11/22/15 Thanksgiving - thankful for God's grace & the church

Joel 2

Intro: Joel 2:1-11

The day of the Lord's judgment has come upon the people (Joel 2:1). This is supposed to be a time for God's children to see Him disciplining those who are against God and His will. What happens when those against God turn out to be His own chosen people? Welcome to the book of Joel...

Repentance: Joel 2:12-17

God's judgment reveals itself through the imagery of a locust plague (Joel 1:4-10) and an army (Joel 2:2). God offers a time to repent even after His judgment has been pronounced (Joel 2:12-13). This only further illustrates God's grace and compassion. Even if the destruction is coming, there always remains a need to repent. God has shown us from examples in the Old Testament that He will restore things (on His time & not our time).

Restoration: Joel 2:18-27

If the Lord's people will repent, then all the negative will be reversed (you can be positive of this fact). The most spectacular thanksgiving feast will pale in comparison of what the Lord can do if they only returned to Him. If this was true for them, then why should we assume it would be any different for us?

Resting of the Spirit: Joel 2:28-32 (Acts 2:16-21), Acts 2:33-41

The pouring out of the Spirit of the Lord was extremely significant during this time. The Spirit had come upon many individuals, but He rarely ever fell on a group (most certainly not an outpouring like Joel speaks of). Many years later, the Apostle Paul quoted Joel to explain what was happening on the day of Pentecost immediately following Christ's ascension into heaven. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit sparked the birth of the church.

Conclusion:

Peter preached the gospel message to those present at Pentecost. He taught them that their response should be very similar to the message Joel preached. They needed to repent and be baptized.

11/15/15 Watch! - Mark 13

Mark 13

Intro: God will keep us humble

sometimes subtle: last Sunday I spoke of the widow's mite & giving of our offerings

Yet I forgot to set aside money in my wallet for our weekly offering!

sometimes severe: destruction of the Temple (& Jerusalem) in 70 AD

1. Why is this happening? Mark 12:38-40, 13:1-2

God's chosen people (the Jewish nation) had been going through the motions for some time by now but their hearts were far from the Lord. Their leaders were mistreating those truly in need. God will not simply look the other way. His wrath came upon the city of Jerusalem when He allowed it to be destroyed by the Romans.

2. What do you trust in? Mark 13:1-8

The Lord taught that all who desire to live by the sword will also die by the sword (Matthew 26:49-54). Where do you put your trust? The only true foundation to place our hopes upon is on the only true and living God!

3. When will it end? Mark 13:14-16, 20-23

Here we see the mercy of God even among His wrath. Yes, He is allowing the city to be destroyed but He shortened the days of distress for the sake of His elect!

Conclusion: Mark 13:32-37

Let us allow Jerusalem to be an example to us today. They were God's chosen people yet they chose to forsake Him. A temple to a false god stands today on the site of what once was the Lord's temple! God's judgment was carried out on Jerusalem when it was destroyed. There will be a day in the future when God's judgment will come upon the entire world. Our job is to watch and be ready for that day!

11/8/15 The Widow's Mite - Mark 12:35-44

Widow's mite - image from Wikipedia

Mark 12:35-44

The usual interpretation: focus on the widow & her selfless giving (v.41-44)

     The usual understanding of the widow's mite is focused on how much we should give to God. The widow serves as an example to us because even though she only had a few cents, she was completely determined to give everything over to God. 

 

     All too often we find ourselves only giving out of the surplus of “blessings” that God has given to us. I often pray that God will help us to use our blessings as He intends them to be used. If we are not careful enough, then we might find God's wonderful blessings as a “curse”. The difference is how we use what God has given us.

     Yes, the widow does serve as an example to us in how we should give. But there is more to the story than just the widow...

The less usual interpretation: focus on the context of passage & why she gave up all

     Reading the story of the widow's mite within its context will allow us to gain a better understanding of righteous giving according to God. Mark 12:35-37 tells us plainly that the crowd enjoyed listening to Jesus because He had worthy lessons to share. This established Jesus as a well respected teacher among this group of people.

     When Jesus is given this captive audience, He responds by giving them a strong warning against the “teachers of the law”(Mark 12:38-40 NIV). He specifically mentions their attitude toward widows when He states, “They devour widow's houses...” Mark 12:40 (NIV). They will not get away with treating the helpless unfair. They will receive a severe punishment.

     Only after these previous verses have been factored into the conversation will the story of the widow's mite be a more complete teaching on what it means to give. It is not simply that the widow gave all she had... it is the fact that the widow should not have been put in that place from the beginning if they treated her as God demands widows to be treated! The teachers of the law should have given to the widow so that her needs were already met... not that she had to give up what little she already had to live on.

Conclusion:

     The widow serves as an example of a faithful giver. We are also called to contrast her example with that of the teachers of the law. Perhaps when it comes to our giving, we need to look a the big picture to see what God would have us to do. Some passages that will help teach us on this matter include Psalm 146, Acts 6, & 1 Timothy 5.

11/1/15 All Saints Day - Isaiah 25-26

Isaiah 25 & Isaiah 26

Intro:

     Halloween received its name because it was on the eve of “All Saints Day”. This day has been celebrated in many different ways. At its heart, it is a day set aside to remember all the saints (living & dead) who have paved the Christian road before us. It is a very fitting thing to be mindful that we are not alone and that all of God's saints will one day be reunited as one family of God.

     Isaiah was a prophet with the task of proclaiming utter destruction of the land of the children of God (see Isaiah 6:8-13). Among all the woes & prophecies against the nations, there remains prophecies of hope of a time of future restoration. We will be looking at some of these today. Notice that there is a blurring of the line between what should be interpreted physically and spiritually. There really isn't much a true line when we are looking at things from God's perspective.

The Mountain of the Lord: Isaiah 25:6-12

Many important events of the Old Testament take place around a mountain. Noah's ark landed on the mountains of Ararat (Gen. 8), Abraham was tested to see if he would sacrifice Isaac on a mountain (Gen. 22), Moses first spoke with God on Mount Horeb (Ex. 3), Moses received the Law on Mount Sinai (Ex. 19 & following), etc...

- God's people:

     1.) feast – marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-10)

     2.) shroud/sheet v.7

- life/death: hope of life after death v.8

- punishment: the wicked (Moab) v.9-12

     though they try to swim → they will ultimately drown

     ex: Peter's attempt to walk on water (Matt. 14) → we must put our trust in Christ!

The “Other Lords”: Isaiah 26:1, 12-15

- God's people: God always worked in their favor v.12 & only His name is honoured v.13

- life/death: now dead & live no more v.14a

- punishment: brought to ruin v.14b

the other lords – sometimes they are not even named (Exodus Pharaoh)

The True Lord: Isaiah 26:19-21

- God's people & life/death: dead now but will live later! v.19

- punishment: the Lord's people told to enter rooms until His wrath passes v.20-21

Conclusion: God has always had a plan to take care of His own people. We should take time to remember those that have gone on before us (both Jews of the Old Testament & Christians of more modern history). God has made it clear that there is hope for anyone to have life after death. At the same time, there always remains a warning to the wicked.