withdrawn from the believer. The verses in Ephesians tell us that when we heard and believed the gospel, we:

Ephesians 1:13 …were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

A seal and guarantee is of no value if it can be withdrawn. The Holy Spirit is God’s down-payment on our final salvation. As we saw last time, salvation is past, present, and future. We have been justified, we are being sanctified, and we will be glorified. God’s Holy Spirit is the guarantee that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil.1:6). We have, not a thing, but the person of God the Holy Spirit living in us as his own seal and guarantee.

We see this also in:

2 Corinthians 1:21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

2 Corinthians 5:5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

1 John 2:20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One… 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you…

The Spirit in us makes us part of Christ’s body, the church.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–Jews or Greeks, slaves or free–and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

The Spirit Transforms

If we have the great advantage of the Holy Spirit poured out on us, living in us, setting us apart for his service and sanctifying us, then as there was in the early Gentile believers, there should be observable evidence of God the Spirit living in us.

God promised:

Ezekiel 36:27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

The Spirit of the living God cannot fail to accomplish his purposes in us. He will produce.

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. …25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

Exodus 30:1-10; Furniture in God’s Tent – Incense Altar

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20120506_exodus30_1-10.mp3

05/06 Exodus 30:1-10 Furniture in God’s Tent: The Incense Altar (37:25-28; Lev.16:12-14)

We are examining God’s instructions to his people whom he redeemed out of slavery. He rescued them so that they would know him, so that they would enter into relationship with him, so that they would serve and worship him. He gave them instructions for an elaborate tent where he would symbolically dwell with his people, a place where they could approach God in the way that he specified. God’s description began with the container that held his covenant agreement with his people, inscribed on tablets of stone, and the cover of this container, where blood would be applied to cover the sins of God’s people when they violated his covenant. Then he describes the table for the bread of his presence that abundantly supplies our need, and the lamps that overcome the darkness and illumine our path. He describes the tent itself, with the ornate curtain that divided his throne room from the holy place. He gave instruction for the large bronze altar for burning his offerings, and then he turned to describe the people who would serve him in his tent, what they would wear and how they were set apart for his service. He defined the offerings that they were to offer every day, morning and evening on his altar, offerings that would be a pleasing aroma to him. Now, having the priests in place and the burnt offerings begun, he turns back to give instructions for a piece of furniture in the holy place that he skipped over until this point in his instructions.

Exodus 30:1 “You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. 2 A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. 3 You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. 4 And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. 5 You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. 7 And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, 8 and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the LORD throughout your generations. 9 You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. 10 Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.”

In the fulfillment passage telling that they built everything according to God’s plan, this incense altar falls logically from a construction perspective right after the ark, table, and lampstand, and before the altar of burnt offerings.

Exodus 37:25 He made the altar of incense of acacia wood. Its length was a cubit, and its breadth was a cubit. It was square, and two cubits was its height. Its horns were of one piece with it. 26 He overlaid it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And he made a molding of gold around it, 27 and made two rings of gold on it under its molding, on two opposite sides of it, as holders for the poles with which to carry it. 28 And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 29 He made the holy anointing oil also, and the pure fragrant incense, blended as by the perfumer.

This altar was similar in construction to the altar of burnt offering, in that it had protrusions, or horns on its four corners, but it was much smaller, only about 18 inches square and 3 feet tall. But it was similar in construction to the ark and the table for bread, in that it was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold.

To Cover Odors

A practical function for this incense altar would be to cover the smells of the sacrifices. The tabernacle, with all the animals being offered there, would smell like a slaughter house. The fragrant incense burned on this altar would help to make things smell better in God’s tent.

A Symbol of Prayer

But what is the significance of the altar of incense? And why was it not mentioned back in chapter 25 with the other furniture that was placed in the holy place?

We get a hint at the significance of this altar in the Psalms:

Psalm 141:2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,

and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

There is some connection between this incense and prayer. We see this connection reinforced when we look to the New Testament. Zechariah, soon to be the father of John the baptist was serving in the temple.

Luke 1:8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

See the connection between this incense altar and prayer? At the hour of incense, ‘the whole multitude of the people were praying outside.’ Even the placement of this altar points us to this. God tells his people to put it ‘in front of the veil’ and ‘in front of the mercy seat’ ‘where I will meet with you.’ God wants to meet with his people. That is what prayer is; meeting with God, conversing with God, talking with God. The prayers of God’s people are pictured to rise up to God as a sweet fragrance to him. This is the reason Jesus gave for overturning tables and chairs and driving out those who bought and sold in the temple.

Mark 11:17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” (Is.56:7; cf. Mt.21:13; Lk.19:46)

Jesus is angered and takes action against those things that would divert God’s house from being what it was intended to be, a place for God to meet with man; a place of prayer for all the nations.

This prayer / incense connection is made explicit in the book of Revelation. In the scene in the heavenly tabernacle, around the throne of God, when Jesus takes the scroll from his Father.

Revelation 5:8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

The bowls full of incense are the prayers of the saints. Remember, in the bible, the term ‘saint’ is not reserved for some special class of person who has achieved some special standing with God. It means ‘holy ones’, those who have been set apart to God. All of us who are believers in Jesus are called ‘the saints’. Your prayers, my prayers, our prayers are kept as it were in golden bowls in God’s presence, a fragrant aroma to him. Just a few chapters later in Revelation, we see this connection again.

Revelation 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.

Qualified to Pray

‘Let my prayer be counted as incense before you’ (Ps.141:2). Now we can begin to understand why the altar of incense was left out of the description of the holy place until this point. The sins of God’s people must be dealt with before the prayers of God’s people can be acceptable to God. Guilt must be confessed and the substitute must be offered on the altar of burnt offering before incense can be carried into the presence of God. We are told in verse 10 that:

10 Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.”

The instructions for the day of atonement are given in Leviticus 16.

Leviticus 16:11 “Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall kill the bull as a sin offering for himself. 12 And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil 13 and put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die. 14 And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

We are told in Isaiah 59 that

Isaiah 59:2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

Our sins must be dealt with through sacrifice before our prayers can be acceptable. Proverbs tells us

Proverbs 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

No one is righteous. No, not one. Only when our sins are covered by the blood of our substitute Jesus, only when we are clothed in his perfect righteousness, can we boldly approach the throne of grace.

Devoted to Prayer

And then, pray we must. The early church was devoted to prayer.

Acts 1:14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Acts 6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

We are encouraged by the example of the Apostles, who prayed like this: ‘my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved’ (Ro.10:1); ‘I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, …And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment’ (Phil.1:3-4,9); ‘We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, …we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God’ (Col.1:3,9-10); ‘We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1Th.1:2-3); ‘we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith’ (1Th.3:10); ‘To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.’ (2Th.1:11-12); ‘I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day’ (2Ti.1:3); ‘I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ’ (Phm.1:4-6); ‘Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul’ (3Jo.1:2)

Exhorted to Pray

We are exhorted to ‘be constant in prayer’ (Rom.12:12); to ‘strive together …in your prayers to God’ (Rom.15:30); to pray ‘at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication’ (Eph.6:18). We are told ‘in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God’ (Phil.4:6); to ‘continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving’ (Col.4:2); to ‘pray without ceasing’ (1Th.5:17). We are urged ‘that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people’ (1Ti.2:1). We are told to ‘pray for one another… The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working’ (Ja.5:16).

Jesus on Prayer

We are encouraged by the teaching of Jesus to ‘pray for those who persecute you’ (Mt.5:44); to ‘go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret’ (Mt.6:6); to ‘pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’ (Mt.9:38). Jesus said ‘whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith’ (Mt.21:22); he said to ‘watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation’ (Mt.26:41). Jesus told us ‘whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses’ (Mk.11:25); he told us to ‘bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you’ (Lk.6:28); he taught us that we ‘ought always to pray and not lose heart’ (Lk.18:1).

We, as followers of Jesus, must be devoted to prayer. We, forgiven sinners, now called to be his holy priesthood, must take up our responsibility to regularly, daily, offer up the fragrant aroma of our prayers to God. Our attitude should be that of Samuel, who, in spite of being rejected by God’s people when they demanded a king, said

1Samuel 12:23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.

Samuel considered it a sin not to pray. Entering into the presence of God, talking with him, enjoying fellowship with him, making our requests to him, interceding on behalf of others, this should be our delight, our favorite thing to do. Access to God through prayer is an awesome privilege we as believers enjoy.

The Prayers of Jesus

But there is one even greater thing to look at before we leave this subject of prayer. We, as kings and priests (1Pet.2:9; Rev.1:6; 5:10) to God have the awesome privilege and responsibility to commune with God in prayer. But even greater than this, we need to know that we are being prayed for. We, as God’s priests, have a great High Priest, who is praying for us. Did you know, that day and night, moment by moment, you are the subject of Jesus’ conversation with his Father? Jesus prays constantly, without ceasing, for you! Romans tells us:

Romans 8:34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died–more than that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Jesus is right now, at the right hand of his Father, interceding for us. The author of Hebrews tells us:

Hebrews 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

The resurrected Jesus is persistent in prayer for us. He is able to save us to the uttermost. He continues to apply his finished work on the cross to us, continues to intercede for us, continues to carry us on his heart into the presence of his Father with joy.

