The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

10 He replied, “I heard You walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”

12 The man replied, “It was the woman You gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. 15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

16 Then He said to the woman,

“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”

17 And to the man He said,

“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. 18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. 19 By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”

Sermon

Elder Joe Bell just read for us the account of “The Fall of Humanity”. The events it speaks of appear to have happened during the course of a single day, but it could have all happened across several days or even longer. (There’s no specific indications in the text.) But, enough to say that, in the words of one chapter is described humanity’s fall from a close, intimate, personal, living relationship with God to rebellion against and alienation from Him.

The telling of this incident in Genesis Chapter 3, short and sweet – in my opinion – does not do justice to the realities that must have been a part of these events. Because there is no commentary sharing what Adam and Eve were thinking they tend to come across as looking pretty “duped” and innocent in the whole thing, and the Lord God – our Father –coming across appearing so very harsh and over-reacting. (At least that’s how I’ve heard different people comment about it over many years.)

But notice that after the serpent – that dragon, the devil – tempted them with the idea of not having to trust God but to be able to know good from evil for themselves and to be able to become like God themselves, that Genesis tells us, “The woman was convinced.” (v. 6) Most literally the Hebrew says that she “saw” all that the serpent had told her, that is, she saw things differently after the serpent had spoken: Eve had given herself to a new lord. She no longer trusted God the Father but had come to believe the serpent, the devil, instead.

Interestingly, Genesis doesn’t tell us about Adam. Perhaps the idea percolated around his mind the rest of the day. (And perhaps even across several days, if it didn’t all happen right away.) But as he focused on the serpent’s promises more and more I imagine that pride began to form in his heart for what the devil promised him they could become, and lust for what he didn’t yet have, and anger at God for keeping it from them, and on and on until, I see he and Eve making their way to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil one day, and I picture Adam looking at the fruit of the Tree and then looking at Eve, and with a nod for her to go ahead, them silently agreeing to eat…

And suddenly they knew shame where before they’d only known innocence, and they tried to hide and distance themselves from God where before they’d only known vulnerability and security, and they blamed each other for their actions where before they’d taken responsibility… And the sheer pleasure of childbirth became tainted with pain, and the battle of the sexes began, and the joy of fulfilling work was spoiled by obligation and drudgery, and the reality of death entered the creation.

(Just an aside, one of the many harmful influences about evolutionary teaching – other than the fact that modern genetics has all but proven that species did not begin or develop that way – one of the many harmful influences about evolutionary teaching is death. Evolutionary teaching says that millions and billions of years of death produced humanity, but the Bible says that there was no death or dying or predators or hunting or anything else of the kind whatsoever before Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. [Of course, after the Fall God did permit human beings to hunt and trap and eat animals for food, and beasts began eating each other as food, but none of that was the case before the Fall.] And that’s what Jesus is leading us back to [or forward to]: That’s how the wolf will lie down with the lamb and the lion with the baby goat, etc… Because they won’t be predator and prey to one another any more! And a little child will lead them…)

So either the Bible is true or evolutionary teaching is true. And many teachers and professors and others will ridicule you if you believe the Bible, and such teaching causes people to doubt God’s Word, and so maybe this really means that in the Bible, and maybe it’s okay if I believe this part of the Scriptures but don’t believe that part… Again, that’s all just an aside…)

The reason I’m preaching about this here leading up to Christmas is, in our reading, did you see our Father promising Adam and Eve Jesus? Right here in Chapter 3 of Genesis! Look at it with me, v. 6, it’s our Father speaking to the serpent: The Lord says, “I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Some scholars over the years have minimized this verse to fable-like status, a cute reference as to why so many women don’t like snakes. Which may be cute but is clearly silly since not all women don’t like snakes. But it doesn’t even fit the context when the potentially plural of “offspring” becomes the absolutely singular as God promises, “He will strike your [the serpent’s] head, and you [the serpent] will strike his heel.” (Not only the first revelation that God will send a savior, but also the first revelation that that savior will suffer…)

Jesus Christ was not born Jesus of Nazareth just to save you from your sins. He was born to destroy that devil – Satan – and destroy the power of sin altogether, and every kind of rebellion and disobedience against God the Father once and for all! Jesus was not born at Christmastime in the hopes of making your life a little better. He was born in order to give you a new life! He wasn’t born in order to rent you and me for Sunday sing-a-longs and coffee clutches with His angels, He was born in order to buy us – body and soul! We are not our own, we’ve been purchased by His sinless death on the cross. We belong to God!

