SET YOUR HEARTS ON THINGS ABOVE
Colossians 3:1-17 Lesson 5
Key Verse: 3:1 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 8-9-09
" Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God."
In our last passage we learn that life in Christ is more than just being an arm chair theologian. It is more than just living by the rules and traditions of men. It is more than subjecting our bodies to harsh treatment. It is all about receiving Christ Jesus as Lord and continuing to live in him as a lifestyle. It is all about being rooted in Jesus and built up in him, strengthened in the faith and overflowing with thankfulness. Through repentance and faith we can put deep roots down into the grace and truth of God. Then we can be built up in Jesus, as individuals and as a church. Many of us decided to be overflowing with thanksgiving, to search for true life only in Jesus and to lead others to true life in him. Maybe you were one of those people?
Up to this point, chapters 1 and 2 were all about doctrine. Now, in chapters 3 & 4 Paul talks more about the practical life of believers, concentrating on the new person we have become and the new life we have been called to live. As God's children, we must cast off the old self and put on the new, and then God will continue to work in us to mold us into Jesus' image. Through this study, may God strengthen and inspire you to live a new life.
Part l: New Life In Christ (1-4)
Let’s dive into this passage. Verses 1 says, “you have been raised with Christ .” This is kind of hard to understand, especially for the young ones among us, but I trust the Holy Spirit to guide and to teach young hearts. “Raised with Christ” simply means that we have been united with Christ in his death and in his resurrection. Our old self has died and in Christ we have risen to become a new person, not superficially, but through and through. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God. Our hope is in him, for he will surely return to reign in glory, and we will rise to be with him forever.
But we are still waiting for Jesus to come again and as we do we have to live by faith in a fallen world polluted by sin. In such an environment we all know that Christian life does not come automatically, nor does it permeate our heart through osmosis. The “whip of life” can make our hearts very difficult and hard. We easily become discouraged when we discover that all that we set our hearts on is only spoiling, perishing and fading away. But in Christ, there is a solution. Verse 1a reads, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above,…" The only way to overcome this world is to set our hearts on Christ, and on things above.
“Set” and “seek” have similar meanings in Greek. To “set” implies that we don’t just think about it, but seek it with our whole body and mind. It implies action…a very positive thing. In order to make some positive action, we need some spiritual discipline on our lives. Then there will surely be and some positive growth and movement. When it comes to spiritual things and the kingdom of God, we must never be passive, but take hold of the things of God with our whole hearts. (Matt 11:12)
Despite of this world’s difficulties and our own weaknesses, our new lives are held safe and secure in Jesus. Verses 3 & 4 read, "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." We have been united in Christ. The new life we now have is with Christ. It is sheltered and a protected. To be certain, we will appear in heavenly glory with Jesus. We can live in Christ with perfect security and peace. So many students have no hope and assurance in this world. To them nothing seems certain, except death and taxes. They despair and live in fear. They need to enter into new life in Jesus and be found hidden in Christ.
Part ll: Put To Death The Earthly Nature (5-11)
We can not be passive about getting rid of old lives of sin either. Look at verse 5. "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:” Our earthly nature is our sinful nature. Some of the elements of the sinful nature are found in verse 5b, "….sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” (Gal 5:17-21) If there is some confusion as to what sexual immorality is, Jesus spells is out very clearly. To Jesus even looking at someone lustfully is adultery. (Matt 5:28) Impurity implies that something is not holy…something tainted by sin. Anything that is not of faith is sin. Lust is lust, plain and simple and has no room in a Christian’s heart. Evil desires are desires that are not for the glory of God, for whatever we do, whether we eat or drink, we must do it all for the glory of God. (1Cor 10:31) When we are greedy, it means that we have let something capture our hearts. It makes us want to serve created things. Greed is like a fire, always desiring more. Anything that captures our hearts is idolatry. There are many reasons that a Christian must not live like this. But verse 6 makes it clear… “Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.” Paul gets right to the point. It displeases God. It damages us and damages others. These things rob the Holy Spirit of its rightful dwelling place…our hearts. The wrath of God is surely coming. We must take them under control with the gospel of Jesus. This is the heart of the matter.
People like to caudal their sin and slowly and gently put it to death. Maybe they think it will disappear painlessly. Some allow sin to reign in their mortal bodies for decades sometimes. I always remember the words of Michael Card in his song, “I Have Decided.” A portion of the song says, “There's a wealth of things that I professed and said that I believed. But deep inside I never changed. I guess I've been deceived. And a voice inside kept telling me that I changed by and by. But the Spirit made it clear to me that kind of life's a lie.” When it comes to our sinful nature Jesus commands that we put it to death, “"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:” “Put to death” are extreme words. It means literally to kill something so that it may not rise again. It has no response. In the Bible there is nothing gentle about dealing with sinful elements that invade our hearts. Hebrews 12:4 reads, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” But when we try to put our sinful nature to death, it might raise its ugly head again and again, but keep “killing it” through repentance and faith and it will loose its power over you and you will be able to throw it off and walk victoriously in Christ.
In our repentance we must not just simply trying to “not” do things, like “do not swear” or “do not get angry.” Repentance breathes new life into our weary bones, when go beyond the “don’ts” and hold fast to the full meaning of repentance. Romans 6:13 reads, “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.” We need to be positive in our repentance, replacing sin with positive things for the glory of God. Instead of swearing, praise the name of Jesus. Instead of being angry with someone forgive them and pray for them. Serve them a peanut butter sandwich. Be very positive in your repentance.
We can see the fruit of repentance in the lives of the Colossian Christians. Look at verse 7, “You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.” (Also see 1 Cor 6:9-11) Paul seems to remind people of what they were before they came to saving faith in Jesus. He wanted these new converts to be firmly grounded in the grace of God. And when the grace of Jesus was very clear, they needed to get their lives in line with the grace that was poured out on them. Let’s read verses 8-9. “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.” In light of the grace of God we need to rid ourselves of many things. Anger is like murder in Jesus’ eyes. Rage is extreme anger..anger over expressed. I have to repent of letting rage come into my heart from time to time. Malice is intending something bad to happen to someone. Slander, is dragging someone’s good name through the dirt, publically. People can be sued for slandering. Filthy language is filthy language, plain and simple. It includes perverse talk, coarse jokes, swearing, taking the Lord’s name in vain. Lies can be subtle. Not telling the whole truth and being vague on purpose is like lying. It misleads people. But God can not be mocked. All lies will be exposed. Sometimes we think that such things are not all that bad. We get angry, we lie, we take God’s name in vain, and think nothing about it. We are sort of desensitized about it. But it is part of our old selves and must be taken off and replaced with the image of Jesus.
The image of Jesus is part of our new identity as believers in Jesus. Let’s read verse 10, “and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” Thank God that we don’t have to bear our old identity as lost sinners. I don’t have to bear my old, old image of a destructive, hedonist or my recently old image of an angry father. We all have a new identity in God, that is, those who bear the image of Jesus. Our young people need find a new identity in God. Pray that God may raise up 12 disciples this summer who can put on their new self in the image of their Creator, Jesus Christ.
When we put on our new selves, then something beautiful happens in our fellowship. Look at verse 11. “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” In the world there are so many barriers and prejudices. There are all kinds of divisions. But in Jesus every human barrier comes down. The closer we get to Jesus the closer we get to each other. Young and old, men and women, all ethnic groups, all social barriers, racial barriers, and all prejudices are removed. In Jesus we have unity. In the cross we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. A healthy church should have all different kinds of people worshipping together as one.
Part lll: Christian Virtue (12-17)
A person who has put on the new self is one of God’s chosen people. Verse 12 reads, “ Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” God’s chosen people are holy before the eyes of God. They are made holy through their faith in the blood of Jesus. They are dearly loved by God and by many, (but not all) people. (12) As a chosen people part of the new self is to be clothed with virtues such as “…compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (12b) These, and other virtues, God wants to blossom in our hearts, as we remain in Christ. Verses 13 and 14 read, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Jesus really wants his disciples, of all ages to have unity with God and with one another. In John 17:11 Jesus prays for his disciples. “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.” There is only one way to achieve this type of unity. It is to bear and forgive one another. When we clothe ourselves with these virtues then we can grow in perfect unity with God and with one another.
How hard it to achieve unity! Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Staying together is progress. Working together is success.” But among disciples of Jesus there are many problems with each other that keep this from being a reality. But when disciples of Jesus are clothed with these virtues they can make things work out.
Forgiveness is the key to working things out. It is hard to forgive. People take advantage of us or cross us and we think that we have some right to never forgive. I know a person who has held a grudge for 45 years. One person I know has held a grudge against me for 7 years. We demand that others forgive us, but can we forgive others? It does not make sense to say, “I love God, but I hate you.” or “God can forgive me, but I will never forgive you.” The key is to always remember how Christ forgave us. 1 John 4:19, “We love because he first loved us.” And 1 John 3:16, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” When we remember this then what little grievances we may have with another disappears. We can maintain unity with Jesus and one another and put on the greatest of every virtue, love, which binds us all together in perfect unity. (14)
Another by-product of practicing Christian virtues is peace. Let’s read verse15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Instead of anger and criticism, peace should rule the hearts of anyone in the body of Christ. Jesus gives us peace. God is glorified when there is peace among his people. People are attracted to Jesus when his people live in peace with one another and with God. Young people really want peace. Too often they can not find it at home. They surely can’t find it on their i-pod and at the movie theater. They can’t find it in their relationships. They will find it in Jesus and we need show it by living in peace among ourselves.
How is this peace achieved? Let’s read verse 16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” “Let the word dwell in you” implies that God is trying to do something through his word. Do not hinder his word with our unbelief or our business. Let God do what he is trying to do. Let the word of God dwell in your heart richly through deep and personal and quiet Bible study. Then we will see the peace of God descend upon our hearts like a refreshing morning mist.
The peace of God can grow among us in other ways too. Let’s read verse 16b, “…as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Christ gave us wisdom. What should we do with it? We are given wisdom to teach and encourage others. We can also influence others in the way of peace by singing spiritual songs and hymns. When we do, we can be joyful, peaceful Christians. I try to sing with all my Bible students. Most of the time it is me doing a solo in front of them. But eventually they try to follow and their hearts become open to the word of God. One of my Bible students, Cornell loves to sing hymns.
We can also promote peace by maintaining an “attitude of gratitude” in our hearts to God. An unthankful heart is the root of all sin. A complaining heart is like a snowball that is tumbling down a hill. It gets bigger and it picks up momentum. Eventually anyone stepping in front of it, to try to stop it, is going to get hurt by it. Satan cannot manipulate a heart that is thankful to God. Being thankful to God means being thankful for all that he has done in your life, all that he is doing and all that he will do. Thankfulness glorifies God.
Living for the glory of God promotes peace among God’s people. Verse 17a reads, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,…” This is linked to 1 Cor 10:31, which reads, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” God does not want his people living for their own glory and honor, trying to make a name for themselves, or trying to use the church to build up their own personal lives. How much peace and unity can a group of people have when they are all looking out for “number one”? The peace of God can come upon us, and among us, when we stop living for our own glory and live exclusively for the glory of God. When we live for the glory of God, all together then we can have unity and peace and attract a non believing world to Christ.
In this passage we learned that after receiving our new life in Christ, we must set our hearts on things above. This means to seek heavenly things, especially Jesus sitting on his throne. This is not just an idea or a once in life time event, it is a life style. We must put off our sinful nature and put on the new image of our Creator, Jesus Christ. We must put our old “self” to death and develop godly virtues in our lives. Then we can be one with Jesus and grow in oneness with one another as God wants us to be. We can maintain the love of God and the peace of God among us and attracting many young people to a new life in Christ. May God bless you.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Joel 3:1-21 Message
The Lord Will Be A Refuge
Joel 3:1-21 Lesson 3
Key Verse: 3:16b Joel Bible School NIU UBF 5/29/08 Delivered by Jennifer Jesmer
"…But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel."
From the last passage I learned that repentance is the most important thing to do when God is trying to train you. Repentance is feeling sorry for hurting God and making a decision to change. God wants us to repent because he loves us and doesn’t want us to be stuck in sin. Any training he sends us is to lead us to repentance and cannot be worse than an eternity without God. Also, he gives us many chances to repent. Even now, in my current spiritual condition I can repent. I want to really inwardly repent of a lack of co-working and of a proud heart. I can do this by preparing singspiration prayerfully and practicing grace towards others weaknesses, especially my siblings.
In today's passage we will see the judgment of God on all those who have fought against him and his people. We also will see God's concern for his people and how he is going to do something about their plight. We will also see God's blessing on his people who repented of their sins. God is a refuge to them. He is their source of eternal salvation. Indeed when we take refuge in Jesus we will pass through the judgment of God and be eternally blessed by him. We can also live as small refuges to others. Let's see….
Part 1. Come Quickly, You Nations, And Assemble (1-16)
What does, "At that time" mean? Look at verse 1. " In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem", This is the opening verse for chapter three. The phrase, "at that time" refers to the time when those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved (2:32). It is a multifaceted prophecy concerning the judgment of God in the time of Joel and also a foreshadowing of the judgment of God in the future times when Jesus comes again as a righteous judge. (Revelation 20:7-9),
Look at the nations that are mentioned? They are Sheba, (the Sabeans), Tyre, Sidon, Philistia, Greece. They had opposed God's people in one way or another. One day the Lord will assemble the nations of the world and judge them for their wrong attitude. Look at Verse 2a, "2 I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat…" The geographic location of the Valley of Jehoshaphat is not known, The most important fact for us is that it means "The Lord Judges." It is the site of God's judgment.
These nations treated the people if Judah in horrendous ways. Look at verse 2b-6, God is appalled at this type of treatment of his people. I can not imagine the suffering that these young people had to endure. They were torn away form their families and were subjected to the whims of men that were acting like devils. They had no regard for the children or their families. They were heartless and cruel beyond measure. That is what how the world treats many of our your people. So many injustices are perpetrated against them. In the miniseries, "Rome", one Roman soldier was at war. While at war, his children were sold into slavery. He hunted down his children and rescued them from an open pit mine. He was one man who could do something about his children's suffering. But the parents of Judah could do nothing. Recently I did a paper on childhood slavery. It was shocking what millions of young people have to endure. Sometimes I feel helpless in the face of such suffering and hardships. What can I do? I am just a young girl? But I take comfort in knowing that God cares and he wants to do something about all the evil and injustice in this world. I am helpless, but my God is all powerful. He cares and is doing something about it even as we speak, through his people, around the world.
People of the world think that they are getting away with sins they commit against God and each other. But they must know that they will never get away with it. There will be a day when all people must stand before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive what is do him for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Cor 5:10; Heb 9:27) Our God is a God of justice.
God was going to use their pride and arrogance to draw them into the valley. Look at verses 9-11, "Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, "I am strong!" 11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, O LORD! " These nations were proud of their human strength. They were boastful. God was going to use their pride and their arrogance against them. Indeed God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6)
These nations who fought against God and his people were paid back in full. Look at verses 13-16a, ". 13 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!" 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.15 The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. 16 The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble…" Joel described multitudes waiting in the "valley of decision" Their destruction will be complete. Their sins will be paid back in full.
This brings to mind the condition of people around us. Let's face it. Billions of people have lived on hearth, and every one of them – dead, living, and yet to be born – will face judgment. Look around at you. See you friends, those with whom you work and live. Have they received God's forgiveness? Have they been warned about sin's consequences? If we understand the certainty and the severity of God's final judgment, we will want to take God's offer of hope to those who know. I go to a middle school that is not a Christian school. Most people around me do not know Jesus. So many Christians seem cold hearted to the things of God. Do I care about their eternal destiny. In light if this passage I learn that I need to reach out to them to show them the only way to pass through the judgment… to have saving faith in Jesus Christ. Most of my friends reject my invitations to Bible study. May God help me to teach the Bible to one person this summer who is not in my circle of friends.
Let's think about the valley of decision. Why is called valley of decision. It is because our eternal destiny depends on the decisions we have made concerning God. God extends his hand out to us. He offers us Jesus and the gospel. We need to make a decision. Are we going to take his hand and accept his amazing grace or are we going to reject this gracious invite, scorning God. This is the decision. We all must stand before God in our "Valley of Decision"
But the outcome of God's people was much, much different as we will see. Verse 16b, "… But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. " A refuge means a shelter, usually from a storm. It is a place of peace and safety. God is a refuge for his people. We can find the concept of the Lord being a refuge for his people when we study the account of Noah in the book of Genesis. The Lord had seen how great the wickedness of the people had become. He decided to send a flood as a mighty act of judgment. There was one man, Noah who believed God. He trusted God. He believed God's way of salvation. He obeyed God…and what was the result? He and his whole family entered into the ark. They were saved from the flood. They become the seed for a new humanity. Noah and his family took refuge in the ark and were saved. God was their refuge.