But what does Jesus pray for us? What is the content of his prayers? He told Peter ‘I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail’ (Lk.22:32). In John chapter 17, we get a glimpse into the heart of Jesus as he prays for us. In verse 9 he says ‘I am praying …for those whom you have given me, for they are yours’. And in verse 20, he says ‘I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me though their word’. Jesus is praying for his disciples, and for us, who believe in him through their recorded words. What does he pray?

First, he prays for the glory of God; that the Father and the Son would be glorified. Then he prays for us. He asks ‘Holy Father, keep them in your name’ (v.11). He prays ‘keep them from the evil one’ (v.15). He prays ‘sanctify them in the truth’ (v.17). And he asks ‘that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory’ (v.24). Jesus prays for us that we would be kept in his name, that we would be kept from the evil one, that we would be sanctified or set apart in the truth, that we would be with him to see his glory. And in and through it all, he prays for our unity. In verse 11 Jesus prays ‘that they may be one, even as we are one’. In verse 21 he prays ‘that they may all be one, just 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 have sent me’. In verse 22-23 ‘the glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

Jesus, today, continues to make intercession for us. He prays for the glory of God, for our unity, for our faith, for our protection, for our sanctification, and ultimately, that we would be with him where he is to see him for who he is.

Soul, take encouragement that even when you fail to pray, Jesus never fails to pray for you.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

Exodus 26 – God’s Tent; The Dwelling

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20120325_exodus26.mp3

03/25 Exodus 26 God’s Tent; The Dwelling

We are studying God’s word to us in Exodus. God instructed his people to build him a tent.

Exodus 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.

God intended to dwell with his people. He would come to live in their midst. But having a holy God live in the camp with sinful people is dangerous, so careful instruction had to be given for their protection.

The description started, not as we might expect, from the outside moving in, but but with the things in the tent, the things closest to the presence of God, the things of most importance, and worked out from there. We have looked at the only piece of furniture in the most holy place, the box that contained the written copies of the covenant between God and his people, a box covered by a lid which was to be the place where God was propitiated, where his wrath against sinners who had broken their covenant was satisfied by substitutionary blood. We looked at the furniture in the holy place, the table, filled with abundance of bread and wine, with sweet smelling incense. We looked at the lampstand, shining in the darkness, giving light to those who enter in. Now we are going to look at the structure itself, the tent.

Exodus 26:1 “Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them. 2 The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall be the same size. 3 Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. 4 And you shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set. Likewise you shall make loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set. 5 Fifty loops you shall make on the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite one another. 6 And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to the other with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be a single whole. 7 “You shall also make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains shall you make. 8 The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains shall be the same size. 9 You shall couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and the sixth curtain you shall double over at the front of the tent. 10 You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set. 11 “You shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together that it may be a single whole. 12 And the part that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. 13 And the extra that remains in the length of the curtains, the cubit on the one side, and the cubit on the other side, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and that side, to cover it. 14 And you shall make for the tent a covering of tanned rams’ skins and a covering of goatskins on top. 15 “You shall make upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. 16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. 17 There shall be two tenons in each frame, for fitting together. So shall you do for all the frames of the tabernacle. 18 You shall make the frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the south side; 19 and forty bases of silver you shall make under the twenty frames, two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under the next frame for its two tenons; 20 and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side twenty frames, 21 and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame, and two bases under the next frame. 22 And for the rear of the tabernacle westward you shall make six frames. 23 And you shall make two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear; 24 they shall be separate beneath, but joined at the top, at the first ring. Thus shall it be with both of them; they shall form the two corners. 25 And there shall be eight frames, with their bases of silver, sixteen bases; two bases under one frame, and two bases under another frame. 26 “You shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, 27 and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the side of the tabernacle at the rear westward. 28 The middle bar, halfway up the frames, shall run from end to end. 29 You shall overlay the frames with gold and shall make their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and you shall overlay the bars with gold. 30 Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.

The fulfillment of these instruction is recorded in chapter 36, where this chapter is repeated almost verbatim, with a few minor omissions to shorten it, and changes in verb form to say that they followed the instructions precisely. In spite of the lengthy detail spelled out in these chapters, some details of the construction are not clear. That is why the instruction is repeated to ‘erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain’.

What we see is a four layer tent, the inside layer an exquisite tapestry of fine linen of blues and purples and scarlet, with cherubim worked into it, held together with gold clasps. The second layer was goat’s hair, slightly larger so that it would completely cover and hide the first layer, held together with bronze clasps. This layer was covered by a layer of tanned ram’s skins, then a final layer of leather, probably the hides of sea cows or something like that. Inside there was a gold plated wood framework that gave the tent its structure, and this framework was set in bases of silver. From inside, this tent would be stunningly beautiful, the detailed craftsmanship of the richly colored tapestry framed by the gold boards that provided the structure, set in bases of silver. But very few would ever get to see this inner beauty of God’s sanctuary. It was cloaked in three more layers of drab, protective, weather resistant coverings that would hide all this exquisite craftsmanship from view. From the outside, this would be a rather plain and uninviting structure.

God is teaching his people that he is the unseen God. No one ever sees God. He is always invisible, hidden from sight. The ordinary Israelite would only see the outer covering of the tent, he would never see the inside of the sanctuary or any of the ornate furniture that adorned it. A measure of faith would be required of them to believe that some of the things inside even really existed.

Jesus: God Dwelt Among Us

We’ve seen how the different furniture in the tabernacle all points to Jesus. Jesus, who is the light of the world. Jesus, who is the bread of life, Jesus, whom God put forward as the propitiation or ‘mercy seat’ by his blood. The tent itself gives us one of the most direct connections to Jesus. In the beginning of John’s gospel, he tells us of the infinite and eternal second person of the triune God, the Word, the divine Creator of all that exists, who was with God and who was God, and he says:

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

This word translated ‘dwelt’ is literally ‘pitched his tent’ or ‘tabernacled’; the verb form of the word used in the Greek Old Testament for the tabernacle. God’s stated purpose for the tabernacle was to ‘dwell in the midst’ of his people, and we find this fulfilled in Jesus, God the Son, who ‘became flesh and dwelt among us’, or ‘pitched his tent among us’. God himself came to live with his people. But the way in which he came, the way he stooped down and condescended to live with us, the way he pitched his tent among us, was the most inconspicuous and outwardly humble way, a way that hid his true identity from almost everyone, a way that many found offensive. He entered this world as an embryo in the womb of virgin who was pledged to be married. He was born on the road, in a stable, his first bed was a feed trough for livestock. He grew up as a carpenter, learning the trade of his step-father. When he began to travel and teach, he warned his followers that he had nowhere to lay his head, no place on this earth that he could call home. His true identity was covered, hidden, veiled in the common and ordinary. But Mary knew.

Luke 1:35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy–the Son of God.

Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.

And God knew.

Luke 3:21 …when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

And the demons knew.

Luke 4:41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

And those who were healed by him began to get a clue as to his true identity.

Mark 7:36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

And Peter confessed what God revealed to him of Jesus’ true identity

Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” …20 Then he [Jesus] strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

And on the mountain, Jesus pulled back the curtains, as it were, and gave a glimpse of the glory of his true identity to his three closest disciples.

Mark 9:2 …And he was transfigured before them. …9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Jesus, God come in the flesh, came in such a way that the glory of his true identity was hidden under a hide, or skin, of ordinary humanity.

Isaiah had prophesied that this was the way the Messiah would come.

Isaiah 53:2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Paul speaks of this amazing condescension of the Son of God,

Philippians 2:6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Of course, Paul cannot stop there, having himself met the risen and exalted Jesus, who revealed to him his true identity as God in the flesh.

Philippians 2:9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus, fully God, became flesh and dwelt among us.

He Stretched Out the Heavens Like a Tent

Let’s look back at the design of the inner beauty of the tabernacle.

Exodus 26:1 “Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them.

From the inside of the Most Holy Place, the walls, the ceiling and the veil would all be fine linen, blue, purple and scarlet, with cherubim. These angelic beings take us back to the garden, where they were placed to guard the way to God’s presence. The colors blue and purple and scarlet in the tapestry are another connection back to creation – they remind us of the colors of the sky. In Psalm 104, all of creation is described in terms of a tent or dwelling place for God.

Psalm 104:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, 2 covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. 3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; 4 he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire. 5 He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved.

We find this picture of God stretching out the heavens like the covering of a tent repeatedly in the scripture, especially in Isaiah.

Isaiah 48:13 My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together. (cf. Isaiah 42:5; 44:24; 45:12; 51:13)

The heavens, or the night sky, are pictured as the tapestry of God’s tent. But here, the veil, which had the same appearance as the inner layer of the tabernacle, is intended to keep us out of God’s presence. It appears to be one piece, with no openings or any easy way to pull it aside to enter in. It is intended to be a separation. It is a protection for the priests from the deadly presence of a holy God. Only once a year, and only with the sacrificial blood of a substitute, was anyone allowed beyond this curtain.

Exodus 26:31 “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. 32 And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. 34 You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. 35 And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall put the table on the north side. 36 “You shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. 37 And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them.