We had separated ourselves from God and Jesus came to make us friends of God. We were sons and daughters of destruction, but Jesus came to make us sons and daughters of God! We were headed for Hell, but Jesus came to be our bridge to Heaven-and-a-life-forever-with-God!

That’s Christmas! That’s why we sing! That’s why we decorate! That’s why we give gifts and have special parties and drive and travel to be with friends and family and other loved ones!

Because we couldn’t save ourselves: But God so loved us that He sent Jesus – the offspring of Eve – to save us! Our rebellion against God the Father and our constant hiding from Him left a God-shaped hole within each human beings’ heart. Try as we might nothing else can fill it! And God sent Jesus to come and fill it with what it had been made for, Himself!

Ephesians 2 says that since Adam and Eve that human beings are born and live in sin, obeying the devil – the commander of the powers in the unseen world. It is the devil’s power and influence over unredeemed human beings that keeps people refusing to obey God and following their self-centered and sin-drenched passions and predispositions. And in that condition, though people are technically “living” beings, the Bible says they are dead… And that is who we were. And the apostle Paul writes, “It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, He embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on His Own, with no help from us! Then He picked us up and set us down in highest Heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.” (Ephesians 2:4-6)

Sin has been defeated! Death has lost its sting! A new heavens and a new earth have been established and our Lord Jesus will bring them when He returns for us! He came the first time, just as God had promised, at Christmas. And the reality and celebration of Christmas is the down payment – our sure and certain hope – that He will indeed come back again!

That’s Christmas! That’s why He was born! Let these truths, let these wonders fill up our blessings and our “Merry Christmas’” and our celebrations with family and friends this wondrous season!

Now all glory to God, Who is able to make you strong, just as my Good News says. This message about Jesus Christ has revealed His plan for you Gentiles, a plan kept secret from the beginning of time. But now as the prophets foretold and as the eternal God has commanded, this message is made known to all Gentiles everywhere, so that they too might believe and obey Him. All glory to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, forever. Amen. (Romans 16:25-27)

Psalm 32 [NLTse] – A psalm of David.

¹ Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! ² Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! ³ When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. ⁴ Day and night Your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.

Interlude

⁵ Finally, I confessed all my sins to You and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And You forgave me! All my guilt is gone.

Interlude

⁶ Therefore, let all the godly pray to You while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment. ⁷ For You are my hiding place; You protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.

Interlude

⁸ The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. ⁹ Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”

¹⁰ Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord. ¹¹ So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey Him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!

Sermon

In 1 Timothy 4:7-8 the apostle Paul writes to the young pastor, “Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. ‘Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.’”

When Paul speaks of training ourselves to be godly here he is using the Greek word gyumnadze, and we get gymnastics and gymnasium from that word. Literally, gyumnadze means “to exercise naked” (most literally, that’s what it means), because that’s what they did in those days.

Our modern athletes wear extra clothing – special clothing – and equipment when they compete. But in ancient times all the material in those loose robes and tunics could wrap around and impede your movement, so athletes would remove their clothes, taking off anything that might get in their way and keep them from doing their best.

I share this because we Christians must also “remove” anything that might hinder our goal of godliness. (First of all, of course, we must establish godliness as being our goal. But after that, we must remove anything that might in any way keep us from reaching that goal.) And as King David sings in Psalm 32, confession of sin is the way we Christians take off that which would drag us down so that we can be free to put on that which is truly helpful.

