A Hope for Israel, A Hope for US

Romans 9.6-29

The Jews are God’s chosen people. In Fiddler on the Roof, Reb Teviah says to God in a prayer, “Lord, I know that we are your chosen people, but just once, couldn’t you choose somebody else?” Our Study of Romans has been a non-traditional one. In it, Paul tells us that there is a Law of Faith that we strive to live by. There are very few laws in comparison. It’s not really a list of do’s and don’ts. Bottom line, Paul’s point to this point is the laying aside of the Law of Moses, the Ten Commandments.

One might ask, is Paul turning his back on his fellow countrymen? Instead, Paul answers in this chapter his passion for his fellow countrymen. We can look at Acts and see his operation of first proclaiming Christ to the Jews and then to the Gentiles.

This leads us to question, “What about Israel? If the Law of Moses is to be set aside, are we saying that so too the nation of Israel? What do we do with Israel now? Aren’t they the chosen people?” These questions are answered by Paul as we continue through this chapter and into chapter 10 of Romans.

Let me rephrase the first question: Who did God choose? Reading verses 6-9, traditionally, we focus on the people God has chosen for His works. Yet Paul’s focus is on the promise, not the people. The promise is to the descendants of Abraham through Isaac. This is also important to understand. There is a movement that came along some 150 years or so after Paul that claimed Abraham as their father through Ishmael, the son of Hagar, Sarah’s first maid. It is important to know that this promise is very exact. God intended to use Isaac for the final revelation of His plan of reconciliation of the world, restoring the fellowship between God and man.

So Paul continues to explain through this, that God had chosen one lineage. Israel was a twin, the younger twin of Esau. God chose the younger to rule to older. He hated one, loved the other. Now because we know our relationship and the emotion that these two words carry, we wonder about them, applying them back to God. Consider Chinese Checkers game. Your focus is on the green marbles. You move the green marbles from your space to the space opposite you. You see the opponents’ red marbles, yellow marbles white marbles and blue marbles, but you don’t care for them. You have chosen the green. (Mainly because I like green above all other colors.) You love green and hate red. God loved Jacob and hated Esau. We are not talking eternal destinies, but divine plan of salvation. We have no idea of Esau’s destiny. We can make assumptions, but we are not to worry about it. God chose a nation based upon faith, before Jacob could “earn” it.

Through 23, Paul continues this line of God’s election. He shows mercy to the slaves of Egypt, yet He hardened Pharaoh’s heart. We look at this from our perspective and try to rationalize God’s love and mercy with what seems to be a point of judgment and execution. Paul reminds us that we are finite creatures. It would be like a lump of clay objecting to be used as a bedpan rather than shaped into a jar that would carry the king’s wine. Again, we are focused on the eternity to come, not the promise that was fulfilled.

God chose to use Pharaoh and Egypt to declare His mercy to Israel. Remember, Pharaoh, who grew up with the same influence that Moses had, the same knowledge that lead Moses to attempt to free Israel 40 years early. But Pharaoh stayed true to his own religion of worshipping idols dedicated to the sun, Rah, the moon, Allah, and the various other idols. So when God sent Moses back, based upon the actions previously taken, he used Pharaoh. Mind you, this is God’s sovereignty to use people.

Reading verses 22-26, we learn that it is the Promise that makes the People. Because we have accepted the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, we are called children of the Living God. This is both Jews and Gentiles. Paul’s quoting Hosea is meant to show that God never intended to keep Israel alone. Those who are not God’s people would be called His people.

Now for the bad news: Verses 27-29, Paul quotes warnings from Isaiah about Israel. Though there are many Jews, only a remnant will be saved. What is this remnant? This answers the question about God’s chosen people. The kingdom promised has always been foretold to take on a spiritual reality. We see from the first 5 verses that God used the physical nation of Israel for ushering in the Christ, redeeming the whole of mankind.

But we become confused because what we see as a remnant is not what we are used to hearing traditionally. We think that God will once again bring some great sign through Israel. Yet He does so every time that someone is clothed in Christ. (Gal 3.27.) This remnant needs to be in the light of Peter’s defense before the Jewish leaders in Acts 4.12: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be save by [that name].” (HCSB)

And then let’s not forget the warning in chapter 11, beginning verse 17. If God didn’t spare those naturally descended from Abraham, then we ought not think ourselves better, for then our fate will be as theirs.

Let me bring this home for us today. There are 3 warnings, besides the one we just saw: When we focus on what God may or may not be doing with Israel, we become distracted. Honestly, Titus destroyed the nation of the promise back in 70 AD. Today’s Israel, by their own charter from 1948 says they are not that same nation, but became a nation, a place of refuge for the persecuted Jews in Europe. It had been in the works since the 1850s. The real focus is on the lost around us. There are people who need Jesus today and we likely are the only ones who can share that Great News with them. To do so, we need to be living that Great News. 