God has also been a refuge to any who call out to him throughout Israel's history. Concerning God, Isaiah, 25:4-5 says, " 4 You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall 5 and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled." Those who find refuge in God can also be a refuge to others. That was our prayer when we pioneered NIU UBF in 1998. We prayed that we could be a refuge for students, from the storms of sin and the storms of the world. And God has been answering our prayers. I thank God that we could be a refuge to several dozen students over the last 10 years.
God wants all the world to know that he is the only way to be saved. Look at verse 17, "7 "Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her." The last word will be God's; his ultimate sovereignty will be revealed in the end. This world tries to obscure Jesus and the Gospel. So many young people are oblivious to the way to be saved. But in the end God will make it known to everyone that Jesus is the Christ and that his the Messiah. They will now that he is the only way to Kingdom of God.
What is the result of this battle? Look at verses (17b, 18, 19, 20, 21) The picture of this restored land is one of perfect beauty, similar to the Garden of Eden. The life-giving fountain flowing from the Lord's house refers to the blessings that come from God. Those who attach themselves to him will be forever fruitful. Both in this life and the next.
There are more promises of God given in this passage. Look Verses 20-21, "Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations. 21 Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned," God will give his people the ultimate victory, an eternal one. Though they have sinned he will have mercy and pardon completely. They will be his people.
In this passage we can see that God really cares about all the injustices that are going on in this world an in our lives and he wants to save us from our sins. He wants his people to pass through the judgment to spend eternity with him. Today, is your valley of decision. Will you decide to believe in Jesus and live for his glory from this point forward? Will you enter your only true refuge, Jesus Christ and live a small refuge for others?
The Lord Will Be A Refuge
Joel 3:1-21 Lesson 3
Key Verse: 3:16b
"…But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel."
One day the Lord will assemble the nations of the world in the valley of Jehoshaphat and judge them. Once, in this valley, King Jehoshaphat had witnessed the Lord's great victory over the nations which had harassed his people (2Ch 20). ("Jehoshaphat" means "the Lord judges.") The Lord will judge the nations according to how they have treated God's people (5,6,7,19). Those who mistreat God's people have no respect for God. That great final day will be like a great battlefield, like a man trampling and crushing grapes in his winepress (13). The day of the Lord is a day of terror for God's enemies. In the terrible day of God's wrath, God's people will have a refuge--the Lord himself. For God's people, the day of the Lord is a day of blessing (16,18). The fountain that flows from the Lord's house is the water of life for the nations (Jn 7:38; Rev 22:1). When the world's on fire, let us find refuge in the Lord.
Part 1. Come Quickly, You Nations, And Assemble (1-16)
1. Who are the nations that are mentioned? Where are the brought to? (2a; footnote). What to we know about the Valley of Jehosaphat? (2 Chronicles 20)
2. How did these nations treat God's people? (2b-6) How was God going to respond to this? How was he going to draw them into the valley? (9-11) What happened there? (13-16a) What does it mean, "the valley of decision"?
Part 2: The Lord Will Be A Refuge (17-21)
3. What was the outcome for God's people? (16b) What does it mean to be a refuge? Can you think of some examples of how the Lord was a refuge to his people? (Gen 6-8) What will become obvious to all people? (17a) What is the result of this battle? (17b, 18, 19, 20, 21)
4. What promise did God give his people? What is bloodguilt and how is it related to forgiveness? (21)
Joel 3:1-21 Lesson 3
Key Verse: 3:16b Joel Bible School NIU UBF 5/29/08 Delivered by Jennifer Jesmer
"…But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel."
From the last passage I learned that repentance is the most important thing to do when God is trying to train you. Repentance is feeling sorry for hurting God and making a decision to change. God wants us to repent because he loves us and doesn’t want us to be stuck in sin. Any training he sends us is to lead us to repentance and cannot be worse than an eternity without God. Also, he gives us many chances to repent. Even now, in my current spiritual condition I can repent. I want to really inwardly repent of a lack of co-working and of a proud heart. I can do this by preparing singspiration prayerfully and practicing grace towards others weaknesses, especially my siblings.
In today's passage we will see the judgment of God on all those who have fought against him and his people. We also will see God's concern for his people and how he is going to do something about their plight. We will also see God's blessing on his people who repented of their sins. God is a refuge to them. He is their source of eternal salvation. Indeed when we take refuge in Jesus we will pass through the judgment of God and be eternally blessed by him. We can also live as small refuges to others. Let's see….
Part 1. Come Quickly, You Nations, And Assemble (1-16)
What does, "At that time" mean? Look at verse 1. " In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem", This is the opening verse for chapter three. The phrase, "at that time" refers to the time when those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved (2:32). It is a multifaceted prophecy concerning the judgment of God in the time of Joel and also a foreshadowing of the judgment of God in the future times when Jesus comes again as a righteous judge. (Revelation 20:7-9),
Look at the nations that are mentioned? They are Sheba, (the Sabeans), Tyre, Sidon, Philistia, Greece. They had opposed God's people in one way or another. One day the Lord will assemble the nations of the world and judge them for their wrong attitude. Look at Verse 2a, "2 I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat…" The geographic location of the Valley of Jehoshaphat is not known, The most important fact for us is that it means "The Lord Judges." It is the site of God's judgment.
These nations treated the people if Judah in horrendous ways. Look at verse 2b-6, God is appalled at this type of treatment of his people. I can not imagine the suffering that these young people had to endure. They were torn away form their families and were subjected to the whims of men that were acting like devils. They had no regard for the children or their families. They were heartless and cruel beyond measure. That is what how the world treats many of our your people. So many injustices are perpetrated against them. In the miniseries, "Rome", one Roman soldier was at war. While at war, his children were sold into slavery. He hunted down his children and rescued them from an open pit mine. He was one man who could do something about his children's suffering. But the parents of Judah could do nothing. Recently I did a paper on childhood slavery. It was shocking what millions of young people have to endure. Sometimes I feel helpless in the face of such suffering and hardships. What can I do? I am just a young girl? But I take comfort in knowing that God cares and he wants to do something about all the evil and injustice in this world. I am helpless, but my God is all powerful. He cares and is doing something about it even as we speak, through his people, around the world.
People of the world think that they are getting away with sins they commit against God and each other. But they must know that they will never get away with it. There will be a day when all people must stand before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive what is do him for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Cor 5:10; Heb 9:27) Our God is a God of justice.
God was going to use their pride and arrogance to draw them into the valley. Look at verses 9-11, "Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, "I am strong!" 11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, O LORD! " These nations were proud of their human strength. They were boastful. God was going to use their pride and their arrogance against them. Indeed God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6)
These nations who fought against God and his people were paid back in full. Look at verses 13-16a, ". 13 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!" 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.15 The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. 16 The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble…" Joel described multitudes waiting in the "valley of decision" Their destruction will be complete. Their sins will be paid back in full.
This brings to mind the condition of people around us. Let's face it. Billions of people have lived on hearth, and every one of them – dead, living, and yet to be born – will face judgment. Look around at you. See you friends, those with whom you work and live. Have they received God's forgiveness? Have they been warned about sin's consequences? If we understand the certainty and the severity of God's final judgment, we will want to take God's offer of hope to those who know. I go to a middle school that is not a Christian school. Most people around me do not know Jesus. So many Christians seem cold hearted to the things of God. Do I care about their eternal destiny. In light if this passage I learn that I need to reach out to them to show them the only way to pass through the judgment… to have saving faith in Jesus Christ. Most of my friends reject my invitations to Bible study. May God help me to teach the Bible to one person this summer who is not in my circle of friends.
Let's think about the valley of decision. Why is called valley of decision. It is because our eternal destiny depends on the decisions we have made concerning God. God extends his hand out to us. He offers us Jesus and the gospel. We need to make a decision. Are we going to take his hand and accept his amazing grace or are we going to reject this gracious invite, scorning God. This is the decision. We all must stand before God in our "Valley of Decision"
But the outcome of God's people was much, much different as we will see. Verse 16b, "… But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. " A refuge means a shelter, usually from a storm. It is a place of peace and safety. God is a refuge for his people. We can find the concept of the Lord being a refuge for his people when we study the account of Noah in the book of Genesis. The Lord had seen how great the wickedness of the people had become. He decided to send a flood as a mighty act of judgment. There was one man, Noah who believed God. He trusted God. He believed God's way of salvation. He obeyed God…and what was the result? He and his whole family entered into the ark. They were saved from the flood. They become the seed for a new humanity. Noah and his family took refuge in the ark and were saved. God was their refuge.
God has also been a refuge to any who call out to him throughout Israel's history. Concerning God, Isaiah, 25:4-5 says, " 4 You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall 5 and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled." Those who find refuge in God can also be a refuge to others. That was our prayer when we pioneered NIU UBF in 1998. We prayed that we could be a refuge for students, from the storms of sin and the storms of the world. And God has been answering our prayers. I thank God that we could be a refuge to several dozen students over the last 10 years.
God wants all the world to know that he is the only way to be saved. Look at verse 17, "7 "Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her." The last word will be God's; his ultimate sovereignty will be revealed in the end. This world tries to obscure Jesus and the Gospel. So many young people are oblivious to the way to be saved. But in the end God will make it known to everyone that Jesus is the Christ and that his the Messiah. They will now that he is the only way to Kingdom of God.
What is the result of this battle? Look at verses (17b, 18, 19, 20, 21) The picture of this restored land is one of perfect beauty, similar to the Garden of Eden. The life-giving fountain flowing from the Lord's house refers to the blessings that come from God. Those who attach themselves to him will be forever fruitful. Both in this life and the next.
There are more promises of God given in this passage. Look Verses 20-21, "Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations. 21 Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned," God will give his people the ultimate victory, an eternal one. Though they have sinned he will have mercy and pardon completely. They will be his people.
In this passage we can see that God really cares about all the injustices that are going on in this world an in our lives and he wants to save us from our sins. He wants his people to pass through the judgment to spend eternity with him. Today, is your valley of decision. Will you decide to believe in Jesus and live for his glory from this point forward? Will you enter your only true refuge, Jesus Christ and live a small refuge for others?
The Lord Will Be A Refuge
Joel 3:1-21 Lesson 3
Key Verse: 3:16b
"…But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel."
One day the Lord will assemble the nations of the world in the valley of Jehoshaphat and judge them. Once, in this valley, King Jehoshaphat had witnessed the Lord's great victory over the nations which had harassed his people (2Ch 20). ("Jehoshaphat" means "the Lord judges.") The Lord will judge the nations according to how they have treated God's people (5,6,7,19). Those who mistreat God's people have no respect for God. That great final day will be like a great battlefield, like a man trampling and crushing grapes in his winepress (13). The day of the Lord is a day of terror for God's enemies. In the terrible day of God's wrath, God's people will have a refuge--the Lord himself. For God's people, the day of the Lord is a day of blessing (16,18). The fountain that flows from the Lord's house is the water of life for the nations (Jn 7:38; Rev 22:1). When the world's on fire, let us find refuge in the Lord.
Part 1. Come Quickly, You Nations, And Assemble (1-16)
1. Who are the nations that are mentioned? Where are the brought to? (2a; footnote). What to we know about the Valley of Jehosaphat? (2 Chronicles 20)
2. How did these nations treat God's people? (2b-6) How was God going to respond to this? How was he going to draw them into the valley? (9-11) What happened there? (13-16a) What does it mean, "the valley of decision"?
Part 2: The Lord Will Be A Refuge (17-21)
3. What was the outcome for God's people? (16b) What does it mean to be a refuge? Can you think of some examples of how the Lord was a refuge to his people? (Gen 6-8) What will become obvious to all people? (17a) What is the result of this battle? (17b, 18, 19, 20, 21)
4. What promise did God give his people? What is bloodguilt and how is it related to forgiveness? (21)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Colossians 2:6-23
CONTINUE TO LIVE IN CHRIST
Colossians 2:6-23 Lesson 5
Key Verses: 2:6,7 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 8-2-09
"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."
In the last passage, Paul reveals the mystery of God. The mystery of God is Christ himself. The mystery is that when Christ dwells in our hearts, we are encouraged in heart and united in love. In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The other part of the mystery is that God wants to save all people, even the Gentiles. When Gentiles accept the gospel, then they, too, are indwelt by Christ. They have the same hope to reign with Christ in the heavenly kingdom. To reveal this mystery was the purpose of Paul’s hard work and his suffering. But he rejoiced to participate in the remaining suffering of Christ to make this mystery known to a lost world. In lesson we will discover some of the practical responses to accepting the mystery of God. Paul also gives warns concerning what to avoid as they embark on their life of faith.
Part l: Full Life In Christ (6-15)
Paul leads us to some practical conclusions that stem from discovering the mystery of God. Look at verses 6-7, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." The Colossians had responded well to the Gospel message. In fact, it was a great response. Most seem to be unresponsive. But there are places where people respond well the message of the Gospel of Jesus. Recently, Dr Ben Toh, of West Loop UBF, went to the Philippines. There he led the people in a week long series of group Bible studies. There were about 40 attendants each day. They were excited about learning about the Word of God. Their response was fantastic. At the recent NIU-DuPage Summer conference many people responded well to the message of the Gospel. Payton, a middle school student, stated that before the conference she was an ardent atheist, but after the conference her defensive coat began to crack. She confessed that she was a questioning atheist. Jake, Augustine’s friend, stated, “I believe in God! I’m a Christian because of you Augi.” All attendants came nearer to Jesus through a good response to the mystery of God.
Part of responding well to the Gospel is receiving Jesus as Lord. Romans 10:9 reads, “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” In America it is hard to understand what is means that Jesus is Lord. The closest thing to Lord, is our parents or our bosses or our teachers. But in the past, there were kings and lords of the land. To make it simple, to receive Jesus Christ as Lord, means that you see him for who he is, the King of kings, and Lord of lords…the Lord of heaven and earth. There was one Indian convert who accepted Jesus as his 102nd Lord. But Jesus is the Only Master and Lord. People who accept Jesus as their Savior, must accept him as their Lord. You cannot separate the two. He is worthy to be made the center of our lives. Paul is an example of one who accepted Jesus as Lord. He says in Romans 1:5 reads, “Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.” To accept Jesus as Lord is imperative and a matter of life and death. Why? If we don’t accept Jesus as Lord, then something else will be our Lord and lead us to destruction, and most likely it will be your sinful nature, goaded on by the devil.
We received Christ Jesus by faith, and we must continue to live in him by faith. Look at verse 6b, “…continue to live in him.” The word “live” in Greek means to walk. The KJV says “To walk in him.” The RSV reads, “To continue in him.” When we receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, we begin a new life. We must take root in Christ and grow. It is a lifestyle. This is not a “one time event.” It is not just a matter of only thinking about Jesus and the Gospel. We must make it very practical and keep growing.
Verse 7 reveals more about continuing in Jesus; “rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." These are four ways to continue to live in him.1. being rooted 2. built up 3. strengthened in the faith and 4. thankful.
First rooted. A tree has roots and a person who accepts Jesus as Lord is like a tree, but with spiritual roots. Psalm 1:2-3 reads, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Where do the roots of a tree grow? They grow down and outward, searching for the source of water. A tree may be getting it’s water from 50 feet away or more! One tree near the Bible house searches for water in the sewer pipes. Jesus is living water. (John 4:10) All we have to do is let our roots go down, searching out this living water. We can not ignore our roots, focusing only on our leaves, for the whole growth of the tree depends on the roots. We need to spread out roots, spend time mediating on God’s grace and studying his word. It is very simple.
Second, “Built up in him.” We learned a little about building the houses of our lives through Hannah Kim’s message at the 2009 DuPage/NIU SBC. She led us to Matthew 7:24-25, which reads, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." In this passage Jesus urges us to build the foundation of our lives and ministries on the word of God. To be built up in Jesus, literally means to hear God’s word and put it into practice. Jesus is building us up. When we are rooted in his word, he builds us up both individually and as a church. (Ephesians 2:19-20)
Third, “strengthened in the faith.” We need to be strengthened in Jesus. We need to be strong, spiritually to be good coworkers and glorify God. How does anyone get strengthened? Strength comes from exercising. Faith is like a muscle. It is not just being an armchair theologian. Faith is strengthened by putting our faith into practice. It means to practice what we have learned. The good news is that Jesus is more than willing to strengthen us when our hearts are in the right place. Without Jesus’ strength then we can do nothing at all.
Fourth, “overflowing with thankfulness.” Verse 7c reads, "…. and overflowing with thankfulness." God’s will for all Christians is to be thankful in al circumstances. (1 Thess 5:18) We have to be thankful, even for the hard tasks. Some may say, “Easier said than done.” Thankfulness is not a forced issue. It comes naturally when we are rooted in God’s grace. It is not just a theory. It is very practical. The only way to be thankful is to recognize God’s sovereignty in our lives. We need to confess, “Lord, you are the best. What is going on may be hurting me…it may be very difficult to endure, but I trust you.” Indeed, Jesus is working out his good purpose through all events.