Hebrews 12:1, also using an athletics metaphor, puts it this way, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

Our Father in Heaven calls us to enter His “gym” and get rid of everything that would keep us from doing our best. Guilt weighs heavy on a soul. Everything around us can be wonderful and bless-ed, but if we have un-confessed sin in our lives, our loving God and Father puts His heavy hand of discipline upon us until we admit it, until we confess it. He calls us to “stand naked” – transparent – before Him, painting an honest picture of ourselves, and asking for His forgiveness…

Many may tell you that it is foolish to confess your sins and admit your faults because it just gives those around you power over you. But “nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13) The truth is that God already knows our sins and already has power over us. He calls us to confess our sins for the same reason a parent wants a child to confess or a judge wants a guilty criminal to confess, so that we can show Him we are sorry and willing to take responsibility for our actions.

Proverbs 28:13 says,  “He who conceals his sin does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” And 1 John 1:9 promises, “If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” The Lord’s purpose is to restore, not ruin, a person who is honest before Him. And His intention is not to just forgive us, His plan is to wash us clean!

When my kids were younger they could play hide-and-seek for hours. I’d watch them shut themselves in a closet or cover themselves in a blanket and they would shout from their “hiding place”, “Dad, go count and then come find me!” When we keep our sins to ourselves we foolishly think that we’re hiding well, not realizing that God knows exactly where we are. And, of course, the best part of the game for my kids was not the hiding, but being found.

Jesus has come and found us overwhelmed by fears and death and worries and sin of every kind. He has found us and offered us a deal, a new covenant: He will take our sin and go to the cross and put our sin to death there if we will take His righteousness and come to the cross and live our lives according to His Spirit-within-us that we’ll find there. But in order to take His righteousness we need to first give Him our sin: Our liberation comes through confession…

As we come to the Lord’s Table today – His great thanksgiving banquet! – let us trust our God and Father to free us from our burdens of guilt and shame, remorse and disgrace. True confession to God always precedes true communion with God. Let us confess our sins…

Psalm 40 [NLTse]

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹ I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and He turned to me and heard my cry. ² He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. ³ He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what He has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.

⁴ Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols. ⁵ O Lord my God, You have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.

⁶ You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that You have made me listen, I finally understand—You don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings. ⁷ Then I said, “Look, I have come. As is written about me in the Scriptures: ⁸ I take joy in doing Your will, my God, for Your instructions are written on my heart.”

⁹ I have told all Your people about Your justice. I have not been afraid to speak out, as You, O Lord, well know. ¹⁰ I have not kept the good news of Your justice hidden in my heart; I have talked about Your faithfulness and saving power. I have told everyone in the great assembly of Your unfailing love and faithfulness.

¹¹ Lord, don’t hold back Your tender mercies from me. Let Your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me. ¹² For troubles surround me—too many to count! My sins pile up so high I can’t see my way out. They outnumber the hairs on my head. I have lost all courage.

¹³ Please, Lord, rescue me! Come quickly, Lord, and help me. ¹⁴ May those who try to destroy me be humiliated and put to shame. May those who take delight in my trouble be turned back in disgrace. ¹⁵ Let them be horrified by their shame, for they said, “Aha! We’ve got him now!”

¹⁶ But may all who search for You be filled with joy and gladness in You. May those who love Your salvation repeatedly shout, “The Lord is great!” ¹⁷ As for me, since I am poor and needy, let the Lord keep me in His thoughts. You are my helper and my savior. O my God, do not delay.

Why? What? How? Now!

Sermon – “Waiting… Waiting On The Lord”

Last week we looked across the Scriptures at the promise and wonders of Jesus’ return. That message began by acknowledging how frequently the promise of His return gets talked about across the Old and New Testaments – by Job, Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Paul, Peter, James, John, as well as the Lord Jesus Himself, and often including great detail about His coming.

And, of course, He charges us to wait for Him. He calls us to expect His return. For Christians to live this life with anticipation!

And yet, after 2,000 years of waiting, here in our “microwave”, want-it-right-away society, I think the temptation can be for our anticipation to more often look like this…

But ditching ketchup for mayonnaise, or choosing to eat a dry burger instead of waiting and waiting and waiting is altogether different than not being ready when Jesus returns.

