The Beauty of Sin - by my friend Cory Matlock

70,000 views & still going strong! 

My thanks to my friend & Gospel Ministry collaborator Cory for this great, convicting little article we share with you in honor of my theology blogs 70,000th view. 

“I’ve been trying everything that I can think of to make him want me more than pornography.” 

This statement is one that many pastors probably know all too well. It comes from the heart of a woman who has been slowly broken-down through many years of her husband’s use of pornography. The wife who has beat herself up far too many times, thinking that somehow, it might be possible that her husband’s desire for pornography can somehow be traced back to a problem with her. Whether that problem is in the Marriage bedroom or whether it is something such as looks. Every woman that I’ve ever spoken with concerning this issue, with the exception of one has always come back to a statement very similar to this. There is always some development that happens which causes her to believe that maybe she is just not enough for her husband. 

The truth of the issue though is that there is a hint of truth to the statement. There will never come a time when you will be enough for your husband, at least not in this respect. You see, while your focus is on issues such as what you could do or how you could adjust your beauty to meet his need, the reality is that you will never be able to. Your beauty and actions, no matter how grand they may be will always fail to measure up to the enticement of sin in your husband’s (secret thought) life. Sin creates a form of a false persona or a wondrous mirage if you will. No matter how stunning you may be, you will never be able to compete with the allurement of sin! The reason for this is because the issue is not with how your husband sees you. The issue is how your husband looks at King Jesus. 

In order for this whole issue with your husband to subside, what your husband must do is to begin to see the beauty of Christ instead of the false beauty of sin. While there is much that you are able to help him with, coming down on yourself will in no way help him free the chains which have enslaved him. Yet don’t allow yourself to be beat up by this. His struggle or lack thereof  is not about you. It is instead about him finding a way to find victory. Victory which may or may not be in this life.
Instead of focusing on the ways which you can change yourself to help him, begin by setting aside time out of your day to pray for your husband. Even if it is only five minutes, pray for him daily! Pray for the Lord to show you other ways which you can help him find victory. But please, please pray for him. The Lord is the only one with the power to help him finally be free of this sin and because of this, the greatest way which you can help is to pray for him! 

Sit down with your elders together and be completely open. Their call in this life is to shepherd you both toward King Jesus and trust me, they love to fulfill their calling. Your elders will probably begin a process of removing stumbling blocks from his path by something like protective software on his electronic devices. Make sure you let them do so. This may mean that you have to have the very same software installed on your phone as well. Yet, if this brought him victory in killing this sin in his life, the “invasion of privacy” would be completely worth it. Trust in the care of your Elders and their desire to shepherd your family. Trust them enough to be completely honest, so much so that you are able to lay it all out on the table. Yet not only will this openness be necessary with your elders, it will need to be the same way with your husband. 

Be upfront with your husband. Internally he knows how his use of pornography impacts you. He has more than likely watched you weep over his sin. Remind him that just because his sin is different from yours on the outside, they both boil down to sin. You both are sinners in need of a Savior like the rest of mankind. Speak to him concerning the consequences of sin. Remind him of the beauty of the Redeemer who, upon Calvary took the wrath of God over sin for all who would repent and call upon His name. Remind him that this means both past, present and future. Remind him that the Lord knew that he and you were going to be messy before He redeemed you and by His grace, He loved you both in spite of all of that. 

Lastly, throughout all of this turmoil, you will need to constantly remind yourself of the first point. His sin in using pornography is not about you. It’s not about you because you can never compete with the false beauty of sin. Instead, his struggle with sin has everything to do with how he sees his Redeemer. 

--Cory Matlock

Ordination Prayer

Lord...

You know pastoral work can at times be trying & thankless & so we pray for grace & patience & energy for Brady for the tasks that lay ahead of him.  And Lord we thank you that you brought Brady to us to learn from us & to teach us & we thank you for this opportunity to send him out again.

Father -
We Elders know our own faults and failures we pray we send Brady out in our strengths and not our errors, in faithfulness & not faithlessness. We set him aside for the work of the Lord & the Word of the Lord let both motivate him, guide him & fulfill him.