Jesus wants us to be “overflowing” with thankfulness. This means that we should have enough thanksgiving to share with others. Are you overflowing with thanksgiving? Do you have enough to share? We could see this at the conference through the testimony of Msn Rebecca Yoon. She struggled so hard against boys in her life, competing with them, envying their privileged status, and fighting them with rocks. Her son was born with a cleft palate and her mission field was the very difficult, Lagos Nigeria, where electricity and water service are irregular and corruption was rife. She stated that she was trained by “boys and the whip of life.” But she could find God’s good purpose in her life and she was able to thank God for all his Fatherly training. She is overflowing with thanksgiving, even to us in America, and wants to return to her mission field, Yabatec University, in Lagos Nigeria, where they are renovating an 18 room former maternity ward. From within those walls, thanksgiving to God will be overflow to countless young Nigerian students who are born again by the word of God.
Part ll: Stay Away From Hollow Philosophies.
Paul gives believers of all time a warning. Look at verse 8, " See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
Hollow and deceptive philosophies are philosophies that are empty and lead us away from repentance and faith in Jesus. They depend on the principles of the world. They promise us fulfillment when, really, there is nothing there, only disappointment. When peoples’ hearts are taken captive by such as these, then they are deprived of faith. People are so “taken captive” that they are not willing to give Jesus a chance. So many of our youth become prisoners of fatalism, captured by their own sinful desires when the deceptive philosophies, they listen to, teach them to indulge their sinful natures and follow their natural feelings.
There are other philosophies that people live with, “The Yin and the Yang”, which says that you always take the way of moderation. “Live and let live”, which means that you don’t bother anyone. “Akuna matt Atta”, which is a problem free philosophy, “Don’t worry, be happy!” Educational philosophy operates under the premise is that human nature is good. If we provide a good environment then students will grow good. But this is not true. We have the best school environments in the USA. But they do not always produce “super” students. (In some third world countries, students are poor and study in bombed out hulks of buildings. Many become scholars.) This philosophy ignores the reality of the sinful nature in people. It is a hollow and deceptive philosophy. All other philosophies, other than the gospel, lead us to emptiness and meaninglessness and death. Only Jesus and his Gospel leads us to meaning, purpose and life eternal.
There is an obvious alternative to the hollow and deceptive philosophies of our culture. Look at verses 9-12, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature,[a] not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead." Jesus is not hollow and deceptive, for all the fullness of God lives in him and he dwells in us. Christ is all we need for salvation and life now and forever. He delivers the true life that he promises to deliver. (John 1:4) Before meeting Jesus, we were dead in sin and held prisoners by Satan. But God made us alive with Christ. He circumcised our hearts by cutting away our sinful nature. He did this by his death and resurrection, using the tools of repentance and faith. In our baptism we are buried with Jesus when we repent, and, by faith in God who raised Jesus from the dead, we are united with him in life. We should never loose the confidence that all we need is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Is Jesus enough for you? Lets think a little more about verse 9… “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” Some may accept Jesus but they are still hopeless. Their children are still fatherless. They are depressed. They are still lonely. So many of us feel that Jesus is not enough. But Jesus is entirely enough. The fullness of God is in Christ. He is the way, and the truth and the life. (John 14:6) Come to Jesus and seek first his kingdom and his righteousness (Mtt 6:33) and discover that Jesus is indeed enough for each one of you.
So many people have discovered this. Their lives bear witness to the all sufficient, saving grace of Jesus. Look at verse 13, "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,[b] God made you[c] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,” (refer to Ephesians 2:1-3) Before meeting Jesus we were all dead in our sins. There is no growth in death, only decay. We did not respond to Christ’s loving prodding. We were lifeless. But when we received Jesus’ forgiveness and his truth, the sinful nature was cut away from our hearts. We were made alive in Christ. We responded to the grace of God. Now we have joy and hope and life. We have strength to get up and walk spiritually. We can grow and grow in Christ.
Jesus gives us complete victory in our lives. Verses 14-15 read, “having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[d]" Triumph means complete victory! Making a public spectacle of them harkens back to ancient Rome, where triumphant Roman Generals paraded defeated generals and their armies through the streets to show their complete victory over their enemies. God sets us free from the power of death by disarming our enemies. Our enemy Satan uses the law to condemn us and make us despair. God forgives our sins. Jesus made the law obsolete by his death on the cross. Christ is like a triumphant general who won a great battle and parades his captives, disarmed and helpless, through the streets. I don’t know about you, but I want to live a victorious life of faith. I want to have complete victory over my sinful nature and walk with Jesus with my head held high. Sure we will fall into our weaknesses and our sins. But these do not hammer us down or defeat us. We triumph over them through the faith and the cross.
Part lll: Empty Heresies (16-23)
For all believers there is always a temptation to abandon Jesus for some empty heresy. First it is easier to get caught up in religious practice rather than living by faith in Christ. Look at verses 16-17. “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” It is good to celebrate certain days, like Easter and Christmas and go to church on Sunday. But here people were gauging their spirituality on celebrating certain holy days and judging others who were not, thinking themselves more spiritual. Some of us may even try to find God through all kinds of rituals, keeping certain festivals and rituals, forgetting that these are mere shadows, the reality of which is found in Christ. Paul was telling the new believers to stand their ground and not be pushed back into a “religious” mindset by Jewish converts who still held onto certain aspects of Judaism. Why is it always easier to be “religious” rather than practitioners of Gospel faith?
Another heresy that they had to guard their hearts against was the worship of angels. Look at verse 18. “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.” People tend to get all excited about angels and seeing all kinds of supernatural appearances of spiritual beings. People gather in the thousands at the mere rumor of such sightings. For some people it seems that it is easier to be “angel” focused that “Jesus centered”? Why? It is because one can acquire a false sense of spirituality without repentance. When we face the Jesus of the Bible we are forced to make some decisions and repent of our sins. But not so when we think about angels. Worship of these distract us from Jesus. They comfort us without challenging us.
What is wrong with all of this? Look at verse 19. Paul says that such a person has “…has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow." As Christians, we need to be Christ centered. But when we get proud by holding onto a false sense of spirituality, we loose connection with the head, Jesus. We immediately loose all the life that God has so graciously bestowed upon us. But we can only grow and bear good fruit when we maintain a strong and healthy connection with Christ, the Head.
There is a temptation to become like ascetics. Verse 23 reads, "Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." Ascetics are those who punish their bodies, thinking that they are performing some penance and in this way pleasing God. But they are following their own ideas. They are not following Biblical teachings. Such actions can make people proud, thinking that they are very spiritual. But in reality these harsh treatments do nothing to stop sensual desires that wage war in our hearts. They are essentially trying to control their sinful feelings without coming to Jesus. Sure, we repent and struggle spiritually, but we are not punishing ourselves. The truth is that life in Jesus is joyful. Life in Christ is life giving. Jesus died to make us holy. Jesus died to save us from sin. He rose to give us power to stop sinning and live a holy life. We are free to love God, to obey him and to do what pleases him. We can never make our lives holy.
In this passage we learn that life in Christ is more than just being an arm chair theologian. It is more than just living by the rules and traditions of men. It is more than subjecting our bodies to harsh treatment. It is even more than avoiding heresies. It is all about Jesus and knowing him and making him known. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." (6,7) Let us come to Jesus with repentance and faith and put deep roots down into the grace and truth of God. Let us be built up in Jesus, as individuals and as a church. Let us be overflowing with thanksgiving to those around us. Let us find true life in Christ and lead others to true life in him.
Colossians 2:6-23 Lesson 5
Key Verses: 2:6,7 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 8-2-09
"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."
In the last passage, Paul reveals the mystery of God. The mystery of God is Christ himself. The mystery is that when Christ dwells in our hearts, we are encouraged in heart and united in love. In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The other part of the mystery is that God wants to save all people, even the Gentiles. When Gentiles accept the gospel, then they, too, are indwelt by Christ. They have the same hope to reign with Christ in the heavenly kingdom. To reveal this mystery was the purpose of Paul’s hard work and his suffering. But he rejoiced to participate in the remaining suffering of Christ to make this mystery known to a lost world. In lesson we will discover some of the practical responses to accepting the mystery of God. Paul also gives warns concerning what to avoid as they embark on their life of faith.
Part l: Full Life In Christ (6-15)
Paul leads us to some practical conclusions that stem from discovering the mystery of God. Look at verses 6-7, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." The Colossians had responded well to the Gospel message. In fact, it was a great response. Most seem to be unresponsive. But there are places where people respond well the message of the Gospel of Jesus. Recently, Dr Ben Toh, of West Loop UBF, went to the Philippines. There he led the people in a week long series of group Bible studies. There were about 40 attendants each day. They were excited about learning about the Word of God. Their response was fantastic. At the recent NIU-DuPage Summer conference many people responded well to the message of the Gospel. Payton, a middle school student, stated that before the conference she was an ardent atheist, but after the conference her defensive coat began to crack. She confessed that she was a questioning atheist. Jake, Augustine’s friend, stated, “I believe in God! I’m a Christian because of you Augi.” All attendants came nearer to Jesus through a good response to the mystery of God.
Part of responding well to the Gospel is receiving Jesus as Lord. Romans 10:9 reads, “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” In America it is hard to understand what is means that Jesus is Lord. The closest thing to Lord, is our parents or our bosses or our teachers. But in the past, there were kings and lords of the land. To make it simple, to receive Jesus Christ as Lord, means that you see him for who he is, the King of kings, and Lord of lords…the Lord of heaven and earth. There was one Indian convert who accepted Jesus as his 102nd Lord. But Jesus is the Only Master and Lord. People who accept Jesus as their Savior, must accept him as their Lord. You cannot separate the two. He is worthy to be made the center of our lives. Paul is an example of one who accepted Jesus as Lord. He says in Romans 1:5 reads, “Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.” To accept Jesus as Lord is imperative and a matter of life and death. Why? If we don’t accept Jesus as Lord, then something else will be our Lord and lead us to destruction, and most likely it will be your sinful nature, goaded on by the devil.
We received Christ Jesus by faith, and we must continue to live in him by faith. Look at verse 6b, “…continue to live in him.” The word “live” in Greek means to walk. The KJV says “To walk in him.” The RSV reads, “To continue in him.” When we receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, we begin a new life. We must take root in Christ and grow. It is a lifestyle. This is not a “one time event.” It is not just a matter of only thinking about Jesus and the Gospel. We must make it very practical and keep growing.
Verse 7 reveals more about continuing in Jesus; “rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." These are four ways to continue to live in him.1. being rooted 2. built up 3. strengthened in the faith and 4. thankful.
First rooted. A tree has roots and a person who accepts Jesus as Lord is like a tree, but with spiritual roots. Psalm 1:2-3 reads, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Where do the roots of a tree grow? They grow down and outward, searching for the source of water. A tree may be getting it’s water from 50 feet away or more! One tree near the Bible house searches for water in the sewer pipes. Jesus is living water. (John 4:10) All we have to do is let our roots go down, searching out this living water. We can not ignore our roots, focusing only on our leaves, for the whole growth of the tree depends on the roots. We need to spread out roots, spend time mediating on God’s grace and studying his word. It is very simple.
Second, “Built up in him.” We learned a little about building the houses of our lives through Hannah Kim’s message at the 2009 DuPage/NIU SBC. She led us to Matthew 7:24-25, which reads, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." In this passage Jesus urges us to build the foundation of our lives and ministries on the word of God. To be built up in Jesus, literally means to hear God’s word and put it into practice. Jesus is building us up. When we are rooted in his word, he builds us up both individually and as a church. (Ephesians 2:19-20)
Third, “strengthened in the faith.” We need to be strengthened in Jesus. We need to be strong, spiritually to be good coworkers and glorify God. How does anyone get strengthened? Strength comes from exercising. Faith is like a muscle. It is not just being an armchair theologian. Faith is strengthened by putting our faith into practice. It means to practice what we have learned. The good news is that Jesus is more than willing to strengthen us when our hearts are in the right place. Without Jesus’ strength then we can do nothing at all.
Fourth, “overflowing with thankfulness.” Verse 7c reads, "…. and overflowing with thankfulness." God’s will for all Christians is to be thankful in al circumstances. (1 Thess 5:18) We have to be thankful, even for the hard tasks. Some may say, “Easier said than done.” Thankfulness is not a forced issue. It comes naturally when we are rooted in God’s grace. It is not just a theory. It is very practical. The only way to be thankful is to recognize God’s sovereignty in our lives. We need to confess, “Lord, you are the best. What is going on may be hurting me…it may be very difficult to endure, but I trust you.” Indeed, Jesus is working out his good purpose through all events.
Jesus wants us to be “overflowing” with thankfulness. This means that we should have enough thanksgiving to share with others. Are you overflowing with thanksgiving? Do you have enough to share? We could see this at the conference through the testimony of Msn Rebecca Yoon. She struggled so hard against boys in her life, competing with them, envying their privileged status, and fighting them with rocks. Her son was born with a cleft palate and her mission field was the very difficult, Lagos Nigeria, where electricity and water service are irregular and corruption was rife. She stated that she was trained by “boys and the whip of life.” But she could find God’s good purpose in her life and she was able to thank God for all his Fatherly training. She is overflowing with thanksgiving, even to us in America, and wants to return to her mission field, Yabatec University, in Lagos Nigeria, where they are renovating an 18 room former maternity ward. From within those walls, thanksgiving to God will be overflow to countless young Nigerian students who are born again by the word of God.
Part ll: Stay Away From Hollow Philosophies.
Paul gives believers of all time a warning. Look at verse 8, " See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
Hollow and deceptive philosophies are philosophies that are empty and lead us away from repentance and faith in Jesus. They depend on the principles of the world. They promise us fulfillment when, really, there is nothing there, only disappointment. When peoples’ hearts are taken captive by such as these, then they are deprived of faith. People are so “taken captive” that they are not willing to give Jesus a chance. So many of our youth become prisoners of fatalism, captured by their own sinful desires when the deceptive philosophies, they listen to, teach them to indulge their sinful natures and follow their natural feelings.
There are other philosophies that people live with, “The Yin and the Yang”, which says that you always take the way of moderation. “Live and let live”, which means that you don’t bother anyone. “Akuna matt Atta”, which is a problem free philosophy, “Don’t worry, be happy!” Educational philosophy operates under the premise is that human nature is good. If we provide a good environment then students will grow good. But this is not true. We have the best school environments in the USA. But they do not always produce “super” students. (In some third world countries, students are poor and study in bombed out hulks of buildings. Many become scholars.) This philosophy ignores the reality of the sinful nature in people. It is a hollow and deceptive philosophy. All other philosophies, other than the gospel, lead us to emptiness and meaninglessness and death. Only Jesus and his Gospel leads us to meaning, purpose and life eternal.
There is an obvious alternative to the hollow and deceptive philosophies of our culture. Look at verses 9-12, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature,[a] not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead." Jesus is not hollow and deceptive, for all the fullness of God lives in him and he dwells in us. Christ is all we need for salvation and life now and forever. He delivers the true life that he promises to deliver. (John 1:4) Before meeting Jesus, we were dead in sin and held prisoners by Satan. But God made us alive with Christ. He circumcised our hearts by cutting away our sinful nature. He did this by his death and resurrection, using the tools of repentance and faith. In our baptism we are buried with Jesus when we repent, and, by faith in God who raised Jesus from the dead, we are united with him in life. We should never loose the confidence that all we need is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Is Jesus enough for you? Lets think a little more about verse 9… “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” Some may accept Jesus but they are still hopeless. Their children are still fatherless. They are depressed. They are still lonely. So many of us feel that Jesus is not enough. But Jesus is entirely enough. The fullness of God is in Christ. He is the way, and the truth and the life. (John 14:6) Come to Jesus and seek first his kingdom and his righteousness (Mtt 6:33) and discover that Jesus is indeed enough for each one of you.
So many people have discovered this. Their lives bear witness to the all sufficient, saving grace of Jesus. Look at verse 13, "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,[b] God made you[c] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,” (refer to Ephesians 2:1-3) Before meeting Jesus we were all dead in our sins. There is no growth in death, only decay. We did not respond to Christ’s loving prodding. We were lifeless. But when we received Jesus’ forgiveness and his truth, the sinful nature was cut away from our hearts. We were made alive in Christ. We responded to the grace of God. Now we have joy and hope and life. We have strength to get up and walk spiritually. We can grow and grow in Christ.
Jesus gives us complete victory in our lives. Verses 14-15 read, “having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[d]" Triumph means complete victory! Making a public spectacle of them harkens back to ancient Rome, where triumphant Roman Generals paraded defeated generals and their armies through the streets to show their complete victory over their enemies. God sets us free from the power of death by disarming our enemies. Our enemy Satan uses the law to condemn us and make us despair. God forgives our sins. Jesus made the law obsolete by his death on the cross. Christ is like a triumphant general who won a great battle and parades his captives, disarmed and helpless, through the streets. I don’t know about you, but I want to live a victorious life of faith. I want to have complete victory over my sinful nature and walk with Jesus with my head held high. Sure we will fall into our weaknesses and our sins. But these do not hammer us down or defeat us. We triumph over them through the faith and the cross.
