NIU UBF- Bible Material and Messages

Numbers 13:1-14:25

2012-01-28T18:06:00.000-08:00

Explore The Promised Land
Numbers 13:1-14:25 Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 1-22-12
Key Verse 13:2 Inspired by the message delivered by P. Abraham Kim UBF director
“Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites.
From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”
The Israelites reached the border of the land God had promised them. At the Lord's command, Moses sent twelve spies, one from each tribe, to explore it. They discovered that the land was good, but the people were fearsome. Almost everyone was dismayed. Caleb and Joshua, however, believed that the Lord would give them the good land if they had faith that pleased the Lord. They were men of faith and obedience who followed God wholeheartedly. There is also a promised land God has given to each of us and every community in Christ. The land that needs to be conquered is the land of our inner person and the mission field we have been called to serve. It also is the Kingdom of God that Jesus has conquered for us. Through as study this passage may God fill our hearts with a spirit of conquest and a spirit of victory. May we conquer the promise lands that God has led us too, beginning with our own hearts. May we also be sources of encouragement to others, like Caleb and Joshua were. May God bless you.
Part I: God Commands Exploration Of Canaan (13:1-25)
The Book of Numbers begins with numbering the Israelites who could go to war at Mt. Sinai, a year and a month after the Exodus. During that time, the Israelites made a covenant with God and became a special people who had fellowship with God at the Tent of Meeting. In spite of their sin of idolatry, God forgave them and led them to the Desert of Paran where they could see the Promised Land. This took forty years. When they got there, God commanded through Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.” (1-2) Why did God want to send in explorers? There were several reasons. Let’s see…
First, to go and explore the land required faith. In the land were great, walled cities. The people were huge and known for their cruelty in battle. They even had iron chariots. Why not just overwhelm the enemy with vast numbers of Israelites, for they numbered two or three million? God had his reasons. They needed to trust God that God had the best strategy in mind.
Second, exploring the enemy camp is a basic step before any military operation. It is true that God wants us to do everything by faith, but he doesn’t want us to do things blindly not knowing the situation and developing a strategy. In fact, the Bible records wars in which God commanded his servants to explore the battle fields, instructed strategies and tactics, whereby they won victories….how?…by obeying God’s instructions with faith. May we find God strategy in the coming year for serving our mission field. I believe it is through 1:1 Bible study, discipleship and alliance building with local Christians and Christian ministries.
Third, God wanted to encourage and inspire his people. God repeatedly called the land of Canaan “the land I am giving to the Israelites” or “the land I promised them on oath” (13:2, 14:16, 23, 30, 15:2). God’s command to explore the land is similar to his command to Abraham when he said, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever….Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” (Ge 13:14-17) Just like Abraham, God wanted the explorers to encourage the Israelites by helping them to know the beauty of the land, be thankful to God, and be filled with desire to conquer and possess the land. God wants us to look at the land he gives us and explore it. He wants us to walk through the land by faith and possess it in our hearts. Maybe we should go the walk around the campus, see its beauty and pray.
Part ll: The Promised Land God Has Called Us To Conquer
The land, in every generation, in every locale, (without and within) is full of idol-worship and corrupt secular cultural forces that oppose the Gospel. God wants to bring about His kingdom through our spiritual conquest and taking possession of the land. We aren’t talking about literal war, for our battle is never against flesh and blood. (Eph 6:11-13) Spiritually, however, the world is at war and the war will continue until our Lord’s Second Coming. We are leaders and foot soldiers of the Lord’s army. There is battle to win. And so, what is the Promised Land for us to conquer? The first is conquering our own hearts with the gospel. Second is entering the kingdom of Heaven following our conquering general, Jesus Christ. This is the most important aspect. And the third is “conquering” the mission field that God has placed us into.
First, conquering ourselves...our inner hearts. This means overcoming our sinful nature and growing in spiritual maturity. God’s will for us is to restore us in the image of Christ (Ro 8:28-29). For this purpose, God has given us the word of God and the Holy Spirit and works in all things in our lives. Christ’s image is formed through continuous battle with our old self, that is, the sinful nature. When our old self dies through obedience to God, we put on the new self and become spiritual men and women.
We should check where we are in this spiritual campaign. We should press on like Apostle Paul to be united with Christ by following Christ’s example in his death and resurrection (Php 3:10-12). Ephesians 4:22-24 reads, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” To put off our old self, often requires a spiritual battle to the point of shedding our blood. The only way to do this is to repent of loving our sinful nature more than God and give our hearts to God newly. The moment our old self dies, we experience the power of the resurrection and receive freedom in Christ.
Our inner spiritual enemies, such as pride, self-glory seeking, and lust, to name a few, have deep roots. To uproot them, we need a hydraulic hoe and dynamite. When we dig deep with the hoe of the word of God, we expose the root of our sin and the Holy Spirit blows it off by his power and transforms us to be a new creations. When we put on the new self, we can enter into life to the full which the Lord Jesus promised in John 10:10b, “…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Which is our 2012 ministry key verse.
In order to conquer our hearts, we should also grow in love and righteousness until our own local church and the Christian community radiates the love of God. The kingdom of God comes when we obey the Lord’s new command, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (Jn 13:34). What a beautiful and precious community of brothers and sisters we have in our fellowship! Where can we find such wonderful friends in the world? Nowhere else, but in Christ! While focusing on our ministry, work, school and social life, we often miss the blessed love fellowship among those who love Jesus. Let’s continue building up a beautiful community of love among us so that the world may know God’s love through us. This is part of conquering our hearts with the gospel.
Second, conquering the land is entering the kingdom of Heaven following our conquering general, Jesus Christ. We can talk about the various “lands” that we need to conquer in this world, but by far, the most important land to conquer is the land that Jesus has already conquered for us, the Kingdom of God. Jesus conquered this land through his suffering, death and resurrection. (1 Cor 15:20-29) Jesus placed all of his enemies under his feet. That means sin, death and Satan and his cohorts. Jesus goes on ahead of us to prepare a place for us. We have assured victory because our Lord and Savior Jesus went ahead of us and fought for us and won the victory. All we need to do is repent and claim, through faith, what Jesus has accomplished for us on the cross. We need to follow him and dwell in the kingdom of God, even now, for the Kingdom of God is within you. When you dwell in the kingdom of God, Jesus will reign over you with his peace and his love. It sounds easy but not always. There are still many spiritual battles to engage as we walk by faith. When we have done everything to stand, God’s grace will be shown to be sufficient.
Third, exploring and conquering our own mission field. For us, it is the campus that we are ministering to, NIU and the grade schools and the people of DeKalb. The mission field is also our homes and work places that God has brought us into. God wants us to lift up our eyes and look at the Promised Land, both locally and globally and continue the conquest.
How do we know that our land is being conquered? It does not necessarily mean that there are 1000 people worshipping together to a fantastic praise band. It does not mean when 16,000 of us gather for a Bible conference at the Convo Center? To conquer our land means that the Gospel message is being faithfully preached there. It is occurs when God’s people are praying that Jesus may rule in the hearts of the people in that mission field. It is when one person is being changed and transformed by the grace of God, and that heart could be the one called to that mission field. It can not be measured in numbers.
Part lll. Reports of Exploration (13:26-14:9)
The 12 leaders returned with a huge cluster of grapes, some pomegranates and figs after exploring the 250 miles of the land. They said, “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey. Here is its fruit.” (13:27) People must have shouted with joy. But when they heard the explorers saying, “But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there,” (13:28) the atmosphere changed. Peoples’ hearts sunk within their chests. They were filled with fear. How could the Israelites ever conquer a land occupied by such people? .
At this time of crisis Caleb stepped up as a true leader. He silenced them, and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” (13:30) But the ten men countered him and said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” (31) And they spread among the Israelites a bad report. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (32-33) What was their problem? Here, to “spread a bad report” means to “falsely accuse.” The land did not devour the people living in it, for if it did then those living in it, would have been ill-fed and weak. But that was not the case. They said, “All the people we saw are of great size.” They were exaggerating. They even exaggerated their weaknesses, reducing themselves to grasshoppers. (Which they were not!) When the ten leaders saw the land of Canaan with human eyes, they saw no possibility of victory in war, and so they gave up. Caleb, on the other hand, saw the same things the other explorers saw. But he could see the land with God’s eyes through the Holy Spirit who dwelt in him. He saw God at work among his people. He was convinced that God would use his people as His instrument and give them the land. So he could say, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” (30).
All twelve experienced God’s power, character, and guidance together. Why then couldn’t the ten have the spirituality that Caleb and Joshua had? The problem was that these people had eliminated God from the equation. This was unreasonable. It is just as the Apostle Paul pointed out in 1 Corinthians 3:1 which reads, “1 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.” There are believers who grow mature to live by the Spirit and believers who remain worldly, spiritually immature. What determines one’s spiritual maturity? It is one’s reverence for Jesus and their obedient attitude toward God. One who reveres God and lives before him experiences God in all things, learns from Him and thus…grows. On the other hand, one who eliminates God from the equation and sees things from a human point of view cannot grow spiritually.
We are fighting against secular humanism, materialism, the goddess of pleasure and the spirit of ambivalence in this post-modern era. From the time of inviting young people to Jesus to the time of raising them as disciples, we feel as if we are fighting with giants. When we see our mission field with human eyes, we are filled with negative thinking, fear and feel small and powerless. We are weak but God is strong. God is indeed great. When we fix our eyes on God, God becomes bigger and bigger in our minds and hearts and the problems become smaller and smaller until they disappear. And the Holy Spirit fills our minds and hearts with courage and conviction that “We can certainly triumph and conquer in Jesus’ name.” Amen.
People who heard the report of the ten leaders raised their voices and wept aloud all night. It was not tears of repentance and faith. It was tears of despair, anger and frustration. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron and said, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” (14:2-3) “If only we had died in Egypt!”—this was the habitual grumble of the Israelites (Ex 14:11, 16:3, Nu 20:3). Think about the scene of two million people sitting and wailing under the light from the pillar of fire, which was a sign of God’s protection and love. This was a grave sin of forgetting the grace of God who had redeemed them from their miserable life of slavery. They even thought of going back to Egypt. Their reaction shows the tragedy of unbelief and leaving God out of the equation. Even though we forget all other things, we should not forget the grace of God who redeemed us.
These faithless people finally discussed about abandoning the place that God had led them and choosing a leader to take them back to Egypt. Moses and Aaron fell facedown before the congregation. (4-5) They were grieved. They might have expected God’s judgment at any moment. At this critical moment, Joshua and Caleb again stood up as true spiritual leaders and tore their clothes. In ancient times, clothes were rare and expensive. Therefore tearing clothes was a big decision as well as an expression of great sorrow and righteous anger. They said, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” (7-9). What can we learn from Joshua and Caleb?
First, faith that believes God’s promise. Joshua and Caleb had a conviction of conquest because they believed God’s promise. God had promised Abraham to give his descendants the land and had foretold their slavery in Egypt, their exodus and return to the Promised Land (Ge 15:7-21). God confirmed this promise to Isaac and Jacob and later said to Moses, “So I have come down to rescue them from the land of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey”—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (Ex 3:8). God surely keeps his word. Faith is 100% of trust in God’s promise. This is faith that pleases God. We have the Lord’s promise, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Mt 28:19-20). When we believe in the Lord’s promise 100%, we can have the conviction and courage to challenge any situation and reveal God’s glory.
Second, faith in God’s sovereignty and power. Joshua and Caleb said, “If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, … and will give it to us.” (14:8) To them, the strong enemies in the land were not a problem, for no one can stand against God if God leads his people into the land. If God Almighty, the Sovereign Lord goes ahead of us, nothing is impossible. We must believe this and do his work. When people says, “It is not possible,” we can say, “God can do it.”
How can we please God? We can please God by believing in him 100% (Heb 11:6). God is pleased with our obedience, devotion and shepherd heart. We should pray for raising 100,000 UBF missionaries by 2041 to evangelize the world’s major campuses by faith. We should pray for the pioneering of all of the campuses in our nation by faith. We should be praying for the evangelization of the students of NIU and the people of DeKalb. God is with us. He will lead us into the Promised Land and he will give it to us when we have faith that pleases God.
Third, victory in spiritual battle. Joshua and Caleb said, “Do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them.” (14:9) Other versions translate the latter part of this verse as “we will swallow them up.” Here we can see their appetite, confidence and desire to conquer in the Lord’s name. Joshua and Caleb were filled with the Holy Spirit because they defeated Satan’s attack. They were powerful servants of God. They remind us of the Lord’s promise, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Ac 1:8).
Satan attacks us with arrows of doubt and fear whenever we try to do anything. When we are hit, we lose our strength and desire, and fall into negative thinking and complaints. As commanders and leaders in God’s army, we must first win the spiritual warfare against Satan by holding on to God’s words of promise. When the Holy Spirit works, the evil spirits of secular humanism, materialism, and carnal pleasure seeking run away. Ephesians 6:16-17 says, “Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we can have a burning desire and vision from God and we can work by the power of God.
Joshua and Caleb warned the Israelites, “Only do not rebel against the LORD.” (14:9a) This verse teaches us that giving up the promised land due to unbelief is rebellion against God. Unbelief is a backward road that leads to failure and shame, while faith is a forward road that leads to victory and glory. In Christ we don’t have a backward road. The Holy Spirit points to only a forward road towards the Promised Land. Let’s not be afraid. Let’s not be disappointed because there seems to be little fruit in ministry. It’s all right if we love God with all our hearts and do what we should do each day by faith. We are doing what God wants us to do if we love our spouses, and our kids and those brought near to us. We are conquering our land when we raise the Bible students whom God gives us and our children to be spiritual men and women. God is working with us and He will fulfill His will in His way and in His time.
Part lll; Caleb’s Spirit
How did God see Caleb’s faith? Read verse 14:24. “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.” The land Caleb went to was the hill country of Hebron. There lived the Anakites, the giants (Jos 14:12). God said, “my servant Caleb has a different spirit.” God was pleased with Caleb and promised that He would bring him into the land and his descendants would inherit it. Why could Caleb have a different spirit? God testified that Caleb followed God wholeheartedly. Here “wholeheartedly” means to fill a vacuum with something— 100%. Caleb filled his soul with God only. He did not allow anything else to occupy his heart along with God. He gave his whole heart to God. (Dt 6:5) God loved him and was pleased to dwell in him and wanted to bless him and his descendants. God leads those who follow Him wholeheartedly to the Promised Land and gives it to their descendants. Here we learn what kind of person God seeks. God does not seek able people. God seeks men and women whose hearts are wholly devoted to Him. 2 Chronicles 16:9a reads, “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him….”
In today’s passage, we learned to obey God’s command to go and explore the land and be encouraged by what you will find. The land that God calls us to conquer is first our own hearts and then the various mission fields that God has led us to. We must thank Jesus for being our conquering general and leading us into the Promised Land of the Kingdom of God. Let’s also pray to have faith that pleases God, like Caleb and Joshua and engage our faith in order to be a blessing to all of God’s people.

Mark 1:1-11

2012-01-28T18:05:00.001-08:00

John’s Baptism And The Coming Of The Holy Spirit
Mark 1:1-11 Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF (University Bible Fellowship) ChristianfamilyonChristsmission.com
Key verse 1:11-12 Waterman Presbyterian Church 1/8/2012
“As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
What an honor and a privilege it is to be here to preach in this beautiful and historical church, a church where several of my friends have grown up and worship. I am eager to see them. Who am I and who is my family that I could be so blessed to stand in this pulpit where so many great servants of God have stood before? For example, I was here 1 ½ years ago when Dr @Prahbakar came to speak about his missionary work in India. Who remembers that day? @Jenn Kallas@ told me that there are families who have historically worshipped here for several generations. That makes me feel like you have included me in your family, by inviting me to preach. That is special to me and my family. It is also a privilege to preach at the beginning of the year. That is a pretty prestigious slot in my books. New Year’s is a time of new beginnings and new hopes for a fresh start. I was wondering what should I preach on? I asked Jenn, “what are the prescribed readings for this Sunday?” and she gave me a list. The passages were wisely chosen and a great choice for a New Year’s message!
In this passage we will talk briefly how Jesus’ Gospel ministry began, first through God’s promises and then through the ministry of John the Baptist. We will think about what John’s Baptism is and the importance of John’s baptism and its relationships to Jesus’ baptism of the Holy Spirit. I pray that 2012 may be a year where God can bless us with a spirit of repentance and brand new relationship with God with new beginnings in him, through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Let’s see.
Part l: The Gospel Began With Prophecy (1-3).
Mark takes us to the beginning of Jesus’ Gospel ministry in verse 1. It reads, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” “Gospel” literally means “good news.” This world is filled with bad news that saps us of strength. But good news fills us with joy, life, and hope. We all want good news. We all need good news. Especially at the beginning of the year! This good news is about Jesus Christ the Son of God.
“Jesus” means “Savior.” Our Savior, Jesus, came into this world as a tiny, baby in the manger, to save us from our sins (Mt 1:21). “Christ” means the “anointed king.” Jesus is descended from David, was anointed with Holy Spirit, and authority and power, to reign over all God’s people forever and ever, with peace and love. What a great king we have! “The Son of God” means that he is the promised Savior, sent by the Father, who can completely save all who put their faith and trust in him. Those who receive Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as their savior King, receive the forgiveness of sins, adoption as children of God, new hope, a glorious mission, the promised Holy Spirit as well as eternal life. What a great package deal. This is the Gospel. This is our Christ! How wonderful it is to learn about the Gospel this New Year! And so let’s see how this gospel began.
God prepared the peoples’ hearts for centuries. Look at verses 2-3. “It is written in Isaiah the prophet: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way’–‘a voice of one calling in the desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him’.” Though Mark mentions only Isaiah, this verse is actually a quotation of both Malachi and Isaiah. (Mal 3:1; Isa 40:3) Isaiah was the most prominent prophet in the Old Testament and Malachi was the last Old Testament prophet. Malachi wrote around 430 B.C. He proclaimed the Messiah’s coming. But before the Messiah would come, God would send “his messenger”. (Mal 3:1). Isaiah wrote around 700 B.C. He foretold that God’s messenger would live in the desert and preach a message of repentance. (Isa 40:3-5) John the Baptist precisely fulfilled these prophecies. Jesus came according to prophecy. Only God, who knows the end from the beginning, can do this. This gospel is not some “man-made” story. The gospel is the truth from God supported by historical facts. This sets Christianity apart from all other religions. You can build your life and stake your future on the Jesus and the Gospel.
Part ll: The Baptism of John - A Baptism of Repentance (4-8).
Isaiah said that God’s messenger would “Prepare the way for the Lord.” This did not mean that John was going to finance the building of an expressway from Nazareth to Jerusalem. No. He was referring to the Lord entering into the peoples’ hearts in a spiritual sense. Jesus started his ministry when he was 30 years old. For this great work to begin, peoples’ hearts needed to be prepared. That’s where John the Baptist comes in.
Luke refers to the nature of John’s ministry in Luke 3:4-6, “As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: ‘A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’” Peoples’ hearts were not prepared to accept the Savior. Some peoples’ hearts were like valleys made impassable by self condemnation. Some peoples’ hearts were like mountains and hills, made impassable by varying levels of pride. Some peoples’ hearts filled with crooked ways, too crooked for God to navigate his way into them. Others had rough paths hindering God’s approach. And so thousands of people, with different hearts, came to John the Baptist, some self condemning, some proud, some crooked and rough. But despite of the varying condition of hearts, they all had one thing in common. They submitted to John’s baptism of repentance. They were attracted to his message. To be certain, they were tired of living without God and without hope and they wanted to see God’s Messiah. And so they humbly came to John.
John knew that there was only one way to prepare any heart. Let’s read verses 4 and 5, “And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” John knew the eternal truth that hearts need to be changed in order for God to dwell there. God is holy and can not co-exist with sin. God is the powerful, almighty Creator. He opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6b) He is the King of the Universe and will not dwell amidst challenges to his lordship. But yet this holy, powerful, Creator God really wants to come and dwell among his people, personally. But how is it possible? Our own efforts could never produce a suitable pathway. But God did not give up. He has shown us the way. Look at verse 5b, “…Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” It is the way of humble confession and repentance. (James 4:5-6)

John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. (Mk 1:4) Repentance is such a heavy word. Some pastors have been sued for using this word. But I feel safe around you all. To put it simply, to repent means to turn from sin and the world towards Jesus and his kingdom. It is a condition of heart, involving changing one's mind about something and dedicating oneself to the amendment of one's life. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/repent) In a word, to repent is to acknowledge one’s sin before God and to ask for his forgiveness and then chart a new course.
Repentance is a good thing and a pre-requisite for receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When Peter was addressing the crowds in Acts 3:19-20, he said, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.” Most people live in this world, loaded down with guilt, regrets and vague feelings of condemnation and failure. We don’t know how to unburden our hearts. But when we repent of our sins and come to Jesus, our hearts are strangely refreshed. The Lord forgives all of our sins. We are made right with God, by his grace, and have true peace. We experience the love of God. We can make a brand new beginning with new strength to follow the truth and to follow Jesus. With repentance we can become the happiest people in the world. Repentance is indeed a refreshing, healing balm to our souls.
There are different classes of repentance. First-class repentance is willing, and it is done with godly sorrow, recognizing the pain we have caused God and others. Second-class repentance may be done without emotional contents, simply as a matter of principle. Third-class repentance is the most reluctant, simply because we want to avoid punishment. Sometimes, our hearts are too hard to repent at all. It is never easy to repent. I will never forget one episode of Happy Days when Author Fonzerelli, better known as “The Fonz” had to say he was sorry. He stumbled and stammered and tried to force out the words, “I am sorry” and was barely able to do it. Repentance requires great humility. Mostly we must ask God for a spirit of repentance and when we do God will tenderize our hearts and help us.
People really want to hear the word, "repent". The response to John’s preaching was phenomenal. Look at verse 5. “The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” This teaches us that deep down inside people really want to repent. They want times of refreshing and power to change. They want to find a solution to their spiritual problems. They just need to know the way.
John was an excellent instrument for God to reach the peoples’ hearts. Look at verse 6. “John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.” John lived a pure and poor life, studying the Old Testament and praying in the desert. He wore humble camel hair clothes and ate humble food, like grasshoppers. He lived the message that he preached. When a servant of God is like this then the words he/she speaks are very powerful and people will listen.
Part lll: Jesus’ Baptism – The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:7-8)

Repentance must not be half way. We need to follow through and come to Christ, receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist also knew secret of following through repentance unto faith. He did not want to leave the crowds pummeling themselves with self condemnation. Let’s see how he helped them in verses 7-8, “And this was his message: ‘After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’” John explained that his water baptism was merely a first step in coming to God. It alone could not solve their sin problem. They needed forgiveness and to be changed in their “inner person”. In short, they needed the baptism of the Holy Spirit that only Jesus could give.

We see this same principle at work in Acts 19:1-7, Here Paul finds twelve new disciples who had only taken repentance half way. Let’s read verses Acts 19:1-3 together, “While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ They answered, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’ 3 So Paul asked, ‘Then what baptism did you receive?’ ‘John’s baptism,’ they replied.” These 12 disciples looked incomplete. They only received John’s baptism, which is a baptism of repentance. They admitted they were sinners. They knew they deserved God’s righteous judgment. But they did not know the marvelous grace of Jesus Christ or the work of the Holy Spirit. They remind us of people who always look grumpy and condemned, even after believing in Jesus.

Paul could not leave these young disciples in their misery. In Acts 19:4, Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance.” He told the people to believe in the one coming after John the Baptist, that is, Jesus. Then, on hearing these words from Paul, they were baptized into the name of the Lord. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them. They were filled with power and joy. They could speak about God and his marvelous work. They could see the coming of the kingdom of God. It was the beginning of God’s great work in Ephesus.
Let’s think why this baptism of the Holy Spirit so important? There are many reasons. Countless books have been written on the subject…but let’s think of six of them in order to wet our appetites for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
First, Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit transforms our inner person. The Holy Spirit is God himself who comes to dwell in us. Where God dwell’s, nothing stays the same for the Holy Spirit is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Through the work of the Holy Spirit we die to sin and rise to newness of life with Christ (Ro 6:4). We are transformed.
Second, Jesus’ baptism of the Holy Spirit, enables us to live a new life in the holiness of God bearing good fruit (Gal 5:22) for his glory.
Third, the Spirit gives us a burning passion to seek God and serve God. After Jesus’ ascension into heaven, when the apostles gathered to pray together in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit came upon them in power. Their fear vanished and they became bold witnesses of Jesus Christ (Ac 2:4).

Fourth, the baptism of the Holy Spirit fills our hearts with power, love and self discipline. Young Timothy was willing to serve God together with Paul. But he was timid and weak. Paul believed he would be changed into a spiritual leader, by the Holy Spirit. That is why Paul said to him, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Tim 1:7).

Fifth, the baptism of the Holy Spirit sets our minds free from the gravity of sin and enables us to think of heavenly things. Romans 8:6 says, “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.”

Sixth, the Holy Spirit gives a confirmation of the love of God. Verse 11. “And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” We will talk more about this in the upcoming section.

Wow! This sounds really great! The baptism of the Holy Spirit is good news for all people. Where can we get this Holy Spirit? Do they sell it at Walmart? God really wants to give us the Holy Spirit. Jesus explained that even human fathers, know how to give good gifts to their children. Then Jesus said, “...how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Lk 11:13) God really wants to give us the Holy Spirit. He really wants to dwell in hearts. All we need to do is ask. Have you asked? If you have asked, you can ask again for God to come and dwell in your heart newly. As we begin this New Year, let each of us ask God for the Holy Spirit.

Part lll: God Anointed Jesus As Christ (9-11).
To inaugurate his ministry, Jesus humbly submitted to John’s baptism. Look at verse 9, “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. But Jesus did not need to repent for he was sinless. Still, Jesus made sure he was baptized. Why? Jesus’ baptism by John was a time of decision. Jesus, was committing himself to God’s holy purpose to take up his cross and live and die as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. (John 1:29) This reveals that there is more to baptism than repentance. Baptism is also a decision of commitment.
After Jesus humbly submitted to John’s baptism, something amazing happened. Look at verse 10. “As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.” As Jesus was praying, the Holy Spirit descended on him (Lk 3:22), physically represented by a dove. This was literally God the Father, breaking through the darkness of the world, and anointing Jesus, his Son, with the Holy Spirit. What does this mean?
God’s great work always begins with a movement of the Holy Spirit. This is consistent throughout the whole Bible. Genesis 1:1-3 reads, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” There was a time, when this world was formless, empty and dark. Not much was going on. The earth was without beauty, without life, and with meaning. But God was there. His spirit was hovering over the waters. That formless, dark and empty world was ready to be changed into a world full of life, light, beauty and meaning.

Think about the beginning of the Christian church. 120 followers of Jesus gathered in the upper room. The Holy Spirit came upon them as the Risen Jesus promised. They were all transformed and powerful Christian church was born. God’s work always begins with the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus’ anointing is unique. Being without sin, Jesus could receive the Holy Spirit without an atoning sacrifice on his behalf. Being without sin, Jesus could live in absolute obedience to the Holy Spirit all the days of his life. The Spirit was Jesus’ source of power and love. Jesus, in turn can baptize his disciples of all ages, with the Holy Spirit. Again, all we need to do is ask.
Another interesting event occurred in this passage. God the Father, declared his love for and his approval of his Son, Jesus. Look at verse 11. “And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” God confirmed Jesus’ identity as the Son of God. God, the Father said, “...whom I love.” Jesus treasured his Father’s confession of love in his heart and lived in assurance that he was God’s beloved Son all the days of his life. Jesus always called God, “Father” even in his passion when he was suffering and dying on the cross. Jesus shares this love relationship, through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, with all who come to him in faith.
In today’s passage we learned about the baptism of John. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. Repentance is a turning away from sins and a turning to God for forgiveness and newness of life. It is a necessary pre-requisite to receive Jesus’ baptism of the Holy Spirit. This New Year’s let’s enter into John’s baptism through humble repentance making a clear path for Christ to enter into our hearts. Let us pray newly for the indwelling of the holy spirit of God. We will enter into a new, life giving relationship with Jesus Christ. We will be enlightened to see new hope and new possibilities.
Let’s read the key verse together…
Key verse 1:11-12
“As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

2011-12-27T10:49:00.001-08:00

12/11/11 Christ Jesus: Our Unique Mediator, Our Hope

1 Timothy 1:1; 2:5 Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 12/11/11
Inspired by a message delivered by Steve Stastinos 10/24/11

“Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope…”

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.”
In our last message we focused on God our Savior. We learned about God’s awesome nature…that he is eternal, invisible and lives in unapproachable light. But yet he makes himself accessible to us, through his grace and forgiveness… through the gospel. We can meet this great and awesome God of ours through having a personal life experience with God. We learned that God is our creator and provider. He graciously provides us with all things, especially he gave us a Savior, Jesus, whom we are celebrating and worshipping this Christmas. Though God is extremely holy, and lives in unapproachable light, we can approach him through faith and by his grace. He saves completely those who come to him repenting of their sins and placing all of their hope and trust in him. Only God can save us. Only God can be our hope to come out of the darkness and live eternally in the kingdom of God.
Today we want to think about who Jesus is. To put it simply, God, Our Savior, wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (2:3-4). He did this by sending his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, as our hope. He is the hope of the individual and of the world. He is our hope personally, nationally and internationally. This great hope of ours was born as a tiny baby in a manger 2,000 years ago.

To understand how Jesus is our hope, we must think about who Jesus is. That is a mystery revealed in the gospel. 1 Timothy 3:16 reads, “Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.” The fact is, Jesus incarnated among us. The Holy Spirit vindicated his ministry through mighty acts of power, such as healing the sick. raising the dead, driving out demons, and forgiving sins. Sinful mankind put Jesus to death on a cross, but God raised him from the dead. This was witnessed by angels and by his disciples. He was taken up into glory. This story of the gospel has been preached and believed on for the past 2,000 years. At the center of his Gospel, is Jesus, especially his identity and his work as our mediator. Let’s think about this Jesus a little deeper.

First, Jesus Christ as our mediator. Verse 2:5 reads, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,” What is a mediator and why do we need one? A mediator is an intermediary, the person in the middle, who effects a reconciliation between two rivals. (John R.W. Stott, the message of 1 Timothy and Titus, p.69) He is the mediator between God, the Father and mankind. We really need a mediator, because God and mankind are at odds with one another because of our sins. God is holy and just. Sin separates us from God. (Isa 59:2). Sin makes us objects of God’s wrath. (Eph 2:3). Sin hurts God and plunges us into misery and pain. (Gen 6).
God, who is absolutely just, should punish and destroy mankind for his sins. But instead God longs to reconcile with us. We also long to be reconciled to God. But frankly, we are totally helpless to do what God requires. All of our “righteous” acts are like filthy rags before the holy and just God. We all fall short of the glory of God, leaving us in a conundrum. In this regard we can relate to Job’s plea: “If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together.” (Job 9:33) We could do nothing. So God took it upon himself to establish a means of mediation. He sent his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to be our mediator.

Jesus is ideal as a mediator because he understands both parties. Let me tell you why. Jesus is in very nature God (Php 2:6), in whom all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form. (Col 2:9) Yet in verse 5 Paul says, “The man Christ Jesus.” Jesus knows both sides of the issue. He is God and so he understands God’s side of the conflict fully. Jesus is also a man and so he understands humanity’s side. Jesus is fair and just. (Jn 5:30)Therefore in him, we find a trustworthy advocate.

Sending Jesus as the mediator has been on God, our Savior’s mind and heart since the beginning, since the fall of man in Genesis. In Genesis 3:15 God promised to send the offspring of a women as a savior who would crush the head Satan. But he would suffer in doing so. God clothed Adam and Eve in animal skins that God sacrificed. The skins of these sacrificed animals would cloth them and cover their shame. The gates of paradise were not destroyed, but only blocked for time, in anticipation when God and mankind would be reconciled. God foreshadowed the need for a mediator in the Old Testament through priests and sacrifices. The High Priest would sacrifice the sin offering for the people, and they would be forgiven. He is presented as a kind mediator between the Holy God and sinful people. But the priest was only a fallen sinner. He could not be a perfect mediator. Therefore this system of mediation could not be permanent, as it was flawed and pointed to a more perfect mediator…Jesus.

Jesus is different from any human High Priest. Jesus, while tempted and tested in every way, was without sin (Heb 4:15) The High Priest eventually died, but Jesus lives forever in glory. The sacrifices also were imperfect, since animal’s blood can never take away sins and had to be offered again and again. (Heb 10:4,11) But Jesus’ blood was completely sinless and holy blood. His blood was totally sufficient. Jesus’ sacrifice as the Lamb of God was one sacrifice for all (Heb 9:26b, 28a, 10:10) The priesthood and the temple were made obsolete and no longer exist. It is because it is no longer necessary. Jesus is all we need. Jesus is alive and his perfect mediation is as valid today as it was 2,000 years ago.

In view of who Jesus is, we know that he is worthy to be our mediator, and he fully meets our needs. But he also meets God’s needs in a mediator. We understand how desperately we need a mediator, in that we fail and fall short of God’s glory everyday. Yet God also needs Jesus as a mediator, in order to accept us as his children. In Jesus, God’s justice and God’s love are fully reconciled. Romans 3;26 puts it this way, “…he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Christ Jesus.” In Jesus, true reconciliation with God is possible. God has provided the perfect and only way to come to him. In Jesus, our mediator and through faith in him, we may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph 3:12) as his precious children.

Second, How Jesus Became Our Mediator. We have thought about who Jesus is, as our mediator. We have also thought about why we need a mediator. But what does it mean that Jesus is our mediator? This is more than just a simple title for Jesus. Let’s see. Look at verse 2:6a, “…who gave himself as a ransom for all people.” In order to be our mediator, Jesus had to give himself up, leaving the glory of heaven to dwell among us. He, who is in very nature God, made himself nothing, taking on flesh, becoming a human being. (Php 2:7). Becoming a human being was done in order to bear our sins and weaknesses in his own body. (1 Peter 2:24) He came in this way to take up our pain and to bear our sufferings. (Isa 53:4). This was the sacrifice Jesus made in order to be our mediator. Jesus, the Son of God became the Son of Man. He is fully able to empathize with our weaknesses because he became like us. (Heb 2:17-18) In our sins, we are burdened and hopeless, weak and powerless like sheep without a shepherd. Yet, Jesus has hope. He called sinners to be his disciples. He bore with them and loved them until they could be changed even at great risk to himself. He gave his life to be our mediator. We can fully trust our Lord Jesus, who committed himself to this task in loving obedience to God, the Father, and out of his great mercy towards sinners.

In verse 2:6, we read that he gave himself as a ransom for all people. A ransom is the price paid to free a slave from bondage. The Bible teaches us that anyone who sins is a slave to sin. (John 8:34) A slave has no rights. A slave can not go free, but is held in bondage as a possession of their master. So we are all in bondage to our salve master, sin and the devil. To buy a person out of such slavery required a ransom. What was the ransom price set to buy our freedom? The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23b). To pay our ransom, Jesus gave himself as the sacrifice of atonement. Jesus shed his blood in agonizing pain until he died on that cross to buy our freedom. Who would do such a thing? I mean, for a good person, someone might possibly dare to die. But for a sinner? God’s great love is demonstrated in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:7-8) When we believe in Jesus, our mediator, all our sins are forgiven once and for all. (Heb 10:10) and we were reconciled to God. But there is more. By ransoming us from slavery to sin, Jesus broke the power of sin over our lives. In this way Jesus deals with the root problem of sin. We live a new life, free, because of Jesus’ sacrifice.