May his ministry be long & fruitful yet may personal pride never draw near him knowing you are Sovereign in such things. May Brady's eyes be ever fixed on his Prophet, Priest & King, Jesus Christ.
And let him, like John the Baptist, of old, be an example remind him to point others to Jesus.

-Amen

Membership Matters - Church

Question: "What is the church?"

Answer: Many people today understand the church as a building. This is not a biblical understanding of the church. The word “church” – a people set apart - comes from the Greek word ekklesia which is defined as “an assembly” of “called-out ones.” The root meaning of “church” is not that of a building, but of the people. It is ironic that when you ask people what church they attend, they usually identify a building’s location. Romans 16:5 says “… greet the church that is in their house.” Paul refers to the church in their house—not the building, but a body of believers.

The church is the body of Christ, of which He is the head. Ephesians 1:22-23 says, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” The body of Christ is made up of all believers in Jesus Christ from the day of Pentecost (Acts chapter 2) until Christ’s return. The body of Christ is comprised of two main aspects: 

1) The universal church consists of all those who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in all countries & through all of time. “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1 Corinthians 12:13). This verse says that anyone who believes is part of the body of Christ and has received the Spirit of Christ as evidence. The universal church of God is all those who have received salvation through faith in Jesus Christ in all countries, in all denominations, throughout all time.

2) The local church on the other hand is described in Galatians 1:1-2: “Paul, an apostle … and all the brothers with me, to the churches in Galatia.” Here we see that in the province of Galatia there were many churches—what we call local churches. A Baptist church, Lutheran church, Catholic church, etc., is not the Capital “C” - Church, as in the universal church—but rather is a local church, a local body of believers. The universal church is comprised of those who belong to Christ and who have trusted Him for salvation. These members of the universal church should seek fellowship and edification in a local church.

In summary, the church is not a building or a particular denomination. According to the Bible, the church is the body of Christ—all those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Local churches are gatherings of members of the universal church trying in their own way to honor Christ by how they “do church” in their local church. The local church is where the members of the universal church can fully apply the “body” principles of 1 Corinthians chapter 12: encouraging, teaching, and building one another up in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Questions? 

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What is the Church?

The Church Universal (sometimes called the Church Invisible) –

            In this aspect of the “church” belongs all genuine Christians everywhere, in all time. This aspect is what makes me a modern Baptist, Martin Luther from the 1500s (a Lutheran) and John Calvin from the 1600s (a Presbyterian) all brothers in the faith despite denominational & historical differences.

As C. S. Lewis put it the Universal Church is, “spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible (by this he means grand) as an army with banners.”

The local church (aka the Church Visible) –

            This is the part where we can be doing Christ’s work for him while he’s gone…. preaching, teaching, baptism, Lord’s Supper, all happen in the meantime till his return. A good local church will uphold the Word of God, honoring it and preaching faithfully, proclaim the gospel steadfastly, and feed and tend the sheep.

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

“Thus, it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you.”

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Read BFM2K #VI -VIII

Transfiguration Sermon!

Opening prayer:

Today Lord, we pray for health for the members of this church, we pray for safety in the midst of living amongst the accidents, violent outbreaks & evils of the world, we pray for guidance in parenting, in marriage, in work, and in service to others. We pray for encouragement, for hope & for a chance to live in peace amongst our neighbors & we pray that we can both allow ourselves to be supported by others, and by Christ’s Spirit, to be able to be a support for others – but above all we pray for unity between us & Christ, as Christ is in perfect unity with you, Father & we pray for unity between one another even above these other “good” things. Amen!  

Transfiguration sermon

So, I’ll be honest… we all know Brian is a great preacher, he has that natural gift of gab & ability to relate with others, an easy confidence in the pulpit & wanting to be a bit like him, I wanted to start out with a story that lead into our passage today… something with a bit of whimsy, history & that folksy wisdom that relates back to our passage…which is not as easy as it sounds. J  

(Pause)
And here’s the thing. Occasionally, in history, there are a few stories where the reigning king or a prince of a nation disguised themselves as a commoner, blending in, to move amongst the people. From the ancient Roman Emperor Nero (who was a cruel & violent king) & his brat-pack of buddies dressed as commoners going out at night to make catcalls at the wives of his noblemen and to get into fistfights with locals or the French King Louis the 16^th running for refuge from the grips of the impending French Revolution or even UK’s Prince Harry (popularized recently by his royal wedding) but who not long ago was deployed in Afghanistan as a normal front lines soldier amongst other Britons.