Part lll: Empty Heresies (16-23)
For all believers there is always a temptation to abandon Jesus for some empty heresy. First it is easier to get caught up in religious practice rather than living by faith in Christ. Look at verses 16-17. “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” It is good to celebrate certain days, like Easter and Christmas and go to church on Sunday. But here people were gauging their spirituality on celebrating certain holy days and judging others who were not, thinking themselves more spiritual. Some of us may even try to find God through all kinds of rituals, keeping certain festivals and rituals, forgetting that these are mere shadows, the reality of which is found in Christ. Paul was telling the new believers to stand their ground and not be pushed back into a “religious” mindset by Jewish converts who still held onto certain aspects of Judaism. Why is it always easier to be “religious” rather than practitioners of Gospel faith?
Another heresy that they had to guard their hearts against was the worship of angels. Look at verse 18. “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.” People tend to get all excited about angels and seeing all kinds of supernatural appearances of spiritual beings. People gather in the thousands at the mere rumor of such sightings. For some people it seems that it is easier to be “angel” focused that “Jesus centered”? Why? It is because one can acquire a false sense of spirituality without repentance. When we face the Jesus of the Bible we are forced to make some decisions and repent of our sins. But not so when we think about angels. Worship of these distract us from Jesus. They comfort us without challenging us.
What is wrong with all of this? Look at verse 19. Paul says that such a person has “…has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow." As Christians, we need to be Christ centered. But when we get proud by holding onto a false sense of spirituality, we loose connection with the head, Jesus. We immediately loose all the life that God has so graciously bestowed upon us. But we can only grow and bear good fruit when we maintain a strong and healthy connection with Christ, the Head.
There is a temptation to become like ascetics. Verse 23 reads, "Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." Ascetics are those who punish their bodies, thinking that they are performing some penance and in this way pleasing God. But they are following their own ideas. They are not following Biblical teachings. Such actions can make people proud, thinking that they are very spiritual. But in reality these harsh treatments do nothing to stop sensual desires that wage war in our hearts. They are essentially trying to control their sinful feelings without coming to Jesus. Sure, we repent and struggle spiritually, but we are not punishing ourselves. The truth is that life in Jesus is joyful. Life in Christ is life giving. Jesus died to make us holy. Jesus died to save us from sin. He rose to give us power to stop sinning and live a holy life. We are free to love God, to obey him and to do what pleases him. We can never make our lives holy.
In this passage we learn that life in Christ is more than just being an arm chair theologian. It is more than just living by the rules and traditions of men. It is more than subjecting our bodies to harsh treatment. It is even more than avoiding heresies. It is all about Jesus and knowing him and making him known. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." (6,7) Let us come to Jesus with repentance and faith and put deep roots down into the grace and truth of God. Let us be built up in Jesus, as individuals and as a church. Let us be overflowing with thanksgiving to those around us. Let us find true life in Christ and lead others to true life in him.
Joel 2:1-32 Questions and Message
Rend Your Hearts and I Will Pour Out My Spirit
Joel 2:1- 32 Lesson 2
Key verse 2:28 Joel Bible School NIU UBF 5/28/08 Delivered by Julie Jesmer
"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions."
In yesterday's passage we learned that God provided a beautiful vineyard for his people. They enjoyed abundant harvests and great joy year after year. But they took their blessings for granted and they became complacent. They ignored God's vision for them, to use all that God had provided to live as a Kingdom of Priests and Holy Nation. As a result they were overrun by an army of locusts. There land was devastated. They had no hope at all. Why did God subject them to such suffering and hardship? We learned that it was because God wanted them repent and cry out to him. All our trials and hardship of life are there so we can draw near to our God as his people and cry out to him in prayer.
In this passage we continue to see the destructive swarms of locusts. But we also see God's complete forgiveness on those who repent. Look at verse 1, " Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand-" To blow the trumpet means to let the people know. "sound the alarm" There are some modern day alarms in Dekalb. They are to warn the people of coming tornadoes. When they hear the siren they need to take immediate action and go into their basements or stand in the doorframes of their homes or lay in your bathtub. Julie responded very well one year. When the alarms went off she took a mattress in the basement of the Bible house and had all the kids lay downstairs. The trumpet and the alarm were meant for the people to wake up from their spiritual slumber and prepare themselves for what is to come.
The army of locust, that were descending, on the land were merciless. Look at verses 2-10. Though it was terrible, the locust invasion was an act of God's judgment on the people of Judah. The locust spared nothing. Before them, the land is like the Garden of Eden; behind them, a desert waste. There is only one thing that I know that even comes close to this type of devastation. Do you know what it is? …The snack table after the Sunday Service. The Garden of Eden was where Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony with God forever. It was the land of perfect paradise. It was the land that God intended for them to dwell in forever. Even in the fallen world God provided a land that was like Eden. It was the perfect vineyard. But because of their complacency and their sin, the swarms of locusts would lay it bare.
What was behind this devastation? Look at verse 11, "The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?" They are the Lord's army. He is allowing it to happen for his purpose. He uses his sovereign authority over nature to bring people to repentance so that he can save them. God uses his sovereignty to accomplish his redemptive purpose. How do respond to the Lord's discipline in your life? Do you see God? Do you become bitter and curse God and blame others? As we learned in the last lesson we find that God does these things to help us to draw near to him and to cry out to him. Without his discipline we would drift away from God and totally turn our backs on God. They would become like the 10 lost tribes of Israel. How did they become lost? They forgot about God. They lost their identity as God's people. They compromised with the nations around them to blend in. In the processes they became lost.
What about us. What if God did not subject us to his divine discipline and training at times? We would cease to call out to God. We would drift away and loose our identity as God's holy people. We may even be overcome by unbelief. We would cease to be part of the body of believers. God is very concerned about this. He loves us and so he disciplines us as his own sons and daughters. (Hebrews 12:5-7) Instead of being bitter about God's divine discipline we need to thank God that he is keeping us in his love. Let us say, "Thank you Lord! for keeping us in your love!"
We can come to God no matter what condition we may be in. Look at verse 12," "Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." "Even now" means from where you are now. Deuteronomy 4:29, " But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul." From where? From where you are. From your present spiritual condition. Whatever condition you are in it is the best time to turn to the Lord. God told his people to turn to him while there was still time. We may think that we have all the time in the world. Young people think they are immortal. But time is also running our for us. Don't let anything hold you back from turning to him. Now is the day of salvation.
We see what true repentance is. Look at verses 13-15. Here we find a definition of repentance. Repentance cannot be superficial. Tearing one's clothes is not enough. We must offer God our broken and contrite hearts. Repentance is not just regret for sins; it is returning to the Lord with all one's heart and humbly asking him for his mercy. We must freely return to the Lord…without reservation. When we came to him with humble repentant hearts, we have nothing to fear. Look at 13 again. Our God is gracious and compassionate. He is merciful. God will forgive you and accept you right now.
When the Lord's people repent and plead for his mercy, he will hear. He will do great things for them. He will drive the army of locusts into the sea and will restore the land. Trees and vines will bear fruit; the grain harvest will be abundant. The wild animals will rejoice.
God will also restore the spiritual life of his people. Look at verses 15-17. Joel called all the people to gather together. They needed to fast. They needed to form a sacred assembly. This is a coming together of God's people to pray and glorify God together. They needed to consecrate this assembly. It was to be a holy vessel. God works through his people who form a holy vessel of prayer together.
The spiritual leaders were to take the lead to set the example. When the spiritual leaders of the land lead the way in repentance and prayer then there can be revival. I remember reading about the Pyongyang revival of 1907. It happened in what is now North Korea. It began when leaders publicly repented of their sins. They repented of their personal hatreds, saying in tears, "I hated you so much. But I realize how great a sinner I am and how much Jesus loves you and me. Can you forgive me?" Thousands followed their example of repentance and calling out to God in prayer. A great and sustained revival happened. It carried on and on for the last one hundred years. This revival bore fruit, so much fruit that today the Korean church is poised to eclipse America in the area of world missions.
God saves his people, when they repent, for another reason. Look at Verse 17b, "… Let them say, "Spare your people, O LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' " When God's people are restored, the people will know that Jehovah is God and there is no other. They will praise his name, for he is with his people.
There is also an onus on the people to create and environment for restoration to take place, not just the elders. Look at Verse 16b, "… bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber." It is never easy to come together to form a holy vessel, but there are times when God demands it. We all have so many reasonable sounding excuses. In this passage are some good sounding excuses. A baby that is nursing…a newly married couple on their honeymoon. These are situations where we might say to God, "I can't come now." But even these people were to drop what they were doing and come and gather with God's people to pray. We can have this priority when we remember the words of Jesus, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)
Look at verses 18-26. Joel reached a turning point in his prophecy, moving from prophesying about an outpouring of God's judgment to prophesying about an outpouring of God's forgiveness and blessing. Before there were fasting , plagues and funerals. But later there will be feasting, harvesting, and songs of praise. This happened when they came together as God's people to repent and pray. When they came together with a clear priority and when the spiritual leaders took the lead in the repentance and prayer. When we truly concern about the glory of God and his reputation in the world. Then God will pour out his blessings on his people. Listen to what God says in 2 Chronicles 7;13-15; "13 "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place."
God also promises to live among his people. Look at verse 28a, "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people…." God will totally forgive us of our sins. When we have a problem with someone we might be able to muster up some forgiveness, but mostly we hold grudges. We can never move in with that person. But God is not like us. When he forgives, he totally forgives. Completely! He not only forgives, but he says, "hey… can we be room mates?" and he moves into our hearts through his Holy Spirit. His forgiveness completely washes our hearts clean enabling his Holy Spirit to dwell. Praise God! And he is an equal opportunity tenant. He will dwell in all different types of people's hearts. He never discriminates. All the people have to do is repent and cry out to God and receive his salvation through Jesus Christ.
Lets read verses 28b-31, "Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. 30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD." God was not only restoring their land and their prosperity, but also their spiritual life. Once they were hopeless but now they would be full of dreams and full of visions for the future. God opened their eyes to endless possibilities when they enter into the right relationship with him. God is opening our eyes to see vision for our Triton and NIU campus. (List them)
In verse 28, the people used to say despairing words filled with bitterness and unbelief. But now they would prophesy. They would give the word of God, in meaningful ways to the people of their generation. They would speak words grace and hope and truth. They would speak of the way of salvation.
God opened wide the way of salvation to all who repent and believe. Look at Verse 32, "32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls." God has opened the way of salvation. It is through repentance and faith in Jesus. Indeed, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, Jesus! will be saved (Ro 10:13; Acts 2:21). For the Lord pours out his Spirit into repentant hearts.
Through this passage let us rend our hearts and come to him in sincere repentance and faith. Let us cry out to him and let him work in our lives. Let us sound the trumpet at tell others of this great and wonderful salvation. Let us invite his Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts and fill our hearts with hope and vision for our campus' and nation. Let us speak words of God to the people of our generation.
Rend Your Hearts and I Will Pour Out My Spirit
Joel 2:1- 32 Lesson 2
Key verse 2:28
"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions."
Part 1: Return To The Lord (1-17)
1. What does it mean to "blow the trumpet" and "Sound the alarm"? (1) How is the destruction described? (2-10) Who is allowing this army of locusts to devour the land? (11) Why?
2. What does "even now" mean? (12) What response is God looking for from his people? (13- 15) What does it mean to rend our hearts and return to the Lord?
3. How did God want to restore the spiritual life of his people? (15-17) What is one thing that God is concerned about, that we should also? (17b) What kind of priority should we have? (16b) How can this type of communal repentance happen? (Matthew 6:33)
Part 2: God Will Dwell Among His People (18-27)
4. What will be God's response if they repent? In what ways will be bless them? (18-26) What will be another result? (27)
5. What reveals God's desire to dwell among his people? (28a) What will be the fruit when God dwells in our hearts through his spirit? Think about each type of person. What does it mean to prophesy? to dream dreams? to see visions?
6. What is God's further promise? (32) What does it mean to call on the name of the Lord? What does it mean to be delivered by God? Think about my own need for deliverance. What does it mean that God calls us?
Joel 2:1- 32 Lesson 2
Key verse 2:28 Joel Bible School NIU UBF 5/28/08 Delivered by Julie Jesmer
"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions."
In yesterday's passage we learned that God provided a beautiful vineyard for his people. They enjoyed abundant harvests and great joy year after year. But they took their blessings for granted and they became complacent. They ignored God's vision for them, to use all that God had provided to live as a Kingdom of Priests and Holy Nation. As a result they were overrun by an army of locusts. There land was devastated. They had no hope at all. Why did God subject them to such suffering and hardship? We learned that it was because God wanted them repent and cry out to him. All our trials and hardship of life are there so we can draw near to our God as his people and cry out to him in prayer.
In this passage we continue to see the destructive swarms of locusts. But we also see God's complete forgiveness on those who repent. Look at verse 1, " Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand-" To blow the trumpet means to let the people know. "sound the alarm" There are some modern day alarms in Dekalb. They are to warn the people of coming tornadoes. When they hear the siren they need to take immediate action and go into their basements or stand in the doorframes of their homes or lay in your bathtub. Julie responded very well one year. When the alarms went off she took a mattress in the basement of the Bible house and had all the kids lay downstairs. The trumpet and the alarm were meant for the people to wake up from their spiritual slumber and prepare themselves for what is to come.
The army of locust, that were descending, on the land were merciless. Look at verses 2-10. Though it was terrible, the locust invasion was an act of God's judgment on the people of Judah. The locust spared nothing. Before them, the land is like the Garden of Eden; behind them, a desert waste. There is only one thing that I know that even comes close to this type of devastation. Do you know what it is? …The snack table after the Sunday Service. The Garden of Eden was where Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony with God forever. It was the land of perfect paradise. It was the land that God intended for them to dwell in forever. Even in the fallen world God provided a land that was like Eden. It was the perfect vineyard. But because of their complacency and their sin, the swarms of locusts would lay it bare.
What was behind this devastation? Look at verse 11, "The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?" They are the Lord's army. He is allowing it to happen for his purpose. He uses his sovereign authority over nature to bring people to repentance so that he can save them. God uses his sovereignty to accomplish his redemptive purpose. How do respond to the Lord's discipline in your life? Do you see God? Do you become bitter and curse God and blame others? As we learned in the last lesson we find that God does these things to help us to draw near to him and to cry out to him. Without his discipline we would drift away from God and totally turn our backs on God. They would become like the 10 lost tribes of Israel. How did they become lost? They forgot about God. They lost their identity as God's people. They compromised with the nations around them to blend in. In the processes they became lost.
What about us. What if God did not subject us to his divine discipline and training at times? We would cease to call out to God. We would drift away and loose our identity as God's holy people. We may even be overcome by unbelief. We would cease to be part of the body of believers. God is very concerned about this. He loves us and so he disciplines us as his own sons and daughters. (Hebrews 12:5-7) Instead of being bitter about God's divine discipline we need to thank God that he is keeping us in his love. Let us say, "Thank you Lord! for keeping us in your love!"
We can come to God no matter what condition we may be in. Look at verse 12," "Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." "Even now" means from where you are now. Deuteronomy 4:29, " But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul." From where? From where you are. From your present spiritual condition. Whatever condition you are in it is the best time to turn to the Lord. God told his people to turn to him while there was still time. We may think that we have all the time in the world. Young people think they are immortal. But time is also running our for us. Don't let anything hold you back from turning to him. Now is the day of salvation.
We see what true repentance is. Look at verses 13-15. Here we find a definition of repentance. Repentance cannot be superficial. Tearing one's clothes is not enough. We must offer God our broken and contrite hearts. Repentance is not just regret for sins; it is returning to the Lord with all one's heart and humbly asking him for his mercy. We must freely return to the Lord…without reservation. When we came to him with humble repentant hearts, we have nothing to fear. Look at 13 again. Our God is gracious and compassionate. He is merciful. God will forgive you and accept you right now.
When the Lord's people repent and plead for his mercy, he will hear. He will do great things for them. He will drive the army of locusts into the sea and will restore the land. Trees and vines will bear fruit; the grain harvest will be abundant. The wild animals will rejoice.
God will also restore the spiritual life of his people. Look at verses 15-17. Joel called all the people to gather together. They needed to fast. They needed to form a sacred assembly. This is a coming together of God's people to pray and glorify God together. They needed to consecrate this assembly. It was to be a holy vessel. God works through his people who form a holy vessel of prayer together.