The Lord told a story one time about being ready and not being ready. He said, “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

“At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’

“All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’

“But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’

“But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’

“But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’

And Jesus ended saying, “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of My return.” (Matthew 25:1-13)

So being “ready” is not an option, nor is readiness something we can hope our church or our fellow Christians can do for us. We need to be ready, our lamps full when Jesus returns.

And yet even more, the Christian life is filled with waiting of all sorts, as we seek God’s guidance, cry out to Him for help, pray and wait for His answer… Waiting expectantly is a part of our following Christ and living by faith here in the world. But what does that look like, waiting expectantly? How do we nurture anticipation in ourselves? How do we live “ready” for something that may happen at any moment, and yet may not happen in our lifetimes?

In our Scripture reading from Psalm 40 this morning, King David was waiting, expectantly waiting. Verse 1 is most literally translated, “I waited and waited for the LORD to help me…” So David’s making it clear that he’d been banging on the bottle with his shoe for some time. But in verse 2 he goes on to make sure we know that it was worth it.

In Matthew 7:7-8 the Lord Jesus makes clear, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

So if we want to nurture anticipation for Christ’s return in ourselves, we need to keep asking Jesus to return in our prayers. And as we wait for other promises to be fulfilled, we need to keep on asking for them to be fulfilled. And as we pray and wait for God’s response, we need to keep on praying and keep our eyes and spirits open for His response.

One of the benefits – King David sings – to waiting expectantly (if you’ll look down at verse 3 with me) is that when the Lord does fulfill His promises and respond to our prayers that – because we’ve been so open about and sharing with those around us what we’ve been asking Him for and seeking from Him that – “Many will see what He has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.”

So “How Do We Nurture Anticipation?
How Do We Live ‘Ready’?” We keep asking Jesus to return; we keep on asking, seeking, knocking; we keep on praying…

(As we keep on praying, let’s not rebel too quickly against the waiting. Into verse 6 it says, “Now that You have made me listen, I finally understand…” and it goes on telling what God had revealed to David during his time waiting.

When we are actively, expectantly waiting on the Lord He’s got our full attention. He’s “making us listen”, and as we wait we can hear Him reveal things to us that we might at other times miss.)

As we wait, as we keep praying, verses 9-10 show us David boasting to those around him about God’s character and His faithfulness. As we wait on the Lord – to return, to answer our prayers – it helps our waiting to rehearse what He’s done for us in our past (and what He’s done for others, if that’s helpful.) I know some folks who keep a journal or a diary of God’s answers to prayer, His acts of saving power in their lives or that they’ve witnessed around them. Praising God and remembering and sharing with others all He’s done to deliver us before, to help us before, to answer us before, it all circles around to feed #1 and help keep us praying.

And we need this praising and we need this remembering what He’s done before because, as verses 11-12 show, as we wait it can sometimes become harder and harder to see beyond our problems: Our troubles can seem too many; our sins can seem too high; we can lose all courage as we wait.

So we fight that and nurture anticipation and live “ready” by Keeping asking Jesus to return, that is, by keeping on praying, and by regularly praising God and reminding ourselves and telling others about all He’s done for us in the past.

The Psalm closes with a prayer that others might find the Lord, too, knowing His joy and gladness, loving His salvation and praising Him, too! Likewise it can be such a great blessing for us, in the midst of our waiting and feeling the pressures of our troubles and temptations, being enticed by it all to be consumed by our thoughts about me, me, me, me, me to set our thoughts and some of our praying on others: That others around us would know the Lord; that they would know His love and His grace and His saving power; and that they would be encouraged as God responds to our prayers (and that we might be encouraged as He, perhaps, responds to theirs).

1) Keep on praying

2) Praise Him and tell again and again His saving acts

3) Pray for others to be saved and delivered and that God would answer their prayers.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are celebrations with much waiting and getting ready. May these seasons waitings and preparations remind us and keep us expectantly waiting as Jesus’ return draws near.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 [NLTse]

4¹³ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

¹⁵ We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. ¹⁷ Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ So encourage each other with these words.