Some think that Jesus is just “the Christian way” to God. With philosophical arguments, they reasonably try to explain God’s existence as a mountain. At the top is God, and all the religions are paths going up the hill, all equally valid, some harder than others. To insist that Jesus is the only mediator often makes Christians appear ignorant and foolish.

But in view of what we have studied, Jesus is the only mediator. All other ways, no matter how noble in intention or hardworking in effort, or how much sense they make philosophically, fail because they ultimately depend on man’s ability and effort to save himself. Since these other ways can not forgive the sins of the past, or deal with the power of sin at work in our lives today, they are fundamentally incapable of helping us to reach God. Even if a person were to adhere to all their religious efforts, these would never be able to bridge the gap separating sinful man from the holy God. Instead, they leave man arrogant and self seeking, or broken and hopeless.

Only Jesus, the true mediator is able to solve our sin problem and reconcile us to the Holy God. Therefore, Christ Jesus is the only hope for mankind. We can see this in the analogy of Jesus as a rocket. God is in heaven, we are on earth. There are many ways that people try to come to God. But all these fail because they ultimately they have no power to break free from gravity: the weighing down of sin. But Jesus is like a rocket. The cross where he suffered once for sins, has power to bring us to God, like a powerful rocket! (1 Peter 3:18) (You may also think of it as a bridge diagram. There are also various other ways to illustrate what God had accomplished for us through Jesus.)

This knowledge of Jesus as a mediator needs to come out of the realm of intellectual ascent and into personal experience. Ask yourself, “Is Christ Jesus my mediator?” I can clearly say that Jesus is my mediator, because he ransomed me from the power of sin, reconciled me to God and gave me a new life. In 1981 and the spring of 1982 I had reached a low point in my life. I was living a hedonistic lifestyle, partying on the weekends and trying to study for college during the week. I was constantly bored and empty and required more corrupted sins to quench my thirsty heart. I knew my life was fruitless and meaningless, but I didn’t know how to come out of it. Studying, exercise, rock music, partying with my friends didn’t help me. I knew I was junk man because of my many sinful desires. One day I cried out in my pillow, “Oh God!” I had turned my back on Jesus during the days of my youth growing up in the Catholic Church. I chose hedonistic, pleasure seeking sins instead of Jesus. Yet Jesus did not abandon me. I was spiritually blind and did not know him. I didn’t know how Jesus died on the cross for my sins. Yet, at the lowest point, Jesus Christ revealed himself as my mediator in three very clear ways.

Firstly, through the sacrifices of good ministers of Christ Jesus. God sent me a great Bible teacher, Msn Ruth Hwang. She was a soft spoken, Korean missionary. She was humble and shorter than me. She was also poor, working as a sewing machine operator. I was an arrogant, hedonistic student, full of sins. At several occasions, during Bible study, I would tell her to “hurry up!” because I had to meet my friends at the bar. As she learned of my sinful life, she became weary of me. Once, I was told that the men missionaries were posted outside the room while we studied the Bible for Msn Ruth’s safety. Early on, when I started Bible study, I became insincere, not thinking deeply about the word of God and becoming heart hearted. Instead of rejecting me, she pleaded with me to repent and become sincere towards Jesus and she even shed tears. She fed me at her home. She taught me the Bible faithfully. She even took me to the ballet. It was through her life of faith and her unconditional acceptance of me, that I was able to begin to behold my mediator, Jesus Christ.

The second way was though a personal encounter with Jesus at the 1986 Summer Bible conference at MSU. I saw myself as a Samaritan man, who was quenching my thirsty heart with sin and the things of the world. But Jesus came to quench my thirsty heart with his living water. I accepted John 4: 13-14, as my life key verse, “Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’" I repented of my hedonistic sins and yielded to Jesus as Lord. As he quenched my heart, Jesus gave me strength and power to leave my life of sin and begin to follow him.

The third powerful way has been through Bible study and discipleship that I have received over the last 25-1/2 years. Time and again Jesus has given me his word to quench me and grow me spiritually. Time and again he has intervened in my life through his word, reminding me of his grace, giving me direction and strength to do what is right and also rebuking me from time to time. Nowadays he is mediating on my behalf and saving me from despair, fear, fatalism and anger and is helping me to do the right follow him. Jesus has shown me in so many wonderful ways that he is my mediator. I have great hope, because Jesus my mediator.

God intended this saving grace to be a foundation upon which we build a life as a good minister of Christ Jesus. Paul is a good example. In 1:14 Paul remembered the saving grace of Jesus that was poured out on him abundantly. This grace became the foundation of his life. His relationship with Jesus grew, and he found God’s good work in him to do. He worked hard, bearing any and all difficulties, learning contentment and joy, all because of the grace of Jesus.

Jesus remains our intercessor and mediator throughout our life. Jesus promised his disciples, “…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28:20b) Jesus was taken up in glory, and is at this moment at the Father’s right hand, interceding for us (Romans 8:34), with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. (1 Peter 3:22) Jesus’ grace to me was not just a single event 25 years ago, but it is daily. He is my living mediator. He is mediating for me daily, 24/7. By his help I am building a life and ministry on this grace of God. As you all know, my mediator helped me to marry Julie back in 1992. He gave us five wonderful children. Together we are building a holy family and a house church ministry. He has called us to a 1:1 Bible and discipleship ministry at NIU in DeKalb. This is God’s grace and privilege given to us. With God’s help we can build on the foundation of God’s grace through Jesus my mediator and my hope. Sometimes the task gets hard. I get overwhelmed with the spiritual forces of darkness and my own sins. Elements of death, like sorrow, despair, fatalism and anger, fill my heart. I fall into ruts and loose hope that the work of God can be accomplished through me. I begin to feel that all I want to do is retreat, to hide, sitting in front of the computer, sleeping, walking the dog and working out as quiet little gym. I am reminded of how limited I am in so many ways. I dwell on my weaknesses. Yet I can testify to one enduring truth…Jesus has been so faithful and steady. He is a firm foundation in troubled times. I must always remember that my life is built on the solid foundation: God our Savior and Christ Jesus our Hope. Thank you Jesus!

Christ Jesus is our hope! He is our mediator. This is not only for our past, and not only for our present, but for our future as well. Someday, Jesus is coming again. (6:14) Because of his work of redemption Christ Jesus is now our hope, our hope for past sins forgiven, our hope for present victory, our hope for future glory. (D. Edmond Hiebert, First Timothy, p. 22). On his grace as our mediator and hope, he established a firm foundation that will never be shaken. This foundation is for our personal lives, our families, our ministries, our nation and the world. Upon this foundation of faith, let’s build a life as a good minister of Christ Jesus.

2011-12-27T10:48:00.008-08:00

11/27/11 God’s Household: The Church Of The Living God

1 Timothy 3:15-16; Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 11/27/11
Inspired by a message delivered by @Greg Lewis@ 10/25/11

“if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16 Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.”

In this study we want to broaden our understanding of Christian community, otherwise called the church. The church is a unique place, unlike any other. God establishes the church as his own household in the world. The church is where God comes to dwell among his people. This morning let is answer two important questions: (1) What is the church and (2) What does the church do?

God has always wanted to dwell among his people. God dwelt with his people on the Garden of Eden, the Tabernacle and the temple. God came to dwell among us in the person of Jesus Christ. When early believers gathered in the name of Jesus, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and God began to dwell among them. At the end of the Bible, it is promised that at last, God’s dwelling place will be among his people. It has always been God’s heart’s desire to dwell among his people.

Why such an historical effort on God’s part just to be with his people collectively? Individually, we are all sinners, but collectively our sinfulness becomes exponential. It is so hard for the holy God to dwell among us. God is holy and without sin, and at the same time God is also love. For God to dwell among his people, the church must be a place of both love and holiness. If it is not, then God can not and will not dwell there. But the church has not historically been a place of love and holiness. In addition to lacking love and holiness, today it is popular to bring business or worldly, psychological principles into the church. Also people who work hard in the church think that the church is theirs and not God’s dwelling place.

But the church consists of people who have been drawn through the blood of Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual leaders know the true nature of the church and help church members conduct themselves accordingly. They help to create an atmosphere of love and holiness so that God can come and dwell among his people.

Part 1: The Church Of The Living Church is God’s Household, God.

God was very concerned the about in Ephesus. Ephesus was the 2nd largest city in the Roman Empire. It was a commercial, entertainment, and religious center. In this environment, God began a great work. The word of God spread widely and grew in power throughout Asia Minor and through this church body (Acts 19:20) Now the world was seeping back into God’s church.

The first part of our key verse reads, “If I am delayed you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household.” (3:15) Paul shared God’s concern for this precious community. They were in a pivotal moment on their development. They had a plurality of leaders working together in Paul’s absence. And these leaders faced many obstacles. There were some dangerous elements knocking at the door and finding their way into the church like false doctrine, godless chatter, lack of spiritual order and the love of money. Paul sent his spiritual son Timothy to curtail and stand against the issues they were facing. Timothy was not fully prepared or equipped to handle such circumstances, but Paul sent him anyway believing that God would work to both raise Timothy up as a strong leader and to make the church spiritually strong again. Paul planned to come soon, but he knew that delay was possible. In the meantime, he emphasized Timothy’s need to know how the people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household.

And so how should we conduct ourselves in God’s house, the church? In God’s household, God is our Father. (1 Tim 1:2), and we are his children. We become members of God’s household when we make the good confession of faith in Christ (6:12) God adopts us as his children. This means that the church is a place where our Father God lives and cares for his children. After spending time in God’s household, people should be able to sing from their hearts, “How Great The Father’s Love For Us!” and truly understand what they are singing.

If God is our Father, then our fellow household members are our church family. They are more than co-workers or servants. Even Jesus once encouraged people around him saying, “For whoever does the will of my Father is heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matt 13:50) A relationship-oriented mindset is at the heart and the core of all interactions in God’s household. Even Timothy was specifically instructed by Apostle Paul to exhort older men as fathers, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters (1 Tim 5:1-2). The church is to be a place that is rich with family-like relationships on all levels. It is the place where we desire to spend time and be together with God and with each other.

The Biblical concept of household is different from a nuclear family with 3-5 members. Once, Abram called out 318 men born in his household in order to rescue Lot. Joshua committed himself and his household to serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:14) In Acts, the jailer and his whole household came to believe in the Lord Jesus. God’s household could be 2, 5, 10, 20, or several hundred people, which was likely the case in Ephesus. Such extended households require deep love and care and strong household management. For this, God raises up overseers, elders, deacons, and good ministers of Christ Jesus. God’s household has recognized leaders who are called by God and given the authority to carry out their areas of oversight. The first part of 1 Timothy 3 describes the qualifications for such positions like being respectable, temperate and trustworthy, and managing one’s own family well. Such leaders instill love, respect, purpose and order throughout the church community. Their conduct in God’s household upholds God’s love and holiness and enhances its relationships in structure and depth.

This family atmosphere is what attracted me and Julie to fellowship in the UBF church and eventually it was this atmosphere that helped me to open my heart up to Jesus. When I was first drawn to Winnipeg UBF more than 25 years ago, I was so moved by its church family-like environment. Church with the missionaries and the students there reminded me of the “little house on the prairie.” Actually I have 29 reasons why I was attracted to fellowship with the missionaries.(http://christianfamilyonchristsmission.com/why-i-admired-the-christian-fellowship-among-ubf-missionaries-as-a-new-believer/ ) Of course it was not perfect, but the Spirit of God was alive in the ministry and the truth was honored and respected. At one point the household of God was about 70 regular members. Despite of everyone’s tight schedules, with school, work and Bible study, the household of God was very beautiful. It was a place of love and holiness and people wanted to come and spend time together. Julie can testify to the family like, church atmosphere at Downy UBF.

I thank God for the household of God at our Triton Ministry. From Nov 1990 to 1998 we were part of the church family there. At that time there were 50 core members who were like spiritual family members together. Yesterday we went to the Hyde Park UBF dedication. They have a beautiful Bible house. Their ministry is the fruit of 20 years of prayer. It is also the fruit of the relational fellowship between 4 families and 2 shepherds. It is more than just the nice renovated Bible house...it is the people that make up the church and their love for God and love for one another.

It is very hard to maintain the household of God as a community of love. There is a tendency, that over time, our fellowship may seem less and less like God’s household. We get busy surviving in this hard world. We don’t want to come together and spend time together. We don’t even want to talk together. Jenn told me that the average teenager speaks to their parents three minutes a day. This social trend spills over into the church. The church becomes less and less a destiny to be and also less of a place of love and holiness. But we must realize that we have a responsibility to make a church family a spiritual home. We need to listen to, properly support, and embrace our brothers and sisters in Christ. Especially we must pray for one another. That is one reason why we initiated our Sunday night sharing time so we can listen to and pray for each other. Though we are busy we must make room in our lives to serve, care for, and build up relationships with others. We must commit to spend more time praying, meditating, preaching and teaching the Bible. When each member commits to such spiritual expressions of love, then greater things ahead will develop among our small fellowship.

From our key verse, Apostle Paul also characterizes the church as the “the church if the living God.” This is about the church being the place of God’s living presence among his people. Paul emphasizes the primacy of God’s ownership and presence in the church. This means that the church both belongs to God and houses the glorious presence of God. God is the rightful owner and the Lord of the church. The church is where the living God dwells and loves to spend his time. God’s ownership and presence make the church unlike another place or institute in the world.

God is not static; he is living and working to draw us together to become a dwelling in which he lives by his spirit. This is the true Christian church everywhere. Jesus promised that where even two or three gather together in his name, he is there (Mt 18:20) God wants the church to be a united vessel of his loving and holy presence. God wants to live, breath and reveal himself in and through each individual in the church. When a person reflects God and his living presence individually, collectively, the church becomes instructionally incarnate. In this state, the church is magnetic and unstoppable. The living God uses the church to draw people nearer to Jesus and save their lost souls. The next time someone asks, “What is the church?” We can answer, “The church is God’s household, the church of the living God.”

Part ll: The Church Pillar And Is The Foundation Of God’s Truth

The church in Ephesus seemed to be loosing sight of its direction and focus. Certain people were teaching false doctrine and promoting controversies rather than God’s work. Some had wandered away from the Biblical foundation that was once at the centerpiece of their fellowship. They wanted to be biblical teachers but did not know what they were talking about or what they so confidently affirmed. The love of money also had a strong hold on the people in the church. Pride, arrogance and hope in worldly treasures kept many from taking hold of the life that is truly life. In this environment, Paul needed Timothy to be a good minister of Christ Jesus who could re-establish, uphold and maintain the important functions of God’s church in the world.

In the key verse, Paul describes the church as being “the pillar and the foundation of the truth.” This unique distinction of the church was rooted in Paul’s experience in church building, especially in Ephesus. Usually we think about the foundation of the church, not the other way around. But Paul saw firsthand how the institution of the church was able to withstand fierce societal persecution, intense political pressure, and all kinds of false teachings of the world. Paul saw the permanence and eternal significance of what God was doing through his church. God transformed societies, cultures, nations, and even the flow of history through the church.

In construction, laying the foundation comes first. In God’s church the pillar of the truth is prominent. Pillars are intimately linked to foundations. Strong pillars mean strong foundations. Pillars best display the strength of any building’s foundations. Strong pillars also help the overall building structure to stand firm in the wind, storms and rains.

The church as the pillar of truth means that the church makes God’s eternal truth visible to the watching world. Even though the worst storms are thrown at God’s pillars of truth in any generation, the truth of God remains strong, living and active in the church. The church keeps the deep truths of God alive, available and accessible to a world in need. Truth is proclaimed and stands out clearly in the church environment. The church demonstrates God’s truth so that people can feel it, see it, taste it, touch it, and smell it. Church is the place where the truth is proclaimed, honored, and practiced to reveal God and build up his people.

The church is also the foundation of the truth. In the church, God’s truth is deposited and stored for the safekeeping. God’s truth is guarded and kept pure and powerful, not tainted, corrupted or watered down by the influence of a fallen world. The church is the instrument that preserves God’s truth in the world, the truth that transforms lives. Church is the place to go to know the truth and find salvation. It is the one place where God’s truth is the foundation of life in the past, present and future.

In the last part of our key verse, Paul records a doctrinal creed in the form of a hymn about Jesus. It is a deep and poetic description of what mysteriously springs out of the church, the pillar and foundation of the truth. Let’s read verse 16, “Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.” The mystery from which true godliness springs is Jesus. More than anything God wants the mysteries of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ to spring forth into the world through the church. God wants the church to be the place where godliness and the glory of Jesus overflows and spills over into the world. The next time someone asks, “What does the church do?” We can say that the church is the foundation of truth that reveals Jesus Christ to the world.

Part lll: The life of spiritual leaders in God’s household

Having the right view of the church and its foundations is central to Christian life and in our ministry. For this, each chapter needs leaders like young Timothy, who can be champions of the church as (1) God’s household, (2) the church of the living God, (3) the pillar and foundation of the truth, and (4) the place from which the mysteries of Jesus Christ spring forth into the world. God can make a church spiritually vibrant and strong when even one person wholeheartedly commits to this task.

Spiritual leader ensure God’s household is governed not by human ideas but by the clear teachings of God’s word. They have great faith in God’s desire to dwell with and care for his children as a loving Father. They view the church as one relational family unity and foster acute relational awareness of how people are interacting with the living God, each other, and the overall church atmosphere.

Spiritual leaders both build upon the pillars of truth and draw from the deep foundational reservoirs of truth in the church. They stand together in love and truth to bind the church’s components. Mere human relationships in themselves will not last. They need God’s grace and truth that binds people together for eternity.

The constant joyful tasks of spiritual leaders are seeing the profound, mysteries about Jesus Christ being revealed, believed and taught by more and more people. They bear the responsibility and privilege of conveying the “mystery of our religion” in many Bible studies and messages over a life time. They passionately serve the church to proclaim and affirm the godliness and glory of Jesus through worship, fellowship and daily life.
In conclusion, the church is where God dwells among his people. We are drawn to God’s household by the blood of Jesus and by the spirit of God. The church is like a family, filled with loving relationships that must be nurtured and protected. The church is also the pillar and foundation of truth. It is the entity for the mystery of godliness, Jesus Christ, may springboard into the world. May God may help us to be spiritual leaders who hold onto this right view and foundation of the church, all the days of our lives.
Let’s read the key verse together, 1 Timothy 3:15-16, “if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16 Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.”

2011-12-27T10:48:00.007-08:00

2011-12-27T10:48:00.005-08:00

12/4/11 God Our Savior

Key verse: 1 Timothy 2:3-4 Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 12-4-11
Inspired by a message delivered by @Jeremy Hajeck@

“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

This afternoon I would like to talk about foundations, in particular, spiritual foundations. What does our spiritual foundations look like? Do you have a spiritual foundation? Did you know that the Bhurijkhalifa Tower in the UAE is the tallest building in the world? It cost over 1.5 billion dollars and took six year to build. Even more impressive are the 192 support piles, 1.5 meters by 43 meters, sunk 50 meters into the ground. The foundation holes took one month to dig and the foundation construction took another six months. There is another famous building in Italy called the leaning Tower of Pisa. It is only 56.7 meters tall, weighing only 16,000 tons, but it is crooked by 3.9 meters at the top. The reason is the tower has a poor foundation, only three meters deep. It is built on loose soil and so it cannot stand under its own weight.

In the same way Apostle Paul was combating the loose foundation of idol worship, heresies, and all kinds of false teachers in Ephesus. He wrote to Timothy knowing he was going to face the troubles as they grew to be a leaders and minister for church. How could Timothy possibly hope to survive spiritually and not topple over? How can we hope to survive spiritually in our own generation? What should be our spiritual foundation be based on? Obviously, God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope is the only sure and solid foundation fit to be the foundation of God’s household. And so, it is imperative for a good minister of Christ Jesus to know God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope. Let’s learn more about these things.

Part l: God’s Awesome Nature

In the opening part of Chapter 1, Paul uniquely explained about God. To know God, Paul had to first explain who God is. And so he wrote in 1:17, “Now to the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever, Amen!” He wanted to make sure that his readers had the correct view point of who God is. How is God portrayed in today’s society? Is God like the painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel reaching out to Adam? Does he sound like Morgan freeman on “Bruce Almighty”? Or does it even matter what we think about God? Yes it does.

What does the Bible say? Let’s read 1:17 again, “Now to the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever, Amen!” Look at the words used. Especially look at the depth of the words. “king…eternal…immortal…invisible…honor…glory…forever.” Let’s think about four of these powerful words. First, Paul calls the God, “the king eternal.” What is a king? A king is someone who rules with authority, power, majesty, and with total control over his subjects. God is not up for re-election in 2012.

Second, how long has he been king? He is King eternal. He is king for all eternity past and all eternity future. God is not limited to time and space like we are. Before the creation of anything material, there was God. He has no beginning and he has no end. He is eternal!

Third, Paul goes on to explain that God is immortal, which means, lives forever. Immortal means that there is no death in God. God lives forever and he is alive today! The Greek gods and the idols of Timothy’s day were all lost and destroyed by the passage of time. Some people have called our culture, “the culture of death”. We are surrounded by countless elements of death in movies and on television. But in God there is no death. He is immortal and the source of eternal life!

Fourth, Paul says that God is invisible. This is true. We are all worshipping here. But we know that Jesus is with us, here… now. How do you know? Do you see him? No. He is invisible. He is not like a stealth fighter jet or camouflage. No mortal eyes can see God while living in this world. But God does choose to reveal himself to those who humbly seek him. We can see God among us with the eyes of our hearts. We can feel his presence, but not always (never depend on a feeling in regards to your faith in God.) We can see the glory of God in the acts of love and faith of those around us. The Holy Spirit confirms God’s presence among us. Let us open the eyes of hearts today to behold the glory and majesty of the invisible God, for those who seek him early find him. (Proverb 9)

Paul ends his letter to Timothy in the same way he started. Look at chapter 6:15-16, “…God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” First, Paul describes “God the blessed and only Ruler?” A blessed Ruler is one who provides and is a source of comfort to his people. God is our sovereign ruler. He is the source of all of our comfort. He alone is splendid and glorious because he alone is immortal and the source of eternal life. God is called the only Ruler. God is the only one who can control history and is never shaken by the things that people are shaken by. God is like a deep ocean current unaffected by the surface squalls. God is the ruler of not only history, but also of all humanity, even down to our mind, body and soul. God is in control. Entrust the events of your life and your future to God, your Ruler.

God lives in unapproachable light. This is in reference to the holiness of God. Holiness means to separate, that is, to be set apart for God. At Mount Sinai, those who heard the voice of God begged that no further word be spoken to them. (Heb 12:19). When Isaiah the prophet saw the train of the robe of the Lord in the temple he said, “Woe to me!” “I am ruined!” (Isa 6:5) God lives in unapproachable light so that no one can approach him. He is the King of kings and Lord of lord, the great and glorious God. No other sovereign can hold a candle to our God.

Why did Paul write about God in this way? Timothy lived in Ephesus where there were many gods and many idols. Christians were surrounded by false religions and poor spiritual foundations. This description of God to Timothy was very clear and Paul’s description of God’s glory moves our own hearts! It is almost as if his words flow out in a joyful crescendo. Paul could speak about God like this because he had a personal encounter with the living God. When we encounter this God we too are changed. How can we not be? Paul was changed by God. If Paul had not been changed by God he could never have wrote this way and spoke this way… impossible! Let us make it our priority to meet the same God so that our lives may be changed and thus have the same solid foundation in understanding and beholding the nature of God as Paul did.

Part ll: God Our Creator And Provider

When we have a solid foundation in our understanding of the nature of God, we begin to see God working, creating and providing all good things. Look at 6;13a, “in the sight of God who gives life to everything…” There is no competing creation force in this universe, only our God and God chooses to use his almighty power to be our provider.

There were false teachers in Timothy’s time and false teachers today who try to overthrow the clear teachings of God and his provision. Look at 1 Timothy 4:3-4, “They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,” God provide everything good so that we can praise God and put our hope in God. Paul urges all believers to put their hope in this God. Look at 1 Timothy 6:17, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” In this last verse of 1 Timothy, Paul commands those who have hope in the riches of this world to have hope in the true living God who provides good things. We receive everything from God.

Knowing God the creator and our provider allows us to find the deep meaning of our lives. In 1721, at the age of 17, the American theologian, Jonathan Edwards, came to what he called a “delightful conviction” upon meditation on the meaning of 1 Timothy 1:17 which reads, “17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” He later remarked “…I thought myself, how excellent a being that was, how happy I should be, if I might enjoy that God and be rat up to him in heaven; and be as it were swallowed up in him forever.” You can not be swallowed up to an idol. You can not be embraced by false religion . But the living God knows us and loves us and is working in our lives- he dwells among us.

Paul know this truth so well and he wrote in 1 Timothy 3:15, “ if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” If God is living then we Christians conduct our live before him. When we do, our lives will be in contrast to any idol that rules peoples’ hearts and lives in this world.

Part 111: God our Savior.

In Timothy’s time the church in Ephesus was surrounded by Artemis worshippers. There was a great temple built to her, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Ephesus was also the center of Roman Emperor worship. Mystery religions abounded...religions that taught austerity and asceticism and mystery religions that taught indulgence and abundance. The City of Ephesus was also a center of political, financial and military power. All these things were competing for the hearts of the Christians in Ephesus. Paul needed Timothy to know God as our only Savior so that Timothy could lead the people to the only God who could save their souls.

These false religions were out to destroy people and catch them in behaviors that God did not command. The Caesars rose and fell. Mystery religions came in and out of favor. Even the God Artemis’ image fell from the sky one day and she became the God of Ephesus at some point in time. Now she is no more. In opposition to all this Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 4:10, “That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.”

The living God is truly great! God’s ultimate purpose here is to make known that he wants all people to be saved. When we recognize this fact we cannot but praise God for his greatness. Paul mentioned this in the opening verse in his letter. 1 Timothy 1:1 reads, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,” This is not a new concept. The word, “Savior” emphasizes that God wants to save his people. God’s saving nature is revealed throughout the scripture. According to the Old Testament, God is called “our Savior” 35 times and in the New Testament God is called “our Savior” 24 times.

This is God’s heart’s desire for all people. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 reads, “for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” And 2 Peter 3:9 reads, “9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” Paul wrote with a sense of problem that people ultimately needed a Savior. It is reported that as William Carrey taught young pupils geography at the village school sometimes he would come to tears when pointing to continents where the gospel had not been preached. Isaiah 43:11 reads, “1 I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.”

Without a foundation that God is our Savior we will get lost in the religious ideas and worldly philosophies of our day. The Bible says that though mankind is a noble creature, created in the image of God, mankind is also sinful and prone to evil. We are in a desperate need of a Savior. Who can save us? God alone is our Savior. What happens without God our Savior? Many a person tries to invent their own way to God based on their own achievements or ideas. But the person who does not know God, can not but suffer and perish in their sins and eventually be eternally cut off from God. (Some refer to this as hell.) That sounds harsh. But it is what the Bible says. God wants good ministers of Christ Jesus to know his true character and to hold firmly to these deep truths of the faith. Knowing the fundamental truths about God lays a basic foundation for Christian life and ministry. Without knowing these fundamental truths, it is easy to stray into false doctrines.

Where are your foundations built? As a young man my foundation was solely built on my own ability and desire to fulfill my own pleasures. I could not have chosen a worse foundation. This led me to live a fruitless and meaningless life cut off from God because of my sin. As a young Christian and even until now, my foundation was based on my own self righteousness and good deeds. How foolish that I thought that I could make my own good foundation without depending on God my Savior!

God has provided me with a wonderful family, a good church and a mission to serve NIU and the young people of DeKalb with the Gospel. God gave me the most spiritual and beautiful wife, Julie, to serve his ministry with. But yet, the immortal and only Ruler, Jesus, revealed my weak foundation. Why did he do this? Because God wants me to know that he alone is my Savior and my only solid and sure foundation of the truth.
Today we learned about foundations. We need to have a firm and solid foundation in God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope. We learned about God’s awesome nature. Our God is eternal. He is invisible and lives in unapproachable light. But yet he makes himself accessible to us, through his grace and forgiveness…through the gospel. God is our creator and provider. Think about what he has provided for us…a church, family, ministry and way to be saved. He gave us a savior, Jesus, whom we are worshipping this Christmas. Though God is extremely holy, and lives in unapproachable light, we can approach him through faith and by his grace. When we approach our God by faith his glorious light shines on our hearts and drives out the darkness. Jesus is the light of the world. In this world, there are many false saviors, but Jesus is our only savior. He saves completely those who come to him repenting of their sins and placing all of their hope and trust in him. Only God can save us. Only God can be our hope to come out of the darkness and live in the kingdom of God. We can meet this great and awesome God of ours through having a personal life experience with God. Will you let Jesus our great and awesome God and savior, be your God today? Come to him in faith. Walk in his light. Trust his love and provision. Depend on his power. Share in his heart that all people of all nations, may repent and come to the knowledge of salvation and be saved.

I

2011-12-27T10:48:00.003-08:00

HOW TO GROW AS A GOOD MINISTER OF CHRIST JESUS
Part ll: Training Ourselves To Be Godly

1 Timothy 4:6–16; 6:11–12 Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 11-13-11
Key Verses: 4:7b–8 Adapted from @Josh Jeon@’s message delivered at Leadership Workshop

“…rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life an d the life to come.”

In this message, we are going to continue talking about “How to grow as a minister of Christ Jesus.” We’re not talking about growing in some skill, like public speaking skills or growing in a likeable personality. These are not the core of being a minister of Christ Jesus. If we are going to grow as a minister of Christ Jesus we have to grow in godliness. Through a study of this passage may God help us to decide to train ourselves to be godly.
Part l: Godliness has Great Value And Requires Training (4:6-9)
What does it mean to be godly? Look at verses 6-7. “If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales; rather train yourself to be godly.” In these verses Paul urges Timothy to nourish himself on the gospel truth and with these teachings, train himself to be godly. To be godly is to be aware of the living God and to be like God. This is our calling and one of our purposes in Jesus. Ephesians 4:24 reads, “and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Jesus saved us from our sins and set us on this course to a new life. Our direction in life is now is to become more and more like God. This new course that we have been set on is given to us through the deep grace of Jesus. Our sins were making us so spiritually ugly. On the outside we may have seemed OK. But on the inside we were drifting further and further from the image of God as sin took a firmer grip on us. But, by the grace of Jesus we were saved. We have salvation from condemnation, that is, the forgiveness of our sins and the hope of transformation. We are made righteous only because of the pure gift of God.
But after we are saved, then what? How should we live our lives? God wants us to grow in godliness. That’s why Paul says in verse 4:7, “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.” But how do we begin to train ourselves? In order to understand this, we must understand the fact that it is not we, who are taking the lead role in training ourselves, but it due to the moving of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit sifts things out, convicts us, leads us to repentance, heals us and gives us power to change in meaningful ways. Training ourselves to be godly then, is basically providing an environment for the work of the Holy Spirit and obeying the spirit’s leading. Philippians 2 describes this well, “Continue to work out your salvation in fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
There is a difference between physical training and training in godliness. We can learn from both. Look at verse 8, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” Physical training shapes our bodies but training in godliness shapes our minds, our hearts, our character and our lives. It affects our relationships, our influence, and our ministry. It has value for all things. When we engage in physical training, then we may prosper in physical things and other things like teamwork and mental focus etc. In Augustine’s basketball brochure, it says that basketball training will mold a person in how he sees himself, how he feels about what he does, how he works with others, how he makes others better and how he learns. They sum it up in five words, “humility, passion, unity, servant hood, and thankfulness.” They encourage the boys to play hard and compete, get back on defense, go for the rebound, defend against the opponent, and value the ball. Wow! Such wisdom! And it is not even in the Bible. These are good goals of physical training. But they have their limits.
We see the limitations of physical training in a recent biography of Walter Payton. Walter Payton was one of the best football players that ever played the game. His physical training made him like a human train on the field. But his biography showed that he his life was full of chaos and pain. He was suicidal. He abused drugs. He was unfaithful to his wife. Prior to meeting Jesus I trained in taekwondo, jogged and did light weights. These were all good, but they could not save me from the spiral of sin that I was plunging into. High school varsity sports can not save its players from falling into sin. Physical training only has some value. But godliness has value for all things. It is the secret to deep joy and real peace. It holds the promise to for both the present life and the life to come. So how should we train for godliness?
Part ll: Godliness Is Hoping In The Living God (10)
Part of training in godliness is training our hopes. Look at verse 10, “That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.” To train ourselves in godliness we must hope in the living God. Those who put their hope in the living God will become godly. David was a good example of this. In one of his psalms, he wrote, “4 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Ps 19:4) Why did David want to please God so much? It is because he put his hope in the living God. God was his Rock and his Redeemer. God was his security and his satisfaction. To David, God was better than life itself. (Ps 63:3) David wanted God more than anything. When we put our hope in God then we can train ourselves to be godly.
We must cultivate our hope in the living God. As growing minister of Jesus, we often find ourselves in situations where we feel hopeless. Some people are tempted to give up hope and turn back to the world and are laden with interpersonal problems. The only thing that keeps us going is our hope in the living God. Our hope is not in other peoples’ growth, but in God. We serve God trusting that he will complete the good work that he began in them. We can’t change others. We can’t even change ourselves that much. But our hope is in the living God. We do not need to despair. The living God is at work and we can have strength to continue to grow in godliness.
Part lll: Godliness Is Pursuing Love And Purity (11-12)
Godliness, love and purity go hand and hand. Look at verses 11-12, “Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” Timothy had to teach about godly living to the members of his congregation. But his words would have no power if his own life didn’t exemplify godliness. Being a good minister is not about saying the right things. Ministry is an extension of our lives. There can be no ministry without personal godliness. That is why Paul told Timothy to be exemplary in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Among these, let’s think about just two: love and purity.
First, “set an example for the believers… in love.” Being a minister of Christ Jesus necessarily means we have to love God’s flock. It is not enough to plug people into various programs. We have to genuinely love them. Those who only value outward productivity will have a hard time with this. Loving one person is not easy. The more we get to know people the more we see weaknesses. But when we grow in God’s love for them we are ready to embrace them, despite of their sins, and walk alongside them until Jesus heals their hearts, minds and souls. This requires growing in the unconditional love of God that was given to us. We must grow in this love.
We are living in a very impersonal world. We don’t know our neighbors and our relations with others are shallow, sometimes only being friends on Facebook. Being impersonal is a huge deterrent of godly love for it is rooted in selfishness and indifference. We have to eradicate impersonality and instead relate to each person that we minister to as a real person. In the same way that God is relating to us we must relate to others. People are not numbers or objects. They are children of God. They are not people we need to fit into our schedule. We must truly love them.
When we strive to love people and not let impersonal encounters suffice, then we will quickly run into walls. We will face our limitations, realize our impure motives, and discover our own insecurities. There are some people who have opened their hearts to love others, but they have been hurt and crushed. They are tempted to never open their hearts again. When we face such walls, we need to repent and ask God to help us grow in godliness. Then we can train ourselves by struggling to genuinely love others. Let’s be growing ministers of Christ Jesus who a have heart to love people.
Second, “set an example for the believers… in purity.” As growing ministers, purity is an important matter. If we loose purity and become hypocrites, our witness will suffer. This is one of the greatest pitfalls in ministry. We are all surrounded by sins and temptations. There are people close to us who are caught in various sins. Paul councils minister of the gospel in Galatians 6:1, “ Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.” We need to be humble and know that we are not beyond succumbing to temptation. This means that we have to learn our boundaries. 1 Timothy 5;1-2 reads, “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.” We have to be aware of Satan coming into the relationships in the church and perverting it. Billy Graham left no room for this by never counseling women alone. Jesus has some harsh words towards ministers of Jesus who let impurity take control of their hearts. He commanded us in Matthew 5:29-30, “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Does that mean that we should be a congregation of self inflicted blind people and amputees? No! It just means that we must get serious about the purity factor among us and pursue purity.
We must pursue purity aggressively. That is what the meaning of pursue is. If we are passive in this respect we will be swallowed up by the flood of impure images, messages, and innuendos in our media. Pornography is a click away. Most movies have raunchy scenes. We can’t even walk up to the cashier at Wal-Mart without being barraged by impure images. Adultery is being considered the norm in many circles. In such an environment, we must be aggressive and pursue purity. We must turn our eyes away from temptation as soon as possible. We must train our minds to see things from God’s point of view. We have to train our hearts to not be shaken by the allure of temptations, but see them for the empty promises that they are. We need to be brutally honest about this issue. Do we secretly love sin? Or do we seek purity? Come to Jesus, repent of all sin and God will restore in us the proper desire for purity. Galatians 5:16 reads, “ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” We must be dead to sin and alive unto God. (Rom 6:11) Let us be dead to sin and alive unto God and surrender to the Holy Spirit.
Part lV: Training In Godliness Is Being Grounded In The Word Of God. (13-15)
Another aspect of growing as good minister of Christ Jesus is to be grounded in the word of God. Verses 4:13-15 read, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.” Paul charged Timothy to devote himself to the public reading, preaching and teaching of the Bible. Paul told him to be diligent in these matters and give himself wholly them. God’s word is the source of knowing what “godly” is and how to train ourselves to be godly. We can’t have a loose tie to God’s word, or try to go on vague memory of God’s word and think that we can pursue godliness. To train ourselves to be godly, we must be constantly in the word- whether through personal study, meditating on it, reflecting on it, or teaching it. How intensely should we do this? Intense enough so that others may see our progress. There should be no ambiguity about it. And so, to train ourselves to be godly, we must never be far from God’s word.
Part V: Godliness Requires Watching Our Lives And Doctrine Closely (16)
Paul told Timothy to watch his spiritual life closely. Let’s read verse 4:16, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” Watching his life closely is harder to do than it seems. It’s hard because human beings are basically proud. We want to believe that we are already the definition and standard of godliness. We want to be right, whether or not we really are right. So we subconsciously do not watch our lives very closely. We may not even think there is a need to. And so we don’t. This is a mistake. Therefore, to watch our lives closely, we have to learn to be totally honest before the word of God.
We should know that the gospel really provides the freedom to be honest as we watch our lives closely. Instead of putting up a front, we can come to God as we are and be totally honest, saying, “I am messed up.” Don’t feel bad about this because we are only repeating what God already knows. When we come to God as we are, we’ll find God’s sufficient grace for acceptance and for the power to actually change and grow. So we can watch our lives closely without fear. And also, as ministers of Christ Jesus our transparency can be a potent tool to motivate others. Instead of propping ourselves up as models of perfection, share your honest struggles, weaknesses and all, and let the people around see you coming to Jesus and growing spiritually as you watch your life closely. It is much more valuable to all, and glorifies Jesus more, if we set ourselves up as examples of repentance and spiritual progress.
We must also watch our doctrine closely. That means that we need to make sure what we believe and make sure that what we believe is in line with the truth of the gospel. The fact is that most of the time we convince ourselves that we are already believing the right stuff. But if we are to be growing ministers of Jesus, we must know how weak we are and how vulnerable and impressionable we are to the allure of the culture around us. We must watch our doctrine closely or we will be like Timothy’s contemporaries who wandered away from sound doctrine and shipwrecked their faith. If we are not careful, the lies of the culture will change correct Christian doctrine. Verse 4:16 reveals how important watching our life and doctrine is. “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” We have the solemn responsibility to give God’s true word, as it is, to the people who are listening to the gospel message from us. We don’t want to lead others astray by our hypocrisy or our false doctrine. And so we must train ourselves to be grounded in the truth. This is growing watching our doctrine closely and this is part of growing in godliness.
Part Vl: Godliness Is Fleeing From The Love Of Money (6:10-11)
In the pursuit of godliness, we must be wary of the love of money. Paul warns us about this in 1 Timothy 6:10-11, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” How do we flee the love of money? First of all, we have to value godliness more than money. This may seem easy, of course, until we see all of our unbelieving friends and peers getting rich. But we must not envy them, nor covet what they have. 1 Timothy 6:6 says that godliness with contentment is great gain. Money is not worth our lives and our love. It is not worth compromising our relationship with God. It’s OK to earn a living so that you can provide for your own needs and the needs of others and take care of your church. But if you are too busy pursuing money then that is not good. Remember this saying, “If you are too busy for Jesus then you are just too busy.” That is the barometer. May we flee from the love of money and train our selves to be godly.
Today, we have thought about what it means to grow as a minister of Christ Jesus by training ourselves to be godly. Godliness has great value and requires training; it is hoping in the living God; it is pursuing love and purity; it is being grounded in the word of God; it requires watching our lives and doctrine closely and it is fleeing from the love of money. In short, our thought world must be under Christ’s control. Training in godliness requires effort, just as physical training requires effort and discipline but godliness has value now and forever. It can be accomplished by remaining in Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts. Let’s decide to grow as good ministers of Christ Jesus by training ourselves to be godly.