But to be honest, most of the time… in fact, in all those cases, the leader’s disguise failed them. One husband knowing a disguised Nero would not out himself as being dressed as a commoner & acting childishly got away with beating him in public for mistreating his wife. Louis the 16th’s flight from Paris to Montmedy where a sizable force loyal to the king awaited him was foiled as he traveled with nearly the entire royal family (a group much too big & too slow to stealthily sneak to safety) and so poorly disguised the local postmaster Jean-Baptist immediately recognized the king from his own portrait on a French coin & he was caught some 30 miles from his destination…This bungled failure lost the king much of his own needed support & hastened his journey to the guillotine. Even Prince Harry in our modern age with England & Canada agreeing to a complete media blackout of his deployment information, still German & Australian newspapers & magazines desperate to capitalize on people’s interest published constant updates on his military service which lead to him to being pulled from the front lines at one point.

So, all this to say… that while we have ideas similar in history to today’s passage (someone of a high station wondering around amongst us “normies” the everyday people) nothing… & I mean nothing, even comes close to the passage we have today. While all of these rulers & leaders failed at blending in with everyday people Jesus may have blended in a little too well.

           

In today’s passage we have no mere Earthly king or prince but the very King of kings & Lord of lords, and Prince of princes revealing a bit of his Divine Glory, who he really is, to some of his closest friends & followers.

So friends I’m like you, I’m a laymen, I’m no ivory tower theologian, no bubbling fountain of prophetic insight & so I come to this passage with real world questions. Questions you may have, questions I may not be able to entirely answer. Questions like: Why now & not some other time, Why here & not somewhere else, Why some select disciples & not others, Why not in front of the Masses at the feeding of the 5K or the 4K or on display before Harrod or Pilot or the Pharisees even who often begged and demanded proofs and signs? And what’s with the brief cameos from Moses & Elijah? Well we may not be able to answer all of these, but I hope as we work through this text together we may be able to glean some insights into Jesus’ intentions here; some context to make clearer what the Transfiguration truly means.

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So let’s set this up with a bit of context. The context in Mark so far to steal an idea from Mel just a couple of weeks back is Numbskull, dim, disappointing disciples. See here’s the thing I can grant some leeway to the everyday people Jesus ran into here or there who only got a glimpse of who Jesus is but I hold the disciples (the apostles) to a higher standard. They knew him they basically saw & heard all he did. They shouldn’t have needed this moment, but Jesus granted it.

Back in chapter 1, John the Baptist is there to prepare the way for Lord’s coming.  Jesus is baptized by John. The heavens open, the spirit descends from above & God speaks from Heaven, “This is my Son, with whom I am well pleased.” But that’s not all!  Jesus heals many, casts out daemons, cleanses a leaper, heals a paralytic, heals a seemingly iron deficient woman bleeding for many years, raised the dead (no not Lazarus) Jairus’ daughter, he feeds the 5K, he walks on water, heals the deaf & blind & still feeds another 4K….

But Mark says the disciples & other Jews were astonished for they did not understand about the miracles & the people said in their hearts:

Isn’t this the Carpenter’s son!?

Where did this man get these things?

How can he do these mighty things?

Why don’t your disciples wash like us?

They said among themselves, what is this, a new teaching with authority?

Why does he say he can forgive sins?

Why does he heal & work on the Sabbath?

Now what do the people say to all of this, show us another sign!

Feed us again!

And they begged Jesus to leave after casting out a demon

They laughed at him when he said Jairus’ daughter wasn’t dead

They said, He must be possessed!

The Disciples –

So far in Mark we’ve heard about miracle after miracle, healing after healing, and teaching after teaching. Disciples still don’t totally get it. Who is he? How can he do these things? Cause that is the point that Mark has repeatedly been making that while demons & Gentiles, pagans & Romans were catching on that Jesus was more than just a Man, his own people the Jews especially the Pharisees & Sadducees & even some of his closest friends, the disciples, his own students were not entirely connecting the dots on who he really was.