5 Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. ² For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. ³ When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.

⁴ But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. ⁵ For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. ⁶ So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. ⁷ Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. ⁸ But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

⁹ For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. ¹⁰ Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. ¹¹ So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

One out of every 30 verses in the Bible mentions the subject of Christ’s return or the end of time. Of the 216 chapters in the New Testament, there are well over 300 references to the return of Jesus Christ! 23 of the 27 New Testament books specifically mention Jesus’ return. Well-known and reliable men of God like Job, Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, as well as most of the shorter prophetic books mention Jesus’ return in their writings. And the Lord Jesus Himself often spoke in great detail about His future return to the Earth.

Even so, after 2,000 years of waiting, I know that many Christians struggle to live eagerly expecting His return. And we’re not alone. Within only 40 years of Jesus’ ascension into Heaven some had already begun asking, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.” (2 Peter 3:4)

Is He really coming back to the Earth? And if he is, why, for what reason? And, how will it happen, what will it be like?

Well, first off, our reading this morning tells us that one of the reasons Jesus is coming back is to take us out of the world. The Bible has promised a time when God the Father would destroy this creation (because it’s been so marred by sin and suffering and death), and at that time He will replace it with a new creation where there will be no more occasions for sadness or crying or pain or death, ever again. And the Lord Jesus will come to take Christians out of the world before that wholesale destruction will happen.

He’s also coming back to show everyone who has ever lived that He is truly alive, that He is risen from the dead; that He really is the “Son of God” and “God the Son”; and that He is the power in Heaven and on the Earth, the true Ruler of all, supreme over all earthly kings and presidents and congresses and parliaments, etc… And though the Scriptures show us – when He returns – that many will prefer dying than facing Him and having to acknowledge His supremacy, that when He returns that everyone will recognize His majesty, and every knee will bow and every tongue will declare Him to be God the Son to the glory of God the Father.

Over the centuries, some have argued that Jesus has already returned: Invisibly, and to only a few of the faithful. And that sounds nice, and mysterious, and very “spiritual”, but the Bible never even hints at the idea that Jesus might ever return in secret.

No, the Lord Jesus Himself taught that His return would be not only visible but worldwide! “For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes,” (Matthew 24:27) Jesus said. Yes, He Himself said that every person alive at that time will see Him when He returns, because He said, “The sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the Earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:30)

Not everyone will be happy about Jesus coming back. Even while the Christians in Asia and Africa are pointing and cheering and clapping! even while Christians in South America and Europe are crying out to Him and rejoicing! the unbelievers around them will be mourning and wailing at His coming! Even while the Christians here in North America (us with them, if we’re alive then) are dancing together and jumping up and down! and the Christians in Australia and Antarctica are weeping with joy and reaching up their hands to Him in the air! the atheists and freethinkers and agnostics and others around us will be shrieking and trying to run away. Because what for us will be – I hope – our greatest joy and the fulfillment of everything we’ve lived for and sacrificed for, will be for them the unimaginable – and for those who hate Him, their worst nightmares come true!

Even so, it won’t just be a visual spectacle. Jesus’ return will be loud! The Lord states, “And He will send out His angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather His chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the Earth and Heaven,” (Matthew 24:31) because the resurrection of the faithful will happen when He returns, as well. As Paul wrote more fully in our reading this morning, “For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.” (v. 16) Yeah, when He comes we’ll see Him coming with Ivah and Benny, and Frances and David and Dottie will be there, too, vibrant and celebrating with us all! We’ll see Steve and Bob and Ed and Wil… [Call out to the congregation] “Who will you be hoping to see?” … Yeah, and there will be Adele and Jean and Sterling and Catherine…

And as the creation begins to break apart we’ll find ourselves – while we’re cheering! weeping! laughing! dancing! – we’ll start slowly rising up off … wherever we are at that time … as gravity loses its hold on us and Jesus draws us to Himself. And there will be Elise and Bea, and Karl and Katarina, and Fred and John. (Anybody else you’re wanting to see?) And there they’ll be, already with the Lord! And we’ll join them, all of us laughing and grinning ear-to-ear together! Because He’s finally come for us! (There’s Sandy! And Charley! And Leona! And Emma!) But, of course, best of all: Jesus! He’s really come! At last He’s come back for us!!