Our sins have separated us from God. We rebelled against him in the garden, and we were forced to leave his presence. Now God is dwelling in the midst of his people in a tent, but he requires a separation between the glory of his presence and his people. For their own protection they are kept out. Isaiah, in chapters 63 and 64, is crying out for mercy and confessing his sin and the sins of his people.

Isaiah 64:5 …Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7 There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.

He cries out for God in his dwelling place to be stirred to compassion and act on behalf of his sinful people.

Isaiah 63:15 Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me.

And then he makes this plea:

Isaiah 64:1 Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence–

Jesus bore our sins in his body on the tree (1Pet.2:24), the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn.1:29), hanging on the cross, enduring the darkness of the displeasure of his Father, forsaken by God, crushed under his wrath against our sin (Is.53:6,10-12). He paid our price in full and cried out “it is finished” (Jn.19:30).

Matthew 27:51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

Isaiah’s prayer was answered ‘Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down’. God became flesh and pitched his tent among us. God our Savior opened for us a new and living way through the curtain, that is, through his own flesh torn for us (Heb.10:20).

Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,

And the centurion who stood watch knew: “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

Exodus 25:1-9; 35:4-36:7 – The Gift of Giving

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20120226_exodus25_1-9.mp3

2/26 Exodus 25:1-9 The Gift of Giving (Ex.35:4-36:7)

God has rescued his people. He has saved them by a mighty demonstration of his power. He has redeemed them. He has brought them to himself. He has instructed and taught them what it means to be in a relationship with him. God now gives them the gift of his presence. God will take up residence and dwell among his people. God here instructs his people to build the tabernacle, a sanctuary, a holy place, not because he needs a home, but so that they will understand what it means to have a holy God living among them, and so that they will know that he indeed is dwelling with them. If I were to ask you what the book of Exodus is about, what would you say? I would expect to hear things like ‘God rescuing his people from Egypt’ or ‘the ten plagues’ or ‘the ten commandments’; but if we look at what is most important based simply on what gets the most pages of text devoted to it, we would have to say that Exodus is about the tabernacle; about God dwelling with his people. In the next seven chapters, we have detailed instructions as to how this structure is to be constructed. Then we have two chapters narrating how the Israelites made up their own way to worship and in the process violated their covenant with God. God mercifully forgives their transgression and renews his covenant with them, and the rest of the book details how they faithfully constructed the tabernacle according to the divine specifications. The book concludes with God’s awesome presence coming to dwell with his people. So Exodus is about salvation and rescue and deliverance, and Exodus is about the giving of God’s law, but a major focus of Exodus is God’s gracious presence with his people. God’s stated purpose for the Exodus was ‘that they may serve me’ or ‘worship me’ (Ex.4:23; 7:16; 8:1,20; 9:1,13; 10:3). So we have come to the focal point of the book.

Exodus 25:1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. 3 And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, 4 blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, 5 tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, 6 oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 7 onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. 8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. 9 Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.

This section (25-31) starts with the invitation to give to supply the materials for the construction, and then moves through the construction from the most important things that are closest to God’s presence and works its way outward away from the presence of God. The section that records the actual building of the tabernacle (35-40) also starts with the collection of the materials, but then proceeds in the sequence of actual construction. This is God’s invitation to give.

Notice a few things about this invitation to give. First it is entirely voluntary. There are other places where giving is commanded, like the tenth that goes to support those who labor in service to the Lord (Num.18:24), but here all are given the opportunity to contribute, but it is to be purely voluntary. ‘From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me’. If your heart doesn’t move you to give, then don’t give. When Paul was talking about collecting a special offering to help the destitute saints in Jerusalem, he said:

2 Corinthians 9:7 Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Paul highlights the abundant generosity of those in Macedonia:

2 Corinthians 8:1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints– 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

“Begging earnestly for the favor of taking part” in this offering!

Flip over to Exodus 35 and we’ll see how the people responded to God’s invitation to give:

Exodus 35:4 Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the LORD has commanded. 5 Take from among you a contribution to the LORD. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the LORD’s contribution: gold, silver, and bronze; 6 blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; goats’ hair, 7 tanned rams’ skins, and goatskins; acacia wood, 8 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 9 and onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. …

20 Then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the LORD’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. 22 So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the LORD. 23 And every one who possessed blue or purple or scarlet yarns or fine linen or goats’ hair or tanned rams’ skins or goatskins brought them. 24 Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought it as the LORD’s contribution. And every one who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work brought it. 25 And every skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 26 All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats’ hair. 27 And the leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ephod and for the breastpiece, 28 and spices and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the LORD had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD.

…36:3 And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, 4 so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, 5 and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do.” 6 So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.

We see such an overwhelming response of eager participation that Moses had to restrain the people from giving by a command, because they brought too much. “Whoever is of a generous heart; everyone whose heart stirred him, everyone whose spirit moved him; all who were of a willing heart; all the women whose heart stirred them to use their skill; all the men and women, whose heart moved them to bring anything brought it as a freewill offering; they still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning; the people bring much more than enough!”

So this offering was to be voluntary and joyfully given. We also see that this offering was specific. God stated exactly what was to be given. Not your worn-out couch and your jeans that don’t fit, not the winter boots you never wear and that big old television that you replaced with the latest technology wide-screen. God specified exactly what was needed, and it was to be the very best. Gold, silver, bronze, precious stones, the finest dyed fabrics and skins, oils and wood products. The people were to worship God in the way he specified, not in whatever way they chose.

So the offering was to be joyful and voluntary, it was to be only what God specified, and it was given to God. God told Moses ‘you shall receive a contribution for me‘. Moses was to facilitate the giving, the materials went to God’s appointed Spirit-filled craftsmen to do the actual building, but the giving was giving to God. God was the one who asked, and God was the one who ultimately received the offering.

But let’s remember, lest we have the attitude when we give that we are helping God out and meeting some deficiency in him, Paul reminds us in Romans:

Romans 11:35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

And James reminds us:

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

So anything we give belonged to God already, he entrusted it to us to use as wise stewards of his resources, and we are simply returning a portion of it at his request. Jesus told a parable about the wicked tenants of his vineyard who acted as if what they were entrusted with belonged to him (Mt.21; Mk.12; Lk.20). It didn’t end so well for them. Here in Exodus, we could ask, where did the people get all this stuff that they donated? After all, they fled as fugitive slaves from Egypt. Remember back in chapter 3, God said:

Exodus 3:21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

And we see this fulfilled in Exodus 12:

Exodus 12:35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

Now God is asking for a portion of what he had given them to be freely and voluntarily given back to him.

To Dwell In Their Midst

Let’s look again at the purpose for all this giving.

Exodus 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. 9 Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.

God’s intention was to create a holy space in which he would bless the people with the gift of his presence. That is why precision had to be taken in following his instructions. This, remember, is to be a replica of the heavenly presence of God, literally a piece of heaven on earth. Soldiers on the move would camp around the tent of their king. God himself is coming as King to pitch his tent in the middle of his people. The Commander of his army comes to sit enthroned in the center of the war-camp of Israel. The purpose of the tabernacle was the presence of God with his people. This points us to the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, quoted in the gospel according to Matthew:

Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

The tabernacle was a picture of God dwelling with his people that finds its fulfillment in Jesus. This portable sanctuary was replaced in the time of Solomon by a more permanent structure, the temple. Jesus said:

Matthew 12:6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.

Something greater than the temple! What was Jesus claiming? In the beginning of the gospel of John, we are told of Jesus:

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

This word ‘dwelt’ is directly connected back to the tabernacle. We could translate it ‘the Word became flesh and pitched his tent, or tabernacled among us. In John 2, when questioned about proof of his authority for cleansing the temple:

John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” …21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Jesus referred to his human body as a temple. He became flesh and tabernacled among us. Jesus is Immanuel – God with us. Something greater than the temple is here! This is indeed good news.

But it doesn’t stop here! Biblically, we can take this concept of God dwelling with his people one step further. Jesus said

John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, … for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Then Jesus says:

John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Paul pointed us in Colossians1:27 to “the hope of glory, which is Christ in you.” He tells us in Ephesians 3:17 “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Jesus went on to say:

John 14:23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, taking up residence in you! Paul in Ephesians 2 describes the the people who make up Christ’s church as:

Ephesians 2:19 …fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 3 describes himself as a skilled master builder laying the one foundation – and that one foundation is Jesus Christ. He warns us not to lay any other foundation, and he warns us to take care how we build on that foundation. He goes on to say:

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you [corporately] are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

You, the people in whom God resides, you all, who as a group make up the church, are God’s temple. In 1 Corinthians 6, he applies this to the individual believer who is tempted with sexual immorality. He says:

1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body [individually] is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

In 2 Corinthians 6, arguing for purity and separation from partnership with that which is not of God, he says:

2 Corinthians 6:16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

We are the temple of the living God. God has made his dwelling in us, the church, in us, believers.

Contributions for the New Covenant Temple

Now let’s bring this back around to the invitation to contribute, and ask, in light of the temple now being us, those in whom God dwells, in what way can we contribute to the construction efforts today. How can we contribute to the building of God’s church today? And when you hear the word ‘church’, please try to retrain yourself to think, not of a building, but of people. God’s church is made up of people. How can we be a part of building a dwelling place for God in the hearts of people of every tribe and tongue and nation (Rev.5:9)?