The spiritual leaders were to take the lead to set the example. When the spiritual leaders of the land lead the way in repentance and prayer then there can be revival. I remember reading about the Pyongyang revival of 1907. It happened in what is now North Korea. It began when leaders publicly repented of their sins. They repented of their personal hatreds, saying in tears, "I hated you so much. But I realize how great a sinner I am and how much Jesus loves you and me. Can you forgive me?" Thousands followed their example of repentance and calling out to God in prayer. A great and sustained revival happened. It carried on and on for the last one hundred years. This revival bore fruit, so much fruit that today the Korean church is poised to eclipse America in the area of world missions.
God saves his people, when they repent, for another reason. Look at Verse 17b, "… Let them say, "Spare your people, O LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' " When God's people are restored, the people will know that Jehovah is God and there is no other. They will praise his name, for he is with his people.
There is also an onus on the people to create and environment for restoration to take place, not just the elders. Look at Verse 16b, "… bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber." It is never easy to come together to form a holy vessel, but there are times when God demands it. We all have so many reasonable sounding excuses. In this passage are some good sounding excuses. A baby that is nursing…a newly married couple on their honeymoon. These are situations where we might say to God, "I can't come now." But even these people were to drop what they were doing and come and gather with God's people to pray. We can have this priority when we remember the words of Jesus, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)
Look at verses 18-26. Joel reached a turning point in his prophecy, moving from prophesying about an outpouring of God's judgment to prophesying about an outpouring of God's forgiveness and blessing. Before there were fasting , plagues and funerals. But later there will be feasting, harvesting, and songs of praise. This happened when they came together as God's people to repent and pray. When they came together with a clear priority and when the spiritual leaders took the lead in the repentance and prayer. When we truly concern about the glory of God and his reputation in the world. Then God will pour out his blessings on his people. Listen to what God says in 2 Chronicles 7;13-15; "13 "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place."
God also promises to live among his people. Look at verse 28a, "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people…." God will totally forgive us of our sins. When we have a problem with someone we might be able to muster up some forgiveness, but mostly we hold grudges. We can never move in with that person. But God is not like us. When he forgives, he totally forgives. Completely! He not only forgives, but he says, "hey… can we be room mates?" and he moves into our hearts through his Holy Spirit. His forgiveness completely washes our hearts clean enabling his Holy Spirit to dwell. Praise God! And he is an equal opportunity tenant. He will dwell in all different types of people's hearts. He never discriminates. All the people have to do is repent and cry out to God and receive his salvation through Jesus Christ.
Lets read verses 28b-31, "Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. 30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD." God was not only restoring their land and their prosperity, but also their spiritual life. Once they were hopeless but now they would be full of dreams and full of visions for the future. God opened their eyes to endless possibilities when they enter into the right relationship with him. God is opening our eyes to see vision for our Triton and NIU campus. (List them)
In verse 28, the people used to say despairing words filled with bitterness and unbelief. But now they would prophesy. They would give the word of God, in meaningful ways to the people of their generation. They would speak words grace and hope and truth. They would speak of the way of salvation.
God opened wide the way of salvation to all who repent and believe. Look at Verse 32, "32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls." God has opened the way of salvation. It is through repentance and faith in Jesus. Indeed, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, Jesus! will be saved (Ro 10:13; Acts 2:21). For the Lord pours out his Spirit into repentant hearts.
Through this passage let us rend our hearts and come to him in sincere repentance and faith. Let us cry out to him and let him work in our lives. Let us sound the trumpet at tell others of this great and wonderful salvation. Let us invite his Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts and fill our hearts with hope and vision for our campus' and nation. Let us speak words of God to the people of our generation.
Rend Your Hearts and I Will Pour Out My Spirit
Joel 2:1- 32 Lesson 2
Key verse 2:28
"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions."
Part 1: Return To The Lord (1-17)
1. What does it mean to "blow the trumpet" and "Sound the alarm"? (1) How is the destruction described? (2-10) Who is allowing this army of locusts to devour the land? (11) Why?
2. What does "even now" mean? (12) What response is God looking for from his people? (13- 15) What does it mean to rend our hearts and return to the Lord?
3. How did God want to restore the spiritual life of his people? (15-17) What is one thing that God is concerned about, that we should also? (17b) What kind of priority should we have? (16b) How can this type of communal repentance happen? (Matthew 6:33)
Part 2: God Will Dwell Among His People (18-27)
4. What will be God's response if they repent? In what ways will be bless them? (18-26) What will be another result? (27)
5. What reveals God's desire to dwell among his people? (28a) What will be the fruit when God dwells in our hearts through his spirit? Think about each type of person. What does it mean to prophesy? to dream dreams? to see visions?
6. What is God's further promise? (32) What does it mean to call on the name of the Lord? What does it mean to be delivered by God? Think about my own need for deliverance. What does it mean that God calls us?
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Colorrians 1:24-2:5 Message
THAT THEY MAY KNOW THE MYSTERY OF GOD
Colossians 1:24–2:5 Lesson 4
Key Verse: 2:2 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 7-12-09
"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ."
Everyone loves a mystery. People are intrigued by mysteries. They want to solve a mystery before anyone. Thomas Jefferson’s friend and mathematician, Robert Patterson, encrypted a message over 200 years ago. People have been trying decode his text since then and finally someone has. It turns out that the mystery text is actually the Declaration Of Independence. Robert Patterson was a genius to make an encryption that would stymie our best minds for two hundred years.
But there is mystery that God has given, that could never be solved by even the most clever of people. It is mystery that no person could even have conceived, even if they were told. (Acts 13:41) It is mystery that must be revealed to us by God himself. And this mystery that was hidden from ancient times, has now been revealed. The mystery of God is Christ himself…Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col 1:27) In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. When Christ dwells in our hearts, we are encouraged in heart and united in love. The other part of the mystery is that God is not just the God of the Jews. God wants to save all people, even the Gentiles. When Gentiles accept the gospel, then they, too, are indwelt by Christ. They have the same hope to reign with Christ in the heavenly kingdom. You may think that this obvious. But to millions upon millions of people, these facts are still a mystery and many aspects of this mystery may be still mysterious to you. To reveal this mystery to a world living in darkness was Paul's prayer topic. This is the purpose of his hard work and his suffering. May this mystery be revealed, in its fullness, to your own hearts today.
Part l: Rejoice When Participating In The Suffering Of Christ (24-25)
Paul was in a Roman prison and yet he rejoiced. Look at verse 24a, "Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you,…" How is this possible? “What was suffered for you” is in reference to Christ’s suffering for the church. It also refers to others’ suffering that was endured to establish the church. Many servants of God, including Paul suffered daily. How did he suffer for them? He preached, he prayed, he visited, he traveled, he raised disciples, he had physical, spiritual, emotional and mental anguish. At that time he was suffering in the jail. He didn’t have to be there. He could have kept quiet and never tried to preach the gospel and raise disciples. Then he would have never been bothered by the enemies of the gospel. But he chose to engage in the gospel ministry that brought him into direct conflict with the Romans and his own countrymen.
Paul's suffering brought him great joy. This is a mystery that doesn’t seem to make sense. How can suffering bring us great joy? But the truth is that the more we suffer for Jesus' name's sake, the more joy comes to us, especially when we see our Bible students standing up as people of God and seeing fruit being born in our lives. Worldly suffering brings despair, fatalism and regrets, but suffering in Christ, brings great rejoicing in our soul, because we are winning a victory, we are bearing fruit, we are storing up treasures in heaven, we are expanding the territory of the kingdom of God. (1 Peter 4:1,2, 12-19) Knowing this brings great joy to our souls. Do you want to rejoice? Then decide to share in the suffering of Christ to expand the territory of the kingdom of God.
Paul knew the point of all his sufferings. Look at verse 24b , "…and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church." Simply speaking, Paul carried his own cross of mission knowing the final goal. Let’s make one thing very clear, there is nothing lacking in the suffering Jesus endured for us on the cross. His death and resurrection accomplished God’s purpose in world salvation. Hebrews 10:14, "because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." But when we look around we see that Jesus has yet to return. We see billions of people not knowing Jesus. “Still lacking” refers to the remaining suffering needed to expand the Gospel work. Until the church is presented to Jesus as a perfect bride, until the exact number of Gentiles is let into the kingdom of God, (Ro 11:26) then there is still some remaining suffering that servants of God must embrace as we serve Jesus.
There is great fellowship among those who choose to participate in the remaining suffering of Christ. Php 3:10, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering." Fellowship, here, is a group with similar interests. (Merriam Webster Dictionary. c. 1974) Paul is experiencing companionship with Jesus. He is in fellowship with other Christians who are also participating in the remaining suffering of Jesus. A Christian’s interest is to be interested in what Jesus is interested in and want to share in it. Then there can be fellowship. Those who don’t want any part of this can never experience the joy of serving Jesus with other believers. There can be no lasting fellowship. They will always have trouble and conflicts in their hearts. We need to change our mindset and our attitude relating to suffering for the gospel.
Paul was commissioned to be a servant of the Gospel. Let’s read verse 25, "I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—" Commission means: “A warrant granting certain powers and imposing certain duties, Authority to act as agent for another.” In saying this, Paul is remembering his first encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. This moment of his commissioning is revealed in Paul’s speech to king Agrippa. In Acts 26:16-19, Christ appeared to Paul and said, “'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'” He had a commission from Jesus, to present the word of God in it's fullness. His commission was unique. His commission came from God. It was up to him to accept this commission with his whole heart. And that is exactly what he did. We need to renew our calling as servants of God and accept God’s commission to reveal the mystery of God the students of NIU and DeKalb.
Part ll: The Mystery Of God (26-27a)
The Gospel is an ancient mystery that begs to be solved. Look at verse 26, "the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints." What is a mystery? If we knew than it wouldn’t be a mystery now, would it? Definition of mystery: “A religious truth known by revelation alone. 2. something not understood or beyond understanding.” (Merriam- Webster Dictionary c. 1974) The mystery was meant to be revealed to those who have the right relationship with God. The Gospel has been largely hidden to the vast majority of people for thousands of years. In the Old Testament only a few saw what the Christ of God would accomplish. Abraham was one of them. King David was another. The Old Testament prophets where others. God reveled this to them. Most could not even conceive what God was about to do. But when Jesus came, this mystery was revealed very clearly, to all who put their hope and trust in Jesus. Well..what is this mystery? My wife would bring up intriguing news of a recent event saying, “Do you know what happened?” and then say, “I’ll tell you later”. But I am not going to do that to you. God's secret plan is… "Christ in you, the hope of glory" – God planned to have his Son, Jesus Christ, live in the hearts of all who believe in him – even Gentiles like the Colossians. To many students, the Gospel is still a mystery. Only when God gives them the Holy Spirit can they understand. Our job is to make an environment where they can believe.
Knowing the mystery of the Gospel, and the commission to preach it, is a great privilege Look at verse 26 again, “"the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints." This mystery is revealed to God’s saints. Are you a saint? "Hagios" means the Holy Ones. Saints have been forgiven of all their sins. Saints know Jesus personally and have the Holy Spirit. They have been sanctified by Jesus' sacrifice. If you repented of your sins and placed all of your hope and trust in Jesus who died and rose for you, then, yes, you are a saint of God. You have experienced the mystery of God personally in their lives. Knowing this mystery is really a privilege and make you part of an exclusive club. It also brings responsibility.
There is a proper response to God revealing this mystery to you. Let’s read verse 27, "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Part of the mystery is that God loves the Gentiles. Paul knew this and wanted to participate in God’s mission. Knowing this mystery is really a privilege. It is also something that begs to be shared. Tens of thousands of students have no idea of this mystery. God wants us to assist him in revealing it to them. Why else did God disclose it to you? To keep it to yourselves? No way!
Part ll: The Details Of This Mystery (27- )
Let’s look at the components of this mystery in verse 27, "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." First, “Christ in you”. Essentially, "Christ in you" is the mystery. The Jews felt that God was mostly present in the Temple. Idol worshippers also felt that their gods inhabited temples. But when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. (Matt 27:51) Christ is not restricted to the temple. God is spirit. He is everywhere. John 1:14 reads, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only who came from the Father full of grace and truth." He dwells among his people and He is in the heart of every believer. He is "God in us" coming to dwell among his people. We think this is obvious. But it is actually revolutionary. No Jew would have ever thought that God could dwell in the hearts of “unclean” Gentiles. When we know the mystery, God fills our hearts full of new hope for ourselves and new vision for our campus’ and the world.
Second, the hope of glory. This world is full of dead hopes, for everything in this world eventually spoils, perishes and fades away. Dead, worldly hopes disappoint us. Without Jesus there is no hope. People are living in hopelessness and despair. The Gentiles had no hope to share God’s glory. But now, through Jesus, the Gentiles have this great hope. We should be very happy about this because we are all Gentiles. Jesus is your only hope of glory. Can you think of any other way of getting to the kingdom of God? The best way that people can conjure up is being a good person. But the fact is the Bible says that no one is good…only God. (Mark 10:18) When you think about it, can you seriously get to heaven on your own goodness? I doubt it. Praise Jesus for giving us the hope of glory!
Paul kept a clear focus in his ministry. Let’s read verses 28 and 29, "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" Paul’s main focus was proclaiming “him”. Jesus was the focus of his ministry. He proclaimed what Jesus had accomplished for all of us. We can do a lot of things but let's keep the focus the focus of our ministry by proclaiming, “Him” to the students of NIU and DeKalb.
Paul engaged in a discipleship ministry. Look at verses 28-29 again. To admonish means to warn gently, to reprove with a warning, to chide, rebuke, reproach, reprimand. Teaching means to not only teach the word of God, but to set the example through our own lives. One of the goals of discipleship raising is to present everyone perfect on Christ. The word “perfect” means mature or complete. Paul wanted to see each believer mature spiritually. To do this we first need to realize that only the blood of Jesus can make anyone perfect before the eyes of God. But there is something that we can do as we serve our mission. First, we can help others to stop and think about the grace of God and make environment where they can take hold of that grace. Second, we can engage in a discipleship training, helping others to function as servants of God. Through our message preparation and music prep, Tim and Jenn can mature in their preaching and music skills and in their knowledge of Christ. Thirdly, we must not lower our standards. We have to keep the goal in our sights, to present all of our members perfect in Jesus through repentance and faith, beginning with ourselves. These are things that every church should be doing.
Paul helped others to know the mystery of the Gospel with his whole heart. Look at verse 29 again, "To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" It was not by human efforts that Paul could serve the Gospel. Paul pioneered 40 cities. In the book of Acts Paul was stoned and left for dead. (Acts 14:19) But he got up and went back into Jerusalem to continue to preach. He endured unimaginable sufferings. Most people would have died many times over. But God gave Paul strength to serve his mission well. God calls us to do the same. We need to love God with all our heart, soul and strength. Some people say, “Why do you work so hard? Why do strive so much? God will do what he wants to do. Are you trying to be be saved by your works?” But they are wrong. We need to have Jesus’ attitude and even Paul’s attitude who wrote, “I labor, struggling with all his energy.” Not because we are trying to save ourselves, but because we love God and want to make him known. “His” energy means that God is ready and willing to work through you if you let him.
Part lV: Paul Was Struggling For Them (2:1-5)
Paul wanted them to know how much he was struggling for them. Let’s read verses 2:1-5 together, "I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is."
Laodicea was located a few miles northwest of Colossae. Paul’s disciples had probably pioneered these churches. Paul was really concerned about the churches in that area. False teachers had probably infiltrated their ranks too. Though he had never been there personally, Paul loved them and want them to know how he was struggling on their behalf. He was saying, “I love you. Look at how much have been suffering to build you up in Christ.” He was like a father, separated from his kids for years, but writing letters to let them know how much he loves them. Paul also wanted them all to be encouraged in heart and united in love. He wanted to bring the churches together to stand against the heresy and to encourage one another to remain true to Jesus.
We need to grow in “complete understanding” of Christ. Look at verse 2, “2My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ” Blaise Pascal once said, "Apart from Jesus Christ, we cannot know the meaning of life, of death, of God, or of ourselves." People stop with a shallow understanding of Jesus. They need to delve deeper. When we seek after the treasure of the Gospel, we get a complete understanding of Jesus and his salvation plan. This will come when you seek Jesus and his words as a most precious treasure.
People spend millions of dollars to seek treasure in sunken ships. But they only have to go as far as their own Bible to find true, lasting treasures. Look at verse 3, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” In Jesus there are treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The Bible is a treasure of truth, like an ocean. In Jesus we have a satisfied heart, we have eternal life. There are benefits when seek Jesus as a treasure. One of them can be found in verse 4, “4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.”…. we can be saved from all deceptive heresies and stand firm on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Through this passage we have been reminded of a great mystery. Jesus, and his precious Gospel is the mystery of God. It speaks of God’s grace to dwell among his people to save them from sin and lead them to the hope of glory. Jesus' Gospel is not of human origin. It is God's mystery. It is completely different from what the world can conjure up. Only God can let us know the mystery and he is more than willing to reveal it to you. Paul wants all people to know the mystery of God and to participate in God's work with him. When we believe it, we will be satisfied. If we believe it, we will preach it. Then we will be blessed and be a blessing.