2011-12-27T10:48:00.001-08:00

Godliness With Contentment Is Great Gain

1 Timothy 6:1–21 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 10-16-11
Key Verse: 6:6
“But godliness with contentment is great gain.”
In this last chapter, Paul continues Timothy’s spiritual education on the subject of respect. He addresses the issue regarding the relationship between slaves and masters. He teaches that they too must respect each other and treat each other in a manner that brings glory to Jesus. He also teaches that a good minister of Christ Jesus must be careful that the love of money does not take root in his/her heart, but that they must fight the good fight of faith always and seek godliness with contentment. There are many great teachings here, but first let us think about the relationship between slaves and masters.
Part l: Master And Slaves In Christ (1-10)
In Paul’s time, in proportion to every free citizen of Rome, there were three who were in slavery. In the Roman world, slaves had no rights, nor privileges. They were fortunate if they only ate, and slept under the master’s roof while serving the master’s needs, fulfilling his goals and gratifying his desires. Even the slave’s family belonged to the master, who also managed the slave’s family. Their very lives belonged to the master. Slaves had no voice in the society and no one to shelter them from the cruelty of masters who used them and abused them to his own benefit. By force of habit, slaves showed proper respect for their masters, while their hearts burned with bitter hatred.

But the force by which Christianity swept the world caused some radical changes to the slave-master system. Suddenly, slaves and masters were turning to Christ, and becoming Christian. Suddenly, in one household, both slaves and masters were of the same body of Christ, brothers and sisters in every way, endowed with every privilege of a child of God. How should this alter their relationship? Let’s see…

First, Paul addresses the attitude of the Christian slave. Let’s read verses 1-2. “All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them.” Paul commands Christian slaves to consider their worldly masters worthy of full respect and to serve their Christian masters even better. There are no exceptions, and no conditions set for respect or service. Slaves who have come to embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior must show their worldly masters full respect. Here, the words “full respect” as opposed to “partial respect” is relevant. Partial respect is a conditional and compromising kind of respect, offered as a courtesy. But full respect is unconditional, offered up from the heart. Worldly masters may not be kind or forgiving…not worthy even of the slightest respect. Still, Christian slaves were expected to respect them fully. That is a tall order. Do you think that you can do that?

On the other hand, Christian masters should know how to treat their Christian slaves. There are no specific commands to the masters in this passage but there are some words that allude to their responsibilities. Let’s jump ahead to verses 17-19 to find out, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” Masters are usually rich. Therefore they should treat their slaves with respect and consider them equal with themselves. They should “do good” to them and be generous and share with them. They should provide healthcare, education, a decent place to live and some wages and the ability to save their money. They should offer them some hope. They should include them in their worship services and worship the Lord together. Wow! Wouldn’t that be revolutionary?!
But even if their masters did not show them proper respect, Christian slaves were commanded to serve their masters even better than what was already expected of them. It was almost an unreasonable command given to the Christian slaves. But it was the way of Christ. Christ, who is King of kings, and Lord of lords, and who is Master of all humanity, did not come to be served, but to serve (Mk. 10:45). And his beneficiaries, those who have been redeemed by his blood, should do the same.
Paul explained about the attitude of the Christian slaves in order to educate all the “Christian slaves” down through the generations of their important role in representing Christ to the world. What are some Christian “slave situations” of today? It is everyone who is in a subordinate position and accountable to the authority above him or her. We are all in master/slave relations in one way or another. What about teacher/student? Supervisor/worker? Owner/worker? Creditor/debtor? Landlord/renter? Sadly, sometimes parent/child relations can get this way. These are modern day master/slave relationships. They don’t have to be like this but sometimes they are. It all depends on our own attitudes. We can make them master/slave or we can make them co-worker/team player, friend relationships. But ancient slaves did not have that option. They must fulfill their duties and their responsibilities or there would be consequences.

In verses 1-2, Paul makes it clear why Christian slaves must respect their masters. Christians should not be self centered, thinking about their own welfare, and constantly fighting for their rights. If that was the case, the slaves Paul is referring to, would constantly be in trouble with their masters, for they couldn’t leave. Christians should be God centered, always considering what is good for God’s name and God’s honor. Christians should also consider their influence on society. A professing Christian is an ambassador of Christ Jesus, and all his or her actions reflect on Christ and on the church. In short, they should advertize Jesus. When non-believing masters see the unchristian behavior of a Christian worker, it is an opportunity for them to slander God’s name and to ridicule Christian teachings. “What? And you call yourself a Christian! I don’t want anything to do with your Savior. Get back to work!” Christians should behave like Christ in all situations, as much as they are able to. Then they will be a blessing on others and lead them to Jesus rather than drive them away. Respect is not an option, it is a mandate by which we must live. It is a matter of heart and a matter of love. After all doesn’t Jesus respect us unconditionally?
Paul tells Timothy the truth about those who do not agree with the sound Christian teaching. He gets right down to the core issue. Read verses 3-5. “If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.” What is the sound Christian teaching? It is the teaching of Christ who taught us that it is blessed to love those who hate us, and to bless those who curse us. He taught us to be forgiving and to sacrifice in the cause of righteousness and for the sake of the kingdom. Paul also taught that Christian slaves should respect their worldly masters and serve their Christians masters even better. The gospel teaching does not seem to be sound by the standards of the world which teaches selfishness and vengeance. But Jesus’ teaching is most sound.

Paul taught Timothy the truth about those who do not agree with the sound teaching. He exposed their hearts and their motives. Those who do not agree with the gospel teaching are conceited and lack understanding. They have an unhealthy interest in causing trouble among the fellowship of believers. They set Christian against Christian by their gossip. They plant doubt rather than faith. They like to argue and to find fault. They target those whose bitterness and constant complaining have caused them to become spiritually corrupt. And Paul teaches us that they do all this for love of self, and for self gain. They may gain some recognition from those of like mind, but in the long run they lose.

What should be the attitude of sincere Christians? Let’s read verses 6-10. “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Those who have an unhealthy interest in constantly challenging the gospel’s teaching, and in causing trouble among the fellowship of believers, do so for personal gain. It does not always have to be money, but we cannot deny that their motives are crooked. Maybe they like the attention. They enjoy gaining sympathy or recognition. In the end they gain nothing but grief.

On the other hand, what should the children of God seek to gain? Look at verses 6-8 again. “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” Paul teaches us that we must seek to gain godliness and learn to be content. It is a godly virtue to be content—to be content in what God has given us—to be content in what God has apportioned us to have in this life. And God who loves his children knows exactly what each of his children need. To one he gives riches and to another he gives poverty. To one he gives compassion and to another he gives wisdom. Whatever God gives comes from God’s loving heart for his children. But not all who receive from God are content. Some become greedy and pursue the unhealthy path of moneymaking. Then they end up sorrowful and all alone.

But the child of God should be content. If he has been given riches, he must be content and share his riches. If he has been given poverty, he must be content and share the blessings which arise from poverty. It is God’s will that his children pursue godliness and contentment in Christ, which is the greatest of gains in one’s life.

The Bible says that we must strive to gain godliness. We must strive to be content in what God has given us. Peter once said: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ.” (1 Peter 1:18,19) What this world has to offer us and what our ancestors have to inherit us is all empty. We have been handed an empty way of life, a way of life which pursues all the things that eventually perish and are destined to pierce us with grief. But in our Lord Jesus we have inherited God and salvation. We have inherited life and faith and mission and all the goodness which God has given us. If we are not content with them, if we continue to pursue the empty things of this world, we reveal that we have no godly wisdom. Paul assures the Christian that godliness is gain and contentment is a virtue we must take hold of.

Part ll: Fight The Good Fight Of Faith (11-21)

Paul gave Timothy the best advice a father can advise his son. He advised him to run away from all that is worldly by nature. Read verses 11-16. “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time--God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” He exhorted him to flee from the things that attract worldly people, such as all that glitters in the world and the lusts of the flesh. He should rather pursue righteousness and godliness and faith and love. In pursuing such noble things, he must also be willing to endure, be patient and fight the good fight of faith.

All people must fight because life is a battle. But it is foolish to fight for unworthy causes. Worldly wealth is an unworthy cause. The lust of the flesh is an unworthy cause. The only worthy cause is to fight to take hold of noble faith. We must fight with faith and for faith. We must fight to maintain faith. That is the only worthy fight a Christian can engage in. All other fights are futile and unproductive.

Paul also charged Timothy in the sight of God to imitate Christ who made the good confession of faith. Look at verse 13a, “In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,…” What did Jesus do so that we may imitate him? Jesus had to fight for his life. But he did not. He fought for the truth. He confessed before Pilate that he is the King of Heaven. He confessed that his kingdom is not of this world. He also had a confession in his heart that God loves him and is leading him in the way of righteousness, even though God was leading him to the cross. Thus our Lord Jesus fought in faith and with faith and by faith, until he was taken up to heaven from where he will return.

The practical “Take home” point here is that we need to remember that while we are living the Christian life, gaining godliness and being content, we have a promise to hold on to. Our promise is that whatever we sacrifice here for the sake of gaining godliness is not lost. Look at verses 13b- 16. “…I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time--God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” Whatever we sacrifice is kept in heaven for us for when our Lord Jesus returns because he will surely return and reward each one according to his or her life. If we live by faith and pursue godliness God will sweep us up to his kingdom.

In his final statement Paul shows sincere concern for those who have been entrusted with material goods. Read verses 17-19. “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” Timothy should educate those who are rich in this world to be generous with their financial possessions. They should use it properly. God gives wealth to some as a trust, so that they may wisely use it for the benefit of the less fortunate. So they must share with their brothers and sisters who are in need. Why should they do so? Because it is better to lay up riches in heaven than to lay up riches on earth where it will perish. Paul also teaches rich people not to be arrogant. Rich people can become arrogant when they trust their riches more than trusting God. They are arrogant when they think that they were the ones who made themselves rich. They are arrogant when they despise and ignore the poor. Rather than giving in to arrogance, they must fight the good fight to depend on God rather than on their wealth. They must hope in God. They must express their heavenly hopes through practical acts of generosity and with good deeds.

Finally Paul urges Timothy to guard what has been entrusted him as a good minister of Christ Jesus. Look at verses 20-21. “Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you.” Timothy had been entrusted with the words of life; with the message of the gospel; with the preaching and teaching of this word; and especially to the flock of God under his care. Timothy was also entrusted with God’s flock in Ephesus. For them, Timothy must continue to fight the good fight of faith, until the coming of our Lord Jesus.

We too have been entrusted with the word of life, with eternal life and with the flock of God. For that, we must learn what a worthy fight is and engage in it. It is the fight to maintain and to bring the faith to all nations, starting with those around us. (Think globally and act locally.) More over, we have been entrusted to pursue godliness and to be content in all that God has given us so that our influence may be godly and fruitful. How can we be content and be godly? We can be content when we deeply appreciate the gift of life Jesus has given us. We can have godliness when we pursue the higher and nobler things of this life, such as love, faith, hope, and the life in Christ we have been entrusted with by God our Father. May you determine to fight the good fight of faith and love God, finding contentment in him alone. God bless you.

1. Read verses 1-2. How must Christian slaves of the time regard their masters? Define “full respect”. What may hinder them from fully respecting their masters? Why must they respect them fully? To what extent? How must Timothy regard this command of Paul? What may be the equivalent of a Christian slave in our times?

2. Read verses 3-5. What sound instructions do false teachers not agree with? Why do they not
agree with such godly teaching? What unhealthy interests do they have? Who among the fellowship of believers do they generally target? What hidden motive do they have in challenging the sound teachings of our Lord?

3. Read verses 6-10. What is the attitude of those who are not of a “corrupt mind”? What do
they pursue instead of financial gain? Why does Paul consider “godliness” to be great gain? What is Paul’s view of “contentment”? What wisdom is there in this? What is the curse of those who love and pursue money?

4. Read verses 11-16. What does Paul command Timothy to do? What must he pursue instead?
With what attitude? What is the role of “faith” here? Why does Paul use the word “fight”? How should Timothy equip himself for this life-long battle? What assurance does Paul give Timothy while at the same time charging him with absolute obedience? Why did Paul envelope this hope in magnificent exaltation to God?

5. Read verses 17-21. What command did Paul pass on to rich Christians? What is the tendency
of those who have been entrusted with worldly riches? How should they fight this ungodly tendency? With what hope? What is “the life that is truly life”? Why is it a treasure more valuable than all other treasures? What has Timothy been entrusted with? How can he guard it? How can we?

1 Timothy 5:1-25

2011-10-19T15:53:00.001-07:00

RESPECTING AND LOVING OTHERS WITHIN THE CHURCH

1 Timothy 5:1–25
Key Verse: 5:17
10/9/11

“The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.”

This whole chapter moves to practical matters of taking care of each other in the church or the “Household of God”. Those whose faith is solidly rooted in our Lord Jesus must “know how” they “ought to conduct themselves in God's household. The church is the place where God lives. It is also the place where God’s word lives and rules the lives of all whose faith is in Jesus. In brief, the church is God’s household…the home of all believers. It is a place where all believers are brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, children and grandchildren. The church is the haven of the weary and the refuge of all who seek God. As the household of God, all God’s family members must then conduct themselves in a manner worthy of Christ and of the gospel. They must conduct themselves in love and in compassion, in sacrifice and in service to others. They must tend to the needs of one another as Christ tended to their own needs when they were poor and destitute, wandering in a world of cold realities indifferent to their pains and sorrows.

In those days no one really gave much attention to the helpless of society. Did you know that the Romans had a cruel habit of throwing their sick out into the streets to die? The most helpless of the helpless were the orphans and the widows who wandered on the edge of life in terror, not knowing what today or tomorrow may bring. But when the Christian faith finally made its way into the fabric of society, suddenly these helpless people had hope. Christians who deeply understood the foundation of love and of compassion took them in and offered them the love of God and as well as a hot meal. They nursed people back to health, physically and spiritually. They started what were the first hospitals and the first counseling ministries.

Paul had once been a political and zealous, religious Pharisee who never understood the concept of family, let alone the reality of God’s family. He did not understand the love and compassion which had suddenly sprung up in the hearts of those who put their faith in Jesus. He never gave a second thought about anyone but himself, and so he saw every act of Christian mercy with eyes of suspicion, and every act of sacrifice with doubt and distrust. “What are these Christians up to?” he must have said to himself many times. He did so because his own heart was filled with envy, greed, bitterness and hate.

But when Paul became a Christian, he became what he never imagined himself to become. He became a man after the heart of Christ. He became a man full of love and of compassion. As a result, Paul consistently embraced the heart of Jesus and included the helpless in most of his teachings. That is why he set out to teach the “household of God” how to conduct themselves. He taught them that every human being must be considered as a child of God, precious in God’s eyes. This entire chapter is about how the “Household of God” ought to conduct itself in the matters of needy widows and the needs of the Elders or Pastors of the church. Through a study of this passage may our hearts may be open to learn the essence of the Christian faith, which begins and ends with the love of God.

Part l: Loving Each Other Means Respecting Each Other

First, Paul tells us how Christians must respect one another. Read verses 1-2. “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.” In today’s world, the concept of respect has been severely limited. For example, today’s youth holds not much respect for their elders deeming them old fashioned and without proper understanding for the new generation. They view them as those who were unable to solve the problems of their own lives and so how could they tell them what to do. Employees hold respect for their bosses only because their jobs hang on these employers. But in the church things must be different. Paul commands Timothy to show unconditional respect for all people. Let’s think about each sub group.

Older men must be shown proper respect, even though we know that they have sinned more times throughout the years than we have. Older and younger women must be respected and not exploited. We can not take advantage of older women or ignore them. We also must treat younger women with absolute purity as if they are our own sisters. Fore example would you date your sister? Would you have dark thoughts about your sister? I hope not. Then consider how you treat younger women.

Actually, all members of the household of God must be respected unconditionally. Why? Because God had chosen them, and called them and redeemed them with the blood of his Son. They have been stamped with the mark of Christ, and they have thus become the very members of the Kingdom of God, each with a position of honor. If we lack respect towards members of the human race, we reveal that we do not have an understanding of how precious the life of one human being is to God. If, on the other hand, we lack respect towards the members of our own Christian family, then we reveal that we are still immature spiritually. When we have proper respect for those who are the members of our Christian family, we avoid unnecessary problems in the church, and give Satan no foothold in God’s affairs.

Part ll: Loving Others Is Practically Tending To Their Needs.
First, widows. The church is a family of believers who are bound together in the blood of Jesus. We are all called to show the love of God very practically amongst each other. For this reason, Paul began to teach Timothy how to tend to the needs of others, especially the most vulnerable in the community. Read verse 3. “Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need.” There are all kinds of widows in the church who need Christian care. But Paul urges Timothy to tend to the needs of the widows who are really in need. Who then is the widow who is in dire need? Read verse 5. “The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help.” The widow who is in dire need should be cared for by the church. She is the one who has made God Almighty her refuge and her protector. She has no one to care for her. She has no one to help her. She has no one to serve her in time of difficulty. Because she has no one to help her, she turns her heart to God to depend on God her Savior. She turns her attention to God. In doing so, she finds that the church is in dire need of prayer and of personal issues which need tending to. So she pours out her heart to God to serve the needs of the saints with her prayers. She also takes time in order to serve newcomers and to make them feel at home in the church. Such a widow is most worthy because she had given up all things in order to honor and serve God with her life. Who will take care of her? Who will see to her own needs when she has put aside her own needs to serve others? Paul urges Timothy to take care of her, because she has forsaken her own interests to serve God’s holy purpose.
What can we learn from this kind of widow? We can learn that God’s promises are true. Philippians 4:19 reads, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Surely when this widow decides to trust God with her needs, God fulfills his promise to her and provides her with all the help she deserves, both supernaturally and through the church.

Who else is the widow who is in need? Read verses 9,10. “No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.” As we said, the widow in need is the widow who draws near to God and has put aside her own interests in order to serve God’s will and her church. How then does she serve God’s purpose in her life? First, she is mature in her inner person…”Over sixty.” She has spent countless years in growing in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus. As her relationship with Jesus grows, so also her sense of service to others grows. She does not expect others to help her, for God is her help. She does not demand the respect of others around her for she has the full respect of God. So instead of wasting her time in complaints, bitterness, anger, frustration, self pity and self gratification, she gives her time seeking the Lord and doing good deeds in the name of Jesus. And she has many good deeds. What could some of them be? What about Bible study, prayer and serving God’s people? What about caring for and raising someone else’s kids? How precious is this kind of widow whose heart is tuned to the very heart of Jesus, full of goodness and service towards the church which gave her refuge from the world.

There is also another kind of widow in the church. Who are they? Read verse 6. “But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.” The other kind of widow Paul talked about is the spiritually dead widow. She is dead spiritually mostly because she does not know Jesus deeply in her heart. She came to God’s household perhaps because she was lonely and needy. She may have come to the household of God in order to find a husband for herself. But whatever the reason for her coming, she did not give up her pleasure seeking lifestyle. When she came to church, she did not study the Bible from her heart. She studied just enough so as to gain a foothold in the church and to snag the good hearted compassionate children of God. She heard all the truth about Jesus, and she witnessed all the godly widows’ lives of faith. But nothing moved her. She could not understand their devotion nor their sacrifice. She did not understand what compels them to give their time and effort in serving the cause of Jesus. Maybe she felt that the godly widows were wasting their time in godly living. Every time she had an opportunity to sin, she disappeared and secretly sinned and then came back to the fellowship. She even began to gossip about the saints, saying all kinds of evil things behind their backs, going house to house.
Still God loves such widows and urged Timothy to tend to them. Read verses 11-15. “As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. 12 Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. 13 Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. 14 So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. 15 Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.” In these verses there is a danger that if immature widows did not repent and change their ways, they would be lost to the devil. Timothy must not assist them as he does the needy elder widow. He must assist them by leading them to repentance and to faith. Otherwise, their destiny would be tragic

Second, elders. After talking extensively about the widows in the church, Paul turns his attention now to those who tend to the church affairs in general, the elders or pastors. Pastors are not necessarily the one pastor who pastors the church. Pastors are those who are in leadership positions, many of whom are entrusted with the word of God to give to others. Read verse 17. “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.” Paul also teaches Timothy that the elders and pastors also need Jesus’ Christian family to honor them and to take care of their needs in return. Paul charges Timothy that the elders must be cared for by the church and the church members. He taught this because there is a danger that not many would think about the physical and spiritual needs of the elders. The elders seldom complain and look self sufficient. But most may be in a needy situations.

Many people use the term love in relation to their elders and church members and church functions. But in reality they do not have a good grasp on true Biblical love. They love in theory and in abstraction as some politicians would say to the adoring crowds: “I love you”. But they do not love in practice. The church cannot function without the love and understanding of its members. The church elders have needs, and cannot properly perform their duties if such needs are not met. Timothy must make sure that the Christian family does not love its elders in theory but in truth and in practice. People do not like to talk about material things in the church. But in reality without material things, in a material world, there can be no efficient work of God. By God’s grace I work and, with the help of my wife I can care for my own physical needs, but in other church paradigms, such as churches with paid clergy, the church members must make material offerings and provide their pastor. Nowadays a pastor should be provided with a living wage ($40 - $50 thousand a year) and health care coverage, a retirement package, a place to live and a car. He should also be provided with an abundance of volunteers to make his service to the church a joy and not a burden. And don’t forget about Pastor’s and Clergy Appreciation Day. These are some basics that a congregation must provide for their pastors.

In conclusion, we must know that a healthy church is a church which practices the love of Jesus, not in theory but in truth. A healthy church is a church which has learned to love and respect each other in the love of Christ. A healthy household of God is a church which knows how precious God’s people are and does its best to serve them and tend to their needs. A healthy church is also a church which knows how to depend on God for all things, as it serves the word of life to its members and to the world. May God help us to be a healthy household of God. May God help us to tend to the needs of the helpless until they can stand “on their two feet” spiritually. Amen.

1. How should a good minister relate to older men and women, and younger men and women? (1-2) What do the words “father,” “mother,” “brother,” “sister,” imply about the relationships in God’s household? With what attitude should a young minister help an older person? (Lev 19:32) How important is it to keep absolute purity toward younger women? (Tit 2:6; Ps 119:9; 2 Ti 2:22)

2. How should true widows of the church be regarded? (3) What characterizes the true widows of the church? (5,9b-10) Who is not qualified to be recognized as a true widow of the church? (6,9a,11-13) Why should these instructions be given publicly before all church members? (7) How should a good minister counsel a young widow and why? (14-15; 1Cor 7:9)

3. Read verses 4,8,16. How should children, grandchildren, immediate family and other relatives be instructed in regards to caring for widows in their family? What principles can we find here in caring for one’s own family? Why should we practice these principles? (4b,8b,16b; Mk 7:10-13)

4. What is the function of exemplary elders in the church and how should they be regarded? (17; Tit 1:5,9) Why should they be supported materially? (18; 1Cor 9:9-10) How should a good minister deal with elders who are accused, and with those who are sinning? (19-20; Dt 13:11) Why is it important to respect and support exemplary elders? (1 Th 5:12-13; Heb 13:17)

5. Read verse 21. How did Paul emphasize the seriousness of his charge to Timothy? In carrying out these instructions, what is essential? What results when partiality or favoritism is shown by leaders? (Gen 37:3-4,11; Ac 6:1-4) What are the root causes of partiality or favoritism and how can we overcome this? (Gen 25:28; Jn 4:9; Eph 6:9; Ja 2:1-4)

6. What is the meaning of laying hands on someone? (22; Ac 6:6; 1Ti 4:14) Why should a good minister not be hasty in doing so? (24-25) How might this result from favoritism or partiality? What do you learn from Paul who cared for Timothy personally? (23)

1 Timothy 4:1-16

2011-10-19T15:52:00.001-07:00

A GOOD MINISTER OF CHRIST

1 Timothy 4:1–16 10/2/11
Key Verse: 4:6

“If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.”

In chapter 3, Paul taught, Timothy, that the most noble of vocations is that of overseeing the flock of God as an overseer or a deacon. In our UBF terms it would be like becoming a director of a chapter and a regional coordinator. He also wrote down the simple characteristics of a true Christian leader. The paramount virtue must be that he “keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience” and consequently be “tested” and approved as a true Christian leader through his willingness to “serve” (3:9-13). Paul made it clear to Timothy that the false teachings, which had sprung up in those days, must be extinguished, and those who were spreading the false teachings should be stopped. The best way to purify the fellowship from all ungodly influences was to raise up true Christian leaders and maintain the fellowship by the grace and truth of our Lord Jesus and the devotion of its members.

Part l: Guard Your Heart From Deceiving Spirits (1-5)

Paul begins this chapter with a lamentation. Read verses 1-2. “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” In later times, there would be some who will abandon the true Christian faith and will end up following deceiving spirits and demonic teachings. Once, such Christians had received the life-giving gospel with joy. They had found the amazing grace of God. They had found forgiveness for their sins and healing for their souls. They had studied the Bible and had discovered the love of God. Through the Word of life they had met the most gracious Jesus who gave them assurances and promises beyond the human ability to comprehend. At the time, they knew that they had nothing to hold on to except the grace of our Lord and faith in him.

Once they had been promising young Christians who were destined for spiritual greatness in Christ. Surprisingly, however, now they had abandoned the faith. Now they were following deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. They were becoming immersed in unholy doctrine. What happened to them?

Paul tells us that they were deceived. To become deceived, they had to allow themselves to be influenced by wayward and unholy teachings. They could be influenced by false teachings when they made no effort to personally remain rooted in the word of God. Our Lord Jesus once said: “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me….If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” (John 15:4-7) Christians who have been touched by the grace of Jesus must know that it is crucial to remain in Jesus, and to remain in his words. They must continue listening to Jesus’ words day after day and cherish his words. Otherwise, the unthinkable will happen! The world soon enters in and the devil’s teachings overwhelm them until it drains them of all truth.

Some Christians at Ephesus experienced this tragedy first hand. After their conversion, they did not remain steadfast in the word of God. They did not take their Christian life and walk seriously. Finally, when a false teaching tested their hearts, it found an open door and little resistance. So it entered in and took its place amid the truth. One by one, demon teachings entered in until the original truth was driven out and what remained in the end were only lies. Of course, Paul did not leave them the blame alone. Paul pointed out that religious pretenders had found dulled hearts to spread their lies. They took advantage of the unwary and vulnerable flock and had taken as many captives from among them as they could.

What were some of the lies these hypocrites were teaching? Read verses 3-5. “They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” These false teachers could have been Gnostics. They were teaching that the body was evil and that the soul alone was holy and good. They were teaching that a Christian must not engage any physical appetites. They taught that for a man or woman to be acceptable to God, they must deprive their bodies and appease their souls only. In that way, they nullified Jesus’ sacrifice to bring forgiveness and healing, and to recreate a new heart for the believer.

Amazingly, we see that they were not teaching outright evil things. Rather they were teaching that people ought to refrain from marriage, and they ought to stay away from certain foods. To the ears of those who did not study the Bible for themselves, the teachings of these hypocritical liars sounded harsh but gospel-like. These false teachings sounded even more holy than what they were learning from Timothy. But because they did not give priority to the word of God and gospel faith, they were easily deceived to believe the lie.

There was not one but many teachings which sprang up in Paul’s time, and in our own time as well, whose origins comes from man’s philosophy and man made religion. No Christian who has tasted the goodness of God wants to be taken captive again by the lies of the devil. But such things happen. But those who study the word of God from their hearts and who remain bound to Jesus in prayer, faith and obedience, are not easily deceived by demon teachings. They know how to hold on to the grace of our Lord Jesus. They know how to remain alert. They know how to fight the good fight of faith every day.

Some false teachings have swept across our own generation. They have brought about the demise of the potential of so many good Christians. Let’s think of some modern day false teachings that have infiltrated the ranks of our Christian youth. Modern day false teachings are that the visible, organized, church means nothing. What is truly important is our own personal relationship with Jesus. And so promising young Christians are not committed to building up a particular church body or becoming part of a body of believers. Another teaching is that as long as a person is a sincere person then that person will be destined to go to heaven. There are many ways to climb a mountain to get to the top. As a result there are many promising young Christians who don’t think it is necessary to preach the Gospel to anyone, thinking it is only disrupting their lives. They questions the lost-ness of this world and they lose their missionary zeal. Another teaching states that Christians don’t have to cross cultural and language barriers to go and make disciples of all nations. After all, there is enough need here in America, with the Indian reservations, the inner city, the poor everywhere, and the poor people in Appalachia for example. As a result our young people rationalize that they don’t have to obey Jesus’ world mission command to go to the ends of the earth. What about other teachings like, “It is better to live together before marriage?”; “It is OK to have physical relationships as long as you love each other. After all we are fiancés.”; “People don’t have to repent of their sins, they are born that way. It is in their DNA.” As a result some young Christians don’t feel that there is a need to repent. According to Paul, it is not a small thing for a promising Christian to abandon their faith to run after teachings that run contrary to the gospel. It is a tragedy that bleeds the hand and feet heart of our Savior again and again. We must guard our hearts from false teachings and mature in our faith in Christ.

Part ll: How To Be A Good Minister OF Christ Jesus. (6-16)

Paul could despair thinking that he had wasted his time in ministering to the believers in Ephesus. But Paul deeply believed the truth that nothing can separate us from the love of God through the sacrifice of his Son Jesus. For this reason, Paul was willing to educate Timothy in godly matters so that Timothy might help those who have stepped out of the faith. What did he tell young Timothy?