Now every time that I need to be a bit sympathetic to the disciples & give them a bit of a benefit of the doubt here’s what I do. I think of my brother, Michael, who is about 12 years younger than me. By God’s grace, I got to pick Michael’s name, meaning “Who is like God?” A question that invokes not a lack of understanding but more of a sense of awe & wonder & worship. Oddly enough, this idea of ‘Who is like God’ is a question that should have popped into these 3 disciples minds at this moment, oh wait…that’s the point isn’t it. NO ONE else is like God but God! They should have fallen on their faces crying out, My Lord & My God! 

But back to Michael…Michael the angelic protector of Israel, the archangel, the one equal to or greater that the Devil himself casting him out of heaven. And by God’s providence Michael is also the name of Sandra’s brother & my neighbor the one that got me my job at Farmers & my best friend’s name. To the point where it seems like my family is quite literally drowning in a sea of Michaels there are Michaels everywhere & whenever my girls forget a guy’s name they tend to guess, well he must be a Michael since in their world about 60% of the male population is a Michael or so it seems.

So, let’s imagine I’m back in high school, it’s the 90s chain wallets are rampant & ska & bigband music is back on the radio & my friends starts telling me hey you know your brother, well some people in school are talking & some weird stuff has been happening & hey do you think Michael could be God in the flesh? I’d be like what? I would think hey buddy, I think maybe you hit your head on something or smoked something more than a Camel because I know my brother & he’s a great guy but even if some weird stuff has been happening I would definitely chock it up to coincidence or something merely unexplainable & move on rather than believing my own brother being the physical embodiment of the divine, the actual incarnation of Yahweh -- you know the one who brought low the Egyptians & saved a people unto himself.

That makes sense, right? If we really lived in this time, experienced all that they did, despite all the teachings & warnings & signs that the disciples should have caught on to by now its not entirely inconceivable that they are still confused or a bit skeptical, right? Does it show a lack of faith, sure! But to be fair to them, it’s a simple matter of proximity, missing the forest for the trees, as they say. It happened in Jesus’ life with not only his disciples & friends but with members of his own family as well. 

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So, to come back to our questions: why now?

Jesus has been asking his disciples who do the people say that I am, who do you say that I am, do you believe in me? I will go to Jerusalem to die & yet I will live again; can you believe this? Jesus is taking this opportunity to not only instruct on who he is putting himself on “glorious” display but He’s also here to help, to care for his friends, to stoke the fire of their faith in him knowing he’s not far away from his false arrest, the disciples scattering & his death on the cross. He wants them warned, prepared, ready for what is to come because he loves them, even in their faults & failings & tiny mustard-seed like faith in him he loves them as he loves you & me in all our faults & failings & our own tiny mustard-seed like faith.

Commentators say - Undoubtedly, the purpose of the transfiguration of Christ into at least a part of His heavenly glory was so that the “inner circle” of His disciples could gain a greater understanding of who Jesus really was. Christ underwent a dramatic change in appearance in order that the disciples could behold Him in His glory. The disciples, who had only known Him in His human body, now had a greater realization of the deity of Christ, though they could not fully comprehend it. That gave them the reassurance they needed after hearing the shocking news of His coming death.

The Setting –

So why here, why a mountain top experience, what does that phrase even mean?

Why not a valley or a castle or a garden? Gardens are big in Biblical imagery right? We all want to be back in the relative safety of the Garden with God, right?

Despite the phrase being popularized from my memory in a Martin Luther King Jr speech, what we do know is often in Israel’s history God has used these quote/un-quote “mountain top experience” to invoke an image in Israel’s memory a touch-point like that image of God & Adam touching finger-tips on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. A meeting point between God & Mankind, the meeting place for the temporal and the eternal, with Jesus himself as the connecting point, acting as the bridge between heaven and earth. It’s like when God & Moses meet in Exodus in the wilderness on the mountain top where Moses is ready to receive God’s law for God’s newly established people or God speaking to Elijah on the mountaintop in the still small whisper & God & Elijah facing the prophets of Baal on the mountain top in 1^st Kings. These tremendous events in Israel’s history where he reminds them they are not alone! You are not alone & while they & we don’t always “see” him God the Father, he is always there!