Colossians 1:24–2:5 Lesson 4
Key Verse: 2:2 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 7-12-09
"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ."
Everyone loves a mystery. People are intrigued by mysteries. They want to solve a mystery before anyone. Thomas Jefferson’s friend and mathematician, Robert Patterson, encrypted a message over 200 years ago. People have been trying decode his text since then and finally someone has. It turns out that the mystery text is actually the Declaration Of Independence. Robert Patterson was a genius to make an encryption that would stymie our best minds for two hundred years.
But there is mystery that God has given, that could never be solved by even the most clever of people. It is mystery that no person could even have conceived, even if they were told. (Acts 13:41) It is mystery that must be revealed to us by God himself. And this mystery that was hidden from ancient times, has now been revealed. The mystery of God is Christ himself…Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col 1:27) In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. When Christ dwells in our hearts, we are encouraged in heart and united in love. The other part of the mystery is that God is not just the God of the Jews. God wants to save all people, even the Gentiles. When Gentiles accept the gospel, then they, too, are indwelt by Christ. They have the same hope to reign with Christ in the heavenly kingdom. You may think that this obvious. But to millions upon millions of people, these facts are still a mystery and many aspects of this mystery may be still mysterious to you. To reveal this mystery to a world living in darkness was Paul's prayer topic. This is the purpose of his hard work and his suffering. May this mystery be revealed, in its fullness, to your own hearts today.
Part l: Rejoice When Participating In The Suffering Of Christ (24-25)
Paul was in a Roman prison and yet he rejoiced. Look at verse 24a, "Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you,…" How is this possible? “What was suffered for you” is in reference to Christ’s suffering for the church. It also refers to others’ suffering that was endured to establish the church. Many servants of God, including Paul suffered daily. How did he suffer for them? He preached, he prayed, he visited, he traveled, he raised disciples, he had physical, spiritual, emotional and mental anguish. At that time he was suffering in the jail. He didn’t have to be there. He could have kept quiet and never tried to preach the gospel and raise disciples. Then he would have never been bothered by the enemies of the gospel. But he chose to engage in the gospel ministry that brought him into direct conflict with the Romans and his own countrymen.
Paul's suffering brought him great joy. This is a mystery that doesn’t seem to make sense. How can suffering bring us great joy? But the truth is that the more we suffer for Jesus' name's sake, the more joy comes to us, especially when we see our Bible students standing up as people of God and seeing fruit being born in our lives. Worldly suffering brings despair, fatalism and regrets, but suffering in Christ, brings great rejoicing in our soul, because we are winning a victory, we are bearing fruit, we are storing up treasures in heaven, we are expanding the territory of the kingdom of God. (1 Peter 4:1,2, 12-19) Knowing this brings great joy to our souls. Do you want to rejoice? Then decide to share in the suffering of Christ to expand the territory of the kingdom of God.
Paul knew the point of all his sufferings. Look at verse 24b , "…and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church." Simply speaking, Paul carried his own cross of mission knowing the final goal. Let’s make one thing very clear, there is nothing lacking in the suffering Jesus endured for us on the cross. His death and resurrection accomplished God’s purpose in world salvation. Hebrews 10:14, "because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." But when we look around we see that Jesus has yet to return. We see billions of people not knowing Jesus. “Still lacking” refers to the remaining suffering needed to expand the Gospel work. Until the church is presented to Jesus as a perfect bride, until the exact number of Gentiles is let into the kingdom of God, (Ro 11:26) then there is still some remaining suffering that servants of God must embrace as we serve Jesus.
There is great fellowship among those who choose to participate in the remaining suffering of Christ. Php 3:10, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering." Fellowship, here, is a group with similar interests. (Merriam Webster Dictionary. c. 1974) Paul is experiencing companionship with Jesus. He is in fellowship with other Christians who are also participating in the remaining suffering of Jesus. A Christian’s interest is to be interested in what Jesus is interested in and want to share in it. Then there can be fellowship. Those who don’t want any part of this can never experience the joy of serving Jesus with other believers. There can be no lasting fellowship. They will always have trouble and conflicts in their hearts. We need to change our mindset and our attitude relating to suffering for the gospel.
Paul was commissioned to be a servant of the Gospel. Let’s read verse 25, "I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—" Commission means: “A warrant granting certain powers and imposing certain duties, Authority to act as agent for another.” In saying this, Paul is remembering his first encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. This moment of his commissioning is revealed in Paul’s speech to king Agrippa. In Acts 26:16-19, Christ appeared to Paul and said, “'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'” He had a commission from Jesus, to present the word of God in it's fullness. His commission was unique. His commission came from God. It was up to him to accept this commission with his whole heart. And that is exactly what he did. We need to renew our calling as servants of God and accept God’s commission to reveal the mystery of God the students of NIU and DeKalb.
Part ll: The Mystery Of God (26-27a)
The Gospel is an ancient mystery that begs to be solved. Look at verse 26, "the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints." What is a mystery? If we knew than it wouldn’t be a mystery now, would it? Definition of mystery: “A religious truth known by revelation alone. 2. something not understood or beyond understanding.” (Merriam- Webster Dictionary c. 1974) The mystery was meant to be revealed to those who have the right relationship with God. The Gospel has been largely hidden to the vast majority of people for thousands of years. In the Old Testament only a few saw what the Christ of God would accomplish. Abraham was one of them. King David was another. The Old Testament prophets where others. God reveled this to them. Most could not even conceive what God was about to do. But when Jesus came, this mystery was revealed very clearly, to all who put their hope and trust in Jesus. Well..what is this mystery? My wife would bring up intriguing news of a recent event saying, “Do you know what happened?” and then say, “I’ll tell you later”. But I am not going to do that to you. God's secret plan is… "Christ in you, the hope of glory" – God planned to have his Son, Jesus Christ, live in the hearts of all who believe in him – even Gentiles like the Colossians. To many students, the Gospel is still a mystery. Only when God gives them the Holy Spirit can they understand. Our job is to make an environment where they can believe.
Knowing the mystery of the Gospel, and the commission to preach it, is a great privilege Look at verse 26 again, “"the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints." This mystery is revealed to God’s saints. Are you a saint? "Hagios" means the Holy Ones. Saints have been forgiven of all their sins. Saints know Jesus personally and have the Holy Spirit. They have been sanctified by Jesus' sacrifice. If you repented of your sins and placed all of your hope and trust in Jesus who died and rose for you, then, yes, you are a saint of God. You have experienced the mystery of God personally in their lives. Knowing this mystery is really a privilege and make you part of an exclusive club. It also brings responsibility.
There is a proper response to God revealing this mystery to you. Let’s read verse 27, "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Part of the mystery is that God loves the Gentiles. Paul knew this and wanted to participate in God’s mission. Knowing this mystery is really a privilege. It is also something that begs to be shared. Tens of thousands of students have no idea of this mystery. God wants us to assist him in revealing it to them. Why else did God disclose it to you? To keep it to yourselves? No way!
Part ll: The Details Of This Mystery (27- )
Let’s look at the components of this mystery in verse 27, "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." First, “Christ in you”. Essentially, "Christ in you" is the mystery. The Jews felt that God was mostly present in the Temple. Idol worshippers also felt that their gods inhabited temples. But when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. (Matt 27:51) Christ is not restricted to the temple. God is spirit. He is everywhere. John 1:14 reads, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only who came from the Father full of grace and truth." He dwells among his people and He is in the heart of every believer. He is "God in us" coming to dwell among his people. We think this is obvious. But it is actually revolutionary. No Jew would have ever thought that God could dwell in the hearts of “unclean” Gentiles. When we know the mystery, God fills our hearts full of new hope for ourselves and new vision for our campus’ and the world.
Second, the hope of glory. This world is full of dead hopes, for everything in this world eventually spoils, perishes and fades away. Dead, worldly hopes disappoint us. Without Jesus there is no hope. People are living in hopelessness and despair. The Gentiles had no hope to share God’s glory. But now, through Jesus, the Gentiles have this great hope. We should be very happy about this because we are all Gentiles. Jesus is your only hope of glory. Can you think of any other way of getting to the kingdom of God? The best way that people can conjure up is being a good person. But the fact is the Bible says that no one is good…only God. (Mark 10:18) When you think about it, can you seriously get to heaven on your own goodness? I doubt it. Praise Jesus for giving us the hope of glory!
Paul kept a clear focus in his ministry. Let’s read verses 28 and 29, "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" Paul’s main focus was proclaiming “him”. Jesus was the focus of his ministry. He proclaimed what Jesus had accomplished for all of us. We can do a lot of things but let's keep the focus the focus of our ministry by proclaiming, “Him” to the students of NIU and DeKalb.
Paul engaged in a discipleship ministry. Look at verses 28-29 again. To admonish means to warn gently, to reprove with a warning, to chide, rebuke, reproach, reprimand. Teaching means to not only teach the word of God, but to set the example through our own lives. One of the goals of discipleship raising is to present everyone perfect on Christ. The word “perfect” means mature or complete. Paul wanted to see each believer mature spiritually. To do this we first need to realize that only the blood of Jesus can make anyone perfect before the eyes of God. But there is something that we can do as we serve our mission. First, we can help others to stop and think about the grace of God and make environment where they can take hold of that grace. Second, we can engage in a discipleship training, helping others to function as servants of God. Through our message preparation and music prep, Tim and Jenn can mature in their preaching and music skills and in their knowledge of Christ. Thirdly, we must not lower our standards. We have to keep the goal in our sights, to present all of our members perfect in Jesus through repentance and faith, beginning with ourselves. These are things that every church should be doing.
Paul helped others to know the mystery of the Gospel with his whole heart. Look at verse 29 again, "To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" It was not by human efforts that Paul could serve the Gospel. Paul pioneered 40 cities. In the book of Acts Paul was stoned and left for dead. (Acts 14:19) But he got up and went back into Jerusalem to continue to preach. He endured unimaginable sufferings. Most people would have died many times over. But God gave Paul strength to serve his mission well. God calls us to do the same. We need to love God with all our heart, soul and strength. Some people say, “Why do you work so hard? Why do strive so much? God will do what he wants to do. Are you trying to be be saved by your works?” But they are wrong. We need to have Jesus’ attitude and even Paul’s attitude who wrote, “I labor, struggling with all his energy.” Not because we are trying to save ourselves, but because we love God and want to make him known. “His” energy means that God is ready and willing to work through you if you let him.
Part lV: Paul Was Struggling For Them (2:1-5)
Paul wanted them to know how much he was struggling for them. Let’s read verses 2:1-5 together, "I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is."
Laodicea was located a few miles northwest of Colossae. Paul’s disciples had probably pioneered these churches. Paul was really concerned about the churches in that area. False teachers had probably infiltrated their ranks too. Though he had never been there personally, Paul loved them and want them to know how he was struggling on their behalf. He was saying, “I love you. Look at how much have been suffering to build you up in Christ.” He was like a father, separated from his kids for years, but writing letters to let them know how much he loves them. Paul also wanted them all to be encouraged in heart and united in love. He wanted to bring the churches together to stand against the heresy and to encourage one another to remain true to Jesus.
We need to grow in “complete understanding” of Christ. Look at verse 2, “2My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ” Blaise Pascal once said, "Apart from Jesus Christ, we cannot know the meaning of life, of death, of God, or of ourselves." People stop with a shallow understanding of Jesus. They need to delve deeper. When we seek after the treasure of the Gospel, we get a complete understanding of Jesus and his salvation plan. This will come when you seek Jesus and his words as a most precious treasure.
People spend millions of dollars to seek treasure in sunken ships. But they only have to go as far as their own Bible to find true, lasting treasures. Look at verse 3, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” In Jesus there are treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The Bible is a treasure of truth, like an ocean. In Jesus we have a satisfied heart, we have eternal life. There are benefits when seek Jesus as a treasure. One of them can be found in verse 4, “4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.”…. we can be saved from all deceptive heresies and stand firm on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Through this passage we have been reminded of a great mystery. Jesus, and his precious Gospel is the mystery of God. It speaks of God’s grace to dwell among his people to save them from sin and lead them to the hope of glory. Jesus' Gospel is not of human origin. It is God's mystery. It is completely different from what the world can conjure up. Only God can let us know the mystery and he is more than willing to reveal it to you. Paul wants all people to know the mystery of God and to participate in God's work with him. When we believe it, we will be satisfied. If we believe it, we will preach it. Then we will be blessed and be a blessing.
Matthew 13:44-46 Message
THE GREATEST TREASURE IS JESUS!
Jennifer Jesmer
2009 NIU COD SBC
Matthew 13:44-46
Key Verse 13:44
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it he hid it again and in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value he went away and sold everything he had and bought it."
Good morning! My name is Jennifer. I'm a part of NIU UBF. We've had quite a weekend so far, eh? Last night we heard from Shps Hannah about the wise builder. We learned that we need to be like the wise builder, building our lives on God and to act on the will of God rather than doing nothing. This morning I want to talk about Jesus' vision of the Kingdom of God. Before we start I would like to pray.
Dear heavenly father, thank you for your son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for everyone who decided to come to this conference. Be with us in spirit during the rest of the weekend, and help us to grow closer to you. Use me as a messenger of your words. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
From first glance this passage looks small and relatively insignificant. But when not taken for its face value these two of Jesus' parables hold many truths important for us to remember about the values that we place on things. As we think about this passage, I would ask you to ask yourself this question: What do you value more than anything else?
PART ONE: Buried Treasure
This passage describes two different men who find priceless treasures. Jesus told these parables to talk about the nature of the kingdom of God. The treasure is this kingdom. The first man found this treasure by accident, hidden in a field. Lets all read verse 44.
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it he hid it again and in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."
As far as ordinary walks go, this man was very lucky, it seemed. One day an ordinary man was walking through an ordinary field and made a more than ordinary discovery - a priceless treasure just below the surface of the ground. We can imagine that the moment he discovered it he was elated. This treasure was worth everything he owned. Imagine, finding a chest of gold coins, a string of Hope diamonds or a barrelful of hundred dollar bills! But in a couple minutes his euphoria wore off as he remembered that the treasure wasn't his. The only way that he could legally own it would be if he bought the field.
Nowadays, a standard farmer's field can cost around $5,000 an acre in Illinois. Most of us don't have this kind of cash lying around, and probably neither did this man. The only way he could afford this field was if he sold all of his possessions first. In this world, treasures like this are usually too good to be true. Treasure chests in movies usually go hand in hand with curses, booby traps, and rival pirates. But the kingdom of God is not like any other treasure. No one is fighting you for it, it comes with only the prices of commitment and faith.
Remember, this is an allegory of the kingdom of God. The thing that gets people, maybe some of you, about God, is that they are so used to their old lives that when something better comes along, taking it and changing is too.. dangerous. And it really is a gamble. But knowing what this man knew- that the treasure was waiting for him if he could just give up his old life and trade it in for something infinitely better, the trade is less of a gamble and more of a guarantee of a return. We don't have to be afraid, because God is waiting on the other side of faith with open arms.
God calls us to commit. You can't be split between the world and him. But this is no blind jump off a cliff. Jesus helps us to commit and to sell everything. And really, it's not like we are giving up much - just dedicating everything to serve God. Instead of selfish time and friendships and money, everything works together to please God.
So in joy, the man sold everything he owned. He sold his car. He sold his house. He sold his furniture. He sold his laptop. He sold his new mountain bike. All of it to buy this field, and subsequently, this treasure. And he wasn't sad about it - he was joyful, because he knew that what he found was better. He could buy a better car, a better house, better furniture, electronics, and bikes. If we are going to obtain that which is of the greatest value, we must not be petty people, but ambitious and venturous.
How far would you go for God? Would you dedicate your life? Would you change your mission? What is your treasure? Some of you may be wondering what all this means- to dedicate, to commit. As Christians we can dedicate time to bible study for an hour instead of wasting time watching TV. We can dedicate friendships to God by being a leader and example for them instead of following them to places that you should not be going. You can dedicate your career to God by making time on Sundays to go to church, or I know a lot of you got time off work to come to this weekend retreat. That's not easy. But God sees everything, Just by doing small things like this, you commit and you will get the heavenly return some day.
One more thing that I want to point out about this man and his treasure was God's leading. Lets read verse 44 again.
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it he hid it again and in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."
Out of all the fields, and out of all the places the man could be walking, he found the treasure. It was a miracle. God had to have led him there. There are no such things as random events. God controls it all. As followers of Christ, we need to understand that there is no luck. There is no fate. There is no Karma. There are no accidents or coincidences. In everything that happens to us and enters our life, God is working out his perfect plan.
So just as this man who was not looking for treasure found one, we all are being sought after by God. He wants you to find Him. He wants you to commit to Him. God can change your life. Yes He can! He wants you and I to joyfully see what he wants to bless us with. He wants us to trade in for the Kingdom of God.