First, as Jesus commissioned us, we can go:

Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

And second, we can send. Paul points us to the good news for every nation:

Romans 10:9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. …13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

And then he asks the question:

Romans 10:14 But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

May our giving and our going be glad, voluntary, joyful, eager participation in the privilege of giving and of serving. In our giving and our serving, may it be to God and not to man. May our giving be a giving back to God out of the abundance of grace that has been poured into our hearts. And may we savor the awesome presence of God, Father, Son and Spirit, who makes his home in us today. 

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

Exodus 23:13-19 – Invited To Celebrate

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20120129_exodus23_13-19.mp3

01/29 Exodus 23:13-19 Worship God and Celebrate in His Presence

We are going to jump back into Exodus right where we left off a little over two months ago. All scripture is God-breathed and useful for the New Testament believer to benefit by, so we are working our way through the book of Exodus to see what God has to say to us there. We are in Exodus chapter 23, at the tail end of what is know as ‘the book of the covenant’, a series of specific applications of God’s Ten Words to his people, describing to them what life lived in relationship with God should look like. The verses we will look at today, 23:13-19, reiterate the first command and then describe three annual pilgrimage feasts, feasts that all Israelites would be required to attend.

Exclusive Worship

13 “Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.

This is a reiteration of the first command that God gave his people: ‘You shall have no other Gods before me’ (Ex.20:3). God is a jealous God. When God wastes parchment by repeating something in his word, it is because it is important. We need to hear it. It is important that we get it. Here he is coming to the close of the book of the covenant, and he reminds us how important this is. ‘Pay attention!’ ‘Pay attention to all that I have said to you’. Remember the first commandment I gave to you. ‘Make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips’. God demands first place in our hearts. God demands an exclusive place in our lives. God will tolerate no rival affections. God is King of kings and Lord of lords, Lord over all. He is not one among many. He refuses to share his glory. God alone is to be worshiped, honored, obeyed, loved. We need to be told this multiple times, because our hearts are so inclined to worship so many other things.

To know the name of a deity was thought to grant access to that deity, and obligate that deity to answer your requests. To forbid even the mention of the name of another deity was to exclude the possibility of any association with any deity other than God alone. This is the strongest possible statement of monotheism, that there is only one God, and he alone is worth knowing. “Make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.” This is why it is so startling that Jesus teaches his disciples to pray in his name. If Jesus were a rival deity, this would be a direct violation of this command. Jesus suggests that we pray in his name to the Father, and he encourages us that this is a way of assuring that the Father will answer.

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

John 16:23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. … 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

But Jesus even goes beyond praying in his name to the Father. He invites us to address our prayers to him personally.

John 14:13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Jesus invites us to ask him in his own name. This would indeed be blasphemous if Jesus were not God. Praying in Jesus’ name would fall under the condemnation of Exodus 23:13 if Jesus were claiming to be another God. But what Jesus claims is that he is one with the Father, one God. For Jesus’ command to make any sense at all, Jesus must be personally distinct from the Father; not the same person. We may ask the Father in Jesus’ name; or we may ask Jesus in his own name. Jesus is not the Father. Jesus is one God with the Father. This is exactly what Christianity has historically expressed as the teaching of the trinity. There is only, exclusively, uniquely one God. But this one God eternally exists in three distinct persons.

13 “Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.

three annual feasts

14 “Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. 15 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before me empty–handed. 16 You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. 17 Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord GOD. 18 “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning. 19 “The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Corporate Worship

God says ‘you shall keep a feast to me’. He says ‘None shall appear before me empty-handed’. He says ‘three times a year shall all your males appear before the Lord GOD’. He tells us we must bring our best to him. Notice that all males were required to appear before the LORD God. This is corporate worship. I’ve heard some people say that they feel closer to God worshiping at home in their living room or out on the mountaintop than in church. I understand that sentiment. But worship is not about you or how you feel. God desires that all his people gather together to worship him. Worship is not about us, it’s about God. There were three times in the year, these three pilgrim-festivals, that every male in Israel was required to appear before the Lord. Although women were not required to be there, we learn from passages like 1 Samuel chapter 1 that they were welcome and that they did indeed come. God desires that we gather together to worship him. Listen to God’s ultimate purpose for our worship:

Revelation 7:9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

The Pilgrim Feasts

Let’s look at each of these feasts that God required all his people to participate in. There are seven feasts listed in Leviticus 23. Here in Exodus, the three pilgrim festivals are highlighted.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover)

14 “Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. 15 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before me empty–handed.

The feast of unleavened bread was closely connected with the feast of Passover. This fell at the time of the early barley harvest. Passover, as we have seen, celebrated God’s redemption of his people out of slavery. The passover lamb was killed as a substitute for the firstborn son, and brought protection from God’s wrath. John introduces Jesus by saying ‘behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ (Jn.1:29). Paul tells us that ‘Christ our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed’ (1Cor.5:7). The feast of unleavened bread began at Passover and lasted for seven days. All leaven, a picture of sin, was to be removed, and only unleavened bread was to be eaten, symbolizing the perfect righteousness of Christ, the righteousness that he gives to us. As Israel was lead out of slavery in Egypt, so we are led out of our slavery to sin. The crucifixion of Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God happened at Passover time.

The Feast of Harvest (Pentecost)

16 You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field.

Three days after Passover, a sheaf of the first grain was to be brought and waved before the Lord. This was a recognition of God’s provision and of the promise of good things to come. This was the offering of firstfruits mentioned in Leviticus 23:10. Counting 7 weeks or 50 days from Passover and the firstfruits offering, the feast of Harvest was celebrated. This feast marked the end of the wheat harvest, and was the only feast that implemented leavened bread. Two loaves of leavened bread would be waved before the Lord – Jew and Gentile together in one body, forgiven but still battling indwelling sin. Jewish tradition marked this day as the day of the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai, fifty days after the departure from Egypt. This feast became known in the Greek-speaking world as ‘the fiftieth day’ or ‘Pentecost’.

Christ, our passover Lamb was sacrificed for us. On the third day, He was raised from the dead. Paul points to this in 1 Corinthians 15:

1 Corinthians 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Fifty days later, we are told:

Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians–we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

The harvest feast is being celebrated. People from every nation under heaven were gathering together at God’s command to celebrate the feast in Jerusalem. The promised and anticipated Holy Spirit comes upon the disciples, and they preach the good news of Jesus crucified, resurrected, now Lord of all. God reverses the confusion of languages from the tower of Babel and the harvest begins.

… 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “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. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Jesus had told his disciples:

Luke 10:2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

God’s Holy Spirit was poured out, and three-thousand souls were harvested that day, and the church was born. And this was just a foretaste of the harvest that is to come! Jesus said:

Matthew 16:18 … I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The Feast of Ingathering (Booths; The Feast)

You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. 17 Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord GOD. 18 “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning. 19 “The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

The Feast of Ingathering celebrated the final fall harvest of second-crop grains, along with tree and vine crops such as olives and grapes. This was a massive celebration of the completion of the harvest, celebrating the goodness of God in his abundant provision. Remember, these instructions are being given in the wilderness of Sinai, in anticipation of entering the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey. This festival was also known as the Feast of Booths, because the people lived in temporary booths to remind them of their time in the wilderness after God had delivered them from Egypt.

In Jesus’ day, part of the celebration of the Feast of Ingathering had come to include taking water from the pool of Siloam and pouring it out as an offering to the Lord. This is the context of Jesus’ statement in John 7.

John 7:37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

This feast, the Feast of Ingathering, when all of the harvest is complete and it is time to celebrate, has its ultimate fulfillment when God once again dwells or pitches his tent with his people. The prophet Zechariah points to its celebration at the time of Christ’s return.

Zechariah 14:4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, … 5 …Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. …8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. … 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.

Invitation to Feast

God is inviting us to his feast. God knows how to host a magnificent celebration. God knows how to throw a party! The section just before this in Exodus laid out God’s requirement for rest. You must take time to cease from you labors, to seek refreshment and rest. Now God is demanding that we enjoy his feasts. These rules and commandments are so repressive and harsh! Rest. Be refreshed. Feast with me. It is sobering to see that this is one of God’s commands that his people failed to keep regularly. God invites us to a series of parties and we respectfully decline. This was the content of some of Jesus’ teaching; God throwing a feast.

Matthew 22:1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

God provides the feast. God invites us to come, enjoy, celebrate with him. God provides everything necessary for us to enjoy him forever! And yet we come up with excuses. We decline his invitation. We refuse to come. We despise his messengers. Or we reject his provision and attempt to come on our own merit. God invites us to everlasting joy in his presence, paid for by his own Son. Let all who are thirsty come!

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

Advent: Names of Jesus from Isaiah 9

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20111225_advent-isaiah9.mp3

12/25 Christmas Day – Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace

Today is Christmas day. We celebrate Jesus! I want to look today at some of the names given to Jesus in the scriptures, so that we can understand him better and worship him more fully. But to better appreciate these names, we need to back up and get a little bit of history and background.