In various Christian teachings, the Transfiguration is seen as a pivotal moment, and the setting on the mountain is presented as the point where humanity meets God and he has a message for his people just like he did at Christ’s baptism “This is my beloved Son!”  Not a mere prophet, not a mere miracle worker, not another earthly king but God’s own son.

What’s with Moses & Elijah –

As the ancient church father Origen & Martin Luther taught long ago, the appearance of Moses and Elijah represents the Law and the Prophets. When the voice from Heaven, God’s voice says – “Listen to Him!” - clearly this is showing the disciples that even the Law and the Prophets must give way to Jesus. This One who is the new and living Way is replacing the old way – He is the fulfillment of the Law and the countless prophecies in the Old Testament. Also, in His glorified form the disciples get a glimpse, a preview of His coming glorification and enthronement as King of kings and Lord of lords which is what the entire chapter 5 of Revelation is about… I don’t have time now to preach on it, but do you remember it? No one in Heaven & Earth are found worthy & all of Mankind & the Angelic creatures wept & yet 1 was found worth, the Lion on the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Slain Lamb fulfilling centuries of OT prophesy & the entire animal sacrifice symbolism! That is Jesus Christ!... Worthy!... Why? Revelation says for he was slain & by His blood you bought us sinners (slaves of sin). You bought us off the slave market, redeemed us, all kinds & types of people of every tribe, language & nation & made them into 1 new kingdom.

 The Transfiguration not only supports the identity of Jesus as the Son of God (as did his Baptism), but this statement "Listen to him", & the presence of Elijah and Moses identifies him as the messenger and mouth-piece of God. It indicates to the apostles that Jesus is the voice of God "par excellence", and instead of Elijah or Moses, he should be listened to, surpassing the laws of Moses & miracles of Elijah by virtue of his relationship with God. 2 Peter, echoes the same message: that at the Transfiguration God assigns to Jesus a special "honor and glory" and it is the turning point at which God exalts Jesus above all other powers & nations & leaders in creation, and positions him as ruler and judge.

The Transfiguration also echoes the teaching by Jesus that God is not "the God of the dead, but of the living". That although Moses had died and Elijah had been taken up to heaven centuries before (in 2 Kings), they now live in the presence of the Son of God, implying that the same return to life can apply to all who face death and have faith.

So why now? – Cause Jerusalem is not far away, literally it’s in like 2 chapters from now!  

Why a mountain top? – It’s the classic meeting-place between God & Man.

But why only these 3 at the transfiguration? – Honestly its unclear; to me I would make a lot out of Peter & his leadership in the Early Church & the extent of John in the writing of the NT but James *shrug* a trinity reference? *shrug* Maybe its just because he was the 1^st Apostle to me martyred & Jesus grants James this small honor for that sacrifice.

Why Moses & Elijah? So the disciples would not think less of Jesus than God wanted – like our Muslim & Mormon friends make him out to be. A mere prophet? 1 of many spirit children of God? Not so! Preeminence, belongs to Christ – glory & worship!

And finally, why the Markian secret? Why does Jesus keep charging people to keep quiet about these amazing events until after his resurrection? I’d love Brian to explain this more but my impression is Jesus does not want people with a false impression of why he’s here.

Is he the tax-free Obama-care of the 1^st century? No. Is he the WIC & food-stamp program for the Jews? No. Is he merely another earthly king like David? No. Is he just another prophet? No. He’s God, coming to do God’s work: to obey because we don’t, to suffer & save because we wouldn’t, to die & rise again! Because we can’t. Listen to him!  

Wrap-up –

The transfiguration is considered one of the major milestones in the life of Jesus meant to put you on the dock & confront you with the truth of who Jesus is. Along with his Miraculous Birth, Baptism, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension and its close proximity with another important element, the Confession of Peter: pronouncing "You, Jesus are the Christ", Mark 8, The Transfiguration narrative acts as a further revelation of the identity of Jesus as the Son of God to encourage & motivate his disciples.

To steal from CS Lewis…

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying that really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'Oh well, I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Your Lord and God like his disciples came to. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

 

(C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, pp. 55-56)

End – So how to apply this text to our modern lives: Trust, Encouragement & Motivation.