First, Paul charged Timothy to be a good minister of Christ Jesus and showed him two ways to do so, to hold onto the grace of God and train himself to be godly. Paul had raised Timothy in the truth of God as his own son in the faith. He was a young man who had lost his father. His mother had been faithful, but she could not lead him in the way he should go in Christ Jesus. He had taken him as a son when Timothy had no one to mentor him and to serve him until he could become a servant of God. But Paul taught him the Bible until Timothy came to know Jesus personally.
Of all the things Paul taught Timothy he taught him to remain steadfast in the grace of our Lord Jesus, right from the beginning. Look at 1:2, “To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul knew that there would be times when Timothy’s faith would waver, and he would be too weak to fight. But Paul also knew that at the time, only the grace of Jesus would rescue him. So Paul taught him time and again to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. He led him to Christ and made him his close and dear coworker in Christ. Naturally then, Paul reminded him that a good minister of Christ Jesus. Timothy had many weaknesses. But his main strength was that he listened to Paul and remained steadfast in the faith he had learned from Paul, and in the grace which he had received from his Master Jesus.
Second, Paul gave some instructions on how to be a good minister to the church in Ephesus. Read verses 6-11. Especially Paul gave Timothy an important component in how to be a good minister of Christ. Look at verse 7. “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.” Paul knew that Timothy was faithful. He knew that Timothy loved Jesus more than anything in this life. But Paul also knew that Timothy was a young man, and like all other young men, he is easily tempted by the things which lead astray. So he urged him to train himself in godliness. What is godliness? Godliness is the way of holiness and the way of righteousness. Godliness is the way of faith and the way of obedience to Christ. Godliness is the image of God, the image of the servant Christ who came to lay down his life for the sins of the world. Godliness is the way of God, the way which God wants all his children to live.

Ungodly living is the life of ease and comfort, the wide road by which most people choose to walk. (Mtt 7:13-14) It is the way of the world, the way which leads the whole world astray from God. The ungodly way is the way in which people put their own thoughts and feelings above the words of God and are thus led astray by lies and deception. But the godly way is the way which is narrow and the way which binds a man to Christ in a holy walk of life which leads him or her to life, eternity and spiritual prosperity. We must also train ourselves in godliness. Augustine trains in soccer six days a week. He does so to become a better soccer player and an asset to the team. Just as all athletes train themselves to be better athletes, and train their bodies to endure any and all things, so also we must train ourselves in godliness.

What must we do to train ourselves to be godly? Paul teaches Timothy the way of personal training in godliness in verses 12-16. “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” Let’s look at each very closely.

FIRST, “Don't let anyone look down on you”. There were some in the church who looked down on Timothy because he was young. He could have questioned whether or not he was actually called to be a servant of God. Timothy needed confidence in his calling. A Christian’s conviction, that he or she is God’s servant, must not be based on others’ view. Conviction must be personal. We must have the personal conviction of Christ’s calling for us to be the ministers of his word. So, whether we are young or old, we must have conviction from God. When we have a personal conviction that God has called us to be a minister of his word, then we also will have the conviction to train ourselves to be a devoted servants of God.

SECOND, “set an example for the believers”. A good minister of Christ must also set an example of godliness through his or her life. When we are aware of the universal truth we influence others in one way or another, then we also realize the importance of setting an example. We must live our lives in a way that blesses others. We can do so when we live as if our lives do not belong to us but to Christ Jesus.

THIRD, “devote yourself “. A good minister of Christ must devote himself to Bible study and to Bible teaching. God called Timothy to be a teacher of the gospel, and a bearer of the truth of God to the world. Timothy must therefore devote himself to studying the Scripture and to teaching it. He must train himself to study the word of God. He must train himself to live every day as a teacher of the truth. Then his life will be a beacon for truth and the devil cannot find a foothold to deceive him. He will be a good minister.

FOURTH, “Do not neglect your gift,” A good minister of Christ Jesus is one who knows the gift that God has given you and then diligently offering up those gifts to God. Timothy obviously had the gift of leadership and the gift of Bible teaching and preaching. What is your gift? Don’t neglect it. Offer it up to Jesus regularly.

FIFTH, “Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.” Being diligent and giving yourself wholly is necessary for ministers of Christ. This is an attitude as we carry out our duties. It is the opposite of a slothful attitude or a “draggin’ it” attitude. It is also not a matter of personal opinion. Others within the church should be able to see your progress. Only those with a personal desire to be a minister of Christ can consistently procure this type of attitude. But ultimately it is all because of the grace of God.

SIXTH, “Watch your life and doctrine closely.” A good minister of Christ Jesus watches their life and doctrine closely. They care about their influence is on others. We transmit more information to others through our actions and our attitudes more than our words. That is why kids end up sounding like their one of their parents or have the mannerisms of one of their parents. These traits last a lifetime. A minister of Christ is mindful about their lifestyle and the effect it has on others. How can you watch your doctrine? Do you know how to do this? It requires disciplined Bible study and prayer. You also need to know what to think about Jesus and the Gospel and the Bible. We can begin to find correct doctrine through adopting the creeds of the Christian church, especially the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed. We can also take steps to further our spiritual education.

SEVENTH, “Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” A good minister of Christ Jesus perseveres in their life of faith because they care. They care about their own salvation and also the salvation of others. People need God’s salvation that comes from Jesus alone. People do not get to heaven by being sincere people. Jesus says, in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is the narrow way that leads to eternal life. If you know that Jesus is the only way to the Father, and those who don’t believe in Jesus stand condemned already, then we must care about the salvation of the people of this world. That is one reason why we persevere in our discipleship.

EIGHT, “… because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” Ministers of Christ Jesus know that the decisions they make today will make a difference in the salvation of others tomorrow. Sometimes we tend to think, it doesn’t matter what we do…God will save whom he wants to save. But according to this verse, it does matter. If we choose to train ourselves to be ministers of Christ Jesus then it makes a difference. Others will be saved.

Through a study of this passage we learn that it is time to make a new decision of faith to train ourselves to be godly until we make visible progress which everyone can see to the glory and honor of God our Father. We must also make a decision of faith to persevere in the grace and truth we found in Christ Jesus. According to Paul, a good minister who trains himself to be godly not only rescues himself from the deceptions of his godless and ungodly generation, but he also blesses those who listen. I pray that each one of us may become a good minister of Christ in this generation. I pray that each one of us also makes a decision of faith to make progress as a minister of Christ Jesus through personal spiritual training. This sounds like some lofty goal. It is not too lofty if we think of it this way. Decide, by faith to train yourselves every day in one thing. Choose something in your life each day which you may conquer and bring under the Lordship and sovereignty of Christ so that your life may be a source of blessing on everyone. Think about Steve’s decision to write testimonies each week. That is the way to take the first steps. Amen.

1. What did the Spirit clearly say would happen in God’s household? (1) What happens to those who abandon the faith and why is this so serious? (1b) How do false teachings get into the church? (2; Mt7:15) In what two ways were people led astray? (3a) What can we learn here about the importance of spiritual discernment for a good minister of Christ Jesus?

2. How did Paul affirm the goodness of everything created by God? (3b–4) What attitude should we have toward God’s creation? If we do so, what happens? (5)
Why is it vital to believe that God created everything for good? (Ge1:29–31; 2:24–25)

3. In addition to discerning false teachings and holding to the truth that everything God created is good, what else must a good minister do? (6a)
What should he continue to do in order to be a good minister? (6b; 1Pe2:2; 2Ti3:14–15)

4. What should a good minister not be involved in? (7a) What should he focus on instead? (7b) What is the value of physical training? (8a) How is training in godliness more valuable? (8b; 1Co9:25) What is the reason that “godliness has value for all things” is a trustworthy saying? (9–10) In terms of training, what do you learn here about being a good minister?

5. As a young minister, how could Timothy build up godly leadership? (11–12)
Especially, consider the importance of setting a good example in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. Among many things to do, to what should Timothy devote himself? (13; Ac6:4) How did Paul encourage Timothy regarding his gift and why? (14–15)

6. How did Paul summarize his teachings to young Timothy in this chapter in regards to being a good minister of Christ Jesus? (16) In light of this passage, what is involved in watching one’s life and doctrine? What does it mean to “persevere in them”? How will this affect himself and his hearers?

1 Timothy 3:1-16

2011-10-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP—
THE NOBLE TASK
1 Timothy 3:1-16
Key Verse: 3:1
9-26-11

“Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart
on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.”

Part l: A Short Review Of The First Two Chapters.

I apologize for jumping into chapter three. It is because of upcoming conferences. But let us have a short review of the first two chapters. Paul entrusted Timothy, with the church in Ephesus. Paul had great hope for it to grow as a hub for world missions. They began to obey Jesus’ command to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth, (Matt 28: 18-20). Paul was alert for any activity that might hinder the work of God. He foresaw that false teachers would infiltrate the church and sway the new believers away from the Christian faith. And this happened. False teachers came who tried to corrupt the truth about God’s grace of salvation. Paul had taught the Ephesians that salvation was by the grace of God, and that it took pure faith in the grace of God in order for a person to become a member of God’s family. But these people were saying that the grace of God was not enough. They were teaching that salvation still required some form of obeying the laws of God. They also added some of their own ideas alongside the Old Testament Laws. They taught that alongside faith in what Jesus had done us, a Christian’s salvation also hinges on the work of mediators, such as angels, whom we must go through in order to strengthen our relationship with God and receive a better salvation.

What could Paul do to rescue the church? He knew how important the church was in the eyes of God, for he wrote in verses 14-15, “Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” He could not ignore the church problems and things that set themselves to destroy the church. Paul did many things but he also set out to raise up leaders who could hold onto the deep truths of the faith. Among such young leaders was Timothy, a young man whose faith was sound, but who was lacking in spiritual weight. Paul trusted him, and decided to entrust to his leadership, the Church of Ephesus. Paul believed that God would bless Timothy and would help him if Timothy would only accept Paul’s instructions and put them into practice. So Paul ordained him a pastor. There were some members who were not listening to Timothy, believing him to be too young to take care of a church. But in the eyes of Paul and of God, Timothy was the ideal shepherd to be put in charge. So Paul wrote him two letters to instruct him on how to get the church and the members back on gospel track.

In the first chapter, Paul gave Timothy the authority to command false teachers to stop teaching falsehoods. He also reminded him of the grace of God, and the true faith in the work of our Lord Jesus. To demonstrate this, Paul reminded Timothy of God’s powerful work in Paul’s own life. He then urged him to fight the good fight [of faith] to maintain the grace of God. Paul reminded him that the Christian life is a battle, a battle that we must fight every day.

In chapter two Paul showed Timothy the best way to maintain the grace of Jesus in his own life, and in the church. He must learn how to depend on God through prayer. He must also teach everyone to make prayer a priority and a habit. In brief, Paul taught Timothy that prayer is the solution to all things. But for prayer to work, both the men and the women of the church would have to work together to make an environment for the Gospel to grow and to prosper.

In chapter 3 Paul proceeded to reveal one of the main reasons why that particular church was so easily plagued with problems. Our key verse is verse 1. “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” Paul brings up the subject of spiritual leadership. There were some in the church who desired the role of spiritual leadership and there also were some who lacked that desire. So in this verse Paul made it clear to Timothy that a desire for leadership in the church is a noble task. Let us, then, give some thought to Paul’s counsel to Timothy.

Part ll: A Noble Task

Apparently, there were no established spiritual leaders in the Ephesian church. Timothy was appointed by Paul. But even that appointment was not respected by the majority of members, simply because Timothy was considered to be too young.

Leadership is extremely important in life. It is important in sports, the society, in the family, and especially in the Christian home, and Christian church. Thus without spiritual leadership, the Christian church is chaotic and problem filled where do as they seem fit. Jesus wanted his disciples to stand up as leaders in his church. Look at what Jesus said: “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” (Luke 10:16) Look at what Paul says to the church members: “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (Hebrews 13:17) When Paul spoke to Timothy about leadership, he wanted him to establish order in the church. He wanted him to be a leader and to establish trustworthy leaders.

Paul encouraged Timothy to direct others in pursuing spiritual leadership. Read verse 1 again. “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” There is a hint in this church that some wanted to become leaders. Paul was happy about this. He wanted to encourage their noble desires.

What does “noble” mean, and why is the pursuit of spiritual leadership a “noble task”? Noble is closely related to dignity. Something noble is something dignified, and righteous. There are noble people in the world, and there are noble deeds. It is noble for a person to honor his rival when his rival has won a contest over him. We see this in sports when an opposing team member offers a hand to fallen opposing team member. We see it in the work place when a person congratulates and commits to working under a person who just got “that” promotion. One of the best definitions for the word noble is self-sacrifice. Self sacrifice is by far the most noble thing a person can do in his or her life. We see noble deeds coming out of our war on terror. What about the soldier who went back and forth into an ambush to rescue 36 people from certain death? What about the kid who wants to give his Christmas money to the poor rather than fill his life with more clutter?

Some of the most noble of people who ever walked on the face of the earth are the men and women of God. They had sacrificed themselves in the cause of the Gospel. Moses sacrificed his palace and princely position in order to identify with the slave Israelites. Daniel was a court official of the highest order. But he was ready to sacrifice that office in order to identify with God’s people. Mother Teresa sacrificed her life in the name of Christ in order to tend to the most needy people of the world. I always thought the missionaries were the most noble people I knew personally, because they were willing to sacrifice time, money, and position in order to reveal Jesus and the love of God to young Canadian students. There are so many in history who have nobly done what was impossible for the ordinary person to do, all for the love of God and for the love of their neighbor. Therefore “noble” is a word reserved mostly for those who are self sacrificing. Who is the most noble person that you know in your life and why?

But Paul recognized “noble” from a spiritual point of view. In the sight of God, the noble are those who do the work of God. Why? Because serving God and God’s cause is the most noble cause a man or woman could every pursue. The work of God is a work of sacrifice. It is a work of love and of compassion. It is the work of service. It is a work which brings life to others. It does not draw attention to one self. It does not reward in a worldly way. It does not bring any human benefit. Rather sometimes it brings sorrow and pain. It brings poverty on those who willingly give up everything in order to serve Jesus. It also brings ridicule from those who can never understand why a man or woman may sacrifice their lives in return for nothing. Still, according to God our Father there can be no more noble thing in life than to serve God and to do his work. It is most noble because it follows in the footsteps of the Most Noble One, Jesus our Lord. Jesus was noble. He was the most noble person who ever walked on the earth. He sacrificed his glory. He sacrificed his position. He sacrificed his comfort, and all. Finally he was willing to sacrifice his very life for the sake of those who did not honor him, nor appreciate him; for those who scorned him and tormented him. Still, Jesus never flinched from his great sacrifice. He set his heart on it because it was God who called him to fulfill this most noble task. Jesus pursued it to the end. And he called us to follow him and to do as he did. He did so in order to gather for himself a family of noble people who can dwell with him in the kingdom of God.

You may think that it is impossible to be a noble leader in the church of God. On our own it is true. It is impossible. But we must begin our quest. It is what is good, and the most blessed task a human being can pursue. God works in the heart, even unholy desires will change to holy desires. Even those who begin with an unholy desire for leadership may learn what it means to be truly noble. Just try by faith.

When God made man in the beginning, God made people to be noble stewards of his creation. He created him from dust to be a child of the king and to walk with their God. From the beginning God told man what he created him for. He tells us in Genesis 1:26-28: “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” In other words, we were all made to be rulers, stewards, caretakers, managers of the world and managers of one another. But sin destroyed this most holy office and desire in man’s heart. We can see it in Cain’s heart who boldly stated, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” He did not want to serve his brother. In order to avoid the responsibility, he killed his Able. Cain did not want anything to do with the nobel task of being his brother’s keeper. He did not want spiritual leadership. It was all about him. He has forever become an example of ignobility.

Part lll: Set Your Heart

Paul taught Timothy something that people must set their hearts on. Read verse 1 again. “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” It is not easy to pursue spiritual leadership. We must set out hearts on it. To set your heart on something means to pursue something. To set one’s heart on something is to pursue it with devotion and dedication, with commitment and enthusiasm. It takes a commitment of the heart to pursue that which is in essence difficult. When a lion pursues its prey, it sets its eyes in the prey. When a soccer player faces the opposing team he sets his eyes on the ball and game. Our pursuit of spiritual leadership must be an attitude of wholeheartedness. It takes a willing heart. It takes an obedient heart. It takes a humble spirit willing to learn from others who are spiritually more mature. It takes prayer and most of all it takes a persistent spirit willing to endure the many hardships that come as a result of serving God. But we must pursue it with confidence, with courage and with faith.

Part lV: To Purse Spiritual Leadership Takes holiness.

A leader had to have the right inner qualities. An overseer is like a Pastor, a shepherd of the flock of God. Look at the qualifications of an overseer. Look at verses 2-8, “2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.”

Paul goes onto to talk about the qualities of a deacon. A deacon is one who takes care of pastors. Look at verses 8-12, “ Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. … 12 A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.” The qualifications set a very high standard for spiritual leadership. Do you have these qualities? Do I have these qualities? We all have some of them, but not all of them. If it were not for the grace of our Lord Jesus I could never be the pastor of this small house church.
We should not despair about our present condition, but have hope in Christ. Jesus came to help us. He is our Savior. Look at verses 16-19, “Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He[c] appeared in a body,[d] was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.” Jesus came into this world to be our Savior. He came in the flesh. He shared in our humanity. He suffered along with us. He understands us. He knows our holy desires and our inability to achieve this on our own. He is more than willing to help us when we live by faith in him and answer his call to be his disciples.

We can see how one man, Peter was changed by Jesus. Peter was a rough and tough and brash fisherman. His name was Simon. He was very emotional and a man who was like sand. (For that is what Simon means, “sand”) But when Jesus called him he called him Cephas, which means Peter or Rock. On Peter’s faith and his confession, Jesus would build his church. Peter would stand up as the leader of the first century church. Jesus called Peter to come and follow him promising to make him a fisher of men. After Peter accepted his mission from God, he was no longer a “sand-like”, emotional person with no clear life direction, but he became a man like Jesus, who wanted to please God with his life. Eventually all the disciples became noble men and women who took upon themselves the task of serving God’s purpose in their lives.

I can see God’s changing work in me. I was far from noble. In fact I was the most ignoble person. I am still very ignoble and under-qualified to be a leader in the work of God. But I have hope in God. I have hope in the life changing power of Jesus and as long as I cling to the cross of Christ I will be changed. And so can you.

We learned that we must have noble desires to be leaders in the work of God. God will change us by his grace, love and power. We must set our hearts on the task. Through our study of this passage may God bless you to set your heart on becoming a spiritual leader. May God bless you to pursue this role until God transforms your inner person. and raises you up as a shepherd for his flock. May God also help you to grow in a noble spirit, the spirit of Jesus. Amen.

1. Read verse 1. What is Paul's trustworthy saying? What is an overseer? In what sense are all Christians leaders? (Mt 5:14)

2. What is the "noble task"? What does it mean to "set his heart on..."? Why must one who would be a leader make such a decision of faith? (Think about some important decisions made by Jesus' disciples in the Bible: Acts 19:21;Jn 6:66-69)

3. Think again about the "noble task." Why is teaching the Bible a most noble task for a Christian leader? (2c; See 2Ti 3:16,17)

4. What are the basic qualifications for a Christian leader? (2-4,12) Why is "the husband of but one wife" repeated? What does this teach us about God's will for Christian families?

5. Read verse 2 again. Think about the meaning and importance (Pr 16:32) of "self-controlled." How is this related to the other qualifications in verses 2-3? (How can people born with sinful natures be self-controlled?)

6. What does it mean to be "hospitable"? Why is showing hospitality important? Can you think of any examples of hospitality?

7. What does it mean to "manage his own family well"? (4,5,12) How can one do this? Why is this necessary for one who would be a leader? What can we learn in verses 6-7 about how to defeat the devil?

8. What kind of persons should deacons be? Why should they be diligent Bible students? (9) Read verses 8-12. (See Jn 8:31,32) What kind of persons should the wives of leaders be? (11) What are the marks of a trustworthy woman?

9. Read verses 14-15. Who belongs to God's household? Why is the church that teaches the Bible called the "pillar and foundation of truth"?

10. Read the doxology in verse 16. Compare with Jn 1:14. How does this poem describe the gospel of Jesus and proclaim its power and glory?

Galatians 4:1-7

2011-09-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

Abba, Father!
Galatians 4:1-7 Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
Key verse 4:6, 9-4-11

"Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.'"

In today's passage Paul develops the idea that we are children of God. He first reminds us of our status as slaves before the coming of Christ. He then teaches us how we became children of God, and what blessings and privileges we receive. Many Christians do not really enjoy the blessings and privileges of being God's children. Even though they call God "Father," they have no sense of intimacy with God. In fact, many feel burdened. Their daily life is more like that of a slave than of a child of God. We need to realize that in Christ we are God's children with great blessings and privileges. Today let's learn to enjoy our Father God and his blessings!

Part l: God Sent His Son (1-5)

Thus far in Galatians, Paul has frequently written about the law. He has been primarily referring to the law of God found in the Old Testament. In chapter 4, Paul begins to refer to the law in Roman terms, which would be more familiar to many of the Galatians. Paul explained the status as slaves in a way that the Gentiles can understand. Then in verses 4-5 Paul tells us what God has done to redeem us from this slavery and to make us his precious and beloved children.

First, slavery under the law (1-3). Look at verses 1-2. Here we find the words, "heir," "child," "slave," "guardian," and "trustee." Paul draws upon the Roman system to explain what kind of slaves we were and how Christ has set us free. Roman families were different than ours. The Roman family was patriarchal. That is, the father governed the lives of family members and all business affairs and property. He had the right to disown his children, or sell them into slavery. When an heir was a child, he was indistinguishable from a slave. Heirs were subject to guardians--usually reliable household slaves--who trained them in many ways. During that training period, the heir had to obey the guardian. Though the heir had a large bank account, he could not spend any money without the permission of his trustee. However, when a set time had passed, the father would terminate the heir's subjection to others. In a single day, the heir's status changed. He was given the full rights of a son to govern the estate. Then he was free from his former guardian and trustee. Typically, the father held a great feast to celebrate.

In verses 3-5, Paul applies the analogy to God's dealing with mankind. Look at verse 3. "So also when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world." When Paul says, "we," he is referring to both Jew and Gentile. As Jews had been under the law of God before Christ's coming, the Gentiles had been under "the elemental spiritual forces of the world" (basic principles). Here the Greek word "stoicheion" literally means "ABC's." This refers to basic education through family, social, educational and religious systems. These things may have been good. However, the problem is that they could not give life. They could not set a person free from the power of sin and death, nor point them to the only Savior, Jesus. What is worse, failure to live up to them brings about its own condemnation.
I was raised as a hedonistic, middle class youth, with a minimal catholic background. I was influenced by the moral teachings of the Catholic subculture and I had my own code of conduct trying to be a cool guy, a nice guy and not hurt others. But I could not live up to my own personal standard that I had set for myself. Because of my sin, I had become the man that did not want to become. I ended up hurting a lot of people in my quest to seek pleasure and fun in this world. I fell into a sense of self condemnation and inadequacy. I knew that I had become a fruitless, junk person who only knew how to have a lot of fun. In my heart I had a sense of vague anxieties and impending doom. But God worked through these feelings and eventually led me to seek Christ. This prepared me to receive the good news of Christ with humility and faith. The point is that we were all in slavery to the elemental spiritual forces of the world in one way or another. No matter if you are a Jew or Gentile, churched or unchurched. There was no way out. We were helpless. Did God abandon us because we were useless? No. Then what did God do?

Second, children of God through the Son (4-5). Look at verse 4. "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law...." Here the words "the set time" tell us that God set a time for sending his Son into the world to be our Savior. According to his time schedule, God sent his Son. The Son's coming is comparable to the day that heirs are liberated from guardians to receive the full rights of sons. So the coming of the Son is the best news to mankind. It was the dawn of a new era. The words "fully come" are also important. They tell us how God fully prepared before sending his Son into the world.

When we refer to the book of Daniel we find that God foretold the events preceding the Son's coming in detail. God is the Sovereign Ruler of all the kingdoms of the world and he uses them for his salvation purpose. He prepared Christ's coming in several ways. The spread of Greek language made international exchange of ideas possible. The rise of the Roman Empire brought order to the world and accelerated worldwide travel and communication. Greco-Roman people were weary of their cruel, “man-made” gods. Jewish people, bound under the law of Moses, longed for freedom. Jewish people who settled in the west, spoke Greek and held onto the Old Testament text. This prepared them to hear the Gospel and many accepted it. People everywhere were thirsty for the truth. When the gospel was proclaimed, it spread rapidly to the whole world in the first century. God is still in control of nations and people. God still uses all things to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Do you think he is doing something through the recent Arab Spring and the fall of dictatorships in Egypt and Lybia? What about the economic problems that America is experiencing? Is there a purpose and a point? And God has set a time for Christ to return, and it will happen! But that is another message.

God loves us. Look at verse 4 again. It says, "God sent his Son." His Son is most precious to God. Yet God was willing to sacrifice his Son for us. It is hard for us to sacrifice time, energy or money for others. Giving a child is unthinkable. God demonstrated his great love by sending his one and only Son. God deeply loves us with immeasurable love, and we should accept this based on the fact, regardless of how we may feel.

God's Son Jesus was born of a woman, the virgin Mary. This fulfilled God's promise to send a Savior from the offspring of a woman (Gen 3:15; 22:18; Isa 7:14). Why did God send him in this way? God wanted to reconcile with mankind. God is holy. Man is an incorrigible sinner. So people cannot come to God by themselves. God, in his mercy, came down into the world to live among us. This is the incarnation. John 1:14 says, "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." We cannot see God. But through the incarnation people could experience God. In 1 John 1:1, John says, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life." This is amazing grace. Even though Jesus is God, he became a man to be with us. In this way he became a mediator between God and man (1 Ti 2:5).

Jesus was also "born under the law." Jesus was subject to the law, and fulfilled the law perfectly in its entirety. Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day and presented to the Lord according to the requirement of the law (Lk 2:21-24). Jesus lived in obedience to his parents, who taught him the law of God regularly. At the time of his death, Jesus knew that all was completed and that the Scripture had been fulfilled. Finally, he said, "It is finished" (Jn 19:28,30). In Matthew 5:17 Jesus said, "Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Why did he do that? Verse 5a says, "...to redeem those under the law...." The law had condemned us sinners to death. We had to die, shedding our blood, to pay the demand of the law. But Jesus shed his precious blood on the cross to pay the price for us. Romans 3:25a says, "God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood--to be received by faith." Hebrews 9:12 tells us that Jesus "entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption." Hebrews 10:14 explains the implication of this: "...by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." Jesus paid it all through his perfect sacrifice on the cross.

What was God's ultimate purpose? Verse 5b says, "...that we might receive adoption to sonship." God's intention is not just to save us from our miserable situations, (which he may very well do) but most importantly to adopt us as his own children. Here we need to think about the word "adoption." In Roman law it meant that a slave could become a son who would inherit the estate of his master. He received his father's good name as a man of honor in the society. He also received vast property and was granted the right to reign over the household.

The old NIV says in verse 5b, "...that we might receive the full rights of sons." God did not give us half of the rights of sons, but the full rights of sons. We can understand what this means through the prodigal son in Luke 15. When he returned to his father, he was given sandals, a robe, and a ring on his finger. It symbolized the full rights of a son. He did not go through a probationary period, but became a full-fledged son immediately. These days many people adopt children from poor countries. The children's condition suddenly changes from poor, abandoned, and unloved to dearly loved, secure, and wealthy. We were slaves of sin and condemned by the law. We were abandoned, unloved and miserable due to our sins. But God had mercy on us and sent his Son to purchase us through the shedding of his precious blood. Furthermore, he adopted us as his dear children. What a great blessing God bestowed on us! But that is not all. God's blessing is deeper and richer still.

Part II: God Sent The Spirit Of His Son (6-7)

Read verse 6. "Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.'" We were miserable sinners. Now we have become the children of God. Wow! Is it true? How can we know this for sure? Verse 6 says, "God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts." The Spirit is the Spirit of Christ and of God. The Spirit is the invisible God who dwells in our hearts. He assures us of God's love by testifying with our spirits that we are children of God (Ro 8:16). This assurance is not something we manufacture. It is the Spirit's own testimony that assures us that we are children of God.

In sending his Spirit into our hearts, God made an intimate love relationship with us. The Spirit enables us to call out, "Abba, Father." "Abba" is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew word for "My Father." The NLT says, "My dear Father!" The Message Bible says, "Papa! Father!" This shows us that the relationship between God and people is indeed intimate.

What a great blessing to call God "Abba, Father." God is the Almighty Creator God who made the heavens and the earth. God is the owner of all things. He is ready to answer all our prayers by providing limitless comfort, strength and wisdom. He enables us live as more than conquerors in this hard world. He is always ready to welcome us and to provide mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Heb 4:16).

However, there is a problem. Some people do not have a good image of a father in their hearts. They think of a runaway father or an abusive father. Then they are rather burdened by the word "father." On the other hand, some people have been so spoiled by their fathers that they never received any basic discipline. Their concept of a father is a vending machine that gives them whatever they need on demand. But our heavenly Father is different. Our Father God is perfect and holy. He always loves us in precisely the way we need. He is almighty. There is nothing he cannot do for us. He is always loving and understanding. He never hurts us or spoils us, but always blesses us and watches over us with great care and affection. He also give us proper discipline. God is our good Father. Moreover, he is our Everlasting Father. Let's come to God, calling, "Abba, Father!"

Verse 7 says, "So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir." Romans 8:17a says, "If we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ...." As heirs of God we have an inheritance. It is an eternal inheritance. We really need this inheritance. Yesterday, as we walked though Body Worlds, I thought that this can not be the ultimate outcome of our lives, to be plasticized exhibits in a museum. There must be more! There is! God provided us with an eternal inheritance, the glorious kingdom of God. Peter described that this inheritance will never perish, spoil or fade. It is kept in heaven for us (1 Pe 1:3,4). We are children of God, heirs of his kingdom. Let's live with this clear identity and reveal our Father's goodness and love to the world.

Sometimes we forget that we are glorious heirs of God. We wander in the world as spiritual orphans while our heavenly Father is seeking for us and wants to give us all things. Let's accept that we are sons and daughters of God and heirs of God and respond accordingly.
Do you truly enjoy God and delight in his love and blessings? Do you feel loved and wealthy, like the privileged son of a rich father? Or are you burdened by the thought of God? Let's repent of harboring the mentality of a house slave and enjoy God, and his blessings and privileges, as dear children!

1. How did Paul describe people under the law in the Jewish context? (3:23,25) What new analogy does he use to help the Galatians understand this in their context? (1–2) What was the legal status of children named as heirs of an estate? What were the roles of guardians and trustees?

2. How did Paul apply this to our lives before believing in Jesus? (3,9b) (“Elemental spiritual forces” (basic principles) in Greek is “stoicheion,” which is literally “ABC’s,” and can be applied broadly to conscience, ethics, reason, cause and effect, superstition or religious systems, even including demonic forces; see also Col 2:20–23) In what sense did we used to be in slavery to these things?

3. Read verse 4. When and how did Jesus come? What does “God’s set time” imply? What promises of God were fulfilled when Jesus was “born of a woman”? (Gen 3:15; 22:18; Isa 7:14) Why did God send him in this way? (Jn 1:14) Why was he “born under law”? (5a; Lk 2:21–24; Mt 5:17; Heb 2:17)

4. Read verse 5. How miserable was it to be under the law? To release us, what did Christ do? (Rom 3:24–25a; Heb 9:12) What was his ultimate purpose? (5b) What is the fundamental change in status of an adoptee, and what new privileges are bestowed? How can we experience being adopted into God’s family? (Jn 1:12)

5. Read verse 6. What amazing thing happens to us when we are adopted by God? What does it mean to call God “Abba, Father!” (Rom 8:15–16) How does this reflect a change in the way God views us, and in the way we relate to him? How is our identity changed? (7) What does it mean to be an “heir”? (Rom 8:17; 1Pe 1:3–4)

6. Review in these verses the wonderful things Christ has done for you. In what ways are you enjoying the blessings and privileges of being adopted as a child of God?

Galatians 3:15-29

2011-09-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

WE ARE ALL CHILDREN OF GOD THROUGH FAITH

Galatians 3:15–29 Lesson 5
Key Verse: 3:26 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 8-14-11

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith..."

In today's passage Paul helps us to see a bird's eye view of God's salvation work. When we do, we can find three main pillars: Abraham, Moses and Jesus Christ. Through these three figures, God's plan is progressively revealed. God started salvation work through Abraham when he promised that all nations on earth would be blessed through his offspring. God fulfilled this promise through Jesus Christ. As God's salvation history unfolded, some 400 years later, God gave the law through Moses. The purpose of the law is to expose sin as sin, and lead us to salvation in Christ. Both the promise and the law point to Jesus Christ. However, God's history is based on his promise to Abraham, not the law. Paul explained God's history to the Galatians so that they might know God's intention to make people of all nations his children through faith in Christ. We must know that in Christ, there is no distinction based on race, gender, or social status. We are all children of God through faith in Christ. When we have this clear identity, we are blessed and can embrace all kinds of people in Christ.

Part l: “The Law Does Not Set Aside The Promise” (15-18)

In order to illustrate his point, Paul shared the example of a human covenant, and related it to God's promise. The word "covenant" in verse 15 comes from a rather technical Greek word (diatheke) which can be translated "last will and testament." We are familiar with a will. It is a legal document that governs the distribution of a deceased person's estate to his heirs. While the estate owner is alive, he can revise his will as he pleases. He may want to reduce or increase the inheritance of heirs based on their behavior. However, after he dies, his will cannot be changed. Nothing can be added or taken away. It must be executed as written by the deceased. And so is the covenant of God, it is a promise that can not be added to or taken away. It can not be changed. What are some of the promised of God that we Christians hold onto? What about the promise of the forgiveness of sins to all who repent and believe in Jesus? What about the promise of the resurrection? What about the promise to bear much fruit for the glory of God, in this life, as we follow Jesus? There are so many promises that God has given us that can not be added or taken away. Praise God.

In verses 16-18, Paul teaches that the inheritance God gives does not depend on the law, but on a promise; it comes by God's grace alone (18). Paul related this truth to God's promise to Abraham. God gave many promises to Abraham, such as, "I will make you into a great nation...I will make your name great," and, "...to your offspring I will give this land..." (Gen 12:2-3; 7). Yet, as Paul explains in Galatians, these promises all converge into one: "...though your offspring, all nations on earth will be blessed..." (Gen 12:3; 22:18). Paul says that "offspring" is not plural but singular, and refers to one person, who is Christ (16). In giving his promise to Abraham, God looked forward to Christ. It was the promise to bring the gospel of grace, through the Savior, to all nations. God wanted Abraham and his descendants to realize that he would keep this promise without fail. So he swore an oath.
Usually, we swear by someone greater than ourselves. In a courtroom, witnesses put their hand on the Bible and swear “to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God." But God had no one greater to swear by. So he swore by himself. Hebrews 6:17 says, "Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath." God seriously and absolutely committed himself to keep his promise. The law came 430 years later. It does not set aside the promise (17). And so the point Paul is making is, the inheritance God gives does not depend on the law, but on a promise. It comes by God's grace alone (18).

Since Paul took great pains to distinguish the promise and the law, it is worthwhile for us to consider the nature of both. In the promise God said, "I will...I will...I will...." But in the law of Moses, God said, "You shall...You shall not...You shall...." Upon this basis, John Stott commented: "The promise sets forth a religion of God--'God's plan,' 'God's grace,' 'God's initiative.' But the law sets forth a religion of man--'man's duty,' 'man's works,' 'man's responsibility.' The promise had only to be believed. But the law had to be obeyed. God's dealings with Abraham were in the category of 'promise,' 'grace' and 'faith.' But God's dealings with Moses were in the category of 'law,' 'commandments,' and 'works.' The conclusion to which Paul is leading is that the Christian religion is the religion of Abraham and not Moses, of promise and not law; and that Christians are enjoying today the promise which God made to Abraham centuries ago" Martin Luther said, "For unless the gospel be plainly discerned from the law, the true Christian doctrine cannot be kept sound and uncorrupt. But if this difference be well known, then is the true manner of justification also known, and then it is an easy matter to discern faith from works, Christ from Moses...." So, it is important for us to distinguish between law and promise.