Isaiah and the kings of Judah

The Prophet Isaiah prophesied about 740 – 700 BC; during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah (Is.1:1). Uzziah (also called Azariah) was a good king who reigned for 52 years (2Ki.15:2). Isaiah chapter 6 records a vision given to Isaiah in the year that this great king died, a vision of God seated on his throne, still in control. He was succeeded by Jotham, who, like his father did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. Jotham reigned for 16 years (2Ki.15:33), and was succeeded by Ahaz. It says of Ahaz

2 Kings 16:2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God, as his father David had done, 3 but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

It was during the dark days of the reign of Ahaz that Israel conspired with Syria to attack Judah and Jerusalem. It was in this dark time for Jerusalem that Isaiah was sent to Ahaz in chapter 7 and following. He gave a message of warning and coming judgment, and called the people to turn from their evil ways and fear the LORD. He called them to return to God’s word. Those who will not speak according to this word are in darkness; they have no dawn.

Isaiah 8:22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.

Words of Hope

It is into this dark and dismal backdrop that God brings words of hope.

Isaiah 9:1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Matthew quotes this passage and says it is fulfilled in Jesus (Matt.4:12-16). To the people dwelling in deep darkness Jesus is the great light that shines, bringing joy and gladness. Isaiah has already spoken in chapter 7 of a virgin whose son would be named Immanuel – God with us. Now he speaks of a child born and a son given, who will bring peace and righteousness, whose just rule will have no end. It says of this coming king that “his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Jesus was born at a dark time in history. Israel was under Roman occupation. The Emperor Caesar Augustus ordered that a census be taken, which put Mary and Joseph on the road away from home right at the time she was due to give birth. Herod was king over Judea. He was the cruel king who ordered the execution of all male children two years or younger, which drove the couple to take their young boy and seek refuge in Egypt.

It was into this dark context that Jesus was born.

Matthew 4:16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”

John says

John 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. …9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world

Into the darkness of sin and despair comes Jesus, the Light of the World, hope of the nations, the one whose “name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” As we take each of these names in turn, may our hearts be stirred to worship the God-man Jesus.

Jesus is Wonderful Counselor

His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor. Jesus is Wonderful. Have you lost the wonder of the season? Do you spent much energy trying to recapture that missing sense of wonder? You can regain that sense of wonder as we look to Jesus, the Wonderful One. He is a child born and a Son given. Jesus, Mighty God from all eternity, became a child. He was born of a virgin. He became human. A baby. A child born. But he was also a Son given. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. Jesus, God from all eternity, very God of very God, co-eternal and equal with his Father, the only Son of God; God the Son, was given – the supreme gift to mankind. Wonder of wonders, the incarnation! Gift above all gifts! Look to Jesus in wonder, awe, and worship!

Jesus is Wonderful Counselor. Listen to what his followers said about him:

John 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

Listen to what the people said about him:

Mark 1:22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

Mark 6:2 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands?

Mark 7:37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Luke 4:22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth… 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.

Listen to what even his enemies said about him:

Matthew 22:46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Luke 20:26 And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent. …39 Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question.

John 7:45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!”

Jesus, Wonderful Counselor, full of grace and truth, spoke with a wisdom greater than Solomon’s (Mt.12:42; Lk.11:31).

Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”

The question for you today; is he your Counselor? Jesus said:

John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

John 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.

You cannot call him your Wonderful Counselor if you are not willing to listen to what he says and to do what he tells you to do.

Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

Jesus is Mighty God

His name shall be called Mighty God. Jesus is Mighty God – God the Hero, God the mighty warrior, victorious in battle, conquering all enemies. Jesus is Mighty God, and he is to be feared. When Jesus controlled the raging sea with his word, his disciples:

Mark 4:41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”

Peter, in response to Jesus’ power over his creation:

Luke 5:8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Thomas in response to the resurrected Lord:

John 20:28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

When John saw the risen Jesus in all his glory, he fell at his feet as though dead (Rev.1:17).

Isaiah speaks of Jesus this way:

Isaiah 11:4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Paul describes the end times and the ultimate enemy,

2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

Paul speaks of a time:

2 Thessalonians 1:7 … when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Our Mighty God Jesus is to be feared. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Jesus is the perfect consummation of all the epic good guy heroes in the violent movies that we love to cheer on, except Jesus doesn’t lie or cheat or steal or use foul language to triumph over evil, bring justice and crush the bad guys.

Jesus is God, the Mighty God, he is to be worshiped and feared.

Jesus is Everlasting Father

His name shall be called Everlasting Father. Jesus is Everlasting Father. That may sound strange to our ears, but that is what the text says. This could be translated ‘the Father of Eternity’. Jesus is equal to and one with the Father, but distinct from the Father. In the Trinity, Jesus is not the Father. Jesus is the Son. But in relation to his creation, he is the one who brought all things into existence.

Colossians 1:16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities––all things were created through him and for him.

All things that had a beginning began in him.

He is Everlasting Father. He is eternal, without beginning or end.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Jesus is consistent. He is provider. He loves. He disciplines. He trains and instructs. He keeps his promises. He is genuinely interested in us. Jesus fulfills the role of father perfectly. He is Father to the fatherless. His love will never fail.

Jesus is Prince of Peace

His name shall be called the Prince of Peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

The song of the angels was:

Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

But Jesus said:

Matthew 10:34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter–in–law against her mother–in–law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Jesus, the Prince of Peace, demands our allegiance above any other natural affection. The peace that Jesus brings is higher and deeper and richer than mere peace with other people. The peace that Jesus gives us is most importantly peace with God.

Romans 5:10 …while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son…

Jesus’ death on the cross conquers our rebellious hearts that are opposed to God, and restores our broken fellowship.

Colossians 1:20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

The peace that Christ brings is first of all peace, a restored relationship, friendship with God. He satisfied on the cross the just wrath of the Father against our sin, so we can be reconciled, restored to right relationship with the Father. This right relationship is ours by faith – believing him; trusting him; depending on him.

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Friends, this is the good news of Christmas! Jesus came to deal with your sin problem so that your relationship with your Creator can be restored to what it was designed to be!

Acts 10:36 … preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all),

Jesus, Prince of Peace brings first of all peace with God. No other peace matters if you are not at peace with the Judge of all the earth.

Jesus said:

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

First, peace with God. Then, with a right relationship with the King of the universe in place, peace in the midst of our circumstances. We can rejoice in our relationship with the Lord,

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We can face any circumstance with peace, knowing that the Prince of Peace, Jesus, holds us in his eternal omnipotent hands.

Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Response

Today, let us worship Jesus, who is our Wonderful Counselor. Jesus, who is Mighty God. Jesus, who is Everlasting Father. Jesus, who is Prince of Peace. 

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

Advent – Immanuel

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20111218_advent-immanuel.mp3

12/18 Advent – Immanuel – God With Us

Jesus is Immanuel – God With Us

Christmas is one week away! In this advent season, I want us to turn our eyes to Jesus. Today, I want to reflect on one of the names given to Jesus. That name is Immanuel. It comes from Isaiah 7:14

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Matthew quotes this prophecy as being fulfilled in Jesus.

Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Jesus’ conception was supernatural. Jesus had no human father. Mary was a virgin. “That which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” And Matthew tells us that the Hebrew name Immanuel means God with us. Jesus is Immanuel; God with us.

The implications of this stagger the imagination! God with us. God the Creator of the universe, born of a virgin. God in human flesh. Luke puts it this way:

Luke 1:35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy––the Son of God.

Overshadowed by the power of the Most High – God the Father; and God the Holy Spirit – so that the child to be born will be the Son of God. John puts it this way:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.

John tells us that ‘the Word’ was in the beginning. ‘The Word’ existed before all creation. ‘The Word was with God’ – distinct from God the Father – a perfect companion of the Father. ‘The Word’ was with God, and ‘The Word’ was God – fully divine, sharing all the attributes and characteristics of God. ‘The Word’ was distinct from the Father, and yet fully divine. John continues by saying that ‘the Word’ became something he was not before.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

‘The Word’ became flesh. ‘The Word’ became tissue, bone and blood. He who existed from eternity with God and as God, now took on a human body. God became flesh. God dwelt among us, or literally ‘pitched his tent with us’. Immanuel – God with us. John goes on to say:

No One Has Ever Seen God

John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father‘s side, he has made him known.

This is an absolute statement. No one has ever seen God. Period. Paul tells us of the Father:

1 Timothy 6:15 …he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

No one has ever seen or can see God, because he dwells in unapproachable light. No one can see God the Father, because, as Jesus tells us, “God is Spirit” (Jn.4:24; cf. Jn.5:37, 6:46). No one can see the Father because, as Paul tells us in Colossians, God is invisible. But he says of Jesus, God the Son, that:

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Jesus, the only God who is at the Father’s side has made know to us the Father. The word John uses is interesting. Jesus has made known or literally exegeted the Father. We usually use this word exegete in reference to a biblical text. It is a Greek word that means ‘to lead out’. You take a biblical passage and study it carefully so that you can lead out to make known or put on display the truth that is in it. Jesus exegetes the Father. He puts on display what the invisible God is like. The author of Hebrews says that God’s fullest revelation of himself is in his Son, who is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb.1:3).