The disciples never forgot what happened that day on the mountain. John wrote in his gospel, “We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only” (John 1). Peter also wrote of it, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain” (2 Peter 1:16-18). What do you think Peter goes on to say? Oh man, you totally missed out on this awesome 1 of a kind personal religious experience I just had, dudes? No! He goes on to say how lucky you are. How the Scriptures are even more reliable than these kinds of extreme religious experiences. How you can trust in them. Those who witnessed the transfiguration bore witness to it to the other disciples, in Scripture and to countless millions down through the centuries.

Let it motivate you to trust in his Word, to worship him correctly, listen to him, pray to him. He knows your weakness, he can sympathize. Get to know him! Talk to him, believe him, and motivate others into deeper faith. Hey, I got an “F” in speech in college. Public speaking scares the hell out of me…. but I’m here. This passage motivates me to do my part, what is yours?

Be gentle & patient with others who don’t yet get it regarding doctrine & Christianity, sometimes I hear these young pastors who I know are wanting to me “bold” preachers but preach with such vile & vinegar in their sermons its sounds like brass knuckles to your ears & hear rather than love & guidance, they have not yet learned who the Good Shepard is, be like Christ was with his disciples, gently guide others, bear with one another, learn more, love more. Act like Christ!

Closing prayer –

            Father, we all need rest it seems in these buys days but ironically, I believe that even more than this we need to know are bibles better, “I don’t care how” Bible Trivia pursuit, commentaries, classes, reading, dvds, podcasts, lectures – motivate us – to just do it! I believe that we will find rest spiritually & mentally if not always physically if we get to work in this & this will by design motivate us to be doing: doing what, my guess is 2 things 1 thinking less of ourselves & our need for consumeristic need to accumulate stuff which frees up our money & time to begin thinking of others in a million different ways: in support, service, and friendship. God, we thank you for this story to know the disciples didn’t always get it, so we can know you can be patient with us & guide us & reveal yourself to us more fully. But let us not rest there, let us mature by Your Spirit let us grow into the disciples after the resurrection too emboldened, brave, self-sacrificial servants of you & of friend to our fellow man.

Sermon outline Transfiguration

The Transfiguration: Encouragement, Revelation & Motivation.

Intro: historical parallels

Context: dim & disappointing disciples & the disbelief of others - Mark 1-8

Questions to answer:

Why now & not later?

Why here on the mountain top & not somewhere else?

Why only a few of the disciples & not more or others?

Why the brief cameos from Moses & Elijah?

What’s with the continuing Markian secret?

Application:

Trust in Scripture

Encouragement about the Future

Mimicking the Good Shepherd

Motivation in Service

Knowledge to worship Christ correctly.

Joy in face of Danger & Paul & Silas in Prison

To circle back on our last night together, we’ve talked about the spike lately in celebrity & youth suicides which I don’t think is detached from the base ideas we’re considering together of a sense of purposelessness, hopelessness, faithlessness & tonight joylessness.

About 400 years after God used Martin Luther to lead Protestantism out of the Catholic Church, came WWII & another German theologian, pastor, seminary professor, and participant in the resistance movement against Adolph Hitler, he had been imprisoned by the Nazis for his activism. In the final days of the war, Bonhoeffer and his fellow prisoners had experienced a strange mixture of hope and panic as they heard the Allied guns on the horizon. Moved from place to place in advance of the American and British forces, the little group of prisoners was finally brought to a schoolhouse in Schonberg, Germany.
Time finally ran out for Bonhoeffer. An interrogator from Berlin named Huppenkothen arrived with orders for Bonheoffer’s immediate trial and execution. On the Sunday prior to his execution, Bonhoeffer was entreated by his fellow prisoners, among them Roman Catholics and even a Communist from Russia, to hold a worship service. The sermon touched his fellow prisoners deeply, encouraging them. Following this message, Bonhoeffer was called out of his cell and transported to Flossenberg, Germany where he was interrogated, tried, and condemned.
Bonhoeffer truly embodies the principles inherent our Acts 16 passage today & in Hebrews 4:14-16, namely that joy depends on one’s relationship to Jesus.  This was a truth Bonhoeffer lived to the very end, one that left an enduring picture of true Christian faith & perseverance in the midst of adversity.