[John Robert Walmsley Stott, CBE (27 April 1921 – 27 July 2011) was an English Christian leader and Anglican cleric who was noted as a leader of the worldwide Evangelical movement. He was one of the principal authors of the Lausanne Covenant in 1974. In 2005, Time magazine ranked Stott among the 100 most influential people in the world.] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stott

This salvation of God, based on the promises of God, and which God himself fulfills in our lives, is purely the wonderful grace of Jesus freely given to all who believe. God's grace is the "safety net" of our soul, and the "bottom line" beyond which nothing can pass. God's grace will not allow us to fall beyond remedy. We go up and down, rise and fall, succeed and fail. Yet, through it all, God holds us in his arms of grace. This is our blessed assurance. This gives us hope, like an anchor for our souls, that is steadfast and certain no matter how stormy our lives may be (Heb 6:19).

Part ll: The Purpose Of The Law (19-25)

In verses 19-25 there are two questions. These questions were probably raised by the Judaizers. In order to answer them, Paul taught the Galatians the role of the law in God's work and history. Let’s see what Paul has to teach us…

The first question is, "Why, then, was the law given at all?" Actually, many of us have this question. Jennifer even posed this question one day during our group Bible study. We may even ask ourselves, "If we are saved only by faith in Jesus, why do we need the law? Why do have I struggled so hard to live a holy life? Why did I receive so much divine discipline in life in order to live rightly before God? Has it all been in vain?" With these questions in mind, let's see why the law was given.

Paul's answer was very clear. Look at verse 19b. "…It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come." In order to understand this verse it helps to know when the law was given to Israel, and what their national situation was. According to Genesis, God led the Israelites to Egypt in Jacob's time. God's purpose was to make them a great nation that could declare his praises to the whole world. The people suffered as slaves under Pharaoh. Then God delivered them by his mighty acts of judgment, some 430 years later (Ex 12:41). God led his redeemed people to Mount Sinai and gave them the law in order to make them a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Ex 19:5-6). They needed the law, because even though they were free, they still had the mentality of slaves. In reviewing Exodus, we find that they were ungrateful and ready to complain. They were impatient, easily angered, and often fought each other. They were greedy and sexually immoral in many ways. God gave them laws against incest, and physical relationships with animals. But they quickly forgot God, fell into idolatry, and even indulged in revelry. (Ex 32:6) What was their problem? Their main problem was that they did not have a consciousness of sin. They can be compared to people with a terminal disease who are totally unaware of it. They did not know themselves or see themselves from God’s point of view.

They were in desperate need of God and God so came to rescue them. He set out to make them his holy people. The first step was to give them the law to help them recognize sin as sin. If you know anything about medicine, when they properly diagnosed the problem in their hearts, they could realize that only God could help them. They could come to God, humbly as sinners for forgiveness and cleansing, which was offered through the sacrificial system. This sacrificial system was a shadow of Jesus' atonement for sin. The role of the law was not to save them from their sins, but to provoke, expose, and condemn sin so that they might come to God for help. As they did so, they could be trained and sanctified and grow as God's holy people. Now we understand why God gave them the law.

The promise is superior to the law both in substance and effectiveness. In verses 19c-20 Paul draws out a contrast between the law and the promise. This sharpens his argument that the promise is weightier than the law. First, the law required a mediator, the promise did not. In the NLT, (New Living Translation), these verses read, "God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham." We can find two points of contrast. First of all, the law was given indirectly through angels and a mediator, before it finally came to the people. At that time there was a great chasm between God and his people, because of their sin. God warned Moses not to let the Israelites go up the mountain to see him, or he would break out against them and many would perish (Ex 19:20-22). God is holy. If sinful men meet the holy God directly, they will perish. So they needed a mediator. The need for a mediator emphasizes the distance between God and man. However, God spoke the promise to Abraham directly. God was close to Abraham and so he gave his promises directly.

As a second contrast, the law was conditional. Within the covenant of the law, God and the people both had something to fulfill. If either party failed, the covenant would be nullified. On the other hand, God's promise to Abraham was unconditional. God did not require anything more of Abraham than that he believe the promise. God took full and one-sided responsibility to fulfill the promise. God kept his promise by sending Jesus Christ.

Because the promise is personal and unconditional for all who believe, it can not fail. It is based on the all mighty God and his unconditional love for sinner. Therefore, the promise is superior to the law both in substance and effectiveness.

The second question is, "Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God?" The implication of this question is that if we are saved by faith alone, the law is in opposition to the promise and we can disregard it totally. What does Paul say? "Absolutely not!" The law and the promise are not opposed to each other. In fact, they work together according to God's intended purpose. Yet the role of each is different. The law does not produce righteousness, but conviction of sin and condemnation. The law brings a guilty verdict to all people on earth, so that mankind may realize there is no way out apart from the Savior. Verse 22a says, "Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin...." Romans 3:10b says, "There is no one righteous, not even one." Romans 3:20 says, "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." This leads to the promise.

The promise is that salvation will be given freely by grace to anyone who believes in Christ (22b-23). While the power of sin and the law are like a prison, faith in Christ is like a key. Faith opens the door and sets the prisoner free. Verse 24 says, "So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith." When we have faith in Jesus, we are no longer under the law (25). So we see that the law and the promise are not contradictory, they are complimentary; we need both. But the promise came first and is foundational to understand the purpose of the law.

Part III: We Are All One In Christ Jesus (26-29)

Thus far Paul has reviewed how God worked through the promise to Abraham and the law of Moses. We have seen how both the promise and the law point to Jesus Christ. Now we will consider what Christ has done.

Paul proclaims a marvelous blessing on those who believe. Let's read verse 26. "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith...." It is an amazing proclamation! According to the law, it was impossible for anyone to become a child of God. People are born as slaves to sin. Their position as a slave cannot be changed. Though their living situation may improve, their slave status cannot be changed. The point is, without Jesus, we are always under the condemnation of the law. We are guilty and fearful without remedy. This is still the present condition of those who don't believe in Jesus. They try to be saved by works: like daily prayer, almsgiving, (which is giving to the poor), fasting, going on pilgrimages, and so on. However, they are greatly burdened in spirit, without peace or joy. This is the condition of all who rely on keeping the law to be righteous.

But now, in the Gospel, faith has come (25). Through faith we are set free from bondage to sin and the law. Through faith we become children of God. In Christ Jesus we are all children of God through faith (26). When we simply believe in Christ Jesus, God gives us amazing grace to become his children. John 1:12 says, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God...."

The greatest blessing through faith in Christ Jesus is to become children of God. God not only forgives all our sins, but makes us his children. This is not just the improvement of our situation, such as becoming rich, getting accepted to Harvard University, being healed from a disease, winning a prestigious award, or marrying the most suitable person. But it is a fundamental change within us which brings us out of the dominion of darkness and into the kingdom of light. It also changes us from being like poor beggars into privileged children of God. Our status is changed from slaves to children. Sure, we have many ups and downs. Sometimes we make mistakes and fail. However, God never cuts us off from being his children. Even though we fall short, we are still his precious children. This happens when we just believe in Jesus alone. It is totally out of God's love for us. 1 John 3:1 says, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are!" What a blessing to become his children!

Verse 27 further explains the meaning of faith in Christ through the metaphors of baptism and changing our clothing: "...for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." Baptism into Christ, as explained in Romans 6:3-5, means we are united with Christ in his death and resurrection. It means the death of our old sinful nature and the birth of a new life through the power of the Risen Christ. Our inner person has fundamentally changed through a new spiritual birth as God's children. Though this new birth has happened by God's grace, we need to live out our faith in daily life. It is like changing clothes. We take off our old dirty garments and put on new clean garments (Ro 13:14). Just as we change our clothes every day, we can put on Christ every day and live a new life in him. Ephesians 4:22-24 says, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." God sees us as his children through faith in Christ.

Now we can see ourselves as God's children through faith in Christ also. We must also see others in the same way. So verses 28-29 say, "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Our new identity as God's children supersedes any other human consideration. Distinctions based on race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, social status, wealth, education, appearance and so on become like spices. They make life spicy and interesting. But they are secondary. In essence, all who have faith in Christ are God's children and dear family members. It is wonderful, but not always easy to practice.

Dr. John Perkins, an African American, was born in New Hebron, Mississippi in 1930. His family members were sharecroppers and he grew up in grinding poverty. His brother died in his arms after being shot by a white deputy for no good reason. After moving to California, he met Jesus personally and began to live a Christian life. Later, he returned to Mississippi to work for the social and spiritual progress of his people. One night he was arrested without a charge and brutally beaten almost to death by white deputies. He said that at that moment, if he had had an atomic bomb, he would have blown up everyone around him out of his sense of vengeance. He realized that in his own soul there was a monster of racism and hatred. He could see the image of Satan in himself. So he began to seek Christ's grace for his own inner transformation. Through painful struggle, Christ began to set him free. Eventually, he could look upon white people with understanding and compassion. He often sings, "Red, yellow, black or white, they are precious in his sight; Jesus loves the little children of the world." And he ministers to many different people throughout the USA with the love of God. Today, even among Christians, there is still discrimination based on race, gender and social status. This does not please God. God wants all of his children to be one in Christ Jesus, not just in theory but in truth and practice.

In today's passage we have learned that God's promise of salvation gives us undying hope and is fundamental to our relationship with him. We also learned that we are all children of God through faith in Christ. Let's accept this grace with faith. Let's see other believers as precious family members in the family of God, our Father.

Part 1: The Law Does Not Set Aside The Promise (15–18)

1. A. What is the nature of a human covenant? (3:15) B. What were God’s promises to Abraham, and how were they fulfilled in Christ? (3:16; 3:8; Gen 22:18) C. When was the law introduced, and why did it not do away with God’s promise? (3:17) D. On what basis did God give his promised inheritance to Abraham? (3:18)

Part ll: The Purpose Of The Law (19-25)

2. A. For what purpose did God add the law? (3:19a; Rom 7:7,13) B. Why did God have to give his law to his sinful people through angels and a mediator? (3:19b–20; Ex 19:21–22) C. What did Paul say about the relationship between the law and God’s promise? (3:21a) D. What is the law’s limitation? (3:21b)

3. A. What does it mean that “Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin”? (3:22a; Rom 3:10–20) B. Who alone receives what was promised? (3:22b) C. What was our situation before faith in Christ was revealed to us? (3:23) D. What is the ultimate purpose of the law? (3:24) E. In Christ, what is our new relationship to the law? (3:25)

Part lll: We Are All One In Christ Jesus (26–29)

4. A. Read 3:26–27. What is our new identity in Christ Jesus? B. Why is this so amazing and graceful? (1Jn 3:1; 1Pe 2:10) C. How does this happen to us? (3:27) D. What is the spiritual meaning of “baptized into Christ”? (Rom 6:3–5) E. What does it mean to be “clothed with Christ”? (Rom 13:13–14; Eph 4:22–24) F. What does it mean to you to be a child of God?

5. A. In Christ, what is our new relationship with other believers, regardless of human distinctions? (3:28) B. How can we accept all kinds of people into our community, and why should we? (Rom 15:7; Rev 7:9) C. How did Paul emphasize the new status of those who belong to Christ, Jew or Gentile? (3:29)

Matthew 6:5-18

2011-09-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

“Your Kingdom Come”

Matthew 6:5-18 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 8-21-11
Key Verse: 6:9b,10

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.”

Do you known what the best thing ever is? Is spending eternity with Jesus in the Kingdom of God as his child! Jesus’ main concern was always to glorify his Father in heaven and expand the territory of the Kingdom of God. From the onset of his ministry he preached the message, “The kingdom of heaven is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) He chose his disciples and helped each of them to see the kingdom of God. He wanted to work through them to share the Gospel so that the Kingdom of God may grow in the hearts of the people. This is a great task….too great a task for these disciples to accomplish through their own human efforts. They need to do much more than just preach, teach and serve others basic needs. How could they do it? Only through prayer. That is why Jesus presents a model prayer for his disciples of all time. When Jesus’ disciples pray personally before God a genuine motivation to glorify God in all that they do grows in them. Then the Kingdom of God can grow to others. Let’s examine this model prayer.

Part l: The Attitude Of Prayer To God (5-8).

First, the attitude of prayer. Look at verse 5. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.” We can approach prayer with various attitudes. There is the attitude of, “here we go again.” There is the sleepy attitude where we doze off in the holy sleeping position. At least they are trying to pray. There are good attitudes, that make a person say, “I can’t wait to talk to God” or “I need God’s help.” or “I want to get to know my Heavenly Father more deeply.”

In Jesus’ time there was another attitude among some of the people. There were hypocrites who tried hard to make people notice they were praying to God, but they are actually putting on a display for people to see. They sought human recognition. Would you ever do this? I don’t think many of us try to show off our spirituality by praying publically. In any case, the prayers born out of such motives are not directed vertically, to God, but horizontally, to other people.

Jesus says that such people forfeit the blessing of genuine fellowship with God through prayer. Verse 5b reads, “…I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.” What is their reward? Their reward is having a few people say, “Wow! That person is really holy!” They get a momentary feeling of self satisfaction. Or they get a sense of relief that their being asked to pray is all over for now. They will get no reward from God. No peace of; no affirmation that their hearts are right before him; no praise from Jesus when they see him face to face in the heavenly kingdom. We must have the right attitude in prayer. But how?

First, our prayers must be directed vertically to God, in private. Look at verse 6. “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Jesus is emphasizing a personal, intimate conversation with God. We Christians have a great privilege of prayer to God. When Jesus died on the cross the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The way to the most holy place was wide open. No longer did the people require a High Priest to pray for them, they could approach the throne of God, through faith. They could come to God and cry, “Abba, Father!” This is a great privilege given to us Christians. It was a costly privilege. The cost was the suffering and death of Jesus. This privilege was given to us. Jesus urges us to exercise this privilege in secret. We can make a personal relationship with God through prayer when we have the right attitude. So often we pray at meetings, two by two, or before meals, but go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen! Where your favorite place to pray in private to Jesus?

We always like to knock the younger generation, thinking of all their bad qualities. I think that our young people are not far from learning personal prayer. They already are accustomed to go into their rooms, closing their doors, and spending time on the computer or on an iPod. They know how to text to their friends, read texts and listen to music, via virtual reality. This is just a step away from the life of prayer. Can you see it? A rich prayer life is just around the corner for many of them.

Second, we must be confident that our Father in heaven knows our every need and wants to intervene. Look at verses 7-8. “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Pagans pray to idols which are not real. They babble repeated prayers thinking that these idols will be moved and give them blessings. Buddhist’s have found a way to increase the frequency of their formalistic prayers. When they are too tired to pray any longer, they can go to their prayer wheels and spin a prayer wheel. But prayer for Christians is not just endless, formalistic babblings. We have heartfelt prayer to our Father God, who is living. More than that, he listens and is very concerned as he watches over us each moment of the day. He understands us and knows exactly what we need. He answers our prayers. I can guarantee you that God will answer any prayer you send him. His answer will be “Yes”, “No” or “wait”.

Sometimes we don’t know what we need. All we know is that we need something. We can only groan before God in ways that words cannot express. But God hears and understands our groans. He is happy when we turn to him for help in our time of need. In 1986 at the age of 22, I was groaning because of my emptiness and my meaningless life as a student hedonist. One night I felt so bored, all alone and meaningless, that I went into my room and cried in my pillow, “Oh God!” It was more of a groan than a prayer. But it was a prayer uttered in the privacy of my own room. God heard my prayer. And he sent Christians to me who tried to preach the Gospel to me. Eventually I met Msn Ruth Hwang and I came to meet Jesus personally. Recently, I battled despair and depression. Many of my prayers were groanings pointed towards God. But God heard these groaning prayers and he is filling my heart with new hope and new vision. I don’t know if any of you noticed a difference in me lately. But there is a difference. We don’t have to wait until we are in a spiritual crisis to pray privately to God.
Part ll: Father In Heaven, Hallowed Be Your Name! (9)

First, “Our Father in heaven.” (9) Jesus taught us to call God “Father.” This was a revolutionary teaching in the ancient world. Until this time, no one would call God “Father.” The Jews knew God as the Almighty Creator God, the holy God who demanded their obedience. If they met the holy God in their sinful state, they would die immediately. It would be like finding yourself in the middle of a nuclear reactor. They had such an awesome respect for God that they would not say his name, and so they made up a name for God, that could not be verbalized, YHWH. (Which was Yahweh without the vowels.)

Jesus wanted his disciples to call God “Father.” They could do so because Jesus gave them the right to call God their father, for faith in him made each believer into a child of God. (Jn 1:12) How is this possible? Jesus offered his body and shed his blood at the cross to purchase for us another privilege, the privilege to call God “Father”. Through Jesus’ sacrifice our sins are forgiven and we are purified. Now, through faith, we can stand before God as holy children of God. This all comes through receiving Jesus and believing in his name. Wow! What a great gift.

When we call God “Father” we must recognize God’s love for all people. When we call God “Father,” we recognize that we are all part of his spiritual family which is made up of people from every language and nation who have been saved by Jesus’ blood. In God our Father, we have so many brothers and sisters. Several of us have come from Korea to be missionaries. They are all our brothers and sister in the Lord. Another young man grew up in the suburbs and has recently dedicated his life to Christ. He is a brother in the Lord. Suzie is a believer from Heidelberg Germany. She is a sister in the Lord. Red, yellow, black and white we are all precious in his sight for we are all part of the family of God. We can even think of unbelievers as our prodigal brothers and sisters in the sense they were all created by our heavenly Father who is their creator God. They just don’t know it. So, let’s decide to love our neighbors as ourselves no matter who they may be.

Second, “Hallowed be your name.” Hallowed means to be sanctified, consecrated, highly venerated. (http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/hallowed) In a word, respected. Although God is our Father, we must remember whom we are coming to and not just come to him flippantly nor relate to him as many young people relate to their parents. Our relationship must be different. Why? God is the Almighty Creator God. He is holy. He is the Judge of all mankind. It is right for his name to be exalted above every name. It starts with hallowing God in our own hearts first.
As we pray, “Hallowed be your name,” we must also desire to bring honor to his name by the way we live in this world. How can we do this? Study hard in school and reveal God’s grace by trying your best to get great marks. Excel at work so that other employees may see God’s glory and honor him. Make our homes places of worship, love and praise to the holy God. Our ministries must maintain the highest moral standard and reveal the Spirit of the Holy God at work among us. When we pray “Hallowed be your name”, then God’s name will be hallowed through our lives, families and ministries and among the people of the campus’ we are praying for.
Part lll: Your Kingdom Come!

One of the most powerful portions of this model prayer is, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Since the Fall, this world has been a battlefield between the God and the devil. This battle has been going on for millennia. God has always been near to those who had faith, but in the perfect time, God sent Jesus, our savior and king, who would destroy the devil and restore God’s rightful rule in the hearts of his people. This is great news, for in the kingdom of Satan, there is only condemnation, fear, despair, worries, anxieties, slow erosion and degradation of the soul, mind and heart. There is death. But in the Kingdom of God there is God’s healing, hope, mission, spiritual joy, love, peace, room to grow, security, spiritual growth and strength and of course eternal life. When we accept Jesus as our Savior King, we are saved from the devil and become God’s children. We effectively come out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light life, the Kingdom of God.

However, the battle is not over. It is going on in us and around us and throughout this world. Just examine your own heart and watch the news. The Bible teaches that he devil is prowling around like a roaring lion. He blinds the eyes people so they can not see the glory of God in Jesus Christ. (2 Cor 2:4, 1 John 2:11).

The same is true even for more seasoned Christians. They too can loose sight of the kingdom of God. For years they serve Jesus, but one thing after another strike their hearts like the constant barrage of punches from a boxing opponent. The bad economy, work hassles, weakness of the body, constant rejections to our efforts to evangelize, constant calls to sacrifice, loved ones who don’t share our faith, sins and temptations, all take their toll on us until we can not see the kingdom of God any longer. We know that going back to the world is not an option, but we loose our joy of living by faith. Has this happened to you? Maybe we think that we can never tasted the joy, love and peace of the Kingdom of God again. But the truth is, experiencing the kingdom of God can be as new and fresh an experience to us as it is to new believers.

How do we dwell in the kingdom of God? We need to repent and believe the Gospel. Think about Nicodemis. Nicodenus had everything, the highest education, the respect of his peers, a high position in society. He had it all by this world’s standard, but he was not happy. He came to Jesus at night and asked him many spiritual questions. He was missing something. There was a “God sized hole in his heart”. Jesus saw pasts his words to see the true problem in his heart. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (Jn 3:3) According to the spiritual doctor, Jesus, the cure to Nicodmuses’ problem is that he needed to see and experience and live in the kingdom of God. Then the emptiness and meaningless of life he was feeling would be eradicated and he would find new joy, new life and salvation. We all need to repent and believe and have the Kingdom of God come into our hearts.

There are several other reasons why we must pray, “Your Kingdom Come?” First, The task is too big for us to accomplish. We try, but we are helpless. We fail to create an environment where we can reveal the kingdom of God. Our hearts may also be in such turmoil that we feel far from the kingdom of God. We need God’s help. Second, we need to pray because people really need the kingdom of God. They need heavenly citizenship fast! We try our best, but we will reach our limits. Praying is all we can do sometimes. But it is the best and most important thing to do. Third, God wants to work through us and co-work with us. This requires communication and collaboration with God through prayer. Can you think of any other reasons to pray?

God’s kingdom is spreading in many hearts and among us. We heard Matt’s message yesterday. It was delivered with spirit, power and personal conviction. We heard the personal testimonies of Sarah and Hope. That was there own testimonies born out of their living faith. We see all the humble co-working between all of us to make this Bible school possible. We experienced the joyful snack time with Subway sandwiches. The willing, open hearts of so many children of God, is proof that the kingdom of God is growing. May God’s kingdom advance in our campus’ until Jesus comes.

Part lV: Other Things To Pray For In God’s Kingdom (11-15)

Children of God, who pray for the advancement of the Father’s Kingdom, also pray for their daily bread, forgiveness and protection from sin. First, “Give us today our daily bread.” (11) Jesus teaches us to pray for our daily bread. Through prayer, we learn to depend on God and realize that God is the giver of our daily bead. And he does provide. He doesn’t always give us what we want, but he surely gives us what we need. People are so afraid of not having their daily needs met. But worrying never helped anyone. We need to stop worrying, and ignoring Jesus in our quest to “survive”. Rather we need to pray for our daily bread knowing that we are children of our Father God and he will supply our needs. We may pray for delicious steak but God knows what’s best because sometimes, whole wheat bread, and a simple diet is healthier for you.

Second, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (12) Here, the word "debt" has the same meaning as "sin." Living in this world, we need the forgiveness of our sins every day. Why? Because we sin everyday. Our sin problem is very serious. It is keeping our eyes blinded to the reality of the Kingdom of God. That is why Jesus said in Mark 1:15, “The time has come,’ he said, ‘The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” Therefore, we must repent and ask God's forgiveness of our sin. Next, we must forgive others who have sinned against us. Then our spiritual eyes will be open and we can enter the kingdom of God. Forgiving others is so important that Jesus emphasizes it again. Look at verses 14 and 15. "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." This is a serious matter. Is there anyone in your life whom you need to forgive? Do it now…don’t wait.

Sixth, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." (13) Here, "the evil one" is the devil. There are many who say, "I don’t believe in the devil.” They these, Christianity faith is all about psychology and the power of positive thinking only. The battle is in your own thoughts. But I say, the evil one is a real enemy and the devil’s greatest weapon is making people believe he doesn’t exist. (Then he can do what ever he wants to.) Some say that they are not afraid of the evil one. Such people don’t know themselves and they surely don’t know that consequences of falling into the evil one’s grip. The devil's temptation is like sugared poison. No one can run away from the devil's pursuit. We must acknowledge that we are completely helpless, and pray earnestly to our Father in heaven to protect us from the devil and keep us then near him. "Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

Today Jesus teaches us that, as Jesus’ disciples, we must build up a secret prayer life, calling God, “Father”. We must hallow his holy name and promote the reverence and worship of God around us. When we do, God’s kingdom will come into our hearts, grow among us, on our campus’, across our nation and the world. A genuine motivation to glorify God in all that we do will grows in us. As we pray for God’s kingdom to come, he will provide for our physical and spiritual needs. We will be free from anxieties and insecurities. There will be an abundance of grace, love and forgiveness. There will be protection from sin and temptation when we dwell in the Kingdom of our heavenly Father. The Kingdom of God sounds pretty good. Let’s pray earnestly for its advancement.

Galatians 3:15-29

2011-08-17T19:43:00.001-07:00

Galatians 3:1-14

2011-08-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

Christ Redeemed Us

Galatians 3:1-14 , Lesson 4
Key Verse: 3:13 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 8-7-11

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.'"

In chapters 1 and 2 Paul defended the authenticity of his apostleship and the gospel he preached among the Gentiles. In chapters 3 and 4, Paul declares that we become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. To help us understand this, Paul develops his theme through several contrasts: faith versus observing the law (3:1-14), the promise versus the law (3:15-22), and children versus slaves (3:23-4:31). In today's passage Paul speaks to the Galatians directly, addressing their spiritual problem. They had received the Spirit by believing the gospel. But after receiving this blessing, they tried to keep the law of Moses in order to maintain their relationship with God. Inevitably, they would fail to keep the law and were cursed. Paul rebuked them so that they might continue to live by faith, not by the law.

After becoming Christians, many people attempt to keep the law instead of continuing in faith. They want to do something for God in the strength of the flesh. If they seem to succeed, they become self-righteous and very proud. When they fail they fall into a sense of condemnation. Their service to God becomes a big burden and futile. They have little joy or peace in their hearts. In the long run, they feel that their life is cursed. On the other hand, there are those who live by faith. They always remember what Jesus has done for them. Based on the grace of Jesus, they serve God depending on the help of the Holy Spirit. They are humble, willing, thankful, joyful and fruitful. This is the blessed life. Today let's learn how to live a blessed life though faith in Christ.

Part 1: By Faith, Not By Works Of The Law (1-9)

In verse 1 Paul rebuked the Galatians to bring them back to gospel faith. To help them, in verses 2-5, he reminded them of their own personal experience. Then, in verses 6-9, he drew upon Abraham's example

First, Paul tried to bring them back to their senses. Look at verse 1a. "You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?" The Message Bible says, "You crazy Galatians!" The Amplified Bible reads, "O you poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galatians!" Paul rebukes the Galatians for betraying gospel faith under the bad influence of false teachers. He did not excuse them because they were young. He rebuked them sharply to help them discern the truth and muster the courage to stand on gospel faith. The word "bewitched" indicates that the devil had gripped them. The devil has been a liar and murderer from the beginning (Jn 8:44). The devil intended to destroy the souls of the Galatians. Is the devil trying to bewitch your soul in some diabolical way? We don’t have to allow this to happen. Let’s see how…

To set them free from the devil, Paul reminded them of the gospel. Look at verse 1b. "Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified." Paul's message to the Galatians focused on Christ crucified. When Paul preached this, his explanation was so vivid that the Galatians felt they were watching Christ being crucified before their very eyes. Historically, Jesus' crucifixion had taken place some 15 years earlier. But as they listened they felt that it was happening right then. Here we see that Jesus' crucifixion is not just an isolated historical event, but it is like a fountain that flows continually. It was effective for the Galatians and continues to be effective throughout time. Why is this so?

On the cross Jesus said, "It is finished" (Jn 19:30). The original text uses the perfect tense, which expresses that action completed in the past has accomplished something for all time. After his death on the cross, Christ rose again to life. This proves that his death was acceptable to God as the perfect sacrifice (Ro 4:25). Furthermore, Christ is living. Christ obtained eternal redemption through his death and resurrection (Heb 9:12). This is why his atoning sacrifice is effective to all who believe. It was effective 2,000 years ago, and in the Galatians' time, and it is effective in our time. Christ's offering has power even now to forgive our sins and save us from eternal condemnation. Every Easter conference, "Christ crucified for our sins" is proclaimed. Many people experience Christ's death for them personally and receive Jesus with tears. The cross of Jesus has power to forgive our sins. As we proclaim the cross of Christ it works mightily in people of our times. We need only to believe this gospel and its power to change hearts. How did Paul bring the Galatians back to this gospel?

First, Paul reminded them of their personal experience (2-5). In verses 2-5 Paul asked several questions, progressively, to remind them of how God had worked in their lives. In verse 2 he asked, "Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?" The book of Acts reveals that as the apostles preached the gospel, people believed the message and received the Holy Spirit. They were changed into new people. (Ac 2:38; 8:15-17; 10:15; 13:48,52). The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in those who believe the gospel message. The Holy Spirit changes us into a new creation. This does not happen by observing the law, but by believing the gospel.

The Galatians had received the Spirit by believing…but then something happened. In verse 3 Paul asked, "After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?" At first they held onto gospel faith but when they heard they should be circumcised and obey the law, they agreed. They thought they could progress in sanctification by keeping the law. Paul called them foolish. As they had begun by faith, so they needed to continue by faith. It is God who sanctifies us by faith alone (1 Th 5:23; 2 Th 2:13; 1 Pe 1:2). Some people start with faith in Jesus, then try to be sanctified by works of the flesh. Paul says it is foolish. Romans 1:17 says, "...the righteous will live by faith from first to last." Hebrews 11:6a says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God...."

In verse 4 Paul asked, "Have you experienced so much in vain--if it really was in vain?" This refers to the persecution the Galatians received. It came from legalistic Jews who opposed the gospel ministry. It also came from fellow Gentiles who felt condemned by the Christians' holy lives. The Galatians suffered a lot from persecution. But they knew it was meaningful and valuable. It purified their faith and helped them take root in Christ. They grew spiritually. When we live godly lives by faith, persecution will follow from ungodly people (2 Tim 3:12). However, God uses it for our good and it is part of the blessed life of faith (Mt 5:10-12).
When we simply believe in Jesus we experience God's almighty power. In verse 5 Paul asked, "...does God work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?" When Paul was in Galatia, the Lord confirmed his message by enabling him to do miraculous signs and wonders (Ac 14:3). God's power is experienced by faith, not by observing the law. Jesus healed those who had faith (Mk 5:34; 10:53). A zealous Muslim woman in a Muslim country became terribly sick. No one could heal her--not physicians or the local witch doctor. But when she called on the name of Jesus she was healed. She later accepted Christ as her Savior. Through several rhetorical questions, Paul helped the Galatians remember that God worked mightily in their lives through their faith, not by their observing the law. Paul helped them realize that God is pleased by faith, not by works of the flesh. God confirms this by working many miracles among us. Christians live by faith alone, from the first to the last. Are there any confirming miracles at work among you?

Second, Paul presented Abraham as an example of one who lives by faith (6-9). Abraham was the father of the nation Israel. No one could refute Abraham's example. In Abraham's time, God had not yet given his law. Abraham was justified by faith. Look at verse 6. "So also Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." This is a quote from Genesis 15:6. At that time, Abraham had hit rock-bottom. Even though he had lived by faith for ten years he had no visible fruit. God promised to make him into a great nation. But in reality, he had no son, no heir. After fighting a war to rescue Lot, he had many enemies. He was living in a rock strewn desert. And so he was fearful. He suffered from a deep sense of loss.

God comforted him in a vision. Look at Genesis 15:1-7. God said to him, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." (1b) But Abraham responded by complaining, "What can you give me since I remain childless." (2) How did God help him? Did God give him a son right away? Did God give him money? No. Instead, God planted faith in him. God took him outside and said, "Look at the stars...so shall your offspring be." (5) God's promise was so great that it seemed irrational and ridiculous. He was an old man with no land and no child. How could Abraham believe such a great promise? Mysteriously, however, Abraham believed the Lord. Then the Lord credited it to him as righteousness. (6) Abraham did not achieve something great. He hadn't raised any disciples. And he had made many mistakes. But he believed the Lord. He regarded God as God. He fully trusted that with people it was impossible, but with God it was possible. Then God was pleased and gave Abraham an A+ in this test of faith. Here we learn that God is pleased by faith, not by works of the law. In verse 7, Paul related Abraham's faith to the Galatians. Those who have faith in God like Abraham did are the children of Abraham. Abraham's descendants are not primarily his physical descendants, but those who have the same faith.

Paul revealed God's plan to the Galatians. In verse 8, Paul quoted Genesis 12:3 and 22:18: "All nations on earth will be blessed through you." And he said, "Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham." From the beginning it was to bless the Gentiles with the gospel of forgiveness through faith. God was not exclusively the God of the Jews, but the God of the Gentiles, also. Those who rely on faith, like Abraham did, are blessed along with Abraham (9). Paul wanted the Galatians to know that God accepted them as his children by their faith. They were just as much a part of God's family as Jewish believers. Here we learn that God sees and blesses faith, not works of the law.
Even Christians can fall into the trap of trying to secure their salvation and their right standing with God by works. There is a very handsome young man who grew up in a devout Christian home. From watching his saintly mother, he concluded that Christian life meant early-morning prayer, testimony writing, inviting students to Bible study and teaching the Bible. He thought that if he did these things he would be saved. He didn’t see her faith and love for Jesus behind all these acts. But as he lived his Christian life, try as he may, he could not overcome his pride, selfishness, and lust. He once accepted Jesus' death for his sins and found freedom for a short time. He should have come to Jesus once again, repenting and believing. But soon he felt pressed to keep striving in the world in order to survive. He became busy and forgot the gospel. Then he committed a sin that hurt others and grieved him deeply. He felt completely condemned. But when he admitted he was a helpless sinner and came to God for grace, the blood of Jesus cleansed him. He tasted a spiritual joy and peace he had never known before. Now he wants to live each day in the grace of Jesus, by faith in Christ alone. As he does, he is motivated by love to share Christ with others. This is not just his story. When we just believe the gospel, God forgives all our sins and makes us his precious children. What a great blessing!

Part II: Blessed through faith in Christ, not cursed under the law (10-14).

In verses 10-12 Paul quoted Old Testament references to explain that there are two options in our attempt to seek righteousness. He quoted Habbakuk 2:4, which says, "the righteous will live by faith," and Leviticus 18:5, which says, "the person who does these things will live by them." Both are the words of God and promise us eternal life. But the roadways are different. The first way to eternal life is to have a right relationship with God by faith. The second way to eternal life is to keep the law perfectly.

What is the problem? The problem is we cannot keep the law in order to have eternal life. Verse 10 says, "For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.'" This is a quotation from Deuteronomy 27:26. Here we can find the nature of the law. The law demands perfect obedience. We cannot pick what we like to obey and discard what we dislike. We have to obey all the laws of God without fail.

Let’s think about an example about marriage. One day a lady gets engaged and marries Mr. Law. Mr. Law is tall and handsome, with a perfect physique, and is disciplined, intelligent, and a master of all trades. So, many women were eager to marry him. After the wedding they everything seemed to be great. There seemed to be a lot of structure and guidance for the new family to build itself upon. They were surrounded by others who where likeminded, all trying to follow the law. But the wife soon experienced a very painful reality. The handsome and strong Mr. Law was a perfectionist. Every morning he gets up at 4:00 a.m., reads the Bible and prays. He works hard twelve hours a day, keeps the time precisely, and never makes a mistake. He does so without fail. That would be fine if he had that sort of discipline on his own, serving his family and imposing his discipline on himself, but he demands his wife to do so as a requirement of the marriage. If she fails to do one small thing, he condemns her without mercy. “How could I have married such a useless person?!” This goes on every day, day after day, without ceasing. All joy is sapped from Mrs. Law’s heart. In its place is came depression, despair, self condemnation and fear. There is no way to get away from Mr. Law. According to the Law, Mr. Law had to die. But Mr. Law never dies. Then the only way for her to get out of this “life sapping” relationship is if Mrs. Law dies herself. A sad end to a “perfect marriage”. Can anyone bear being married to Mr. Law? Even though one keeps 99% of the law, if that person breaks one law, that person becomes a lawbreaker, divorces themselves from God and is excluded from the family of God.