Jesus is God. He is fully God. He was with God and he was God. But Jesus is God with us. He became human so that he could make know to us what God is like. Jesus is “the radiance of the glory of God.” He is the shining forth of the excellencies of God. He puts his Father on display. He is the exact imprint of the nature of the Father. Jesus tells us as much in John:

John 5:19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

John 14:7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” …9 …Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father‘?

Jesus puts the Father’s nature on display so precisely that he can say “whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” To know Jesus is to know God.

So in the time we have left, let’s turn our eyes to our Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, to get a clearer picture of what God is like. Understand, that studying the gospels and the other New Testament documents to see Jesus, to get to know him, to deepen affection and admiration of him, to enjoy relationship with him, is a lifetime project. We will only be able barely to scratch the surface in a broad overview sort of way.

Triune

As we have seen in the verses we have looked at so far, Jesus reveals to us that God, in his very nature and essence, is triune. Jesus speaks of his Father, and the coming Holy Spirit. God is Father, Son, and Spirit, in eternal relationship and fellowship. Three distinct persons, each fully divine, constitute the one sovereign being we refer to as ‘God’.

Omnipotent

Mark 4:39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”

One thing we learn about God through Jesus is that he is omnipotent, or all-powerful. He is the one who has absolute control over all things. He is the sovereign supreme ruler. All created things must obey him.

Omnipresent

John 1:48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

Another thing Jesus teaches us about God is that he is omnipresent, or everywhere present. He is not confined to be only in one place at a time. God, who is spirit, fills time and space. There is nowhere that he is not. This is how Jesus can say to twelve men and their followers who would scatter across the globe:

Matthew 28:20 … And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Omniscient

John 6:64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)

Jesus teaches us that God is omniscient. He knows everything. He knows what will happen in the distant future. He knows what is in the hearts of men.

Eternal

John 10:17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Jesus teaches that God is the Living One. He is eternal. As we saw in the earlier verses, he eternally existed. He has no beginning and will have no end. He is. Jesus said “I AM” (Jn.8:24, 58).

Life Giver

John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

Not only is God the eternal Living One, he is the Life Giver. He gives life to whom he will. He is the fountain and source of life. All life comes from him.

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Holy

Mark 1:24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are––the Holy One of God.”

Jesus taught that God is holy, distinct, separate, set apart, totally other, one-of-a-kind. Even the demons recognized in Jesus a uniqueness – he is in a category by himself.

Perfect

Mark 7:37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Jesus showed us that God is perfect. He lacks no good quality. He is not deficient in any way.

True

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus teaches us that God is truth. God is entirely trustworthy. He never lies. His word is true. He will keep his promises.

Jealous

John 2:15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money–changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Jesus demonstrates that God is passionate about his own glory. He zealously defends the honor of his own name. He will tolerate no rivals. For the good of his people, he will violently take action against those who misrepresent him.

Wrath

Mark 3:5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

Jesus teaches us that God is a God of anger and wrath. But God is not capricious or volatile. He is slow to anger, and his anger is righteous anger, mixed with compassionate sorrow over the effects of sin.

In the well known passage describing the love of God, Jesus also warns of the wrath of God.

John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

God intensely hates sin. God is to be feared, his wrath is terrifying, but his wrath can be escaped. He has provided a way.

Just

When the religious leaders brought a woman to Jesus for judgment,

John 8:7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Jesus taught that God is just. He does not show favoritism. His judgments are true and righteous.

Mercy

But he also taught that God is merciful and compassionate, eager to forgive. To this woman who was clearly guilty, he said:

John 8:11 …And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Love

John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

Jesus taught us that God is love. Before the world was created, God, Father, Son and Spirit, lived in an eternal relationship of genuine love. Jesus also teaches us what love is.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

God’s love is not a romantic feeling of attraction, but self-sacrificial action for the good of the one loved, regardless of how little they deserve it.

John 13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

Jesus went to the cross to demonstrate God’s self-giving love.

Response:

We have merely scratched the surface of what God is like as revealed in the person of Jesus, or Immanuel, God with us. I invite you to make it your life-long pursuit to deepen your affection and devotion for God by becoming a disciple, a follower of Jesus

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

Exodus 20:3; Word #1 – Worship Only the One True God

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20110710_exodus20_3.mp3

07/10 Exodus 20:3 Word #1 Worship Only the One True God

20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

God’s Ten Words

We are looking at God’s ten words to his people. We know these in English as the ‘Ten Commandments’, but in the Hebrew of Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 4:13 and 10:4 they are called simply the ‘Ten Words’, and here in the introduction it says ‘God spoke all these words, saying…’. These are God’s words.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two–edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

God’s word is powerful and decisive. In the beginning, God spoke, and there was. As God’s words, these can rightly be called commandments because they come from God and carry his authority. But calling them commandments might mislead us into thinking that they are given primarily as a checklist to make ourselves pleasing to God. They can never accomplish that. Rather they point out to us how far we fall short of the perfect standard, and drive us to Christ, who perfectly kept the law for us and was crucified for us to cover our guilt as lawbreakers. When God speaks, he communicates something about himself. In speaking his moral demands, he communicates something of his heart, his will, his character. He is telling us about himself. ‘This is what I am like, and this is how I expect you to relate to me and to one another.’

Saved to God-Centered Worship

God said to Pharaoh ‘Let my people go that they may serve me or worship me’ (Ex.8:1). The first nineteen chapters of Exodus narrate God saving, rescuing, redeeming his people from forced slavery to a cruel tyrant, caring for their needs, and bringing them to himself. God, in an overwhelming display of undeserved kindness, has brought them to the base of the mountain, and now he is graciously defining for them what it means to serve him; what it means to worship him. We were created to worship, and we are redeemed to worship. God is outlining what acceptable worship should consist of. It is interesting that God starts with himself and works down. The bible is thoroughly God-centered. The vertical relationship precedes the horizontal. In the beginning, God…; In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. We must understand who God is and how we relate to him before we can understand who we are and how we should properly relate to one another. The first thing on his list is ‘I am YHWH your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me’.

Who God Is

God is careful to identify himself. I am YHWH (in Hebrew) (or Jehovah), translated ‘the LORD’ – the I AM, the one who is, the ground and goal of all existence. I am YHWH your God, the God who has given himself to his people. YHWH your redeemer, your rescuer, the one who took you out of slavery. God’s first instruction to his saved people is ‘You shall have no other gods before me; you shall have no other gods in my presence, or before my face.’

Remember, Israel spent the last 4 centuries in Egypt, and the Egyptians served a whole pantheon of gods; the gods of creation (Atum, Amun, Ptah, Khnum), god of the sun (Ra), god of earth (Geb), god of sky (Nut), god of the dead (Osiris), god of justice (Ma’at), god of wisdom (Thoth), god of chaos (Nun), god of destruction (Sekhmet). Some gods were for protection, some produced fertility, some agriculture and crops. There were different gods that controlled different things, and their help was sought in different ways. Some were worshiped in temples, others in homes, some you carried an amulet in your pocket or around your neck. In contrast to all this, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob declares ‘you shall have no other gods before me’. Your allegiance is to be single, your devotion is all to go to me. Moses reiterates God’s ten words in Deuteronomy 5, and in chapter 6 he summarizes this way:

Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

Through Jesus, (Mt.22:36-40; Mr.12:28-31; Lk.10:27) we have come to know this as the first or greatest or most important commandment, the commandment that summarizes and includes all other commandments. YHWH our God is one. Practice love toward YHWH with your whole being. He alone is to be worshiped. Our God demands exclusive worship.

Only One God

For this to mean anything, we need to know who this YHWH God is. If God is one and we are to have no other Gods before him, we need to know how he defines himself so that we can love and worship and serve only him.

Deuteronomy 4:35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him. …39 know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.

YHWH, the LORD, claims to be the only God. There is no other. There are other supernatural beings, such as angels and fallen angels or demons, all created beings. They are powerful and dangerous and to be respected, but YHWH is in a class by himself. He is Creator; all else is created by him and for him. He is the one supreme, self-existent being. There is no other. He clearly demonstrated his superiority over all the so-called gods of the Egyptians and whatever supernatural force that was behind them.

Isaiah 44:6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. 7 Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. 8 Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

Who is like the LORD our God? ‘I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.’

The Father is YHWH

What else does this YHWH God tell us about himself? He claims to be our Father by rights of creation.

Deuteronomy 32:6 Do you thus repay the LORD, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?

Isaiah 63:16 For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.

Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Malachi 1:6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. …

Jesus taught us to pray:

Matthew 6:9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

YHWH is our Father by rights of creation, and his name is to be honored above all.

To YHWH alone is all honor and glory due. He says:

Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

Isaiah 48:11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.