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Opening quote - From James regarding Joy in face of danger

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

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Read text

Paul and Silas in Prison

¹⁶ As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” ¹⁸ And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
¹⁹ But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. ²⁰ And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. ²¹ They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” ²² The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. ²³ And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. ²⁴ Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

The Philippian Jailer Converted

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, ²⁶ and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. ²⁷ When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” ²⁹ And the jailer^[e] called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³² And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. ³⁴ Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
³⁵ But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” ³⁶ And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” ³⁷ But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” ³⁸ The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. ³⁹ So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. ⁴⁰ So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

Pausing here – any thoughts our questions on this passage before we move into the breakdown?

What can we learn from the account of Paul and Silas in Jail?

How is it Paul & Silas can face beatings, trials & imprisonments without complaint?

Is their fearlessness tied to something deeper than their immediate surroundings? (Peter - Acts 5:41)

If Paul & Silas can take even imprisonment as an opportunity to minister to others, worship & spread the gospel why are Christian’s today so unlikely to evangelize?

I think Brian said the Barna group reports that 92% of American Christians will not tell someone about the Gospel in the next 12 months!

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Answer: Paul and Silas ministered together on the Paul’s second missionary journey (Acts 15–18). Paul and Silas are first mentioned together after the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, as both men were part of the group that took the council’s decision back to Syrian Antioch (verse 22). Silas is called a “prophet” who “said much to encourage and strengthen the believers” in Antioch (verse 32).

After Paul and Barnabas parted ways, Paul chose Silas as a traveling companion, and they went to Syria and Cilicia, ministering to the churches (Acts 15:41). After that, Paul and Silas traveled to Derbe and Lystra, where they picked up another companion, Timothy (Acts 16:1–3). Following a journey though Asia Minor, the Spirit led Paul and Silas into Macedonia (verses 6–10). During the missionaries’ time in Philippi, people were saved and a church was established, but Satan opposed their work. Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten, and put in prison for their preaching (Acts 16:16–24). While in prison, Paul and Silas sat with their feet in stocks singing hymns. At midnight, an earthquake broke open the prison doors, setting the prisoners free. The jailer feared that his superiors would blame him for the jail break, and he prepared to run himself through with his sword rather than face the punishment. Paul and Silas convinced him not to harm himself, they preached the gospel to him, and he was saved, along with his entire household that night (Acts 16:25–34).

From the biblical record of Paul and Silas we learn the value of faithful companions and dedicated servants of the Lord in spreading the gospel. Paul and Silas were likeminded and equally committed to the service of God. Whether they were praying for guidance in Asia, blazing new trails in Europe, preaching in synagogues, or singing in jail, Paul and Silas did it together. Their loyalty to the gospel and to each other is a model of how believers should work together today.

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Closing quote - The joy in life is to be used for a purpose. I want to be used up when I die. George Bernard Shaw

 

I have no greater joy then to hear that my children walk in truth. -- John 4

“We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Faith, knowledge & Thomas

What do you know about Jupiter?

It’s a planet, the 5^th one from the Sun.

Its huge; about 1/1000 the size of the Sun but about 2.5 times larger than all the other planets in our Solar System combined.

Jupiter is named after a Roman god.

It’s a gas giant; consisting of helium & hydrogen.

It was studied by the Juno NASA mission.

Now how do you know what you know about Jupiter?

You were probably taught about it, probably read a bit about it, and probably saw some PBS special on planets as a kid. But how do you know that anything you’ve been taught about Jupiter is true?

Have you seen it through your own telescope to confirm facts about its size & relative distance? Have you been there or sent your own satellites & rovers & ultra-powered Hubble telescopes to be sure others are not lying to you about it?

Did you fact-check your kids science & astrophysics textbooks before you allowed the school district to use them? How do you know your teacher or your kid’s teachers are qualified to educate?

The sneaky thing about education is its almost entirely founded on faith, trust in the lessons learned in the past by people personally unknown to us, researched by yet others, and accredited by other unknowns, built upon by yet others we don’t know, taught to us with little to no question no matter if we’re public school or private school or home schooled.

Yet, if education were not done this way each fact taught would have to be personally re-evaluated by everyone & not merely trusted & accepted. In this scenario, we could not build upon the past, we’d still be reinventing our basest products. In fact, we’d still be the cartoonish stereotypical hunter/gatherer cave-dwellers studying the concept of the wheel or pointy stick to see if it’s really a valid idea for our own families or not.