Paul shared his testimony in Romans 7. He kept most commandments. However, the commandment, "Do not covet," which deals with the inner life, convicted him of sin. Because he had broken this one law, he became like one who broke all the laws. He was condemned and destined to die. So he cried out, "What a wretched man I am!"

Paul continued to talk about the nature of the law in verse 12. It says, "The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, 'The person who does these things will live by them.'" This means the law is not based on God's grace but on human effort alone. Yet we do not have the power to keep the law. And when we fail to keep even one of God's laws, it brings curse upon us. We are condemned without mercy and receive a death penalty. God is holy. There is no exception. Any Jew or Gentile without Jesus, are all under a curse because of their disobedience to the law of God.

Going back to Mrs. Law. She was very unhappy. She cried everyday. She knew that she made a very great mistake by marrying Mr. Law. She became depressed and quiet and self destructive. She knew that there was only two ways to get out of her misery. She could arrange for someone to kill Mr. Law and then escape to another place with a new identity. But that was not going to happen. Her only other option was to end her own life and that is what she was about to do. But then, at the last moment someone came to her rescue. This person would miraculously fulfill all the requirements for setting her free from Mr. Law’s grasp. Someone would die in her place and miraculously she would be set free from this oppressive relationship. Mr. Law would have no power over her any longer. She could live a new life, free to marry another…Mr. Grace. She would life happily ever after, forever!

That is exactly what God did for us! God is love. In his great mercy, he provided a way for us to be saved. He sent his one and only Son, Jesus, as our Redeemer. Let's read verse 13. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.'" Simply speaking, to redeem is to pay the price to free a slave. Because of disobedience all people became slaves of sin and to life under the law. There was no way out without paying the full price for our sins. Jesus paid it all for us. Jesus, who is in very nature God, kept all the law perfectly from beginning to end. Jesus was sinless. But he was condemned and crucified as a criminal. Why was he crucified? It was for our sins. He became a curse in our places. He was the perfect, sinless sacrifice. Isaiah cried out: "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows...He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities" (Isa 53:4-5). 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Because of his death on the cross all of God’s righteous requirements have been satisfied. We are redeemed from the curse of the law. Those who rely on what Jesus has done are freed from the curse of the law to live a new life. Paul declared in Romans 8:1, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus!
Verse 14 tells us the result of Christ's redemption: "He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit." Here Paul concludes his argument. The Galatian believers did receive the Spirit. They did so through faith. This fulfilled the promise of blessing given to Abraham. This blessing of the Spirit comes only through faith in Christ, not by works of the law. The Spirit dwells in us and guides us. We can bear inner fruit, such as love, joy and peace. Christ redeems us from the curse of the law, and brings us under the blessing of God.

Under the curse of the law everything seemed to work against us and end in failure. We always felt condemnation and guilt. There was no hope or peace. However, when we live under the blessing of God, everything goes well. We enjoy real peace and bright hope for the future because God works for our good. This is not a theory, but reality. One person I know received the gospel and experienced the work of the Holy Spirit. Then he went off to live in his own way. He thought he would be free. But he fell under the power of sin and lived under a terrible curse. His life was about to end in disaster. Then he remembered God's word and cried out to Jesus. Miraculously he was saved. Jesus changed his destiny from curse to blessing. Christ redeemed him from the curse of the law. Just believing in Christ changes our destiny from a cursed life to a blessed life.

Today we learned that we are saved from sin and condemnation when we believe the gospel, not by works. After being saved, we should continue to live by faith, depending on what Christ has done for us. We don't need to do something for God to maintain salvation. We live by faith. We only trust Christ from beginning to end. This is the gospel, and the Christian life. This is the blessed life. May God bless you when you live by faith in Christ alone.

Part 1: By Faith, Not By Works Of The Law (1-9)

1. A. Read verse 1. What strong language does Paul use here, and why? B. In Galatia, how did he clearly portray Christ? (1b; cf. Acts 13:27–31,38–39,44; 14:21–22) C. What today might be bewitching people to turn away from Christ crucified?

2. A. In his questions, what contrast does Paul make? (2–5) B. How had the Galatians received the Spirit and experienced God’s miracles among them? (2,5) C. How had they gone astray? D. How can we maintain gospel faith and avoid legalism in our life and ministry?

3. A. How was Abraham credited righteous by God? (6) B. Who are his true spiritual children? (7) C. How did he become a role model for all believers, including Gentiles? (8–9) D. In light of this, what does God really want from us?

Part II: Blessed through faith in Christ, not cursed under the law (10-14).

4. A. What Scripture shows that relying on observing the law is cursed? (10) B. That we should rely on faith? (11) C. That the law is not based on faith? (12) D. How do these references prove that trying to live by the law is not Biblical?

5. A. Read verse 13. How did Christ rescue us from the curse of the law? B. Think about how he was cursed on the cross. How did this “redeem” us? (Jn1:29; 1Pe1:18–19) C. What can we learn here about the love of Christ?

6. A. Read verse 14. For what purpose did Christ redeem us? B. How did his death on the cross open the way for Abraham’s blessing and the promise of the Spirit to come to all who believe? C. In this study, what can we learn about relying on Christ crucified?

The Truth Of The Gospel: Justified Only By Faith In Christ

2011-08-15T05:46:00.002-07:00

The Truth Of The Gospel: Justified Only By Faith In Christ

Galatians 2:11–21 Lesson 3
Key Verse: 2:16 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 7-31-11

(We) “know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.“ Paul uses the word "justified." In origin, it was a legal term that means "not guilty."
In this part of Galatians chapter two, Paul continued to help the Galatians stand on gospel truth by telling how he courageously rebuked Peter. Paul knew the implication of Peter's action was that the Gentiles were not accepted fully as Christian brothers. More importantly, his actions called the absolute sufficiency of the gospel into question. This problem became an opportunity for all the apostles, including both Peter and Paul, to affirm the fact that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone. Paul shared his own personal testimony that reveals his secret to living by the truth of the gospel. That truth declares that we are not made righteous by zealously keeping the law, nor by practicing religious ritual. We are made Christian because we have accepted Jesus' death for our sins and Jesus’ resurrection our hope. Through a study of this passage may we challenge cultural patterns that run counter to the Gospel, in our own hearts. May we decide firmly to follow the Gospel, and not just social or religious habit or culture.
Part l: Paul Stood Up For The Truth (11-14)

In this part we find something that is very shocking to our senses, Paul rebuked Peter publicly. Look at verses 11, “When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.” Peter and Paul were both leaders in the early church. Both of them received God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ. They were men of God who had received the Holy Spirit. They received Jesus' calling as apostles and they influenced the early churches more than anyone else. The first half of the book of Acts records mainly what Peter did, and the second half what Paul did. However, when Paul was in Antioch he was a Bible teacher, a short term missionary, whereas Peter was a pillar of the church, a direct successor of Jesus. He was like the bishop of the church. Yet Paul rebuked Peter in public. We may be a little taken back by this….but then again maybe not. In America we seem to have no problem opposing anyone. Even a school boy can stand up and rebuke the President of the USA. The issue that Paul brought up seemed to be regarding some eating fellowship among them…a small matter is seems. But it really was not a small matter for it was regarding a fundamental issue of the Christian faith. Let's see how things went.

One day they were eating together as a church. Look at verses 12-13, “Before certain men came from James, he (Peter) used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.” Peter went to Antioch, where Paul was preaching the gospel and raising disciples among the Gentiles. Maybe he was repeating the favor of Paul’s earlier visit to Jerusalem. At first, Peter ate freely and openly with Paul and the Greek Gentile believers. It must have been a happy time, eating and praising God. Maybe there was some music and testimonials.

Eating fellowship is important to Jesus' people everywhere. It is during this time that we demonstrate acceptance and love. The Lord's Supper did not begin as a formalistic ceremony but as a fellowship meal to remember Jesus' death and confirm gospel faith together. Early Christians ate together with holy joy after worship service. It was a time when all people, both Jew and Gentile converts and seekers would gather together. DuPage UBF does this. They have a fellowship lunch after every Sunday service cooked by either Joy Kim or Sarah Bahn. (We serve fruit and cookies and soda pop.) Prior to eating, DuPage UBF, share one point that they learned from the Sunday service message. They are obviously keeping this early church tradition alive. I am looking forward to the upcoming Bible school at the end of August (25th to 28th). There will, not only be lots of Bible study, prayer and music, but lots of eating fellowship and even a Barbeque one day. Please make plans to come.

Peter knew that he should accept the Gentiles for God had showed him. In Acts 10, we find that the Lord had trained Peter through a vision of all kinds of clean and unclean animals to embrace the Gentiles, preach to them, and eat with them. Acts 10:9-16 reads, “About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat." 14"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." 15The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." 16This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.”
This dream was not easy for Peter to accept…nor was eating with the Gentiles. Peter was raised as a pious Jewish person. Eating with Gentiles went against the very fiber of his being. He had to overcome deeply held prejudices and accept them as his own brothers and sisters. He had to learn to like Gentile food, which he had never eaten before. (He had always tried to eat kosher food. Some of the ancient Gentile food may have revolted even us today.)

By the Lord's help, Peter overcame his legalistic prejudice and accepted Gentiles from his heart. Before the Judaizers appeared in Antioch, he could obey the truth of God and eat together with the Gentile believers with love and joy. This expressed his acceptance of them in a way that went beyond mere words. Here I remembered Dr. Samuel Lee (the co-founder of our UBF ministry) and the Korean missionaries. When he first came to America, he ate Korean food, every day in his home with gusto. One time he invited a young American man to his home to eat with him. The young man complained about something. Do you know what? He complained that the Korean food was smelly and tasteless. In regards to the smell, he probably was referring to kimchi. Dr. Lee did not get upset with the young man for not liking his food, but he prayed about this. He realized that to eat with American young people, in a joyful, meaningful way, he should learn to eat American food. He decided to like the most typical American food at that time, the McDonald’s Big Mac. He ate one Big Mac and drank one Coke for lunch every day for eight years. In this way he tried, in a very practical way, to demonstrate God’s acceptance of others in his eating habits. American young people loved it. How can you practice acceptance of others believers in regards to your eating habits? Would you eat unknown food in foreign lands, even insects, if Christians in that nation served it to you after church?

Peter was doing well in eating together with the Gentiles in Antioch. However, when men from Jerusalem arrived, representing James, Peter's attitude changed. Look at verses 12-13 again, “Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.” Peter drew back from the Gentiles and began to eat only with Jewish Christians. Paul says it was because Peter was afraid of the circumcision group. When Peter did this, even Barnabas was led astray to do the same thing. Though he didn't intend to, Peter's actions made Gentiles feel that they were not worthy to eat with the Jews--as though they were second-class members of the Christian fellowship. Our influence that we have on others is very important. We do not live in a vacuum. The life choices and the decisions we make concerning life and ministry affects others around us, especially other believers. Peter’s influence and his reaction to the Gentiles were very important. What did Paul do to counteract the influence of Peter’s choice?

Paul publically declared the truth. Look at verse 14. “When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, ‘You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?’” To some, it may have seemed like this whole “eating issue” was not an important matter. But to Paul it was very serious. If Paul ignored this matter, young Gentile coverts would be discouraged, feeling like they could never become full fledged members of the Christian church. The church could have departed from the true gospel. The extensive influence of Antioch would spread to the smaller, scattered house churches and lead them into confusion in how to express their faith. So Paul rebuked Peter in public. It was not easy for Paul to do this. However, it was an unavoidable action to protect gospel faith for the sake of future generations.
Part ll: Paul's Personal Testimony Of Gospel Faith (15-21).
Paul was not emotional in his rebuke of Peter, but truthful, respectful and gospel-centered. He supported his words with his personal testimony. Look at verse 15. “ We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ “ He reminded Peter of an inherent prejudice in the hearts of Jews toward Gentiles. The Jews considered the Gentiles "sinners." It was because they did not have the law and they did not care about the law. The Jews thought the Gentiles were like animals and would go out of their way to avoid them. However, Paul says, (we) "know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. …” (16a) He was speaking from experience. He knew that neither he, nor any other Jewish person, could keep the law. Their prejudice was actually groundless for all people are law breakers, even those who set out to keep the law meticulously. Therefore the Jews were sinners just as much as the Gentiles. Both were destined to die, face God's judgment, and be thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur if they died without knowing the Christ. The only way for both Jews and Gentiles to come to God was through the cross of Jesus.
Paul goes on to explain the “inner mechanics” of liberating Gospel faith. Look at verse 16, (we) “know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.“ Paul uses the word "justified." In origin, it was a legal term that means "not guilty." Paul uses the word "justified" in reference to God. God is the ultimate judge. He has the authority to justify a person. When God justifies a person, they are free from condemnation. In Hawthorne's classic, "The Scarlet Letter," a woman accused of adultery was condemned. She was cast out of church and her community. She was forbidden from talking with others and had to wear the letter "A" on her clothing when she went out in public. Like her, we were all condemned because of our sins. We were cut off from God, and suffered from guilt and shame. We were destined to die, face judgment, and go to eternal condemnation. Those under condemnation have no hope. Whether rich or poor, beautiful or plain, educated or not educated, elite or outcast, they have the same destination unless they receive God’s justification. To be justified by God is no small matter. It is a matter of eternal life rather than eternal death.
How can we be justified by God? Is it possible by observing the law? Is it possible by human effort? No! Absolutely not! Trying to become righteous through observing the law is like someone stuck in quicksand. Those who fall into quicksand sink more quickly as they struggle to escape. The only way to get out is to receive help from someone else. And that is what God did. While we were helpless, our merciful God provided a way out through Jesus Christ. Those who accept Christ are saved. God not only saves us from our desperate situation, he makes us his precious children. We can now call God "Father!" Our Father protects us, provides for us, disciplines us in love, and raises us in his image. Finally we will inherit God's kingdom. God gives this grace to anyone who trusts in Christ. God justifies sinners freely by his grace through faith in Christ alone. We can only thank God for his grace.
Here we can see the difference between how God sees people and how people tend to see themselves. People classify themselves according to human criteria, such as wealth, gender, social status, ethnicity, education, genealogy, nationality, and so on. They segregate themselves into classes. They are proud of their own class and despise others. However, God sees people differently. To God, all people are sinners who need the grace of forgiveness. There are rich sinners, smart sinners, hardworking sinners, talkative sinners, athletic sinners, educated sinners, handsome or beautiful sinners, and so on. Commonly, all are destined to die for their sins and face eternal condemnation. God shows no favoritism based on human distinctions.

The fact that we are all sinners complicates the matters. Let’s see why. God is holy. In order to be justified by the holy God, without God’s help, we need to meet all the requirements of the law. It is impossible for us to do this by ourselves. Only Jesus could do so. Jesus offered himself as the perfect sacrifice on our behalf. Jesus paid it all through his death on the cross. God provided the way to be justified only through faith in Jesus Christ. So that is why God recognizes only faith in Christ. God sees only two kinds of people: those who have faith in Christ and those who don't. Those who have faith in Christ are God's children and precious brothers and sisters. On this basis, they should love one another and have fellowship together. (especially eating fellowship served up by the church ladies..Hmmm.)

In verses 17-21, Paul shares a personal testimony to explain how he could live by the truth of the gospel. Verses 17-18 are not easy to grasp. Let’s read verse 17 together, “ 17 “If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! “ Simply speaking, Paul is refuting the criticism of the Judaizers towards true believers. They claimed that believing Christ alone for salvation was dangerous, for it fatally weakened a person's sense of moral responsibility. They assumed that people who believed in Jesus would use their freedom as a license to sin. In the book of Romans Paul recognizes and presents their argument by saying, "Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?" Because, ‘where sin increased, grace increased all the more’" (Ro 5:20). As we listen to other people's life testimonies, we find that those who sinned greatly in the past tend to share the most gracious testimonies. So people think, "Oh! I need to sin a lot in order to receive lots of grace from God." But shall we commit sin in order to increase grace? Some people may say "Yes." But Paul says, "Absolutely not!" In verse 18, Paul explains that if we do this we become transgressors. “If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker.”

In verses 19-20, Paul explained why we cannot go on sinning after believing in Jesus. “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” We can not go on sinning because Jesus changes us on the inside. We become a new creation. We die to the law, and the law cannot rule over us any longer. Instead we live for God. This is God’s grace to us.

We can learn the secret of Paul's success in living by the truth of the gospel. Look at verse 20 again. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." His success was not because of him and his own human willpower. It was not him, but Christ living in him. The same grace is available to us as well. When we accept Christ in faith, he comes into our hearts and unites himself with us. In a miracle of God's grace that is truly real though invisible, Christ's death becomes our death. Christ's burial becomes our burial. Christ's resurrection becomes our resurrection. Since we are united with Christ in this way, we no longer live, but Christ lives in us. Our old selves, that claimed the throne of our lives, have died. Christ now lives in us and has given us a new life. Christ is now the owner of our lives. He is the power source and the captain of our lives. While in the body, we live by faith in Christ, the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us. Romans 14:7-8 explains this well. It says, "For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord."

Verse 21 is the conclusion of Paul's testimony. It reads, “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” If someone thinks that they can gain their salvation by their own effort, or through some manmade religion or moral code or philosophy, they will nullify Christ's death and set aside the grace of God. If that is the case Jesus suffered and died for nothing and all of God’s redemptive work throughout the millennia was for nothing. But this is not the case. Christ’s death set us free! It is very effective!

Through a study of this passage we deeply understood that we are not made righteous by keeping the law, nor by practicing religious rituals. We are made Christian because we have accepted Jesus' death for our sins and Jesus’ resurrection as our only hope. We died with Christ when we repented of our sins, and we choose to die daily to ourselves and to this world. Jesus loves us so much, regardless if we are Jew or Gentile or a person from any other cultural background. When we know Jesus’ grace our desires are changed. We want to live by faith in Jesus and love and accept all those whom Jesus loves. Let us challenge cultural patterns that run counter to the gospel starting in our own hearts. Let us follow the gospel, and not just social or religious habit or culture May the power of the Gospel enable us to live by faith daily.

Part l: Paul Stood Up For The Truth (11-14)

1. A. How did the circumcision group influence Peter to change his behavior, and what impact did this have? (12–13) B. How and why did Paul rebuke him publicly? (14) C. In this case, what does it mean to “act in line with the truth of the gospel”? D. Why was it so important for Jewish Christians to have fellowship with Gentile Christians? (3:26–29)

2. A. Read verses 15–16. How does the gospel apply to both Jews and Gentiles, and what contrast does Paul make here? B. How do people generally understand the term “justified,” and how do they pursue it? C. What does it mean to be justified only by faith in Christ? (Acts 13:38–39; Rom 1:17; 3:24–25)

3. A. How did Paul dispel misunderstandings about those who trust only in the gospel? (17–18) B. Read verse 19. What did he mean when Paul said he died to the law? (Rom 7:4) C. For what purpose? (19b)

4. A. Read verse 20. What does it mean to be “crucified with Christ”? (Rom 6:3–4) B. How was Paul changed from a self-centered to a Christ-centered person? (1Tim 1:13–14; 2 Cor 5:17; Rom 4:7–8) C. How did Christ’s love enable him to live by faith? (20b) D. In light of this, why is it so important to know Jesus personally, not just theoretically?

5. A. Read verse 21. What two ways of living after receiving Christ does Paul contrast here? B. What consequence does Paul mention? C. Why is it important to continue to live by the grace of God?

6. A. How can we live only by faith in the grace of Jesus in our personal lives? B. How can we apply this to the way we relate to others in our field of ministry?

To Preserve the Truth of the Gospel

2011-08-15T05:46:00.001-07:00

TO PRESERVE THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL

Galatians 2:1–10 Lesson 2

Key Verse: 2:5 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 7-2011

“5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.”

In lesson 1 we learned the core of the gospel and the uniqueness of the gospel. There is no other gospel except the gospel of Christ. From the first, the ministry to non-Jews was controversial. Rigid Jewish Christians tried to make Paul push his Gentile converts to become Jews: (i.e., to be circumcised and accept Jewish laws and rituals, in order to be full-fledged Christians.) Paul went to Jerusalem and laid the gospel he preached before those who had been closest to Jesus. He wanted to hold on to the truth of the gospel and protect the freedom believers have in Christ. The apostles in Jerusalem did not add or subtract from Paul's message. They recognized that God was working through Paul to bring Gentiles to God, just as God worked through Peter to bring the gospel to the Jews. They did not like some of the ways of life of the gentiles, but they realized that God loved them, just as they are, and had sent Jesus to die for the sins of all people. In this lesson we will learn how to preserve the Gospel truth and not give in to the trends today that seem to force us to compromise the truth of God. We will learn Paul's uncompromising attitude and the nature of the gospel.

Part I: We Did Not Give In For A Moment (1-5)

As we studied last time, after his conversion, Paul went to Arabia for three years, most likely to study the Bible personally and deeply. Then he went to Jerusalem and met Peter and James briefly. Afterward he spent time in Syria--where Antioch was, and Cilicia--where his hometown Tarsus was. In 2:1-10 Paul tells of a second visit to Jerusalem fourteen years after his conversion. Scholars disagree about the nature of this visit. Some say it was to attend the Jerusalem Council (Ac 15). But the word "privately" (2) seems to preclude this. Moreover, the words "in response to a revelation" tell us that he was not summoned, but inspired by the Holy Spirit. Most likely this visit is the one mentioned in Acts 11:30 (12:25). While delivering a relief offering, Paul had a private audience with Jewish Christian leaders. We can learn several things about Paul’s faith and attitude. Let’s see.
First, Paul did not give in for a moment. Look at verses 1-2. “Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.” In these verses Paul tells the Galatians how God helped him resolve a similar and previous crisis in the Antioch church. The gospel had worked mightily in Antioch in the hearts of Greek Gentiles. They became genuine Christians. Then some fake Christians invaded the fellowship. Paul exposed their motive. Look at verse 4, “. 4 This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.” These fake Christians wanted to make Gentile Christians "slaves" of Jewish legalism, robbing their God-given freedom in Christ. They claimed the support of the Jerusalem church. So, young Gentile believers in Antioch were confused. They were wavering inwardly. Paul needed wisdom to help them. He must have prayed earnestly. Then he was inspired to visit Jerusalem. He brought Barnabas and Titus. He presented the gospel he preached to the Gentiles and put forth Titus as a fruit of his ministry. Look at Titus 1:4-5, “To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. 5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.” Titus was a genuine Greek…a Gentile. Yet he was a very sincere Christian and a leader of the Church. God was working powerfully through Titus. His changed life testified that the Gentile believers were being transformed into Christ's disciples apart from the help of Jewish legalism. Titus was the clear evidence. The Jerusalem leaders realized that Paul's message and ministry were the work of God and accepted Titus without compelling him to be circumcised. This set a precedent. In this way Paul defended the gospel and protected God's flock in Antioch.
However, it was not easy for Paul to stand on the Gospel truth. Look at verse 5. "We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you." There was severe pressure on Paul to not speak up and just give into the status quo. There were sharp disputes between Paul and the circumcision group. Paul was misunderstood. He must have been branded as rebellious and unorthodox. However, he did not give in for a moment.
Paul was not a stubborn and unyielding person. He was always ready to concede in cultural matters to win others over to Christ. We can see this in his dealing with Timothy. Timothy's mother was a Jewess, and his father a Greek. To Jewish thought, Timothy was a Jew. So Paul had him get circumcised. It was not for salvation, but to honor his true Jewish identity. Paul did not try to make Gentiles into Jews however, nor did he try to make Jews into Gentiles. Paul confessed in 1 Corinthians 9 that he became like the Jews to win the Jews, and like those not having the law to win them. Paul became all things to all people so that by all possible means he might save some (1 Cor 9:20-23). In regards to preserving gospel faith, Paul was uncompromising--a courageous fighter.
Here we can learn something here from Paul. Generally, we should concede in cultural matters. But in order to preserve the gospel and defend the faith of young Christians, we must not give into enemies of the gospel even for a moment. We must fight for the gospel truth as a matter of life and death. Last year Franklin Graham said, in regards to Muslims, "God loves them. I want them to know that they don't have to die in a car bomb, they don't have to die in some kind of holy war to be accepted by God. But it's through faith in Jesus Christ and Christ alone." As a result, the U.S. Army rescinded his invitation to speak at the national day of prayer. It was a painful rejection. But Mr. Graham did not waver in his stand for the gospel truth. He stood his ground. He was rejected by people, but accepted by God. Likewise, we must clearly and courageously stand on the gospel amidst spiritual forces that oppose the Gospel truth.
There are many “false gospels” that threaten to enslave our lives if we let them. All other religions, other than Biblical Christianity, threaten to impose on us, some set of rigid standards and laws that they claim as necessary to receive salvation and enter into some sort of relationship with God. There are philosophies of life that set out to capture our hearts and enslave us by its tenants and in doing so make us “slaves” of our sinful nature and drag us through life as if there were a ring in our nose. There are false Gospels, such as the “health and wealth” gospel, that says that people will be blessed by God even if they don’t pick up their own crosses and follow Jesus in their practical, daily lives. But we all know that with grace comes apostleship. With grace comes truth. With any love there is sacrifice.
Other “false” gospels burden us and hinder us from loving God and loving others. These false gospels may seem appealing at first. Why? They gratify our sense of self righteousness. They offer a way feel right before God using our human efforts. They offer a way for us to receive some sort of human glory and recognition. We feel that we are “growing” and getting somewhere with these false teachings. People who share any false Gospel experience some happiness in bring others over to their cause. They may even feel that they are doing a service to God and to humanity. But we must not let these false gospels infiltrate our hearts and our families and churches. Can you think of any other false gospels that are trying to enslave us today?
We must know that is only Jesus and what he accomplished on the mount of Calvary that gets us saved. This is the only good news of salvation! 1 Corinthians 15:4-5 reads, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” Repenting of our sins and believing the Gospel is totally enough to free our hearts from the power of sin and help to set us free to live by the truth and to live a life of love and service to God, loving God and loving others. The Gospel frees our hearts from condemnation and sets our hearts free with the love and the grace of Jesus.
We must never confuse spiritual and church discipline with a legalism. Sure we study the Bible a lot and promote daily prayer and other Christian activities. But participating in these has nothing to do with being saved and becoming a child of God. It all has to do with loving Jesus and getting to know Jesus better. It has to do with becoming a stronger Christian. We do not do it to be save or get more saved. We do it because we love Jesus and want to know him more.
Let’s face it. If we are going to stand our ground, in regards to the Gospel, we need to know what the Gospel has to say. According to a 2009 Barna study on religion,
“Bible reading has become the religious equivalent of sound-bite journalism. When people read from the Bible they typically open it, read a brief passage without much regard for the context, and consider the primary thought or feeling that the passage provided. If they are comfortable with it, they accept it; otherwise, they deem it interesting but irrelevant to their life, and move on. There is shockingly little growth evident in people’s understanding of the fundamental themes of the scriptures and amazingly little interest in deepening their knowledge and application of biblical principles.” We need to engage in regular spiritual disciplines like prayer and Bible study, not to get saved by legalistic activities, but to know what the Gospel actually is and what is says and then, by faith, stand our ground on the precious truth of God.
The kids must stand their ground in the Gospel. They are in an atmosphere were everything is expected to receive absolute acceptance. They are being taught that we should never discriminate, and we should not, but this attitude spills over into the spiritual realm in the hearts of Christian youth. For example people think that God has no requirements when it comes to entering heaven and dwelling eternity with Jesus. There is trend to think that as long as you are a sincere person and don’t hurt anyone, then that is enough. There is extreme pressure not to open our mouths and declare with boldness, that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and that no one can come to the Father except through Jesus. (Jn 14:6) To do so means that you might loose some friends. But remember Galatians 1:10, “ Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ” In standing your ground, and not giving in for a moment, you will become closer friends to God.
Part ll: Paul’s Call And Mission From God Confirmed (6-10)
Second, there is one gospel but different preachers and mission fields. Look at verses 6-10. The Jerusalem leaders added nothing to Paul's message. (6) They did not say, "Your message was okay, but you are missing this main point." Or, "This part is irrelevant and unnecessary." Instead, they said, "Amen! What a beautiful, truthful gospel message." They confirmed that the gospel Paul preached was the same gospel they preached. Paul's gospel message must have revealed his deep understanding of the Gentiles and how the gospel was given to them. The Jerusalem leaders concluded that it was precisely God's work in him. That is not all. Look at verse 7, “On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews.” They realized that God called Paul to preach to the Gentiles, just as he had called Peter to preach to the Jews. The same God was working in and through both of them. So they recognized Paul as being on par with Peter. They gave Paul the right hand of fellowship, publicly acknowledging him as God's servant with the true gospel message. They agreed to serve God in their respective mission fields as coworkers in the gospel. They made only one request of Paul--that he continue to remember the poor--the very thing he was eager to do. (10)
Here we see that there is one gospel, but different preachers and mission fields. While the gospel that Paul preached was essentially the same as that of Peter, John and James, each one's way of expressing the Gospel and their emphasis was different. We see this clearly, as we compare their written works in the Bible. Their conversions, mission callings, educational backgrounds, life experiences, and personalities were all different. These distinctive factors affected how they presented the gospel. But it was the same gospel.
The gospel can be expressed in different ways, while retaining its essential truth. The gospel may be compared to water in a jar. The jar can be small or large; it can be round, square or triangular. However the water inside the jar is still water. In the same way, the gospel is still the gospel, though it is preached by different people in different languages and nations.
When we hear mission reports from different nations, we find that the people of each nation are different. However, we also realize that the same God is working through the same gospel message in people of each nation. It is God who appoints and uses gospel workers in each mission field. So we are to regard as partners all whom God is using to preach the true gospel. We should accept them as brothers and sisters in Christ, embracing our diversity.

God has given us a unique mission field. Some of us have been called to serve campus students through one to one Bible study and discipleship. Most of us have come from student backgrounds. We have felt the suffering of typical students. We know from personal experience that they suffer, not from hunger and lack of shelter, but from meaninglessness of life, boredom, loneliness, issues of acceptance and lack of hope. These are the issues that drove me deeper and deeper into sin and father and farther away from Jesus. These are the issues that Jesus and his Gospel solved in my life. Through the Gospel, Jesus filled my heart with his love, grace and forgiveness. He healed me and showed me the way to eternal life and how to have a personal relationship with him. He showed me that he wants to love all students. He led me to this mission field, so that my changed life can be a source of hope and inspiration to other college students. I thank God for our mission field. We are surrounded by beautiful campuses, intellectuals and our nation’s future leaders. It is a challenging mission field. We must recognize and pray for other mission fields of servants of God, and devote ourselves to whom God has called us to serve.

They all co-worked together. Look at verses 9-10, “James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.” James, Peter and John were a team and Barnabas and Titus were a team. There were no lone wolves among them. They were unified. They were not just interested in their own business. They were interested in God’s work being done among them in their own respective mission fields. They were willing to be inconvenienced in order to travel together on a mission, a mission to preserve the Gospel among the churches. The work of God goes on though much faithful and committed co-working. We co-work together, not to be saved, but to become more effective Gospel workers, instruments through which Jesus can spread his life giving Gospel to a world in need.

In today’s lesson we learned that we must take a clear and absolute stand on the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must never waver in our faith, but stand firm and share the only Gospel that brings, life, forgiveness and the peace of God and eternal life. Thank Jesus for keeping us from becoming enslaved by false religions and false philosophies of life. Let us decided to stand firm and share the true Gospel with others. Let us dig deep into the Bible so that we know what the true Gospel is. You can not take a stand on something that you do not know it. Let us co-work with others as we take our stand with others believers around us. May the liberating and life giving true Gospel go forth across the NIU and Kish College and the people of DeKalb.

Part l: We Did Not Give In (1-5)

1. A. To what does “fourteen years later” refer? B. What motivated Paul to visit Jerusalem? (1–2,4) [Based on his use of the words “privately” and “in response to a revelation,” Paul’s trip to Jerusalem seems to be prior to his going to the Jerusalem Council, which was a public event and instigated by a sharp dispute and debate at Antioch with the circumcision group (Ac15:1–2).] C. Who was with him? D. In Paul’s mind, why was this matter so serious? (2b)

2. A. Who was Titus? (3b; Tit1:4–5) B. How did his presence with Paul in Jerusalem further validate the Gentile gospel ministry and set a precedent for all Gentile believers? C. Who were the “false brothers,” and what was their real motive in forcing Gentiles to be circumcised? (4)

Part ll: Paul’s Call And Mission From God Confirmed (5-10)

3. A. Read verse 5. How did Paul express his uncompromising spirit with the false brothers? (5a) B. Why did he oppose them so strongly? (5b) C. What is “the truth of the gospel”? (1Co15:3–4; Gal2:16)

4. A. What can we learn from Paul’s shepherd’s concern for Gentile believers? B. Why was preserving the truth of the gospel so crucial for the Galatians, and, for the history of Christian missions? C. How is the gospel truth being challenged in our time, and what can we do to preserve it? (5a)

5. A. How did the leaders in Jerusalem respond to Paul and his message? (6–9) B. How could they agree to part ways amicably and work for the gospel respectively? (8–10) C. How would the Jerusalem leaders’ acceptance help Paul in his Gentile ministry?

Galatians 1:1-24

2011-07-12T15:56:00.001-07:00

No Other Gospel But The Gospel Of Christ

Galatians 1:1–24 Lesson 1
Key Verses: 1:6–7 Delv’d by Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 7-10-11 (Adapted from Chicago UBF)

“ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.”

Galatians is a very liberating book. It has been called "the Magna Carte of Christian freedom." It first set the early Christians free from the legalism of Jewish religion. During the Reformation, Martin Luther's study of Galatians, together with Romans, brought a birth of freedom to the Christian church. Luther said, "Galatians is my letter. I married Galatians. It is my Catherine"(wife). Paul wrote Galatians to churches he had pioneered in person. He addresses a specific problem of legalism, perpetrated by a certain type of Jewish convert to the Christian faith, called "Judaizers." We will find out who they are later. The key word of Galatians is "freedom." Paul proclaims that the gospel gives freedom from both sin and legalism. Paul explains the nature of this freedom and how we are to use it. In our times, many people assume that freedom means doing whatever they want without any responsibility or consequence. This is not true freedom. In fact this leads to slavery of the soul. In Galatians we discover true freedom and how to truly enjoy it.

Paul will also emphasize the uniqueness of the gospel. We live in a multicultural society with people of many beliefs. We practice mutual respect as we try to coexist. It is important to respect others, for God made us all in his image. However, in the course of doing this, we must not fall into the error that all truth claims are equally valid. (For example all religions point to Jesus in one way or the other. But Jesus only points to himself. Not every one is correct.) The gospel is the unique truth of salvation from God. In our time, there is also a strong influence from "universalism." This is the error that all people will be saved, no matter what they believe, as long as they live with integrity and sincerity and don’t hurt anyone. However, Paul urges that what we believe really matters. Today Paul challenges us with a clear teaching on the uniqueness of the gospel. There is only one gospel, the gospel of Christ.