When we believe that God will do something prior to the return of Christ, where we look to Jerusalem still, we become lazy. We delude ourselves to believing we have time to talk to those we love about Christ. God’s return is still far off. And it is easy to do because of the third warning that we should not mistake God’s use of people as thinking that God has already determined whether or not someone will accept His invitation. He knows who will, but we do not. He knows that perhaps had Augustine taken a moment, we wouldn’t be under a jihad threat today. Perhaps if a minister had taken time for a kid in crisis because the youth minister’s focus was off, then perhaps Marilyn Manson’s music wouldn’t exist as vulgarly as it does.  2 missed opportunities.

The problem we have today is that we have lost the sense of urgency for the lost. We don’t know how much longer the world will go on. Paul expected that Christ would come while he was still here, and if not, shortly thereafter. When do you think Christ will return?

Let me finally close this message with this. God chose the nation Israel to redeem, to save mankind. For that nation, their hope became looking for the Messiah, the Christ. Because that was their hope, we now have the hope of the return of Jesus, our Christ, our Savior. Let it become our motivation to stir us to those around us, for who knows, we may not have as many tomorrows as we think.

What's Your Passion?

(These are the sermon notes for 4/15/12)

Romans 9.1-5

(Intro example of boy's offering, Arkansas fans, diamondback plate on church bus, preaching)

We all have something we are passionate about. But what happens if our passion is misunderstood?

To this point, imagine what the casual observer is thinking, or hearing: Paul, an Apostle to the Gentiles.  The overall message is that the Law of Moses counts for nothing in the grand scheme, in fact, should be set aside. A battle of tradition. There are no more laws, instead there is total freedom. Has Paul turned his back on his upbringing? Has he rejected Judaism? The tone of the letter suggests this is what motivated Paul to begin chapter 9 as he does. He gives a passionate stance on Judaism. Listen for that passion as we read the passage.

From Paul, I learned that passion, his passion for the salvation of the Jews, motivated him. Of course, this isn’t in the text, but in harmony with the book of Acts, with his confession as a preacher. As we know, Paul was zealous for the faith in Judaism. He was the point man at Stephen’s execution. He tells the Philippians that in his zeal he persecuted the church, as for legalism, he was perfect. (3.6)  He was misguided. Then he saw the light.

From there, Jesus redirected Paul’s energies. His focus became proclaiming Jesus to first the Jew and then to the Gentile. Paul would tell the church of Corinth that though he could demand to earn his living from preaching, he won’t. That’s not his motivation. Christ was his focus. Seeing souls come to Christ was his reward. (1C 9.16) He goes on telling how committed he is.

Now to achieve this, he became all things to all men. His focus is that when he would enter a community, he would first go to the synagogue to preach. Acts 13.4 and then 13, Paul arrives at Cyprus, enters the synagogue, then in Paphos, again does the same. Time and again, Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles would seek first the Jew. The exception was in Philippi where there was no synagogue. Lydia became his first convert there.

So studying Paul’s life, and his writings, we see that this is something that he took quite personally. Why? Because, this from our text, verses 3-5, God chose the people of Israel to bless in all accounts. They have the promise of salvation, the first to be adopted, the glorious works of God, and finally the lineage of the Savior of the World. All God did for our salvation, to restore the fellowship, he used the people of Israel, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. And for God to so bless one people above all others, his own kin in many cases, it hurts to see them turn their backs on Christ.

But alas, Paul did what he could, preaching, sharing, loving them. Some were saved, but many were not. He knew he couldn’t replace Jesus, though he’d make the same sacrifice if it’d help. One cannot look at Paul and say he lacked passion for his fellow Jews. Do we?

No, I am not talking Israel, though next week, we will look at their role, and their future role in events of the human journey. What I am drawing is correlation between Israel and the USA. We are, if I may be arrogant, the new Israel as far as having been a nation to enjoy a hedge of protection, of God’s favor. Our culture is based on biblical interpretation. We look to the betterment of our neighbor, or we once did.

The Church of the USA has done more to advance the Gospel than any other nation during that time period years gone by. Now let’s draw closer to home. Arkansas is in the middle of what is called the Bible Belt. One might expect people to know more about Christ than anywhere else, at least more so than in California, Arizona or even New York. Yet the churches are seeing a negative growth. People are leaving faster than they are coming. I don’t care what label you put on the building. It’s true for every church in this county.

Why? This is happening because people see the church as irrelevant. Our “Christian” radio stations and other media aren’t helping in this. Example: Person “coming to Christ” not encouraged to plug into local church. Station is church.