The Son is YHWH

But Jesus has some interesting things to say about his Father. The Jews were interrogating Jesus to see what he was claiming about himself. They asked:

John 8:53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’

Jesus claimed that the God of the Jews, who was his Father, glorifies him! YHWH does not share his glory with another, but the Father glorifies his Son Jesus. In fact, back in John 5, Jesus claimed

John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

The Father’s goal is that all would honor the Son ‘just as’ – in the same way, to the same extent that – they honor the Father. In fact, to honor the Son less than the Father is to dishonor the Father. YHWH does not share his glory, and yet the Father and the Son share honor and glory equally! Let’s look back at John 8 to see how Jesus finishes his conversation with the Jews about his identity:

John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Jesus claimed to exist before Abraham. In fact, Jesus was identifying himself with the voice that spoke to Moses from the burning bush. When Moses asked the voice for his identity, this is what God said:

Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.”’ 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

The name YHWH is derived from the Hebrew verb ‘to be’. God claims to be ‘I AM; I AM WHO I AM; the self-existent one, YHWH. Jesus, in claiming to be the ‘I AM’ who existed before Abraham, was claiming to be YHWH. The Jews understood his claim as blasphemy and wanted to execute him on the spot.

The Gospel authors understood Jesus’ identity as YHWH.

Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.”’ (cf. Mk.1:2-3; Lk.1:16-17; 2:76; Jn.1:1-23)

They were quoting Isaiah 40:3, which says:

Isaiah 40:3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

They understood John, in preparing the way for Jesus, to be preparing the way for the coming of YHWH. Jesus is YHWH, and received worship as YHWH.

The Spirit is YHWH

Let’s look at another interesting passage in the Old Testament that is quoted in the New. Psalm 95

Psalm 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” 11 Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”

We are called by the Psalmist to come worship YHWH our Maker and our God. Then in verse 9, he switches to the first person. Your fathers put me to the test at Massah and Meribah. Who is speaking? According to Exodus 17, it was YHWH who was put to the test.

Exodus 17:7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?” (cf. Num.14:20-30; Ps.81:9-13)

So YHWH is speaking in Psalm 95. Why is this important? Because In the New Testament, the author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 95 and says:

Hebrews 3:7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works 10 for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’ 11 As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.”’

So when YHWH speaks in the Old Testament, the New Testament authors can quote him and say ‘the Holy Spirit says’, because the Holy Spirit is YHWH.

2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

The Lord is the Spirit; or the Spirit is YHWH.

Isaiah 63:11 Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people. Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit, 12 who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name, 13 who led them through the depths?

Exodus 14:21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

The Holy Spirit is YHWH, the Son is YHWH, and the Father is YHWH. The Father is a unique and distinct person; the Son is a unique and distinct person, and the Spirit is a unique and distinct person. These three distinct persons are God, but they are not three gods; they are one God. This is what we find in the bible. And God communicates to us so that we can know something of what he is like. So when God says:

2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

We should understand that YHWH is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that YHWH is the only God who exists, and he deserves all our worship, all our devotion, all our affection. We worship this great God, this self-existent God who has always existed in the three persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We worship and honor and praise the eternal, immortal, invisible God, who is Father, Son and Spirit. We worship him alone.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

Exodus 13:17-14:12; The Mysterious Purposes and Presence of God

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20110227_exodus13_17-14_12.mp3

02/27 Exodus 13:17-14:12 The Mysterious Purposes of God and his Presence with Us

Introduction

Throughout the narrative of the mighty acts of God against the Egyptians and for the deliverance of his people, God declares well in advance what he will do, and then at the proper time he does it. God said to Moses

Exodus 3:10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

Even after all Moses’ excuse-making, God sent Moses. God said:

Exodus 12:12 …on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.

And he did just that. God said:

Exodus 4:22 … Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.”’

And that is exactly what God did. God has his good and wise purposes for every single thing he does. God declares in Isaiah:

Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

We might say, from our perspective, ‘there is a method to his madness’. We can stand back with Paul in amazement and say:

Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

But we often don’t see it that way at the outset. God is in control. We believe that. But often we look at our circumstances and feel in our hearts (although we would never articulate in our out-loud voice) God, that’s not inscrutable; that’s just stupid. That so doesn’t make any sense. I know your promise that you work all things together for good to those who love you (Rom.8:28), but how can this possibly work out for anyone’s good? I really think you messed up this time.

The Lord answers out of the whirlwind:

Job 38:2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

Job 40:2 “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

Job 40:8 Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?

1 Corinthians 1:19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Psalm 2:4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury,…

Isaiah 46:9 … for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

In spite of what it looks like from our perspective, God is wise, his ways are perfect, he is always in complete control and he does all that he pleases (Ps.115:3) If we get a grasp on this, it will give us a rock solid unshakeable confidence to follow him everywhere he leads, even if that is right into the lion’s den and right into the fiery furnace. Or in Israel’s case right in between a rock and a hard place or out of the frying pan and into the fire.

The Text

13:17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” 18 But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” 20 And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

14:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi–hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal–zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” And they did so. 5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, 7 and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. 8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. 9 The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi–hahiroth, in front of Baal–zephon.

The Promise

It is interesting that one of the things the Israelites took with them when the left Egypt was the remains of Joseph. It says:

13:19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.”

The book of Genesis closes with this oath, Joseph being embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. Now, four centuries later, the descendants of Joseph’s siblings were keeping their word. What a witness to the faithfulness of God! God will surely visit you. God will keep his promises. Joseph surely knew of the promise God made to his great grandfather Abraham

Genesis 15:12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

God had promised the land to Abraham and his descendants. Jacob was counting on this and he made his sons swear to bury him with Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah and his wife Leah. Jacob and Joseph were proclaiming their faith in the promises of God

Hebrews 11:22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

The people made good on their word to Joseph in Joshua 24. Imagine the testimony to this generation of God’s faithfulness. God will surely visit you. God has visited us. Now we carry the 400 year old mummified remains of our ancestor who hoped in God and believed that God would give him his inheritance. They carried a testimony to the faithfulness of a God who visits his people.

God Leads

God is leading his people. We see that in verse 17 and 18.

13:17 … God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” 18 But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea.

God was leading his people. He even reveals why he led them in the way that he led them. There was a direct route from Egypt to the promised land following the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It was called by the Egyptians ‘the Horus Way’. There were 23 Egyptian military outposts along this road (biblearchaeology.org 8/19/08 Gary Byers). Had the Israelites traveled this way, they would have met armed resistance that they were entirely unprepared for. What is interesting is that the way the Lord did lead them was not a way that would avoid war altogether. As we will see, God led them right into full-on confrontation with the special forces of Egypt. The reason God gives for the route he chose was ‘lest the people change their minds… and return to Egypt. The difference between the direct and indirect routes was not an effort to avoid confrontation, but with the purpose of removing the avenue of escape from God’s deliverance back into slavery. God knew the weakness of his people and their inclination when things get tense to run back to their old slave-master. So God leads them in a way that cuts off their back door of escape from his will. God literally corners his people in a place where there is no way out but to surrender to him and trust him as he carries out their supernatural deliverance. God is demonstrating his intimate knowledge of the weakness of his people, and he is demonstrating his tender care for them even in his choice of their route out of Egypt.

Even Enemies

Not only is God leading his people to exactly where they need to be for their own good, he is even working in the hearts of their enemies so that they play their part in the plan perfectly. The erratic path in which God was leading his people was designed to cause the Egyptians to think ‘they are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in’. In chapter 14 verse 4, God says ‘I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them’; and in verse 5 it says that ‘the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people’; and verse 8 says ‘the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel. Again in verse 17 we will see God say ‘I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them’. God is working even in the hearts of the enemies of his people, not to do harm to his people, but ultimately to do them good. This is awesome! God is wielding the weapons of Hell according to his own purposes to bring good to his people and glory to his name. He says in Isaiah:

Isaiah 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; 17 no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians that a messenger of Satan was given him to harass him to keep him humble. (2Cor.12:7; cf. 1Sam.16:14; 1Ki.22:23, et.al.). If God is sovereignly wielding even the weapons of Hell for our own good, then what could possibly harm us? As Paul says:

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? …37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What great confidence we have! If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom.8:31)

The Presence

God in his providence was leading his people in the perfect way for their good. He was even at work in their enemies to incite them to fight against them, but this too was for the ultimate good of his people. Let’s look at how he led them in chapter 13, verses 21-22.

13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

YHWH went before them! Physically, visibly, God’s presence with his people, going ahead of his people, leading his people.

Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

God’s own presence, shepherding his people, guiding his people, sheltering his people, protecting his people, lighting their path. God is spirit, invisible, but he manifests himself or makes himself known with visible symbols. ‘Our God is a consuming fire’ (Deut.4:24; Is.33:14; Heb.12:29). God is holy and pure and will consume sin and purify us. Listen to these descriptions from the Psalms:

Psalm 18:8 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. 9 He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. 10 He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water. 12 Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

Psalm 97:2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 3 Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around. 4 His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles.

Paul describes God this way in 1 Timothy:

1 Timothy 6:15 …––he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

Something Better

God manifested his presence with his people in a column of fire and cloud. That must have been amazing! Do you ever wish God would manifest himself in some visible form for you to follow? Wouldn’t that make the Christian life so much easier? Friends, we have something better! After listing the faithful men and women from the Old Testament, the author of Hebrews concludes:

Hebrews 11:39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Better than a visible manifestation of God to follow? Yes! Jesus spoke of:

John 14:17 the Spirit of truth, … You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

We enjoy the new covenant promises of God’s Spirit not only with us but in us! In fact, Jesus said that he and the Father would come and make their home with us! God the Father, Son and Spirit have taken up residence in us!

Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Better than an outward symbol, we have the inward reality! The living God, the triune One has come to live in us!

2 Corinthians 13:5 … Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?––…

2 Corinthians 6:16 … For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

Disciple-Making Disciples: Teach about God

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20110109_teach_about_god

01/09 Make Disciples: Teach about God

Jesus made some astonishing claims. He claimed that everything was all about him. He claimed to be the fulfillment of all prophetic scripture, that all history revolved around him. He claimed an unique relationship to God as one of a kind Son of the Father. He claimed a kind of authority that only God could possess. He claimed to be distinct from the rest of humanity, in a class absolutely by himself

And he demanded unquestioning allegiance from his followers. He demanded that we put him in first place far above every other priority or responsibility. He demanded to be loved and honored as God. And he entrusted to us the great privilege and responsibility of calling others to follow him. He puts it this way:

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We – all of us who claim to follow Jesus – are called by Jesus to be disciple-making disciples. What does that mean? What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? According to Jesus, a disciple is one who is immersed into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and taught to obey everything Jesus commanded. If I am to be a disciple-making disciple of our Lord Jesus, then I am to pass on information, character and passion that will translate into a transformed life. So here’s the question: What exactly am I to pass on? What is the information, what is the character, what is the passion that I am to have and to pass on to other would-be followers of Jesus? What is the conviction, the character and the content that needs to be contagious in my life? Today we will focus on the bedrock foundation in the life of a disciple of Jesus that will provide the unshakeable basis for everything else that we will build on it.

So what did Jesus command his disciples? What is the content of the teaching that we are to pass on to future generations of disciples?

A Word to Superficial Religious People

Much of what Jesus taught was to correct distorted views of God. The religious people of his day thought they understood God and related to him in a proper way. They thought the were following the scriptures, but Jesus challenged their thinking and confronted their hypocrisy. He said:

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus then proceeded to tell the people in what ways the religious leaders fell short. Keeping the letter of the outward commands like ‘thou shalt not murder’ and ‘thou shalt not commit adultery’ was not enough; these commands were not merely prohibiting the external act, but had implications on the heart – the thoughts and intents like hatred and lust. Jesus demands that we love not only our neighbor, but even our enemy and those who persecute us because it is the character of God to extend his common grace to both the good and the wicked. Jesus cautions about practicing righteousness publicly – giving and praying and fasting in such a way that we seek to impress those around us. He warns about the spiritual dangers of treasuring anything outside of God and having divided affections. He warns us not to point out flaws in others while overlooking our own character defects. He invites us to ask because God is good and loves to give good gifts to whoever asks. Jesus warns that the way to destruction is wide and easy and many go there. The way to life is hard and narrow and few go there. He warns of the diseased fruit of false teachers who pretend at outward religion but have no heart transformation. He warns that many who claim the name of Jesus and do great deeds in his name have no real relationship with him and will be told ‘I never knew you; depart from me you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matt.7:23). In fact, Jesus not only warned his followers of the dangers of superficial religion, but he confronted those who were involved in it. He said some severe things like:

Matthew 23:13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. 16 “Woe to you, blind guides, … 17 You blind fools! … 19 You blind men! … 23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self–indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. … 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

Harsh, huh? That’s Jesus. He had some severe things to say to those who pretended to be religious leaders and didn’t have any real relationship with God. The stakes were too high to be soft with them. They misrepresented God for their own personal gain and led others down the path to destruction. So Jesus frankly tells them where they are headed and calls them to repent and warns us not to be deceived by them. Jesus steers us back to the path by telling us what God is really like. He is not impressed with outward show. He sees the heart. Jesus tells us that a real relationship – knowing the only true God – is the only path to eternal life.

Knowing God

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

So if knowing God is the definition of eternal life, then it is critical that we have a true understanding of who God is. And Jesus has a lot to say about his Father. In fact, Jesus claims exclusive right to tell us what the Father is like.

Matthew 11:27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Luke 10:22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father‘s side, he has made him known.

John 5:37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen,

John 6:46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.

Here are some of the things that Jesus tells us about his Father. Jesus said that God is the Creator (Mk.10:6; 13:19). God is the one who controls the solar system and the weather (Mt.5:45). God is the giver of life (Jn.5:21, 26). God deserves all the glory and worship (Mt.4;10; 5:16; 6:9; Lk.4:8; 11:2; Jn.4:21-23, 5:23; 12:28; 13:31-32; 14:13; 15:8; 17:1). He is to be loved with all the heart, soul, mind and strength (Mk.12:30; Lk.10:27). God is eternal (Jn.17:5, 24). God is spirit and by nature invisible (Jn.1:18; 4:24; 5:37; 6:46). He sees everything – even what is done in secret (Mt.6:4-6, 18). He knows everything (Mt.6:8, 32; Lk.12:30 16:15). He is Lord of heaven and earth (Mt.11:25, Lk.10:21). He commands all the angels (Mt.26:53). God owns everything (Mt.22:21). He is able to do everything (Mk.14:36; Lk.3:8). He is all-powerful (Mt.22:29; Lk.1:37; 18:27). He is even concerned with little birds (Mt.10:29; Lk.12:6, 24). God is true (Jn.3:33). He is righteous and just (Mt.6:33; Lk.7:29). He is perfect (Mt.5:48). He is merciful (Lk.6:36). He is the giver of all good things (Lk.11:13; 12:32; Jn.4:10; 6:32;). He is full of compassion and forgiveness (Lk.15:20-22). God is love (Jn.3:16; 5:20; 15:9; 16:27; 17:24). God alone is good (Mk.10:18; Lk.18:19).

These are some of the things Jesus said about his Father. If eternal life is all about knowing God, and Jesus claims to be the exclusive authority on God, then we should listen to what he says.

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

What Jesus Says About Himself

The stunning thing here is Jesus includes himself. Eternal life is knowing God and knowing Jesus Christ. For any mere man to put himself on that level would sound absurd. If I were to say ‘This is what eternal life is all about – you need to know the only true God, and you need to know me, Rodney, the anointed one, sent by God’ – I hope you would do more than squirm in your seats. I hope you wouldn’t all nod politely and drift off back to sleep. To put yourself in the same sentence with God is startling, offensive and blasphemous. But that’s what Jesus did. You need to know God and you need to know me.

But Jesus goes even farther than this. He identifies himself completely with the Father.

John 14:7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? …11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

In fact he went so far as to say:

John 10:30 I and the Father are one.”

The Jews perceived in John 5:18 that he was ‘making himself equal with God’. In verse 23 He demanded the same honor that was to be given to God.

John 5:23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

Jesus put himself on the same level with God, he claimed to be equal with God, he demanded the same honor as God, and he demanded that we believe that he is all that.

John 8:23 He said to them, “… I am from above. … I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”

What Jesus Says About The Holy Spirit:

If we stopped here, the picture we have of what Jesus taught us about God would be incomplete. Jesus talked much about his Father. He talked much about himself. And he talked much about the Spirit of God. Jesus was said to have been conceived by the Holy Spirit (Mt.1:18-20; Lk.1:35 ). John said Jesus would baptize us with the Holy Spirit (Mt.3:11; Mk.1:8; Lk.3:16; Jn.1:33). God’s Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism (Mt.3:16, 12:18; Mk.1:10; Lk.3:22; Jn.1:32). Jesus was led by the Spirit (Mt.4:1; Mk.1:12; Lk.4:1, 14, 18) and claimed to do miracles by the Spirit of God (Mt.12:28) and he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit (Lk.10:21).

Jesus considered the Holy Spirit to be God. Speaking against the Holy Spirit was blasphemy (Mt.12:31-32; Mk.3:29; Lk.12:10). Jesus considered the Holy Spirit to be the one who authored the Scriptures (Mk.12:36), and he would be the one to speak through the apostles (Mk.13:11; Lk.12:12). Jesus taught that the Spirit would give new birth. (Jn.3:5-8, 6:63). Jesus said that the Father would give the Holy Spirit to those who asked (Lk.11:13; Jn.7:39, 20:22)

When Jesus told his disciples that he would not be with them much longer, they were grieved. He encouraged them by pointing them to the Holy Spirit.

John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

John 14:25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 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 have said to you.

John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

John 16:7 Nevertheless, 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. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be the one who would equip his disciples with the ability to make disciples.

Luke 24:49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Acts 1:4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” …8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus Taught that there is only One God

Jesus clearly taught that there is only one God. When asked what is the first and greatest commandment, Jesus answered:

Mark 12:29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

When Jesus claimed to be God, we don’t hear him say ‘I and the Father are the two’. Rather, he says ‘I and the Father are one’ (Jn.10:30)

Jesus commanded that we immerse in the one Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Mt.28:19)

Conclusion

If we call ourselves disciples of Jesus, and we want to teach others to follow Jesus, then we need to understand what Jesus taught, especially about God. Jesus taught that God is by nature spirit – invisible. He taught that God is eternal, that he is the Creator and life-giver, that he has all power, is present everywhere, knows everything, that he is worthy of all our affections and all our worship. Jesus taught that there is only one God, and that God exists in the person of the Father, the person of the Son, and the person of the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org