We will study this chapter in three parts: the core of the gospel (1-5), the uniqueness of the gospel (6-10), and the revelation of the gospel (11-24).

Part I: The Core Of The Gospel (1-5)

In verses 1-5, Paul introduces himself and greets the churches in Galatia. In doing so, he reminds them of the core of the gospel. Look at verse 1. "Paul, an apostle--sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead...." Paul identified himself as an apostle. It was a special claim to represent Jesus Christ and God the Father. This gave credibility and authority to his teaching. Paul emphasized that his apostleship came not from man, but from Jesus Christ. This was an unusual element of Paul's introduction which is not repeated in his other letters. Paul wrote this way in Galatians to counter the "Judaizers," who said that he was not an apostle, since he was not one of Jesus' original Twelve. They wanted to undermine Paul's authority and discredit his message so that Galatian Christians would abandon Paul and follow them.

However, Paul held firm to his identity as an apostle. It was no because he was one of the original 12 but on the basis of his own personal encounter with the Risen Christ. In the Book of Acts, while Paul traveled from Jerusalem to Damascus to persecute Christians, suddenly, a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Ac 9:4) It was the Risen Christ. The Risen Christ overpowered Paul with love, conquering his soul, changing him from an enemy to a follower. The Risen Christ called him to be an apostle and blessed his ministry to the Gentiles in every way. It was nothing but the work of God by the almighty power that raised Jesus from the dead. Paul may not have known the historical Jesus who lived in Galilee, but he knew the Risen Christ intimately and received his commission from Christ. On this basis, Paul claimed to be an apostle on par with the other apostles.

There is a special quality to Paul's apostleship. He had spiritual authority from the Risen Christ to preach and explain the gospel in a way that no one else could. Paul's special perspective greatly enriches our understanding of the gospel and its application to daily life. Paul's letters in the New Testament carry the weight of Scripture. Peter even attests to this in 2 Pe 3:15-16. No one can claim to share Paul's apostleship in regards to writing Scripture. No one can add their personal letter to the Bible claiming that it has the same authority as Scripture. However, in another respect, as believers, we can share Paul's claim to apostleship. In Romans 1:5, Paul said, "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." Anyone who receives Jesus as Savior has the same privilege and calling that Paul had, to preach the gospel to the people of their times. We don't need a seminary degree, only Christ's grace of salvation and his personal calling. With this conviction and faith we can preach the gospel boldly to any person.

In verse 3, Paul blesses the Galatian churches with grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The blessing of grace and peace from Jesus, is the gospel. When we examine verses 1-5 carefully, we find that Paul was eager to share the core of the gospel with the Galatians very eagerly, right from the very beginning of his letter. Let’s think a little more deeply what the Gospel is.

Jesus died to rescue us from our sins. Look at verses 4-5. "...who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." The Bible tells us that our real problem is a sin problem. Sin is like an invisible cancer of the soul that affects every human being. It cuts people off from God, the source of life, and eats away at the goodness of God in us. Though one sin may seem like an insignificant act, it enslaves a soul permanently. For example, to look at pornography just one time, to take dangerous drugs just one time, to betray a trust just one time, to steal one small thing, and the like can lead to a lifetime bondage that brings utter ruin. Unforgiven sin finally brings death and eternal punishment in hell. This is the destiny of all people without Jesus, for the Bible says, "...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Ro 3:23). Though people suffer greatly from sin, there is no way to solve the sin problem outside of Jesus. Psychology cannot solve it; neither can money, technology, reason, education, willpower, or medication. We are totally helpless to solve our sin problem.

Yet, while we were helpless, Jesus Christ came to rescue us. Jesus came down from heaven and lived among us as a man. By experience, he came to understand us fully and deeply. Then Jesus went to the cross and died, shedding his blood. Christ's death paid the full price of the sins of all mankind. Then God raised him from the dead. In this way, Christ purchased our forgiveness of sins and reconciled us with God. Now we can call God "Father," as Paul repeats in verses 1,3,4. Jesus did this to obey God's will. God willingly sacrificed his One and Only Son, Jesus because he loves sinners. Thank you, Father God for sending Jesus to save us! Thank you, Jesus Christ, for forgiving all our sins through your death on the cross!

The gospel is not a man-made story. It has been accomplished according to the will of God. It is God's story. So we find the core of the gospel flowing through the Bible from the beginning to the end. Right after Adam's fall, God promised to send an offspring of woman who would crush the head of Satan (Gen 3:15). God promised Abraham that through his offspring all nations on earth would be blessed (Gen 12:3). God promised David to raise up from his offspring an eternal king who would reign on the throne of an eternal kingdom (2 Sam 7:13-16). Christ fulfilled all of these promises (Gal 3:8; Lk 1:32). Isaiah foretold that Christ would be pierced for our transgressions and wounded for our healing (Isa 53:5). John the Baptist said of Jesus, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn 1:29). Jesus repeatedly foretold his suffering, death and resurrection (Mk 8:31; 9:12; 9:31; 10:33-34) for the salvation of mankind. Peter and John proclaimed the forgiveness of sins through the death of Christ and eternal life through his resurrection (Ac 2:38; Jn 3:16 et al.). The gospel may have been stated most clearly by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3b,4. It says, "...that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...." This is the core of the gospel. By this gospel we are saved, when we hold firmly to its truth.

Part II: The Uniqueness Of The Gospel (6-10)

In most of his letters, Paul thanks God for working in his audience and offers words of appreciation for them. Even in writing to the problem-filled Corinthian church he thanks God for working among them and admits that they are a very gifted community (1 Cor 1:4-7). But he does not do this with the Galatians. Instead, right after greeting them he begins to rebuke them. Let's read verses 6-7. "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ." Paul uses strong language to awaken a sense of problem in the Galatians. He says they have deserted God; they have turned to a different gospel; they allowed themselves to be confused by those who have perverted the gospel. To understand the seriousness of their condition, we need to compare "the gospel of Christ" that Paul preached with "a different gospel" that the Judaizers preached.

Paul had preached the gospel of Christ to the Galatian believers on his first mission journey. The Book of Acts tells us how the Holy Spirit led Paul and Barnabas to Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe (Ac 13-14). While the context of his message differed from place to place, the essence of Paul's message was that Christ died for our sins and God raised him from the dead. Whoever believes in Christ receives forgiveness of sins and is justified by God (Ac 13:26-41). Many Gentiles accepted this message and received eternal life through Christ. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in each church, committed them to the Lord, and returned to Syrian Antioch.

In Paul's absence, some people, called "Judaizers," came into the churches in Galatia. The Judaizers did not deny Christ; they claimed to believe in Christ. But they added something to the gospel. They taught new Gentile believers that faith in Christ was not enough. They said that unless the Gentiles were circumcised, and obeyed Moses' law, they would not be saved (Ac 15:1). This is what Paul calls "another gospel." The Judaizers added an element of human work to the work of Christ as a matter of salvation. At first glance this may not seem to be a serious matter. To Paul, it was so serious that he called it "perverting the gospel." We must learn from their mistake.

Here we must realize that salvation comes totally from what Christ has done for us, not from anything we have done. All we do is believe in Christ. There is nothing we can add to the work of Christ. So we cannot claim any credit for our salvation. In doing so, all glory belongs to Christ, and to God the Father who sent him. However, in our times, there are people who claim we must add something to the gospel. Some say that unless one is baptized in their church, that person is not saved. Others claim that some kind of specific spiritual experiences must accompany salvation or you are not truly a child of God. They are all adding to the gospel. We can also add to the gospel by taking pride in ourselves or our works. Some think they will be accepted by God and go to heaven because they donate money to charity, volunteer at homeless shelters, pray at set times of the day, skip meals, make pilgrimages to holy sites, or spare the lives of insects. Some think they will merit heaven by being tolerant and supportive of others without discernment of good and evil. A popular music video called "Firework," (by Katy Perry) proposes the image that anyone can be a spark that inspires others by just being themselves, overcoming inhibitions. This is a kind of “other gospel” that emphasizes the authenticity of being as the way of salvation. The problem is that this message ignores the problem of sin and the need to be cleansed by Jesus.

We should remember that we are forgiven sinners, nothing but forgiven sinners, helpless to save ourselves. Yet God, in his great mercy, saved us through Christ by his grace. We are not saved because of anything we do. We are not saved because we write weekly Bible testimonies, meditate on Daily Bread everyday, deliver Gospel messages, teach the Bible frequently and well, evangelize others, go out as missionaries, or endure discipleship training for 30 years. These can be very helpful to our spiritual lives, but they do not merit our salvation. We are not saved because we have a title or position in the church, such as pastor, elder, missionary, fellowship leader, or prayer servant. We are saved by Christ alone, through faith alone, by grace alone, for the glory of God alone. When we receive the gospel of God's grace it makes us thankful; it makes us humble; it fills us with love and inspires us to love God because he first loved us. But when we add any human effort to the gospel of Christ it makes us proud, self-righteous and ungrateful.

The temptation to magnify human merit along with Christ is very strong. It is also very deceptive. While sounding good, it leads people away from the gospel of Christ. When sinners glorify their polluted works God is greatly offended, (perhaps more than he is by drug addiction or sexual immorality. Why? Because our polluted works muddy the waters so that people can not see Jesus.) We need to clearly discern this tendency and to regard it for the wickedness that it is. In verses 8-9 Paul gives a strong warning. He says that no one can change the gospel of Christ, not Paul, not an angel from heaven, not anyone. Anyone who tries to change the gospel of Christ will be cursed by God--- which means, eternally condemned.

In verse 10, Paul revealed his motive in preaching the gospel so clearly. It was to please God. Paul rebuked sin in people, magnified the grace of Christ and the mercy and love of God, and challenged people to repent and believe. This did not please people. In fact, it sometimes made people angry. However, this gave glory to God. When God was glorified, Paul was satisfied. Paul knew that salvation comes only from God, only through the gospel of Christ. So he preached it clearly, regardless of then human response. In this part we mainly learn that the gospel is God's unique message of salvation for sinful men. It is the only way God has provided for people to be saved. We must hold on to the gospel of Christ alone, regardless of other ideas that are circulating and regardless of people's response to the gospel. We must also teach and influence others to do the same.

Part III: The Revelation Of The Gospel (11-24)

In this part, Paul tells us why the gospel he preached is true and how he received it. He stated to help the Galatians come back to the true gospel. Look at verses 11-12. "I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ." Here Paul clearly explains why the gospel of Christ is unique. It is because it came from God, not people. Paul received the gospel which came from God by the direct revelation of Christ. Paul did not formulate a theory from his Jewish education. He was not taught it by some guru. It was revealed to him directly by Jesus Christ. Christ revealed what Paul could never have figured out by himself. Paul simply received the revelation and passed it on. Since the gospel Paul preached was nothing but Christ's revelation, it was the true gospel. Who is God who give such a revelation to anyone? God is the Creator and we are his creatures. God is holy and we are fallen sinners. God is perfect and we are full of mistakes. God is eternal and the source of all wisdom and we are but a mist that appears for a while then vanishes. So we must respect God's words more than our human ideas.

In verses 13-17, Paul shares his personal testimony. He was once a zealous Pharisee who was crazy for Moses' law. He was just like the Judaizers. He wanted to destroy the church of God, thinking it was a dangerous cult. It was beyond imagination that he would be a gospel preacher. However, God called him by grace and revealed his Son in Paul. Paul became the most prominent gospel preacher. Only God could do this. After meeting Christ, Paul did not seek human confirmation of the gospel or of his calling. Rather, he went to Arabia and stayed there for three years. He must have spent time in prayer and deep Bible study to harmonize his overwhelming experience of Christ with the Scriptures. He came to know the gospel by Christ's revelation, without help from the other apostles. He stood purely on faith in Christ's revelation to him. This emphasizes that his authority to preach came directly from Christ, not through the other apostles or the Jerusalem Church.

In verses 18-24 Paul clarifies his relationship with the other apostles and the Judean believers. Paul had visited Jerusalem. He met Peter and stayed with him for fifteen days. He also met James, the Lord's brother. Paul had fellowship with them, but he was not taught by them. Paul met them as a coworker in the gospel, not as their student. Later Paul went to Syria and Cilicia. The churches of Judea remembered Paul as an enemy of the gospel before he met Christ. But they heard that the man who formerly persecuted them was now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy. They realized that only Christ could bring about such a change. So they praised God for his work in Paul. This was further evidence that Paul had been changed by Christ and called by Christ. Paul wanted the Galatians to recognize Christ's work in him and to come back to the gospel.

In this study we have mainly learned the core of the gospel and the uniqueness of the gospel. Christ died for our sins and rose again from the dead. When we believe this we are saved, solely by what Christ has done for us. We can add nothing to Christ's work. We must not add anything to Christ’s work. We only humbly accept what he has done for us by faith. This gospel came from God and is the only way of salvation that God has provided. There is no other gospel. We must hold to the gospel of Christ alone and help others to do the same. Let's pray to do so for the remainder of the summer and into the fall semester.

2 Timothy 3:1-16

2011-07-12T15:54:00.000-07:00

Terrible Times and the Scripture
2 Timothy 3:1-16 An Adaption of a message delivered by David Kim of Yonsie UBF
Key verse: 16-17, Adaption done by Kevin Jesmer of NIU UBF 6-26-11
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
The following is an adaption of a message delivered by David Kim, the pastor of Yonsie University in Seoul Korea. He delivered his message at the closing of the UBF 50th Anniversary celebration. This is not exactly the message. There have been some changes, but it is essentially his message. I pray that you may leave here today with the same spirit and vision that our shepherds and missionaries in Korea carried away when they attended the 50th anniversary celebration live in Seoul Korea. And so here it is….
I give thanks and glory to God who called us out of darkness, appointed all Christians as a royal priesthood in our generation. I thank God for using us greatly for campus evangelism and the campus discipleship ministry. I thank God for helping us to participate in world mission through sending out self-supporting, lay missionaries for the last 50 years. I thank and praise God who helps us to look back on the spirit and the ministry of God among us for the last 50 years and who gives us clear spiritual direction and vision for the future. I earnestly pray that we may hold firmly to the spiritual direction and vision that is given to us by the Holy Spirit and carry out our mission faithfully as a kingdom of priests, until we can send out 100,000 missionaries to 233 countries in the whole world including 140 countries that UBF has not yet sent out missionaries to.
The book of 2 Timothy is a letter that Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy who was in charge of the church in Ephesus when Paul was in the prison right before being martyred. At that time there were conflicts and arguments inside the church because of the teachings of false teachers. Moreover, worldly corruption began to sweep into the church. The foundation of the truth began to be swayed and some people began to lose their faith (2 Tim 2:18). Paul prayed and wrote this letter for Timothy who served the Ephesus church in this terrible time. Let’s learn some of the things that Paul set out to encourage young Timothy with.
Part l: There Will Be Terrible Times In The Last Days (1-13)
Paul did not look at the world with rose colored glasses. He saw it the way is. Look at verse 1. "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days." Paul tells Timothy to mark this. This means to take special note of and don’t forget it. In other words, “Remind yourself of it.” He also said, “…there will be terrible times in the last days”. Apostle Paul was very cognizant of the spiritual reality. He looked ahead into the future and reminded Timothy of the danger that the churches were submerged in and the hard times ahead. He had in mind the church in his age as well as the church in the future. Timothy had to be alert and constantly pay attention, because when spiritual leaders are negligent or ignorant of the present and future dangers that churches are falling into, churches will be in great danger. So let’s open our own spiritual eyes, in this, our own generation, and see what is happening to the church and respond accordingly.
Paul includes a description of the times that he is referring to. Look at verse 2-5a , "People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power…” Some may say that every generation is marked with these characteristics. Indeed there are terrible times in every generation. But there is a root cause of every terrible time. They stem from loving ourselves too much. Lovers of themselves cannot love God and their neighbors. Fights and arguments inside churches and in communities start from loving ourselves. Terrible symptom will occur among those who love themselves. Personal pleasure becomes the prime focus of people. Look at verse 5a, “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power…” Loving pleasure rather than God means indulging in forbidden pleasure. People who love pleasure more than God are hedonistic. Indulging in pleasure without control darkens people’s souls, ruins their moral and spiritual consciences and brings destruction upon their lives and the societies in which they live. A pleasure seeking society is one of the factors that brought down the Roman Empire. It may be one of the factors that his contributing to the decline of the American empire. A pleasure seeking hearts become corrupt and are against the truth. They don’t like the good. Even though they are alive biologically, they are actually dead, spiritually. When it comes to the last days, there will be more people like them and they will make their generation terrible.
But these kinds of people are not only in the world. Look at verse 5a again, “…having a form of godliness but denying its power” This means that these kinds of people are also inside the church. The fact that they have a form of godliness means they may look like people of faith and spiritual leaders outwardly. But the fact that they deny the power of godliness means that they have no spiritual power and no inward strength to follow and obey the truth and the faith that they confess with their mouth.
Paul strongly urges Timothy deal with such people decisively. Look at verse 5a again. “…have nothing to do with them”. He means not to emulate them or have a relation with them. (Of course they should pray for them and study the Bible with them, if they will allow you to do that.) Some of these people, who deny the power of the gospel, gain control over weak-willed women who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires and teach them in their own way…their own false gospel, like the Judiazers or Gnostics etc. But these women are always learning something, but never acknowledge the truth. (There are people like this.) Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. They are not the ones who serve God with sincere gospel faith, but they are those who live hypocritical and superficial lives before people, drawing people to themselves with their false teaching. Their folly will be clear to everyone, especially to God. Paul clearly warns Timothy to turn away from them, that is don’t learn from them or include them in the leadership of your church.
Part II: Continue In What You Have Learned And Have Become Convinced Of (10-17)
Paul presents the example of himself that Timothy should imitate and follow. Look at verse 10-11. “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings-what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.” To have a good example, in terrible times, is very important. Timothy needed a good example to follow since he was living in the godless world full of false teachers. Once Paul said, “Follow me as I follow the example of Christ.” ( 1 Cor 11:1) In reviewing Paul’s life, it is important to see why he was such a good example. Paul preached only the gospel while the false teachers testified falsely against Jesus. Paul lived a godly life as he preached. His life purpose was to glorify God. He had faith that Jesus’ death for our sins and his resurrection was enough. He loved weak people with patience and was willing to be persecuted and suffer for Jesus’ name’s sake. Once he was persecuted, almost to death, in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. But God rescued him from all of them.
Through his own personal experience, Paul was certain about a particular fact. Look at verse 12. “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Those who live for themselves and love pleasure more than God have only a form of godliness. They are undifferentiated from the world and thus they don’t receive persecutions. However those who want to live a godly life in Christ are different. They don’t compromise with the world. They are growing to be like Jesus. They are not surprised when persecutions come their way. In fact they are ready for them. What if we only hold onto a powerless form of godliness, avoiding sufferings and persecutions for Jesus’ name’s sake? Look at verse 13 “While evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” If we live like a hypocrite, we will not be able to flee from hypocrisy and corruption. We will go from bad to worse..
Paul gives Timothy some clear direction in regards to these matters. Look at verse 14 “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it.” Timothy was convinced of what he learned from Paul and he led the church and the flock of God standing firmly on this truth. It was not easy for Timothy to be a leader of the church. The world was full of sins, so much so, that the sins attacked God’s churches. Those who were infected with the sins were losing the power of godliness even though they had a form of godliness. Some of them wandered away from the truth. (2 Tim 2:18) The churches began to follow the trends of the world. People loved physical pleasures and sought new things that led them away from the truth. It got more difficult to lead God’s churches and ministry. Timothy didn’t know how to deal with these new situations and how to serve the new generation who were different from people in the past. Should he join the popular trends of the day or stick with what he learned and was convinced of? Should he understand the new generation and their circumstances looking for the new ways to serve it? His heart must have been troubled.
What did Paul say to Timothy to bring clarity? Look at verse 14a, “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of”. Why did Paul say this? Look at verse 14b “…because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures”. What Paul learned and became convinced of is not human thoughts or ideas. It was the truth of God. Because Timothy followed Christ, he too learned many things from God himself. That is why Paul says, “Continue what you have learned and have become convinced of”. This is the best word and the best spiritual direction for young Timothy who was in trouble when serving the new generation.
God has a similar message to us. We are living in a world that is changing rapidly. The circumstances where we live are totally different from those in 1960’s when UBF was founded and in 1970’s and 80’s when campus ministry flourished. We encounter difficulties and limits in serving this new generation, who tend to follow the popular trends of life, even if they are infected with sins and follow the mainstream of secular society. For this reason many began to wonder if we should look for alternatives and changes, different from what we had in the past. If there are better ways and alternatives to serve this generation, we should try to find them. From 1990’s we have made every effort to find better ways and alternatives to serve the rapidly changing generation. New programs were sought out. Some UBF chapters gave up raising disciples through one-to-one bible study and shepherding because it was so difficult. Other chapters tried to live a religious life without implementing the spiritual discipline of sharing daily bread and writing Bible testimonies. There were also some chapters that tried to attract the attention of the young through praise and worship rather than focusing on profound Bible studying and deep testimony writing training. However, they have not shown their methods to be able to bear good fruit. In the last 50 years of ministry, we have not found other ways or alternatives better than one-to-one bible study, daily bread devotionals, writing testimonies, fostering a life giving spirit that offers God our five loaves and two fishes, having a pioneering spirit, a community spirit, and a self-supporting spirit. These are the characteristics that we have had from the beginning of UBF history. These have shown to bear fruit that lasts.
We learned and have became convinced of the fact that the spirit and ministry that worked among us for the past 50 years was not a typical UBF spirit or UBF ideas, but it was from the eternal truth of God’s words. Therefore we should continue in the truth that we learned and stand firmly on it. We should repent of becoming spiritually weakened by the world. And we should stand firm on the truth that God has revealed to us all the more. When we continue to stand firm on the truth of the Bible, without being swayed by this changing generation, what great hope and blessing will be given to us through the Gospel! Let’s think a little about the blessings that will be poured out on us when we hold onto the Bible’s teachings.
First, the Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation. Look at verse 15 “and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Wow! Wisdom for salvation! All people want to be wise for salvation. Even though a person gains the whole world, he would still be the poorest and the most pitiful person if he is not saved from his sins. Although we are lacking in possessions our missionaries and shepherds, are the happiest and most blessed because we are saved through faith in Christ Jesus. Where did we get the wisdom leading us to salvation? Did we get it from a lot of books or human knowledge? Or from enjoying romantic love or marriage? Or from money and success? None of these things could save our souls from spiritual poverty, fatalism, a sense of inferiority, meaninglessness and emptiness of life. But when we studied the Bible and believed the word of God in the Bible with humble minds, we received wisdom for salvation. I thank and praise God who has done great work of salvation among us only through the Holy Scriptures for the last 50 years.
Second, the Scriptures educate a servant of God so that they can be fully mature. Look at verses 16, 17. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” All Scripture is God-breathed. 2 Peter 1:21 says, “men spoke (prophecy) from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”. How great is the word of God in the Bible. These words are “God-breathed”! Because all Scripture is God-breathed, it is good for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. Theodore Roosevelt once said, "A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education."
There are so many educational institutions and teachers and books in this world. But what is truly useful for teaching us? Look at verse 16, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” Teaching without the “heart-moving” spirit of God but only makes our mind complicated and our heads big. That kind of teaching is not good for changing our inner hearts and lives, nor for making us mature. In fact it can be harmful for our souls rather than useful. The problem that we confront is that there is a flood of knowledge so that our heads become bigger and bigger until they are about to burst but our hearts become smaller and smaller and our love and passion for God becomes cold. But because all Scriptures are God-breathed, His breath opens our narrow minds, fills our hearts with love and passion for God and enables us to love our brothers and neighbors. This is the whole point of Bible study.
All Scripture makes the inner heart and character of a Christian mature and enables them to do every good work. It means that it changes one person completely into one who is fully prepared to do every good work. What a great encouraging word this is to us! When we truly love the Scriptures and devote ourselves to being educated by the Scriptures, we will be mature and thoroughly equipped for every good work, and that includes all good works, not just preaching and teaching.
The Scripture moves hearts with the Spirit of God because it is God-breathed. Look at verses 16 and 17. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” When God moves one person’s heart, even an ordinary person begins to become fully equipped and great. When God works by moving people’s hearts, people who could not do even one good thing well begin to be thoroughly equipped for every great and good work. When God worked by moving the hearts of our missionaries, they left their homes, extended family, good jobs and future security on this earth and went to Africa, CIS, middle east, India, China, South America, Australia, Europe and North America. And they have been dedicating themselves to serving campus discipleship and world mission sacrificially so far while supporting themselves. When God worked by moving people’s hearts, so many native Bible students repented and were raised up as shepherds and Bible teachers for their own people. When God moved their hearts, great works of God began. These native Bible students went to others countries as self-supporting missionaries and now serve the campus discipleship ministry and world mission.
The Scripture brings the breath of God because it is written by the breath of God. People’s hearts become hardened because of sins and because they love themselves and pleasures more than God. We cannot minister to such people in this generation by depending on our own strength, wisdom and power. But when God works, by moving their hearts, their hearts will be melted and changed and they will be raised up as a holy nation and a royal priesthood.
When we look back on U.B.F. history for the last 50 years, the amazing and great work of pioneering all the campuses in Korea and the sending out of self-supporting missionaries to over 87 countries has been done only by God who moved people’s hearts. Could we send even one person to Africa, CIS and India as a missionary? Could we enable missionary Peter Kim and Sarah Kim to decide not to leave Kiev but to stay there as martyrs when the fear of Chernobyl’s radioactivity spread through all of Europe? This happened only when God moved their hearts. When God works, a great work happens beyond human imagination. We confront many obstacles and difficulties in our ministries in this terrible time. Sometimes a sense of despair and frustration creeps into our hearts. But when we look back on the U.B.F. history for the last 50 years, we learn that the great and amazing work of God was done not because the spiritual environment and condition was good or by depending on our own strength or power. It was done only when the Almighty God, the sovereign Lord who has all power and authority in heaven and on earth, worked by moving sinners’ heart through the word of God.
When Late Dr. Samuel Lee started pioneering Seoul National University, he studied the Bible and meditated on the word of God and wrote Daily Bread wholeheartedly every morning until noon for 6 years. Then God anointed him with the Holy Spirit that enabled to bring the fire of God and the breath of God to SNU students. Then, messages and announcements of Dr. Samuel Lee moved SNU students` hearts. Great works of God were ignited. Young students in SNU, moved by God, dedicated their time, money and youth to God. They regarded being called to be shepherds and missionaries as the greatest honor. They became full time shepherds by leaving everything behind and were willing to establish a missionary family with anyone and were ready to go at anytime as missionaries. God did truly great and unsearchable works, beyond our human ideas and reasonings. He did it by moving their hearts.
The hope of this generation of Christians is not in having a better spiritual environment on the campus. It is not found when each one of us has all kinds of knowledge and information. The hope of this generation is found when each one of us becomes moved by God and become servants of God who can bring the word of God to the young people of their generation. When each one of us is full of the word of God and becomes a servant of God who can bring the word of God to others, God will use us greatly whatever our situation. God will use us as great pioneers, great disciple-makers and great servants of God who can send in turn can raise disciples and send out great missionaries.
In order to do this we need to go back to the Bible, which is God-breathed. We have to love the Bible wholeheartedly. We need to give our whole hearts to study the Bible and meditate on the word of God. We need to do our best to be professionals in the Bible. The word of God says, “ But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 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.” Psalms 1:2,3 When we delight the law of the LORD and meditate on it day and night, we will not be withered. We will be like a tree planted and flourishing by streams of water even in the dry and terrible times of last days. We will bear much fruit in season. I earnestly pray that we may give our whole hearts to love the word of God so that we can be filled with the word of God, as our lungs are filled with breath. May we become servants of God who can share the word of God that moves hearts. May we be able to serve the great and heart-moving work of God in our own mission fields. May God move students’ hearts so that they can go out bringing the gospel to the 140 countries that do not yet have a UBF ministry. I pray that God may send out 100,000 missionaries to 233 countries by the year 2041 because of the heart-moving work of God.
Let’s read our key verse together, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16,17)

1 Peter 2:9-10

2011-07-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

YOU ARE A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD
1 Peter 2:9-10 Pastor Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 6-12-11

Key verse 2:9 Inspired by and adapted from a message delivered by Dr John Jun at the recent
UBF 50th Anniversary in Seoul Korea, 5-29-11
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
The following was inspired by and is an adaption of a message delivered by Dr John Jun in Seoul Korea at the recent 50th anniversary celebration. It was been modified and adapted to our situation, but essentially I have kept the essence of his message. We could not go to the 50th anniversary celebration, for it would cost too much, but I think it is very important that we review the messages and even the life testimonies, (at our World Mission Night) in order to get catch the spirit of this historical conference. We can catch the vision and the hope that God wants our ministry to have. Last week we studied Mother Sarah Barry’s message concerning Matthew 24, The Signs Of The End Of The Age. This week we are going to learn about our calling and our identity as Christians in this world, from 1 Peter 2:9. Our identity, in a nutshell, is that we are a people chosen by God to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. So let’s sit back and listen to message and renew our identity in the Lord.
About 120 years ago, God spread the gospel across Korea through Western missionaries such as Dr. Underwood. When this country was under Japanese occupation, God used the Pyeong Yang spiritual revival to preach the gospel to every corner of the nation of Korea. We give thanks to God that he established UBF in 1961, and for the last 50 years, sent around 2,000 missionaries out to 93 countries for world campus evangelism.
Today's passage is a letter for the Christians who were scattered in Asia Minor due to the persecution of the Roman Emperor, Nero (AD 54-68). They were treated as criminals, despised, hiding like wanderers under the public order of arrest. They probably wondered who they were in this world and what was their role in the midst of all their hardships. Were they there only to survive, or was their a greater purpose for them in God? We can learn so much from Peter’s encouraging words to them. According to today’s passage, let us ask ourselves, what is our spiritual identity in this world? What is God doing and what is our mission?
Part l: We Have Been Chosen By God To Be Citizens Of His Kingdom (9a,c)
What did Peter say the spiritual identity of the believers, who were scattered like wanderers, was? Look at verse 9a, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God …” The Apostle Peter clearly talked about the spiritual identity and privilege of these believers living in pathetic circumstances. Humanly, they were despised wanderers, considered low class people by the rest of Roman society, scattered in remote foreign countries. Yet, spiritually, they were a chosen people, a holy nation, a people belonging to God chosen to share the blessings of the gospel with the whole world.
Let’s think more about their spiritual identity. First, they are a chosen people, a people belonging to God (9a, b). Isaiah 43:20-21 reads, “The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, 21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.” God chose the Israelites as his own people in the time of the Old Testament. They were God’s people…citizens of God chosen nation. They prided themselves in this fact for centuries. But in the time of the Apostle Peter, Israel was a Roman colony. They lost their identity as the Israelite nation. Some may have wanted to become Roman citizens. But it was very difficult for the Israelites, a people of a Roman colony, to receive Roman citizenship. Unless they paid a huge amount of money, or achieved distinguished services for the Empire, to secure a Roman citizenship was practically impossible (Ac 22:28).
But attaining Roman citizenship was not on the agenda for the new believers. Any of them could receive citizenship in the only real kingdom that counted, the kingdom of God. For you see, in the time of the New Testament, we have become the people of God, citizens of the Kingdom of God, through redemption by the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. It comes through faith in Jesus.
We have also become citizens of the Kingdom of God through the gracious calling of our Savior Jesus. Ephesians 2:18-19, reads, “For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household,” God declares that we are a people of God, exclusively chosen by him. This is God’s grace. Therefore, we must be sure of his calling, made possible by the blood of Jesus and determine to live as a people of God.
These days, for many people who live in third world counties, or under oppressive dictatorships, their biggest dream is to escape their country to go to America and receive U.S. citizenship. Yet how much more glorious it is to become God's people and citizens of God’s kingdom more than U.S. citizens! We Christians are the citizens in the kingdom of God. This is the best citizenship to obtain. We must have confidence in our heavenly citizenship and value it each day and live in this world as those who are called to be the people of God.
Part ll: Our Spiritual Identity, A Holy Nation (9c, Ex 19:6b)
What is the character of the spiritual nation that we are part of? Look at verse 9c. "But you are... a holy nation". In this world each nation has its own nature, unique culture, and national philosophy. God's nation also has its own nature and character also. American’s character is patriotic, honest and hard working, and believing that nothing is impossible if we put our minds to it. Korean people’s unique character is diligence, hardworking, and quickness. God’s holy nation also has its own character. In Exodus 19:5-6a God said "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." As we can see from these verses the characteristic of the people in the kingdom of God is holiness and purity. This characteristic is common to all the believers even though they are scattered around the world. It should be the atmosphere that permeates every Christian’s heart, family, church and fellowship. In order to make such a pure and holy character, God's people have been cleansed of their sins by the blood of Jesus. They are enabled to, and must live holy and pure lives, unlike the secular people in the world. This is accomplished by the power of God. Some believers, being tempted by sin, fail to live holy lives and end up being harassed in their hearts and criticized by the people of this world as being hypocrites. Some heavenly citizens live in shame, just as secular people, rather than live in the power and victory that citizens of God’s holy nation should. Most spiritual leaders deplore this compromised lifestyle, lived by some believers, but in most cases they do not know how to effectively tackle the problem. Let us pray that we may be consecrated to Jesus, holy and pure, different from the world. Let us pray to live as a holy nation people.
Part lll: Our Spiritual Identity, A Royal Priesthood (9b)
What does the Lord say is another aspect of our spiritual identity in God? Look at verse 9b. "But you are … a royal priesthood." This verse tells us that our identity is like the identity of a king and a priest, and that is why Peter says, “a royal priesthood”. This is like Melchizedek, the king of Salem (Ge 14:18). Melchizedek was a king and a priest. He is a shadow of Jesus, who is our King of kings and also our faithful High Priest. Through spiritual union with Christ, believers reign over the whole world with Jesus and, at the same time, serve God as priests like Christ (Rev 5:10).
What does the Lord say our spiritual identity is again? Look at verse 9b again. "But you are …. a royal priesthood." In this verse the verb ‘are' is in the present tense. This means we are a chosen people, not later in time after the Tribulation, but right now and we will continue to be so. We are called to be a royal priesthood now. Even though we are sinners and some may even be despised people in this world, from God's point of view, we are all a royal priesthood. Even though we may be rejected or scattered like the early Christians, God appointed us as a royal priests. Do you accept and believe that you are a royal priest of God? This is God’s grace. We must hold onto this identity and live with this identity in our hearts.
The Lord appointed our UBF brothers and sisters, shepherds and missionaries as royal priests. This was not just a flattering title to make us feel good. 1 Peter 2:9 is the certificate that we are appointed by the King of kings and the sovereign God, for those who accept it. At first we may accept this word and this hope only theoretically. There are some who feel like they don’t qualify, and, do you know what? They don’t. But we must remember that it is God who makes any of us qualified. Others may feel like they are on top of the world, flying through the air as one taking a first class flight on a luxurious airplane. Most may find themselves in the middle of these two extremes. Which ever person we may be, the truth is, though we are called, the fact is we do not live as royal priests in our practical lives. We must accept God’s grace and our calling and repent and live up to our high calling very practically. We must renew our spiritual identity every morning and be faithful to the fulfillment of our task as a priest working with Jesus.
What then is the task of a priest? In the time of the Old Testament, priests offered sacrifices for the sin of the people (Lev 1:1-17). Yet in the time of the New Testament, Jesus became the atoning sacrifice once and for all, and therefore, we no longer need any other sacrifice. Their second task was to teach the word (Lev 10:11) and third, was to give an intercessory prayer for the people (1 Sam 7:5-9, Ex 32:11-18). Yet, in the time of the New Testament we can learn about the task of a priest through Jesus who is both King and Priest. The task of a priest in this New Testament era is a little different. And so in this time, what is the task of a priest?
First, the task of a priest is to deliver the gospel of salvation. Look at verse 9c. “…that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." This is the purpose of appointing us as his chosen people, as a royal priesthood. It is to declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once, in the region of the Gerasenes, when Jesus healed a man possessed by an evil spirit, the healed man wanted to follow Jesus. But what did Jesus say to him? At that time Jesus said to him, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis (Ten Cities) how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (Mk 5:19, 20) We too must declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.
As High priest, Jesus taught the word. Therefore another task of a priest is to faithfully spread the life giving gospel. When we were in college, we received the grace of salvation through the gospel. We wonder why young people today don’t accept the Gospel as we accepted it? The people in this generation worship post-modernism and materialism as their gods. This generation ridicules the gospel and despises believers like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah did (Ge 19:14). Even though today's situation is spiritually tough, we must actively teach the word of God, one to one, to young students. We must have confidence in the gospel and boldly preach the life giving gospel like Apostle Paul did with faith.
Second, the task of a priest is to make intercessory prayers for the people. (1 Sam 7:5-9, Ex 28:29). 1 Samuel 7:9 reads, "Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on Israel's behalf, and the LORD answered him." In this passage, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle while the Israelites were at Mizpah. Samuel, the judge and priest, sacrificing the burnt offering to the Lord made an earnest intercessory prayer for the Israelites. God answered his prayer and routed the Philistines. Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines (1 Sam 7:10, 11).
In this 21st century, we can clearly see the signs of the end of the age. This generation worships all kinds of idols: materialism, hedonism, and technology. It is like the time of Sodom and Gomorrah. There are earthquakes and disasters, it seems in increasing frequency. In particular, about three months ago, a tsunami struck Japan devastating a country which was believed to have been fully ready for all kinds of natural disasters. Despite of their claim that they were fully reinforced and protected by their modern technology, Japanese people now wander with fear of nuclear radiation and further earthquakes and tsunamis. This is not just the problem of Japan. It is a warning of God for all people in the world (Mt 11:24). If we do not serve God but continue to worship the idols of science and money we may face the judgment of God. In light of this, what is our task as royal priests? Like Samuel, we must make earnest, intercessory prayers for the campus students of the world. Prayer is the most potent and effective tool.
At the last Middle East directors' new year conference, one missionary said that he felt helpless when he realized that he and his wife could not do anything for the Muslim country he lived in, which has one of the largest populations in the Middle East. But through studying the Bible and writing a testimony on 1 Samuel chapter 7, he learned that he could make an earnest intercessory prayer for the people of his nation every morning. The Lord would surely cause political earthquakes through his prayers and they would be able to preach the gospel very effectively. The Lord says in 1 Corinthian 15:58 "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." When one missionary in the Middle East continued to make earnest intercessory prayers for the Middle East people, God accepted his prayers and his labor in the Lord was not in vain. There are great spiritual breakthroughs being made in the Middle East even today.
Sometimes we feel that our labor is in vain serving campus mission. There is not much we can do when people may want to listen but don’t want to be disciples. But we are not helpless and our labor is never in vain. We can offer up intercessory prayers, every morning and throughout the week and continue to preach the word and God will surely work. He will surely make many spiritual breakthroughs in us, among us and through us. We must be faithful priests of God. There are breakthroughs among us. Hope is teaching the Bible to Emma. Mark spent time with Isaiah. I am making friends with the Pastor of the Church in DeKalb, Jamie. We are getting ready for two Christian music festivals. Steve is back. The list goes on. We just need to be faithful to our task as a kingdom of priests.
God has used Korea as a royal priesthood for the last 50 years. The founder of UBF, Dr. Samuel C. Lee, sent around 350 missionaries to South East Asia, Germany and to U.S.A. as soon as UBF was born. He gave all the UBF members the direction to make earnest intercessory prayers for Korea and the world. By faith, he sent UBF brothers and sisters as missionaries for world mission. From 1970 to 2010, UBF sent out 3,300 missionaries. God used these missionaries to pioneer and raise disciples in North America, Europe, CIS, South America, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East. God used Korean brothers and sisters as royal priests. And God still does. Our Korean brothers and sisters have worked hard to be used by God as a royal priesthood for 50 years. Now is not the time to retire. But the Lord appoints, not only the Koreans, but all people of all nations, to be a royal priesthood. He does not want anyone to retire from the priestly duty.
I thank and praise the Lord who saved sinners with the Gospel, the word and the Holy Spirit and appointed them as a royal priesthood. I praise the Lord that he has been using UBF and America as a kingdom of priests for the whole world. Through this passage we have tasted the grace of God, that despite of our own sins and our unworthiness and under qualifications, God has chosen us by his grace. When we were orphans in this world, with no place to call home, he has made us into citizens of his heavenly kingdom. And what a privilege and honor that is! It carries with it all kinds of privileges and also all kinds of responsibilities. We are chosen to be two things, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. As a kingdom of priests we must preach the word of God and pray. We must lead others to our only and true High Priest Jesus Christ, who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. As a holy nation we must live holy and pure lives in this world. We must declare the praises of him who called us out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Christians who are called by God, should continue to devote themselves to the task of living as a royal priesthood. Look at 1 Peter 2:9 once again. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." I pray that we may renew this certificate of appointment from the Lord, found in 1 Peter 2:9. In Christ, we are a royal priesthood and so we must faithfully fulfill that responsibility. We can through faith in Jesus and the power of God manifest in his word and in his spirit. Let us read our key verse once again, 1 Peter 2:9, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