But let’s focus right now. Let us be sure that our aim isn’t to fill our seats. That’s what God will do when we carry out the mission. When we meet here, it’s so we can corporately give thanks to God, to break bread, to be encouraged by the Word to live this week by His strength. Our focus during the week is to be spreading the Gospel, to share God’s love to a hurting world.

Our motivation is that we should be moved by the state that we are in, the rampant increase in immorality, the rapid decrease in respect for God as well as His children. Our motivation is that our children, nieces, nephews, parents and siblings are headed for hell and we might be the only ones who can stop them.

And in that light, it makes it very personal. It’s not just our families. It’s also our friends. It’s our neighbors in the next apartment or across the lawn or down the highway. It is those who we interact with on a daily basis.

The only way that the church, that you and I can make a difference in this world for God is to develop the passion for our immediate world as Paul had for the people of Israel. Only then, only when God’s love flows through us will people see our message. Only then will people call on the name of the Lord. Is this your passion?

The Burning Desire

Luke 24.25-35

Have you ever had all that you dreamt dashed to pieces? Have you reflected at some point and see nothing but rubbish laying there in the midst of your life? For a nation, such has happened. Oh there were mixed emotions, mind you. The leaders of the nation didn’t put much stock into it. Never did. Probably because they were a tad bit jealous. You see, there was a dream for a nation, and as the leaders reckoned, they weren’t invited. At every turn, at every stretch, the dreamer seemed to make it clear that there was no future, at least for the leaders.

But the people of the nation… that is a different horse altogether. You see, people don’t tend to use the same lenses that the leaders tend to use. Leaders, politicians and the sort, they see the world through green lenses. Pockets are deep, people are happy to lend a hand. Same picture from the other side of the dais looks more like oppressive tyrants taking what little is left and giving it to those who don’t need it. And the local leaders, the ones who should be teaching them, leading them in the ways of God? They look more like puppets in a sick show.

So there is a breath of fresh air. Sure, he does things a might different than one would normally expect. But he’s open about not trusting the rulers, the teachers, the traditions. He seems to be bringing a different brand of patriotism. Perhaps this guy will lead us in a way that is unexpected. For 3 years, this man has captured the imaginations, hopes and dreams of an entire nation, and yet all without rousing empire’s suspicion. Even as he came to celebrate the week of Passover in Jerusalem, surely Rome would have noticed a parade that was a day long, maybe 6 mile trek from the city gates to the Temple.

Can you imagine what must be going through the minds of the pair of followers as they walked down to Emmaus? (Oh they weren’t too far, about a round trip to the EZ Mart from here.) From the parade, to the preparation of the feast, to taking swords to a time of prayer, they must have been ever looking for the promised kingdom. Instead, all they saw were missed moments. Even as Peter swung a sword at the high priest catching only a servant’s ear, but again, Peter was only a fisherman. His tool isn’t the sword. His is the net. But what must have stung the most at that moment, one of their own leading a detachment of soldiers, all the leaders of the Temple. Judas gives Jesus a kiss.

From there, they would themselves flee. Later, after mustering courage, these two, Simon and perhaps Matthias (who doesn’t really matter), would make their way to the temple court. On the way, perhaps they see Peter running, weeping, knowing he failed in his boast of being constant at Jesus’ side. And then Jesus, the final opportunity missed, dies on that cross. There was a demonic unnaturalness to the sky, maybe of dark victory. The sun wasn’t shining, and it wasn’t cloudy. It was like darkness had overcome the light. (Now  light a candle in a dark room and watch the darkness flee.) Not this time. Darkness at noon day bright. Has that ever happened before?

But to their hearts, that was only the beginning. Now, couple of days later, the women rush in, waking everyone saying that Jesus is alive. The women had seen him! After that massive beating, after that spear sinking so deep into Jesus’ body, and they are saying he’s alive?! Are they sick? If he’s alive, then why haven’t THEY seen him?

Jerusalem is right now too much to handle. They need to leave, they need to recoup. And to make matters worse, they fall in with an obliviot. After the headlines, how can anyone coming from Jerusalem NOT know what happened? So they give him the week’s events in a nutshell.

And then came the rebuke! Oh they were the ones on the receiving end. Their faith is questioned. Their knowledge is questioned. Apparently they didn’t know the Bible as well as they had thought. But this visitor gave them a complete walk-through of how Jesus did in fact redeem Israel, and not just Israel, but the whole of the world, for those who would but accept.

After the history lesson, these men then strongly encourage the visitor to join them for the evening meal, to spend the night. It is the least one does for a teacher, give him room and board. So he decides to join them for supper. Then, as he had but not a few night nights before, he blesses the meal, breaks the bread and the men now see. But as they realize that they were in the very presence of Jesus, the very presence of Jesus leaves them to ponder their walk from Jerusalem.