So last night one of the “universal” needs we looked at was Hope. Today its faith (or trust) & what can we learn from the story of “doubting” Thomas.

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Opening quote from a skeptic - If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank. - Woody Allen

Answer: I think we should thank God for the example of "doubting Thomas"! The famous story of the disciple Thomas is recorded in John 20:24-29. All Christians suffer doubt at one time or another, but the example of doubting Thomas provides both instruction and encouragement.

After Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, He appeared alive and glorified to His disciples to comfort them and proclaim to them the good news of His victory over death (John 20:19-23). However, one of the original 12 disciples, Thomas, was not present for this visitation (John 20:24). After being told by the other disciples of Jesus’ resurrection and personal visit, Thomas “doubted” and wanted physical proof of the risen Lord in order to believe this good news. Jesus, knowing Thomas’s human frailty resulted in weakened faith, accommodated Thomas.

It is important to note that Jesus did not have to fulfill Thomas’s request. He was not obligated in the slightest bit. Thomas had spent three years intimately acquainted with Jesus witnessing all His miracles and hearing His prophecies about His coming death and resurrection. That, and the testimony Thomas received from the other 10 disciples about Jesus’ return, should have been enough, but still he doubted. Jesus knew Thomas’s weakness, just as he knows ours.

The doubt Thomas experienced in the face of the heartbreaking loss of the One he loved is not unlike our own when facing a massive loss: despair, heartbreak, and exceeding sorrow, all of which Christ sympathizes with (Hebrews 4:15). But, although Thomas did in fact doubt the Lord’s resurrection appearance, once he saw the risen Christ, he proclaimed in faith, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Jesus commended him for his faith, although that faith was based on sight.

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What do you think was it wrong of Thomas to doubt?

Why do you think so many Christians struggle with times of doubt?

As an extra encouraging note to future Christians, Jesus goes on to say, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29, emphasis added). He meant that once He ascended to heaven, He would send the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who would live within believers from then on, enabling us to believe that which we do not see with our eyes. **This same Purpose is echoed by Peter, who said of Christ, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with a joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9).

Although we have the Spirit within us, we can still experience doubt. This, however, does not affect our eternal standing with God. True saving faith always perseveres to the end just as Thomas’s did, and just as Peter’s did after he had a monumental moment of weakness by denying the very Lord he loved and believed in (Matthew 26:69-75). This is because, “he (Jesus) who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). Jesus is “the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Faith is the gift of God to His children (Ephesians 2:8-9), and He will mature and continue to perfect it until He returns.

So how do we keep from doubting as Thomas did?

Or what lessons can we learn from this?

First, we must go to God in prayer when experiencing doubt. That may be the very reason God is allowing a Christian to doubt—so that we will depend on Him through prayer. Sanctification is the process of growing in our understanding & need of Him, which includes times of doubt and times of the feeling of great faith. Like the man who brought his demon-possessed child to Jesus but was unsure whether Jesus could help him, we go to God because we believe in Him and ask Him for more and greater faith to overcome our doubts, crying, “I do believe; but help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:17-27).

            Could be skipped - Second, we must recognize that Christians fight a spiritual battle daily. Many in our church are reading a great book called Pilgrim’s Progress which is an allegory of the Christian’s spiritual walk. In it we read how we have to gear up for the battle. The Christian needs to daily be armed with the Word of God to help fight these spiritual battles, which include fighting doubt, and we arm ourselves with the “full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10-19). As Christians, we must take advantage of the lulls in spiritual warfare to polish our spiritual armor in order to be ready for the next battle. Times of doubt will become less frequent if we take advantage of the good times to feed our faith with the Word of God. Then when we raise the shield of faith and do battle with the enemy of our souls, his flaming darts of doubt will not hit their target.

Doubting Christians have two things doubting Thomas did not have—the indwelling Holy Spirit and the written New Testament. By the power of both the Spirit and the Word, we can overcome doubts and, like Thomas, be prepared to follow our Lord and Savior and give all for Him, even our lives (John 11:16).

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Closing quote

Skepticism has never founded empires, established principals, or changed the world's heart. The great doers in history have always been people of faith. Edwin Hubbel Chapin