Revelations 21:2-22:21

2011-06-09T16:55:00.001-07:00

The New Jerusalem
(A Glimpse Of The Kingdom Of God)
Revelation 21:1- 22:21
Key verse: 21:2 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 5-28-11 delivered at DuPage UBF

“I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.”

Have you even wandered what paradise is like? In this passage we will catch a glimpse of the only true paradise of the Kingdom of God. It is such a beautiful place. We will see the new Jerusalem; the dwelling place of God and his people. Here, God himself will wipe away all tears and there will be no death, sorrow or pain. But the most wonderful thing about it is that God and the Lamb are its temple. There is no need for any light, for God gives it light and the Lamb is its lamp. All nations will walk by its light. We will also see the tree of life which is for the healing of nations. All whose robes are washed in the blood of the Lamb may enter and eat its fruit, and quench their thirst at the river of life. It sounds beautiful doesn’t it? Do you want to be there? Well you can. You can behold the Kingdom of God with the eyes of your hearts, even now. You can get a taste of the Kingdom of God even now! When our robes are washed clean through faith in Jesus’ blood, then we can enter into it. Through our study of this passage may our hearts long to dwell with Jesus in his holy city. May our hearts resound with the prayer, “Come quickly Lord Jesus!”

Part l: The Renewal Of All Things (21:1-3)

In the vision we are told of a new heavens and new earth. Look at verse 1, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.”
There was a need for a replacement. The first heaven and the first earth served a great purpose…to lead us back to God. Originally the Garden of Eden was a perfect paradise where God and people lived in perfect harmony. They were given everything. They had no sin and they had eternal life. There was true hope, meaning and purpose. But because of mankind’s sin, Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden to dwell in a world under a curse. The history of disobedience began and plunged the whole human race into rebellion against God. Living in this old earth, we are subjected to endless sufferings and hardships as we struggle to survive and find meaning in life. Mankind has tried again and again to elevate itself above this fallen world and attain utopia, but we have failed repeatedly.

God understands our suffering and since the creation of the world, God had in mind to make all things new. It was always God’s desire that his wonderful creation once again live in perfect harmony with him forever. That is why he sent Jesus into this world. Jesus came down from heaven to earth as a baby in a manger to start this process of restoring the world back to God. (Ro 8:21) In Jesus, God’s redemptive plan was completed. For those who have accepted Jesus and are born again, this world suddenly seems new. But at the renewal of all things there will be a new heavens and a new earth where sin will never be able to separate us from our God. We will love and worship and praise God while walking with him in perfect paradise, the great and glorious kingdom of God! Let’s think about John’s vision in more detail to discover some of the characteristics of this kingdom of God.
Part ll: The New Jerusalem (21:1-27)

First, it is the “New Jerusalem” Look at verse 2a, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,...” It was always God’s plan to bring about this new heaven and new earth. It was foretold 800 years before Jesus was born. Isaiah 65:17, reads, “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” Our hearts long for something new. We get stuck in the same ruts, the same routines, the same recurrent sin problems and we wonder if anything is every going to change. But God is oh so eager to bring about something new and fresh into our lives. All we have to do is come to him in humility, repentance and faith and you will become a new creation. Your old life will never be the same. Ultimately he will bring about the new heaven and the new earth in its fullness.

Next, this new Jerusalem came down from God. Look at verse 2a. “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,…” Mankind could never create or discover paradise on earth. The Tibetan Buddhists failed to create Shagri la. The Soviets failed to create a communist utopia. Democracy has failed to make America a Utopia. Young people fail to find paradise in other people. Older people fail to create our own utopias full of comfort, security and a comfortable retirement filled with world travel. Usually our sins scuttle these plans. It is impossible to make paradise on earth on our own. It must come down from God. That is the only way.

In the midst of our helplessness God came down to this world to meet us. God became man, in the form of a tiny baby and lived among us. (Jn 1:14) He took the initiative and dwell among his people. During the 3 ½ years of his earthly ministry Jesus taught about the kingdom of God. Through his suffering, death and resurrection he opened the way to the kingdom of God for all who believe. After his ascension into heaven, he is dwells in believer’s hearts through his spirit. He is among us even now for Jesus said, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matt 18:20) But that is not all. Look at verse 3. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.’” One day the new Jerusalem will descend from the heavens. There we will see Jesus face to face and walk with him in the streets of shining gold. Only Jesus can make this happen because he is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the eternal God. (5) With God all things are possible. (Matt 19:26)

In the new Jerusalem, the power death will be completely vanquished. Look at verse 4, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” We know that wherever Jesus reigns, there is peace, security, comfort and love. Those who are in Christ have tasted this truth, for prior to meeting Jesus our hearts were full of tears and sorrow. We cried, sometimes not knowing why. In June 1986, I cried, “Oh God!” in my pillow over my loneliness and meaninglessness of life. I was suffering unimaginably while living under the old order of things. God heard that pray and saw my tears and started a process to help me accept Jesus into my heart as my own Lord and Savior. After one month of Bible study, and receiving the love and prayers of servants of God, I accepted Jesus. He wiped all my tears from my eyes. Sure there are times when I sucome to tears and sorrow and I feel pain, but these times are temporary. For I can always turn to Jesus and be set free once again to experience newness of life. I have a sure hope that in the Kingdom of God that every tear will be wiped from my eyes and there will be no more mourning, crying or pain at all. Praise God! No matter what we are going through, it is not the end. The great news is that Jesus came to save us from our sins. Come to him and receive his comfort and get a taste of what heaven will be like, even now.
Who gets to dwell in the new Jerusalem? Look at verses 6-8, “He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.’” It is those who overcome this world which is full of sin and temptation. The only way to be an over comer is to drink from the water of life, Jesus Christ. There was once a very thirsty women. She was not overcoming this world very well. In fact this world was dragging her down into the quagmire of sin. She was thirsty for love and in the process of trying to find love, she was divorced five times and had a live in boyfriend. Jesus came to her, in the midst of her thirstiness and offered her living water. He said to her in John 4:13-14, “…Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” This woman accepted Jesus’ invitation. She repented of her sin and believed in Jesus. In doing so, she drank the Springs of living water, Jesus Christ. Her soul was quenched. She left her water jar behind and told her whole village that she had found the Messiah. For the first time in her life, she overcame the world. She became part of the bride of Christ and a citizen in the new Jerusalem. There is more than enough of this living water in the new Jerusalem. Look at 22:1-2a, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city….”. There is more than enough for all to drink and quench our thirsty souls forever and ever.
The new Jerusalem is very beautiful. Look at verses 9-21. The gates are of a giant single pearl. There are twelve of them. There are precious jewels everywhere. The streets are shining gold. The beauty of this celestial city is reflected throughout the Bible. First it is reflected in the beautiful Garden of Eden. It is reflected in the temple worship. The temple was adorned with gold and the diadem worn by Aaron appeared to be a symbol of the new Jerusalem. You can read its description in Exodus 28:15-21. The beauty of the new Jerusalem is reflected in the Christian church itself. God wanted us to know throughout history that the kingdom of God is very beautiful and desirable. It is so beautiful that it makes this world look like we are living in a garbage can in comparison.
The new Jerusalem is huge. Look at verse 15-17, “The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia[a] in length, and as wide and high as it is long.” Consider it’s dimensions. 1,400 miles in length! That is like from here to Los Angeles. There is room for millions upon millions of believers. This new Jerusalem is the father’s house. Jesus once told his disciples that in the father’s house there are many room and that he is going on ahead to prepare a place for us. (Jn 14:2). Do you have your reservation?
The new Jerusalem is built on a solid foundation. Look at verses 14 and 19. “The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb….and “19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone…” Our faith is a reflection of this foundation. Christians do not believe something with no foundation. Ephesians 2:19-21 reads, “ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.” Our faith in the Gospel is rooted in history, fulfilled prophecy, the Scriptures and the lives of faith of many great servants of God. You can entrust your lives to Jesus and his Gospel. The New Jerusalem reflects this fact. This city is solid. It is secure. It is everlasting. Nothing can ever bring it down. Ever!
There are many other things about this new Jerusalem. Look at verses 22-27. Verse 22 reads, “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” We will dwell with Jesus intimately, just as he was with us in the Garden of Eden so will he be in heaven. Look at at verse 23, “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” The glory of God will shine so brightly that it will even outshine the sun. Millions of people will walk by the light of God, no longer by false ideologies our corrupt political philosophies or false human standards. “The kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. “ and “The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it” This means that even the greatest among people will dedicate all they have and do for the glory of God. How happy it is to take the focus off of ourselves and give all the glory and honor and praise to Jesus. Look at verse 25, “On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.” We lock our doors for security reasons. But in the Kingdom of God there will be everlasting peace and security…24/7 forever.
The new Jerusalem will be a place of healing and eternal life. Listen to verses 22:2b, “…On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” We spend billions on healthcare in this nation and it doesn’t make us live much longer. Health insurance is only a dream for millions of America. We beat our bodies in the gym. We overdose on antioxidants. But in the kingdom of God, there is the fruit of the tree of life which we will eat. We will have imperishable, glorious, powerful and spiritual heavenly bodies. (1 Cor 15:42-43) We will be in the prime of health. All of our weaknesses will disappear. All of our wounds and scars that have been caused by our sins will be healed. All of the world’s conflicts will be resolved. Believing Arabs and believing Jews will love each other. Believing Republicans and Democrats will vote together. Relationships will be healed. All people in the new Jerusalem will co-operate, and love and serve each other. There will be healing in abundance in God’s kingdom and that healing begins the moment we come to Jesus.
But there is only one way to get into this city. Look at verse 27, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” People can not just enter into the new Jerusalem illegally. We can not become pure or get into the Lamb’s book of life through our own goodness. At the judgment, the Book of Life will be opened. In these books are recorded the deeds of everyone, good or evil. 2 Corinthians 5:10 reads, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” This simply means, that while you are in the body,…in this life…, if you have done things that invite Christ’s salvation in your life, then you will have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. You will pass through the judgment, and into the gates of the celestial city. These things are confessing and repenting of your sins. Listening to what Jesus has to say through his word and deciding to believe it from the heart. It means placing all of your hope and trust in Jesus and deciding to live for his glory and serving his purposes alone. These are things that will get you praise from Jesus at the final judgment. 22:14 makes this a little clearer.“ Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.” When you do these things, you are essentially washing your robes and may enter the new Jerusalem.

What will we be doing in the new Jerusalem? Some people think that heaven is like a Club Med, an eternal Caribbean vacation, where we laze around on the beach and sip Tahiti treats. Bt this is not so. Revelation 22:3 reads, “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.” In the past we only worked hard for three meals a day, only to barely survive and then die. But in the new Jerusalem we will be serving Jesus. This work will be joyful and fruitful because there will be no more curse. Look at verse 5, “There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” We will be walking by the light of the Lord and we will reign with him. We will be co-working with Jesus as part of his team. What a great privilege that is!

Part lll: “Behold I Am Coming Soon!” (22:7-21)

We are going to enter the new Jerusalem sooner than we think. Let’s read verse 7, “ ‘Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.” We tend to think that all of this talk about the kingdom of God is about about some far off place in some distant time. But not so. Jesus once said, the kingdom of God is near. (Lk 10:9) It is near to your soul. Also, Jesus Christ could come anytime. We don’t know the time, but the signs of the end of the age are clearly being set into place. But practically speaking, for all of us, the time when we see Jesus is when we take our fleeting breath. We do not know when this time comes. But we need to be ready and live as if Jesus is coming today.. “Behold! I am coming soon!” Jesus says.
Does all of this talk about Jesus and his kingdom move your heart? It sure did move John’s heart. Look at 22:8, “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me.” John felt compelled to worship. This is the right response. So often we are “ho hum” about the kingdom of God, thinking we have heard it all before. For some it is an interesting story. But we need to see what John saw, with the eyes of our hearts and renew our sincere worship of Jesus.
Jesus will bring his reward. Let’s read verses 12 & 14, “ Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done…14 ‘Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.’” There definitely will be a reward for all those who have remained faithful to Jesus. We will be ushered into eternal life where we will see our Savior, Jesus, face to face. We will behold the beautiful and glorious new Jerusalem, the kingdom of God. We will receive praise from Jesus in proportion to how we have lived our lives for him. Hopefully, he will hug us and say, “Well, done my good and faithful servant.” and not, “Wow! You just barely made it through the flames, my child.” Let’s be full of spiritual deeds, like repentance and faith and simple obedience to the words of God and receive Jesus’ reward when he comes.
There are many descriptions of Jesus in this passage. Jesus is the bridegroom. He is the one to whom we, the bride, must give our hearts. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. He is the eternal God who was here in the beginning and who will be with us throughout eternity. He is the Root and the Offspring of David. That is he is the Promised Messiah, who will reign over the Kingdom of God forever. Jesus is the bright Morning Star, meaning he is the brightest star in the sky. The bright morning star always brought hope and direction to lost, seafaring mariners. Likewise Jesus gives hope and direction to wayfaring pilgrims like ourselves who are making our way through this troubled world to the new Jerusalem.
The angel gives John, and all believers a mission. Look at verse 17, “ The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” The word of God, the spirit of God and the Christian church, have one united beckon call to give to the whole world. It is a message for all people of every tribe and nation to come to Jesus and have their robes washed clean through faith in Jesus and receive the right to enter the gates of the new Jerusalem. Jesus himself gives this invitation in Matthew 11:28-29. He says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” When we know who Jesus is we are happy to invite people to come to him.
There are other aspects of placing our hope in the new Jerusalem. We need to trust God. Look at verse 11, “Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy.” We can try to do many things for God and change many things but there is a time when we deeply realize that all things are in God’s hands and we simply have to trust God and receive what God gives. Look at verses 18-20. These words show that God is very serious about his word. There are so many unrelenting forces tearing us away from the word of God. But we must uphold the word of God, never changing it, but preaching it as it is. The salvation of millions depend on it. Part of placing your hope in the new Jerusalem is praying for Jesus to come again…soon. Look at verse 20, “ He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” Sometimes we want Jesus to come later on, after we have accomplished all that we want to accomplish in this world. But when we have the vision of the new Jerusalem our spontaneous pray will be, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” We are ready to go anytime.
In this passage we discovered the only true and lasting paradise. It is the new Jerusalem in the eternal kingdom of God. When Jesus began his earthly ministry he proclaimed the words, “The time has come,…the kingdom of God is near, repent and believe the good news.” (Mk 1:15) This kingdom is beautiful beyond description. It is a place where there is healing, love, peace, light and eternal life and so much more. It the place where we will dwell with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for all eternity. It is the place that our hearts yearn for. It is not just a pipe dream. It is real! This new Jerusalem can be our eternal home when we wash our robes through faith in the blood of Jesus…through faith in his Gospel. Let’s take hold of this kingdom. Let us invite the whole world to come to Jesus and receive the right to enter into his glorious celestial city, starting at COD and NIU campus’. May our daily prayer be, “Amen. Come Lord Jesus.”

2011-06-09T16:54:00.002-07:00

A TESTIMONY TO ALL NATIONS
Matthew 24:1-35 (51) Message delivered by Sarah Barry at the Missionary Conference 5/30/11
Key Verse: 24:14, (30-31) Forward by Kevin Jesmer of NIU UBF
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.”
“At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
Forward by Shp Kevin Jesmer (NIU UBF)
The following is the message delivered by Mother Sarah Barry at the Missionary/Shepherd conference in Seoul Korea (May 30th to June 1st 2011). This was the site of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of our UBF ministry. I feel that it is important to hear this message because it is a message that is heard by all of our UBF members worldwide. Through the hearing of this message may our hearts be filled with the same hope and vision that filled the hearts of all attendants to the missionary/shepherd conference. Our ministry was founded on September 1, 1961, in South Korea, in the midst of national turmoil following a military coup d'etat. At the time, Korean college students fell into deep despair due to the social instability and the deteriorating value systems of the times. At that time, Dr. Samuel Lee (1931-2002) was ministering to college students after graduating from a Presbyterian seminary. He was translating Bible material for the “Navigators.” Dr. Lee met Missionary Sarah Barry who volunteered to come to Korea to help this war-devastated country. She was sent by the Board of World Missions of the Presbyterian Church. They shared a common belief that the best way to help Korea and the world was to plant faith and hope for the future in the hearts of college students with a life-giving, Gospel spirit, so that they would grow to be future leaders of the Korea and the world. To this end, they began to pray with the prayer topic, "Bible Korea, World Mission," and studied the Bible with college students. This was the beginning of the University Bible Fellowship. Since then God has established over 1800 full time missionaries in over 92 countries. In the 1980’s, Julie and I came to Jesus through the love and the prayers of such Korean missionaries. Julie in LA and I in Winnipeg Canada. It is through the lives of faith of these missionaries that we have found our own mission and calling in life and the calling and mission of our family. Maybe it is your calling and mission too? You will eventually find out. And so God has been working and using our ministry to touch the hearts of college students world wide, over the last 50 years. This year we wanted to celebrate this fact and find some clear direction for our ministry as a whole for the next 50 years. That should cover the rest of my earthy life and half of my kids’ lives, if everything goes as planned. And so now is the time to sit back and relax and image that you are an attendee at the Missionary/shepherd conference at Seoul Korea and imaging that I am Mother Sarah Barry who is in her eighties. God bless you all. …..Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF

As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, we give thanks to God. We are here to praise God for his gracious work in and among us. We are here to worship him. We are here to pray for one another and encourage one another. Through the blood of Jesus and by God’s grace alone we have forgiveness of sin. Through his resurrection, we have life and hope in the kingdom of God. We are ready to welcome and worship our King when he comes. God has made our calling, to take the gospel to the campuses of the world, a sure calling. It is a privilege for me to be here among you who have served God sacrificially in the mission fields of the world. We thank him for his presence with us during the past 50 years. As we look forward toward the future, we want to think, not about what we must do, but about what God is doing.
Through earthquakes, famines, a tsunami that devastated Japan, through wars and revolutions in Africa and the Middle East, God has reminded us that he is in control of nature and history. He reminds us that Jesus is coming again. We don’t know when. But his coming is sure. Let’s read verses 30-31. “At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
What is God doing in these end times, and what can be our response? Let’s read Mt 24:14. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.” This is God’s promise. God keeps his promises. There is no failure in world mission. The gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world..
Part 1: Jesus’ Sorrow –Jerusalem Destroyed
In Matthew 21, Jesus entered Jerusalem as a humble king, riding a donkey. He went first to the temple. He cleansed it. He drove out all those who were doing worldly business there. He rebuked the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. He wept over Jerusalem because it rejected God’s love and blessing. He wept because of the suffering that would come to Jerusalem. Let’s read Mt 24:1-3. Jesus and his disciples walked away from the temple and climbed up the Mount of Olives. They sat down, overlooking the beautiful temple which King Herod had built. Jesus’ disciples were moved as they looked at the beautiful buildings. The disciples revealed a value system focused on wealth and power, on material things. Jesus was still weeping in his heart because of God’s people who rejected God’s love (23:37). His heart was full of sorrow when he responded, “I tell you the truth. This temple will be demolished. Not one stone will be left standing on another. Every stone will be thrown down.”
The destruction of Jerusalem happened just as Jesus prophesied: In 70 A.D. a Roman army under General Titus entered Jerusalem. He was bent on destroying the Jews and their religion. Someone set fire to the temple and it burned to the ground. He killed all the Jews he could find. The streets of the city ran with blood. A few people sought refuge in the Masada fortress, but they were discovered and before they could be massacred, they committed mass suicide. The Jewish people were killed or driven out of Palestine. Those who escaped scattered throughout the world. Jews would not return to reclaim Jerusalem for nearly 2000 years–until after WWII in 1948, when the State of Israel was established. When they began to return, they could not rebuild the temple, because a Mosque was sitting on the temple mount. This was God’s sovereign wisdom. There is still no temple; no animal sacrifices. There is no need for the temple, for Jesus is the temple; he is the perfect sacrifice. The destruction of Jerusalem and the attempted annihilation of the Jews is an event comparable to the holocaust of modern times.
To the disciples, the destruction of the temple was tantamount to the end of the world. Indeed, the destruction of the temple foreshadowed the end of the age and Jesus’ second coming. Jesus had these two events in his heart.
Part ll: The End Of The Age And Jesus’ Second Coming.
The disciples asked Jesus two questions about the end of the age: When will you come again? And, what will be the sign of your coming?
Jesus begins his answer to the question about signs with a warning: “Do not be deceived.” People who only look for signs are frequently deceived. Watch out that no one deceives you–false Messiah’s will come. In a world that does not care about truth, lies prevail. False Messiahs take advantage of this. God’s people must watch out and not be deceived. God’s word is truth. We must be equipped with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (35)
In the time leading up to the end there will be great suffering. There will be natural disasters and man-made disasters. Jesus says, “Don’t be alarmed, the end has not come. It is the beginning of birth pains.” We should not give in to fear. God is in control. He tells us that this is the beginning of birth pains. What does he mean by “birth pains”? A woman giving birth to a baby suffers excruciating pain. But it is not pain and suffering that leads to death; it is pain that results in a new life coming into the world. The birth pains herald a new and glorious age, the coming of the Risen Christ, King Jesus, and his kingdom.
What then is the sign of his coming? Read verses 30-31. “At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” The sun will be darkened. The moon will not give its light. God will shake the heavens and the stars will fall from the sky. Jesus’ coming is a cosmic event. His elect are those who have accepted the gospel of his kingdom. The mourners are those who have not. The elect will come with the Risen Christ to join him in establishing his glorious kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
The disciples did not fully understand, but they believed. We also do not understand everything, but we believe that Jesus is coming again. It was promised to the first witnesses that Jesus who was taken into heaven would come back in the same way they saw him leave. (Ac 1:11). The Risen Christ will come, bringing God’s kingdom to earth. He will come with his elect. His coming marks the end of this present age. His coming ushers in a new heaven and a new earth. Jerusalem had been cruelly destroyed. But the Apostle John had a vision of a new and glorious Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. (Rev 21:1,2) The kingdom of the Risen Christ will be full of love and joy.
The next question is, “When?” –What is the time of his coming? Jesus’ answer is, “No one knows when; Be ready; keep watch.” “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, or the Son, but only the Father.” (36) If we knew the time of Jesus’ coming, we could think, “I’ll get ready later.” People were like this in the days of Noah (24:37-39). Only Noah was ready. The rest of the people went about business as usual, eating, drinking, partying, getting married. They paid much attention to their flesh lives and no attention to their spiritual lives. Noah also lived an ordinary life, but he was different. He was ready. He made time to walk with God, and listen to him. He believed that God meant what he said. So, when God told him to build a boat, he built it. He believed and obeyed God’s word. He was saved, but everyone else drowned. In the same way, we should be ready. Like Noah, we should walk with God in prayer, listen to his word and be ready. Jesus will come like a thief in the night. He will come at a time when we do not expect him. Therefore, we should keep watch.
Part lll. What Is God Doing In These Times And What Will He Do?
What is God doing? First, He is working to help his elect stand firm. Look at verses 12-13. “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Second, He is working now through his elect to bring his love and mercy and forgiveness to the world. Third, He will gather his elect from everywhere. “When the Son of Man comes with power and glory he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” Who, then are the elect?
God’s elect are those who have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord. They are those who inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the Creation. (25:31-40) The elect love God because God first loved them. They are the “sheep” in Chapter 25 who care for the vulnerable people of society—they feed the hungry, visit the prisoners, minister to the sick, clothe the naked, love the unlovable. They don’t even realize that they are serving God and spreading the gospel of his kingdom. They inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the creation. But, on the other hand, wickedness will increase. God’s people will be persecuted, hated, put to death. Some will fail. They will turn from the faith and betray each other. Most men’s love will grow cold. But these, the worst of times, are also the best of times. It is the time of opportunity. It is the time for love to challenge hate, the time to make God’s saving grace known.
Tass Saada was a PLO sniper. He murdered Jews in Israel; he killed Christians in Jordan. He was born in a refugee camp in Gaza. When the Jewish state was formed in 1948, many Palestinians became homeless immigrants, Tass Saada’s family included. He was raised in a world of radical Islam and violent Palestinian nationalism. By his teenage years he was a cauldron of hatred. Especially, he hated Jews. He had no homeland, so he wanted to immigrate to America. Someone told him that the best way to get a green card was to marry an American. So he did. But in his heart, he was a jihadist and he hated America. One day a friend tried to evangelize him and he got mad. Then his friend offered him a Bible. He shouted, “Don’t get near me—that’s God’s book.” So his friend said, ‘You believe this is God’s book? Then listen to what God’s Book says about Jesus.” And he read John 1:14—“the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” It hit Tass that the Bible teaches plainly that Jesus is God and he trembled. He heard a voice, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.” He didn’t know that these words were from the Bible. Jesus was speaking to him personally. Jihad is not the way; Jesus is the Way. He prayed, “Jesus, come into my life.” He repented of his sins. And this violent radical Muslim was transformed by the power of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. The killer became a man of peace and compassion. Once he called his friend. “Was Jesus a Jew?” “Yes, Jesus was a Jew.” So Tass Saada could love Jews. He could love his wife. He became a powerful and bold preacher of the gospel of the kingdom. He founded an organization called “Hope for Ishmael” dedicated to reconciling Arabs and Jews. He and his wife moved to a refugee camp in Gaza, where he was born, to share Jesus’ love with poverty-stricken children there. Tass Saada is one of God’s elect. God is working through his elect to bring his gospel to the world. This is the time to challenge hatred with God’s love. In these times God refines and purifies the hearts of his people through suffering. Through broken dreams, sickness, seeming failure God purifies our hearts. God’s mission to the world will not fail.
God is spreading his gospel to all nations through his elect. Look at verse 14. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” God’s Son, the Christ, was born into a Roman world, according to God’s set time and foreknowledge. Roman laws, Roman soldiers, Roman roads and a common language unified the world in a way that it had never been unified before. Paul and the apostles could travel anywhere without visas. The gospel was spread to the whole Roman world.
We have “Roman roads” in our time, too. We live in the world of the internet, satellite T.V. and radio; in the world of facebook and Twitter and Youtube. Through these modern roads of communication, our world has become one community. In Egypt, Whael Ghonim, a Google executive and Asmaa Mahofouz, a 26 year-old woman, made facebook entries that sparked a revolution. Mubarak’s government fell. News travels. Revolution sparks revolution. The Muslim Radicals want to use the opportunities of our times to destabilize the world so that they can step into a power vacuum and rule. We don’t know which way the revolutions happening in Libya, Syria, Yemen, and other parts of the world are going. But this is a time of unprecedented opportunity for the gospel of the kingdom to be preached in the whole world. Wayne Pederson of Radio station HCJB continues to beam the message of the Prince of Peace into Libya and North Africa, and people are listening. Jesus promised that “the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.” (14) Jesus keeps his promise. His coming is our glorious hope.
Part lV: How Can We Respond To What God Is Doing?
We can love God and love one another. Even though people’s love grows cold, God’s love does not grow cold. God is merciful and compassionate. God is love. He is working in and through you and me to bring the gospel of the kingdom to the ends of the earth. He is working in us to share his love in a world where love has grown cold. By his grace alone, we can stand firm to the end. Let us put our trust in Jesus and give him our hearts.
Again, We can love God and love one another. When we accepted God’s grace of forgiveness, we welcomed Jesus into our hearts. It is no longer I who live. It is Christ who lives in me. We cannot tell about a person’s inner life from his outward appearance. But God looks at the heart. When the Son of Man comes, two men will be working together in a field. They are doing the same thing. But their hearts are different. One knows God; Jesus is in his heart. God’s Spirit rules him. God does not know the other one. One will be taken; the other will be left. Two women will be working together, grinding grain with a hand mill. They are dressed alike and they are doing the same thing. But one has a heart that is ruled by Jesus and the other’s heart is full of greed and lust. One will be taken; the other left. (40-41) The heart cleansed by Jesus’ blood and ruled by the Holy Spirit is a heart that is ready to meet King Jesus. Let us forgive one another. Let us love one another and build up one another.
Paul says, “As we wait for Jesus to come again, ‘(Let us) put on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet..let us encourage one another and build up each other, just as in fact you are doing...’” (I Th 5:8-11) Jesus’ blood has cleansed us. We are ready to welcome King Jesus. “He died for us so that we may live together with him.”
We can be faithful and wise servants. We should keep on living the life God called us to live. In verses 45-51, Jesus talks about the faithful and wise servant whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to feed them…He says, “It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.” As we wait for the coming of our King Jesus, the indwelling Jesus helps us to be faithful and wise servants. He helps each of us to feed God’s sheep, overcome our selfishness, to be mindful of all of God’s family. He enables my life and your life to be a testimony to the nations.
We can participate in his work of making disciples of all nations. He promises that this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations. This is what God is doing. He invites us to participate. In the last verses of Matthew’s gospel, he sends his disciples forth to share in what he is doing. Go and make disciples of all nations. He gives us another promise: And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. We are in Christ and he is in us. We can stand firm. May God use our lives as a testimony to the nations. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.”
1. Read verses 1-3. How was Jesus' view of the temple different from that of the disciples? (Cf.
Mark 13:1) To what future events was Jesus probably referring? What was the disciples'
response? (3)

2. Read verses 4-8. What did Jesus teach about the climate of the world and of the end of the
age? What warnings did he give his disciples? What was Jesus' attitude toward these things?
Why? (6,8)

3. Read verses 9-14. What other things will happen in the last days? How will people react
under such pressure? What should Jesus' people do? What did Jesus promise?

4. Read verses 15-22. What does this "abomination" refer to? (cf. Daniel 9:27; 11:31) When
abominable things happen, what must God's people do? Why might worldly attachments
ensnare people? (16,17,18) How will God help his own?

5. Read verses 23-35. How will false prophets try to deceive God's people? How can we
not be deceived? Who will mourn and who will rejoice when the Son of Man comes?
What lesson can we learn from the fig tree?

6. Read verses 36-51. What does it mean to be ready? What can we learn from the
faithful steward? What happens to the unfaithful steward? (45-51)