They realized that from the moment Jesus had joined them on the road, hearing the Gospel, hearing the Word of God, their hearts were burning. But burning with what? Was it a burning from being in the presence of the glorified savior? Was it creating a desire to know more of God’s Word? One desire I do know was to tell others, to testify of His wondrous works, that Jesus truly is alive. As soon as they discussed this, leaving their meals barely touched, if at all, they rush back to Jerusalem, to offer the same news that hours earlier, the women of the group had shared. Yes, brothers, it’s true! Jesus is alive!

Their nightmare was over! A person tends to keep the last image of a loved one. For the followers that Friday, it was a beaten, bloody mess of a man, hair pulled out by the flesh, back side looking like burger meat, what wasn’t shredded was definitely bruised and swollen. That’s the Jesus they remember. That’s not the Jesus they met.

Funny today, sad really, that we forget this story, Simon and someone else walking to Emmaus. Their dreams were dashed. But after seeing Jesus, no their dreams weren’t resurrected. Their dreams were changed. Their dreams became the message of hope. They went to those they were closest with, the rest of the 11 and the closest followers of Jesus. How many were together when they arrived? It really doesn’t matter. It matters that this great day they wanted to share the biggest news with those they cared for, those they loved. For some, they were friends, for others, there was blood relationship. But thanks to the opening of the tomb, they all became family by the Blood of the Lamb.

How do we view this story today? When we read the Word of God, when we open the Bible, do we find ourselves just reading to read it, to say that yes, we’ve done it, or do we find ourselves reading, losing track of time, wanting to know more, to see a little more? Simon, the Zealot, said his heart burned the moment Jesus began speaking to them.

Their desires increased all the more as they saw Jesus break the bread. How often do we allow ourselves to be moved by the ceremony of breaking bread, of communing with one another, communing with God to be our motivation? It should motivate us not only to love God for forgiving us, but also to tell others the great news.

Now there are some who’d say, but we don’t have Jesus breaking into our timelines today. Jesus did tell Thomas that Thomas’ belief was based on sight, but blessed are they that take it on faith. Consider this now… there is more written testimony to the validity of Jesus’ life, aside from the Bible and Christian writers, than there are of George Washington being our first president. No one has moved so much in this world as to even dividing time, before and after, or more grammatically correct: before and now during.

Let the passion that filled Simon that day be your passion today. As for your dreams that have been shattered, or just set aside, and your life that is in a mess? There is hope! No, Jesus will not necessarily save you from the mess, but he will see you through the mess. Your dreams, he may have new ones for you, as Simon discovered he had, as the rest would have in a matter of a couple of hours, in several weeks. God promises that He will work all things to Good for those who love him and are clothed in him. What a promise, all stemming from this Great Day!

Have you heard? The tomb was found empty. Jesus is alive! Jesus lives! Amen?

Amen!

Father, Forgive

(This post is the message that I gave in my part of the Stuttgart Good Friday Service, 2012)

Somewhere, somehow we seem to have lost our way. We forgot what our purpose was. We were made to walk with God in the cool of the afternoon, as Adam used to do in Genesis. Like Adam, when we can make our own choices, we tend to choose wrong. We turn our back on God, and do what seems right to us. We became cursed, sentenced to death, banished from God.

Not being able to approach God, not being in the presence of the king leaves an empty hole in the heart of humanity. But God planted seeds of hope, messages for us to find. Seeds of hope from the moment the young couple lost their home. Words of hope to an old couple unable to have children. Words of hope through not just the prophets, but from the lips of an old woman pleading King David to restore his banished son, 2 Sam 14.14, “Even God is not content in leaving one banished, but is working on restoring him to his presence.” (NHP)

Through humanity’s history, we see God’s faithful working, defining righteousness, defining sin, giving us opportunities, but still humanity missed, forgot to listen. All that God did with Israel led to this moment in history, this day that we remember.

Jesus came in the flesh to fulfill all righteousness, to teach us, to give us hope. Still, humanity refused to listen. John’s Gospel goes so far as to say that humanity not only refused, but utterly rejected Jesus. Still he completed his mission. Paul puts it this way to the Romans, “rarely will someone die for a decent man, though perhaps for a godly man, but while we were enemies…” It was humanity that put Jesus on the cross, and while humanity was as hostile towards God, we were nailing God, the Son of God to the cross, Jesus utters words of grace, words of hope. As he hung dying, his lips uttered a prayer that God will gloriously answer, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”

That’s humanity, that’s us. We don’t know what we are doing, but this Good Friday many years ago, we were given words of hope, words of grace. “Father, forgive.”