PART TWO: Precious Pearl
Lets all read verse 45. "Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls."
This parable compares the Kingdom of God with a very fine, precious pearl. Much like the previous parable, a man finds a priceless treasure, sells all he has, and buys the treasure. There is one main difference however, in that this man was looking for pearls.
A merchant is someone whose job is to travel, buying and selling goods. They work in trading of commodities that they do not produce themselves. This merchant could be compared to someone who is looking for meaning, looking for purpose or things that bring true happiness.
Verse 46 reads, "When he found one of great value he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
Looking for pearls is like looking for things that make us happy. Friends could be a pearl. Money could be a pearl. Family could be a pearl. Career could be another. What was different about this one and what is the point of the analogy of the kingdom of God is that God's kingdom is worth all of that combined. Our lives are but a second compared to an eternity with God, and unless we can see that big difference we will always be settling for the small pearls, the ones found everywhere and totally skip out on the eternal life that God wants to give us.
These little pearls are things that make me happy for a moment, but don't have the great value of God's kingdom. And they seem good for a while, but compared to the precious pearl and treasure of God, these are not long lasting.
A long time ago I used to go to church in a different city before we moved to NIU. I loved going to church because it meant spending time with my best friends. We would sit in service and write notes and always run around and play as soon as the sermon was over. But when my family decided that we would move, I was both terrified and sad. I could no longer pass notes in church and do all the other stuff because we lived in different cities. Essentially that move was my (unwilling) sale of all I had. And even though they are still very much my friends, church is no longer somewhere I go to hang out. I started studying the bible with my mom, I started to help with the services and I had more of an active role. As a result my faith grew. Before, I wasn't thinking about God. I was only thinking about myself. I was like that merchant. I had the small pearls of fun, but God gave me something more important- a personal relationship with him. Pastor Kevin's message we learned that if we seek the Kingdom of God first, everything else God will give. Working towards a solid personal relationship with Jesus doesn't mean no friends or nothing else that makes you happy, it means that Jesus makes you the MOST happy. God wants us to sit and listen past what we think is happy and see what he sees.
Part Three: Conclusion
I’d like to read a passage from a book called Life of the Beloved by Henri JM Nouwen.
“Aren’t you, like me, hoping that some person, job, thin, or event will come along and give you that final feeling of inner well-being you truly desire? Don’t you often home, ‘May this book, idea, course, trip, job, country, or relationship fulfill my deepest desire’? But as long as you are waiting for that moment you will go on running helter-skelter, always anxious, restless, lustful and angry, never fully satisfied. God’s voice tells us he loves us and wants to give us more than that.” This is God’s treasure – the kingdom of God.
In this passage we learned about the value of the kingdom of God. Everything in this world seems like it can make us happy, but only when we commit to following God and searching after the kingdom of God as first priority can we have perfect happiness. No matter if you are searching or not, God wants you to be a part of his family. Eternity with him is worth everything else. Therefore we can joyfully invest in the Kingdom of God. With that treasure we can have everything.
Let's pray. Dear God, thank you for offering us the treasure of the kingdom of heaven. Help us to see the difference between the fleeting momentary happiness and true joy. Bless the rest of the programs this weekend and be with us. I pray in Jesus Name, Amen.
One Word: THE GREATEST TREASURE IS JESUS!
Jennifer Jesmer
2009 NIU COD SBC
Matthew 13:44-46
Key Verse 13:44
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it he hid it again and in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value he went away and sold everything he had and bought it."
Good morning! My name is Jennifer. I'm a part of NIU UBF. We've had quite a weekend so far, eh? Last night we heard from Shps Hannah about the wise builder. We learned that we need to be like the wise builder, building our lives on God and to act on the will of God rather than doing nothing. This morning I want to talk about Jesus' vision of the Kingdom of God. Before we start I would like to pray.
Dear heavenly father, thank you for your son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for everyone who decided to come to this conference. Be with us in spirit during the rest of the weekend, and help us to grow closer to you. Use me as a messenger of your words. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
From first glance this passage looks small and relatively insignificant. But when not taken for its face value these two of Jesus' parables hold many truths important for us to remember about the values that we place on things. As we think about this passage, I would ask you to ask yourself this question: What do you value more than anything else?
PART ONE: Buried Treasure
This passage describes two different men who find priceless treasures. Jesus told these parables to talk about the nature of the kingdom of God. The treasure is this kingdom. The first man found this treasure by accident, hidden in a field. Lets all read verse 44.
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it he hid it again and in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."
As far as ordinary walks go, this man was very lucky, it seemed. One day an ordinary man was walking through an ordinary field and made a more than ordinary discovery - a priceless treasure just below the surface of the ground. We can imagine that the moment he discovered it he was elated. This treasure was worth everything he owned. Imagine, finding a chest of gold coins, a string of Hope diamonds or a barrelful of hundred dollar bills! But in a couple minutes his euphoria wore off as he remembered that the treasure wasn't his. The only way that he could legally own it would be if he bought the field.
Nowadays, a standard farmer's field can cost around $5,000 an acre in Illinois. Most of us don't have this kind of cash lying around, and probably neither did this man. The only way he could afford this field was if he sold all of his possessions first. In this world, treasures like this are usually too good to be true. Treasure chests in movies usually go hand in hand with curses, booby traps, and rival pirates. But the kingdom of God is not like any other treasure. No one is fighting you for it, it comes with only the prices of commitment and faith.
Remember, this is an allegory of the kingdom of God. The thing that gets people, maybe some of you, about God, is that they are so used to their old lives that when something better comes along, taking it and changing is too.. dangerous. And it really is a gamble. But knowing what this man knew- that the treasure was waiting for him if he could just give up his old life and trade it in for something infinitely better, the trade is less of a gamble and more of a guarantee of a return. We don't have to be afraid, because God is waiting on the other side of faith with open arms.
God calls us to commit. You can't be split between the world and him. But this is no blind jump off a cliff. Jesus helps us to commit and to sell everything. And really, it's not like we are giving up much - just dedicating everything to serve God. Instead of selfish time and friendships and money, everything works together to please God.
So in joy, the man sold everything he owned. He sold his car. He sold his house. He sold his furniture. He sold his laptop. He sold his new mountain bike. All of it to buy this field, and subsequently, this treasure. And he wasn't sad about it - he was joyful, because he knew that what he found was better. He could buy a better car, a better house, better furniture, electronics, and bikes. If we are going to obtain that which is of the greatest value, we must not be petty people, but ambitious and venturous.
How far would you go for God? Would you dedicate your life? Would you change your mission? What is your treasure? Some of you may be wondering what all this means- to dedicate, to commit. As Christians we can dedicate time to bible study for an hour instead of wasting time watching TV. We can dedicate friendships to God by being a leader and example for them instead of following them to places that you should not be going. You can dedicate your career to God by making time on Sundays to go to church, or I know a lot of you got time off work to come to this weekend retreat. That's not easy. But God sees everything, Just by doing small things like this, you commit and you will get the heavenly return some day.
One more thing that I want to point out about this man and his treasure was God's leading. Lets read verse 44 again.
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it he hid it again and in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."
Out of all the fields, and out of all the places the man could be walking, he found the treasure. It was a miracle. God had to have led him there. There are no such things as random events. God controls it all. As followers of Christ, we need to understand that there is no luck. There is no fate. There is no Karma. There are no accidents or coincidences. In everything that happens to us and enters our life, God is working out his perfect plan.
So just as this man who was not looking for treasure found one, we all are being sought after by God. He wants you to find Him. He wants you to commit to Him. God can change your life. Yes He can! He wants you and I to joyfully see what he wants to bless us with. He wants us to trade in for the Kingdom of God.
PART TWO: Precious Pearl
Lets all read verse 45. "Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls."
This parable compares the Kingdom of God with a very fine, precious pearl. Much like the previous parable, a man finds a priceless treasure, sells all he has, and buys the treasure. There is one main difference however, in that this man was looking for pearls.
A merchant is someone whose job is to travel, buying and selling goods. They work in trading of commodities that they do not produce themselves. This merchant could be compared to someone who is looking for meaning, looking for purpose or things that bring true happiness.
Verse 46 reads, "When he found one of great value he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
Looking for pearls is like looking for things that make us happy. Friends could be a pearl. Money could be a pearl. Family could be a pearl. Career could be another. What was different about this one and what is the point of the analogy of the kingdom of God is that God's kingdom is worth all of that combined. Our lives are but a second compared to an eternity with God, and unless we can see that big difference we will always be settling for the small pearls, the ones found everywhere and totally skip out on the eternal life that God wants to give us.
These little pearls are things that make me happy for a moment, but don't have the great value of God's kingdom. And they seem good for a while, but compared to the precious pearl and treasure of God, these are not long lasting.
A long time ago I used to go to church in a different city before we moved to NIU. I loved going to church because it meant spending time with my best friends. We would sit in service and write notes and always run around and play as soon as the sermon was over. But when my family decided that we would move, I was both terrified and sad. I could no longer pass notes in church and do all the other stuff because we lived in different cities. Essentially that move was my (unwilling) sale of all I had. And even though they are still very much my friends, church is no longer somewhere I go to hang out. I started studying the bible with my mom, I started to help with the services and I had more of an active role. As a result my faith grew. Before, I wasn't thinking about God. I was only thinking about myself. I was like that merchant. I had the small pearls of fun, but God gave me something more important- a personal relationship with him. Pastor Kevin's message we learned that if we seek the Kingdom of God first, everything else God will give. Working towards a solid personal relationship with Jesus doesn't mean no friends or nothing else that makes you happy, it means that Jesus makes you the MOST happy. God wants us to sit and listen past what we think is happy and see what he sees.
Part Three: Conclusion
I’d like to read a passage from a book called Life of the Beloved by Henri JM Nouwen.
“Aren’t you, like me, hoping that some person, job, thin, or event will come along and give you that final feeling of inner well-being you truly desire? Don’t you often home, ‘May this book, idea, course, trip, job, country, or relationship fulfill my deepest desire’? But as long as you are waiting for that moment you will go on running helter-skelter, always anxious, restless, lustful and angry, never fully satisfied. God’s voice tells us he loves us and wants to give us more than that.” This is God’s treasure – the kingdom of God.
In this passage we learned about the value of the kingdom of God. Everything in this world seems like it can make us happy, but only when we commit to following God and searching after the kingdom of God as first priority can we have perfect happiness. No matter if you are searching or not, God wants you to be a part of his family. Eternity with him is worth everything else. Therefore we can joyfully invest in the Kingdom of God. With that treasure we can have everything.
Let's pray. Dear God, thank you for offering us the treasure of the kingdom of heaven. Help us to see the difference between the fleeting momentary happiness and true joy. Bless the rest of the programs this weekend and be with us. I pray in Jesus Name, Amen.
One Word: THE GREATEST TREASURE IS JESUS!
Joel 1:1-20 Message and Questions
To You, O Lord, I Call…
Joel 1:1-20
Key verse 1:19a,
"To you, O Lord, I call…"
In Joel's time there was an invasion of locusts such as had never been before in Judah. It was like the invasion of a foreign army (6,7). The joy of mankind had withered away. The invasion of locusts was not an accident. It was the Lord’s invitation to repent and call on the Lord. So the prophet calls to the Lord for mercy and help. God's acts of judgment are to call people to repent. Through this passage, let us determine to never take God's blessings for granted and come to God with humble, repentant and thankful hearts. May we know what it means to call on the name of the Lord, both for ourselves and our own but also for our ministry and nation.
Part l: Who Is Joel?
The author of this book is Joel. What do we know about Joel? Not too much. The Prophet Joel is mentioned by name only here and in the book of Acts. Verse 1 gives us a little insight however. "The word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel. " He was a prophet and the son of Pethuel. His name means "The Lord is God." He may have lived in Jerusalem, because his audience was Judah, the southern Kingdom. Joel speaks boldly and forcefully in his short and powerful book.
Joel is possibly writing after the people returned from Babylonian captivity, since there is no mention of a king, and life seems to be centered around the temple. This means that Joel may have prophesied from about 835 to 796 B.C. in and around the time that Jehoash became the king of Judah. He writes against the background of a devastating plague of locusts. His message is one of warning, but it is also filled with hope. He warns Judah of God's impending judgment because of their sins and urges them to turn back to God. He looks far into the future at coming judgment and coming joys. So in this sense, Joel is writing to all believers, of all time, everywhere. (Life Application Bible, NIV)
Part ll: The Word Of The Lord Came To Joel
The word of the Lord came to Joel. Look at verse one again. "The word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel. " What does it mean that the word of the Lord came to him? In the Bible, who did the word of the Lord come to? The word of God came to Abraham many times. The word of the Lord also came to John the Baptist in the desert. (Lk 3:2b) If one has enough water and shelter, deserts can be tranquil places of peace and solitude. Indeed, God wants to communicate and tell us many things. God's word is whisper. (1 Kings 19:11-13) Therefore we must quiet our hearts, go into our "desert places" , perk our ears and listen to the still small voice of God. Practically, it means to take time out for deep and sincere meditation, prayer, Bible reading and testimony writing. We must pray, "Lord, please may your word come to me."
The word that came to Joel was one of impending doom. Verse 2 reads, "Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers?" Joel was looking into the future as thought the events as if they had already happened. There was so much wickedness in the land and the pending destruction was so ominous. Nothing in recent memory could compare to what has happened and what will happen to the people of Judah. Terrible things were going to happen and God wanted all generations to never forget what happened and more importantly why it happened. Look at verses 1:2a and 1:3, "2 Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land…." "3 Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation." God wanted the present generation to learn from their bleak situation and urged parents to pass their history down to their children, telling them over and over the important lessons they learned. Why? Their sin was not just their own. It was a universal problem that affects every generation. We can all benefit from knowledge of how God dealt with his people in the past, for those who take note of history have a better chance of never repeating it. What should they never repeat?
The nation of Judah was God's vineyard, yet they trampled it. Look at verse 7. "It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees." God mentioned, "my" vines and "my" fig trees. Isaiah 5:1-4 reads, " I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. 3 "Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?" From the passage we can deduce that they had been provided everything; the best vineyard. They had fruit and prosperity. God meant for his people to have joy. They would enjoy fruitful harvests, music, winepresses, oil presses, feasting, bonfires with nighttime barbeques. The people would have a common mission. They would have hope and expectation year after year. If only they would just do it God's way! What more could God have done for his vineyard? Providing the vineyard was the pure, undeserved grace of God.
But their sin brought a quite different scenario. Look at verses 4-7, "What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts [a] have eaten. 5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine; wail because of the new wine, for it has been snatched from your lips. 6 A nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness. 7 It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white." Their punishment would be devastating. The people hoped that they might be left with a morsel of food to eat. But as soon as they tried to put a scrap of food into their mouths, teenagers locusts snatched it from them. They tried to find another morsel of food. As soon as they put that near there mouths tiny, nymph grasshoppers snatched it from them. There is more. Look at verse 7, "It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white. "; and verses 11-12, "Despair, you farmers, wail, you vine growers; grieve for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field is destroyed. 12 The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree— all the trees of the field—are dried up. Surely the joy of mankind is withered away." ; and verse 16, "16 Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes— joy and gladness from the house of our God? " Everything was wasted and ruined. They had nothing left to build for the future. No resources, nothing to trade with. Their economy crumbled. The vineyards no longer had any value. No joyful laughter could be heard in the fields. There were only wailing of those bemoaning their pitiful condition. The locusts represent devastation, and that is what occurred, pure devastation. They were completely hopeless. God blesses us, but we can ruin and destroy everything overnight because of our sins. This is never God's intention however.
The devastation, brought on by the locust swarm can be likened to life in this world for many. This world is merciless. It takes and takes and leaves you with nothing. Our suffering comes in waves, like wave after wave of locusts. All of our hopes are dashed to the pieces and left as chaff on a parched field. Satan is merciless. He wants to see us totally destroyed and eternally separated from God. In this situation, Jesus is our only true hope and salvation. 1 Peter 1:3-4 reads, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you," Satan wants everything in your life to perish spoil and fade. But Jesus is full of hope. He has more hope than any of us can handle. Hopelessness is like living in darkness. But Jesus is the light of the world. (John 8:12)
The spiritual life of the people suffered. Look at verse 9, " Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the LORD. The priests are in mourning, those who minister before the LORD. " The people had no wine or grain to offer. In their desperation they may have stopped offering to God all together. The priests, who should have been strong to lead the suffering flock, were overcome with mourning. Can you image a pastor on the pulpit mourning and weeping, begging his congregation to comfort him? He should be giving words of hope and comfort to them and building up the church in those desperate times. (1 Corinthians 14:2; Haggai 1:4) They were rendered impotent as servants of God. How could they continue ministering before the Lord?
Others suffered because of the peoples' sin. Look at verse 18 and 20. " The herds mill about because they have no pasture; even the flocks of sheep are suffering."…."20 Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the open pastures." The sin of the people of Judah caused the domesticated and the wild animals to suffer. We think that our own sins are our own business and no one else's'. But the truth of the matter is, our lives influence many around us. We do not stand alone. It is true that we have much freedom on Jesus, but with that freedom comes much responsibility. Look at what Paul tells us. 1 Corinthians 8: 9 and 13 reads, "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. …13Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall." We need to consider our neighbors and our influence on them and build them up instead of tearing them down by our influence.
Part lll: The Beginning Of Restoration
Nestled within this chapter is the secret to the beginning of the peoples' restoration. Verse 2a, " Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land…." All people, especially the elders needed to listen to the word of the Lord. Verse 2b reads, "… Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers?" They needed come out of their deception and recognize the reality of their condition and weep (5a), that is, care deeply about their sin and their fallen condition. Verse 8 reads, "8 Mourn like a virgin [b] in sackcloth, grieving for the husband [c] of her youth." This is deep mourning. This virgin had hope in family, but her hopes were crushed with not even a child born from her union. Her situation is bone crushing. Basically. God wants us to know that we have reached rock bottom and need to stop grasping at straws. They needed to agree with God and turn to him. Then they needed to teach the lessons they have learned to the next generation. Look at verse 3, " Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation." People recover from any crisis better when they take positive steps to make sure it never happens again. Like a person with lung cancer teaching young people to never smoke.
The spiritual leaders had to take the lead in repentance, helping the populace to do the same. Look at verses 13-14, " Put on sackcloth, O priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. 14 Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. " Sack cloth is the clothing put on by mourners at a funeral. A fast was a period of time when no food was eaten. People were to approached the throne of God in humility of heart, sorrow over their sin, and offer up urgent prayers. It was a demonstration of their change of heart. "Crying out" prayer to God is always the way out any desperate situation. Listen to what God says in 2 Chronicles 7:13-15; "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place." May God make us into people of "crying out" prayer.
Repentance could not be put off any longer. Look at verse 15, " Alas for that day! For the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty." The implication of this is that they could no longer wait with true repentance. They needed to do it, like, yesterday! Paul relies on this principle in his discourse with the Corinthian Christians. He said in 2 Corinthians 6:1-2, " 1As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. 2For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you."[a] I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." It is always the best policy to never put off repentance, but come to Jesus in humility of heart ASAP. Today is the day of salvation for each and every one of us. What is the anticipated end result of all of Judah's training? Look at verse 14, "Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. " and verse 19a, "To you, O LORD, I call,…" God's training for his people is always redemptive. (Romans 8:28) The end results of all these difficult times is absolutely good. It helped the people repent of their sins, to gather together and to cry out to God for salvation.
The day of the Lord referred to here is a present event, but it also foreshadowed the final day of the Lord. This final event of history would be the last judgment on all evil and sin and the final reward for all of the faithful believers. All of God's people look forward to this final day with expectant joy and true hope, because then, true justice will prevail and all those, with a right relationship with God, will be united with their Heavenly Father for all eternity.
Through this passage, let us take head of what God is trying to tell us. God wants to speak to each of hearts and let us know what is on his heart. Let us make a serious self examination of our own hearts and spiritual lives and respond with prayer and repentance. Do we want to wait until our lives are totally ravaged by the consequence of our sins. Do we only turn to God when there is absolutely no other option. No way! Today is the day of salvation. It all begins with confession, repentance and faith enough to lift up our heads and hearts to heaven and cry out to God. In his mercy he will save, heal and restore.
To You, O Lord, I Call…
Joel 1:1-20 Lesson 1
Key verse 1:19a,
"To you, O Lord, I call…"
In Joel's time there was an invasion of locusts such as had never been before in Judah. It was like the invasion of a foreign army (6,7). The joy of mankind had withered away. The invasion of locusts was not an accident. It was the Lord’s invitation to repent and call on the Lord. So the prophet calls to the Lord for mercy and help. God's acts of judgment are to call people to repent. Through this passage, let us determine to never take God's blessings for granted and come to God with humble, repentant and thankful hearts. May we know what it means to call on the name of the Lord, both for ourselves and our own but also for our ministry and nation.
Part 1: How Could This Happen To Me?
1. Who wrote this book? What do we know about him? (1) What does it mean that the word of
the Lord came to Joel? What does this teach us about God? What was Joel concerned about?
Who was Joel addressing? (2a; 3) Why did he want generation after generation to know
what was happening in his day? (3)
2. What was the situation of Israel before these events? What was their condition now? (4-7;
10-12; 16-18; 19b-20) Think about their hopelessness (4, 6, 10) , fruitlessness (7, 11-12,
16a), joylessness (16, 12b), inability to provide for the future and be a blessing (10, 11, 17b,
20b), the condition of God's house? (9) Who else was affected by their sin? (18, 20) How
did they get in this desperate situation?
Part 2: The Beginning Of Restoration
3. What is the starting point to resolving their predicament? (2a, 3, 5a, 8a, 13, 14,) What does it
mean to hear and listen? (2a); to tell of God to the younger generation? (3); to wake up,
weep and wail? (5a) ; to mourn in sackcloth? (8a); to grieve for the husband of their youth?
(8a) What must be the response of servants of God? (13-14) Why could they not wait in
order to begin repenting? (15, 18) Why is the "Day of Lord" also a consolation?
4. What was the end result of these trials? (14,19a) What does it mean to call or cry out to
God? Why is forming a holy vessel of prayer important in restoration? Why does it take hard
times for people to cry out to God and gather together to pray? Is this the way it has to be?
What is an alternative way?
Joel 1:1-20
Key verse 1:19a,
"To you, O Lord, I call…"
In Joel's time there was an invasion of locusts such as had never been before in Judah. It was like the invasion of a foreign army (6,7). The joy of mankind had withered away. The invasion of locusts was not an accident. It was the Lord’s invitation to repent and call on the Lord. So the prophet calls to the Lord for mercy and help. God's acts of judgment are to call people to repent. Through this passage, let us determine to never take God's blessings for granted and come to God with humble, repentant and thankful hearts. May we know what it means to call on the name of the Lord, both for ourselves and our own but also for our ministry and nation.
Part l: Who Is Joel?
The author of this book is Joel. What do we know about Joel? Not too much. The Prophet Joel is mentioned by name only here and in the book of Acts. Verse 1 gives us a little insight however. "The word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel. " He was a prophet and the son of Pethuel. His name means "The Lord is God." He may have lived in Jerusalem, because his audience was Judah, the southern Kingdom. Joel speaks boldly and forcefully in his short and powerful book.
Joel is possibly writing after the people returned from Babylonian captivity, since there is no mention of a king, and life seems to be centered around the temple. This means that Joel may have prophesied from about 835 to 796 B.C. in and around the time that Jehoash became the king of Judah. He writes against the background of a devastating plague of locusts. His message is one of warning, but it is also filled with hope. He warns Judah of God's impending judgment because of their sins and urges them to turn back to God. He looks far into the future at coming judgment and coming joys. So in this sense, Joel is writing to all believers, of all time, everywhere. (Life Application Bible, NIV)
Part ll: The Word Of The Lord Came To Joel
The word of the Lord came to Joel. Look at verse one again. "The word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel. " What does it mean that the word of the Lord came to him? In the Bible, who did the word of the Lord come to? The word of God came to Abraham many times. The word of the Lord also came to John the Baptist in the desert. (Lk 3:2b) If one has enough water and shelter, deserts can be tranquil places of peace and solitude. Indeed, God wants to communicate and tell us many things. God's word is whisper. (1 Kings 19:11-13) Therefore we must quiet our hearts, go into our "desert places" , perk our ears and listen to the still small voice of God. Practically, it means to take time out for deep and sincere meditation, prayer, Bible reading and testimony writing. We must pray, "Lord, please may your word come to me."
The word that came to Joel was one of impending doom. Verse 2 reads, "Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers?" Joel was looking into the future as thought the events as if they had already happened. There was so much wickedness in the land and the pending destruction was so ominous. Nothing in recent memory could compare to what has happened and what will happen to the people of Judah. Terrible things were going to happen and God wanted all generations to never forget what happened and more importantly why it happened. Look at verses 1:2a and 1:3, "2 Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land…." "3 Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation." God wanted the present generation to learn from their bleak situation and urged parents to pass their history down to their children, telling them over and over the important lessons they learned. Why? Their sin was not just their own. It was a universal problem that affects every generation. We can all benefit from knowledge of how God dealt with his people in the past, for those who take note of history have a better chance of never repeating it. What should they never repeat?
The nation of Judah was God's vineyard, yet they trampled it. Look at verse 7. "It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees." God mentioned, "my" vines and "my" fig trees. Isaiah 5:1-4 reads, " I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. 3 "Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?" From the passage we can deduce that they had been provided everything; the best vineyard. They had fruit and prosperity. God meant for his people to have joy. They would enjoy fruitful harvests, music, winepresses, oil presses, feasting, bonfires with nighttime barbeques. The people would have a common mission. They would have hope and expectation year after year. If only they would just do it God's way! What more could God have done for his vineyard? Providing the vineyard was the pure, undeserved grace of God.
But their sin brought a quite different scenario. Look at verses 4-7, "What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts [a] have eaten. 5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine; wail because of the new wine, for it has been snatched from your lips. 6 A nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness. 7 It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white." Their punishment would be devastating. The people hoped that they might be left with a morsel of food to eat. But as soon as they tried to put a scrap of food into their mouths, teenagers locusts snatched it from them. They tried to find another morsel of food. As soon as they put that near there mouths tiny, nymph grasshoppers snatched it from them. There is more. Look at verse 7, "It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white. "; and verses 11-12, "Despair, you farmers, wail, you vine growers; grieve for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field is destroyed. 12 The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree— all the trees of the field—are dried up. Surely the joy of mankind is withered away." ; and verse 16, "16 Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes— joy and gladness from the house of our God? " Everything was wasted and ruined. They had nothing left to build for the future. No resources, nothing to trade with. Their economy crumbled. The vineyards no longer had any value. No joyful laughter could be heard in the fields. There were only wailing of those bemoaning their pitiful condition. The locusts represent devastation, and that is what occurred, pure devastation. They were completely hopeless. God blesses us, but we can ruin and destroy everything overnight because of our sins. This is never God's intention however.
The devastation, brought on by the locust swarm can be likened to life in this world for many. This world is merciless. It takes and takes and leaves you with nothing. Our suffering comes in waves, like wave after wave of locusts. All of our hopes are dashed to the pieces and left as chaff on a parched field. Satan is merciless. He wants to see us totally destroyed and eternally separated from God. In this situation, Jesus is our only true hope and salvation. 1 Peter 1:3-4 reads, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you," Satan wants everything in your life to perish spoil and fade. But Jesus is full of hope. He has more hope than any of us can handle. Hopelessness is like living in darkness. But Jesus is the light of the world. (John 8:12)
The spiritual life of the people suffered. Look at verse 9, " Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the LORD. The priests are in mourning, those who minister before the LORD. " The people had no wine or grain to offer. In their desperation they may have stopped offering to God all together. The priests, who should have been strong to lead the suffering flock, were overcome with mourning. Can you image a pastor on the pulpit mourning and weeping, begging his congregation to comfort him? He should be giving words of hope and comfort to them and building up the church in those desperate times. (1 Corinthians 14:2; Haggai 1:4) They were rendered impotent as servants of God. How could they continue ministering before the Lord?
Others suffered because of the peoples' sin. Look at verse 18 and 20. " The herds mill about because they have no pasture; even the flocks of sheep are suffering."…."20 Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the open pastures." The sin of the people of Judah caused the domesticated and the wild animals to suffer. We think that our own sins are our own business and no one else's'. But the truth of the matter is, our lives influence many around us. We do not stand alone. It is true that we have much freedom on Jesus, but with that freedom comes much responsibility. Look at what Paul tells us. 1 Corinthians 8: 9 and 13 reads, "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. …13Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall." We need to consider our neighbors and our influence on them and build them up instead of tearing them down by our influence.
Part lll: The Beginning Of Restoration
Nestled within this chapter is the secret to the beginning of the peoples' restoration. Verse 2a, " Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land…." All people, especially the elders needed to listen to the word of the Lord. Verse 2b reads, "… Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers?" They needed come out of their deception and recognize the reality of their condition and weep (5a), that is, care deeply about their sin and their fallen condition. Verse 8 reads, "8 Mourn like a virgin [b] in sackcloth, grieving for the husband [c] of her youth." This is deep mourning. This virgin had hope in family, but her hopes were crushed with not even a child born from her union. Her situation is bone crushing. Basically. God wants us to know that we have reached rock bottom and need to stop grasping at straws. They needed to agree with God and turn to him. Then they needed to teach the lessons they have learned to the next generation. Look at verse 3, " Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation." People recover from any crisis better when they take positive steps to make sure it never happens again. Like a person with lung cancer teaching young people to never smoke.
The spiritual leaders had to take the lead in repentance, helping the populace to do the same. Look at verses 13-14, " Put on sackcloth, O priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. 14 Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. " Sack cloth is the clothing put on by mourners at a funeral. A fast was a period of time when no food was eaten. People were to approached the throne of God in humility of heart, sorrow over their sin, and offer up urgent prayers. It was a demonstration of their change of heart. "Crying out" prayer to God is always the way out any desperate situation. Listen to what God says in 2 Chronicles 7:13-15; "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place." May God make us into people of "crying out" prayer.
Repentance could not be put off any longer. Look at verse 15, " Alas for that day! For the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty." The implication of this is that they could no longer wait with true repentance. They needed to do it, like, yesterday! Paul relies on this principle in his discourse with the Corinthian Christians. He said in 2 Corinthians 6:1-2, " 1As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. 2For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you."[a] I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." It is always the best policy to never put off repentance, but come to Jesus in humility of heart ASAP. Today is the day of salvation for each and every one of us. What is the anticipated end result of all of Judah's training? Look at verse 14, "Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. " and verse 19a, "To you, O LORD, I call,…" God's training for his people is always redemptive. (Romans 8:28) The end results of all these difficult times is absolutely good. It helped the people repent of their sins, to gather together and to cry out to God for salvation.
The day of the Lord referred to here is a present event, but it also foreshadowed the final day of the Lord. This final event of history would be the last judgment on all evil and sin and the final reward for all of the faithful believers. All of God's people look forward to this final day with expectant joy and true hope, because then, true justice will prevail and all those, with a right relationship with God, will be united with their Heavenly Father for all eternity.
Through this passage, let us take head of what God is trying to tell us. God wants to speak to each of hearts and let us know what is on his heart. Let us make a serious self examination of our own hearts and spiritual lives and respond with prayer and repentance. Do we want to wait until our lives are totally ravaged by the consequence of our sins. Do we only turn to God when there is absolutely no other option. No way! Today is the day of salvation. It all begins with confession, repentance and faith enough to lift up our heads and hearts to heaven and cry out to God. In his mercy he will save, heal and restore.
To You, O Lord, I Call…
Joel 1:1-20 Lesson 1
Key verse 1:19a,
"To you, O Lord, I call…"
In Joel's time there was an invasion of locusts such as had never been before in Judah. It was like the invasion of a foreign army (6,7). The joy of mankind had withered away. The invasion of locusts was not an accident. It was the Lord’s invitation to repent and call on the Lord. So the prophet calls to the Lord for mercy and help. God's acts of judgment are to call people to repent. Through this passage, let us determine to never take God's blessings for granted and come to God with humble, repentant and thankful hearts. May we know what it means to call on the name of the Lord, both for ourselves and our own but also for our ministry and nation.
Part 1: How Could This Happen To Me?
1. Who wrote this book? What do we know about him? (1) What does it mean that the word of
the Lord came to Joel? What does this teach us about God? What was Joel concerned about?
Who was Joel addressing? (2a; 3) Why did he want generation after generation to know
what was happening in his day? (3)
2. What was the situation of Israel before these events? What was their condition now? (4-7;
10-12; 16-18; 19b-20) Think about their hopelessness (4, 6, 10) , fruitlessness (7, 11-12,
16a), joylessness (16, 12b), inability to provide for the future and be a blessing (10, 11, 17b,
20b), the condition of God's house? (9) Who else was affected by their sin? (18, 20) How
did they get in this desperate situation?
Part 2: The Beginning Of Restoration
3. What is the starting point to resolving their predicament? (2a, 3, 5a, 8a, 13, 14,) What does it
mean to hear and listen? (2a); to tell of God to the younger generation? (3); to wake up,
weep and wail? (5a) ; to mourn in sackcloth? (8a); to grieve for the husband of their youth?
(8a) What must be the response of servants of God? (13-14) Why could they not wait in
order to begin repenting? (15, 18) Why is the "Day of Lord" also a consolation?
4. What was the end result of these trials? (14,19a) What does it mean to call or cry out to
God? Why is forming a holy vessel of prayer important in restoration? Why does it take hard
times for people to cry out to God and gather together to pray? Is this the way it has to be?
What is an alternative way?
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