I can say all this with such confidence because Paul goes on in our reading, “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17) (And with Helen and Gerry and Brian and Carolyn.) (And with James and Bill and Vinnie and Eva…) And our bodies will be gloriously transformed as we are raised up to Him, even as we see that Art and Laura and Joan and Elaine and Aimee’s bodies having been gloriously transformed, too!

And it will all be so wonderful! But at the same time it will all be so serious, because the Lord will come as Savior, yes! but He will also come as Judge, and He will reward or punish everyone – each of us – according to our good or bad words and deeds, and if forgiven because of our faith or not forgiven because of our unbelief, and according to those deeds done in faith and those deeds not done in faith… (Revelation 22:12)

And as Jesus judges – every judgment fair, every judgment the very best decision that could be made, what each and every one deserves and requires – around us creation is being remade, but this time nothing less than perfection. And as everything and everyone who is selfish and loves wickedness and prefers sin and cares no more about life than about death are taken away and destroyed, we realize there is nothing that can or will every mar or mess up this new creation ever again! Paradise! Eternity! And with Christ – face-to-face – forever and ever and ever!

I know that we can get so distracted by the good stuff and bad stuff that happens to us here in the world. But it’s this life-to-come with Jesus that He has promised to bring us that we need to be living for, and motivated by. Good things, horrible things, will always be a part of our living in this life. But the new Heaven and the new Earth will be everything we’ve ever hoped for, everything we’ve ever wanted, what human beings were made for – fulfilled! And so very far beyond our wildest dreams! We dare not miss it!!!

And we’ll talk next week about the life that Jesus calls us to for us to look forward to all of it with assurance and confidence (and servant-heartedness and love)!

PASTOR: Anyone go through any of the “X-Ray Questionnaire” from last week? Did the Holy Spirit help you “see” idols in your heart that you hadn’t been aware of before? Yeah, me, too…

Several weeks ago I spoke about a war going on in the minds of every Christian: How we want to live the ways God calls us to live but can often feel as though there are invisible powers working against us trying to get us to live our old selfish, sinful ways, instead. So we began talking about the importance of the Bible – what Paul calls the “Sword of the Spirit” – in fighting this ongoing, daily battle inside ourselves.

Pete Chapin from The Gideons International came and shared stories of those whose lives have been transformed by reading, believing, and acting on the words of the Bible. And I shared that “X-Ray Questionnaire” to help us uncover the lies, the clever deceptions, and the twisted truths that we’ve accepted into our thinking and believing and then went on to talk of how to begin finding the appropriate truths across the Bible to combat them and help us begin building and reinforcing our lives on Christ.

Today I’m going to share with you a training regimen – a daily pattern, if you will – for keeping ourselves in the Scriptures, for feeding upon God’s Word, for saturating ourselves with the Bible day by day by day. The regimen – the pattern – has three parts: Reading the Bible; praying the Bible; and, memorizing the Bible.

Let’s receive the Word of God…

ELDER: Colossians 3:1-17 [NLTse] (Announce the address several times, giving everyone in the congregation who’s trying to the time they need to get their Bibles open to the right page.)

¹ Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of Heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. ² Think about the things of Heaven, not the things of Earth. ³ For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ And when Christ, Who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His glory.

⁵ So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. ⁶ Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. ⁷ You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. ⁸ But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. ⁹ Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. ¹⁰ Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him. ¹¹ In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us.

¹² Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

¹⁶ Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom He gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Sermon

There’s nothing difficult about reading the Scriptures, unless you’ve ever committed yourself to read them, that is. I can be living the most quiet, simple life. But as soon as I commit to start reading the Bible every day all of the sudden people are calling me and stopping by, overtime’s being given or I start having to take work home, every interruption all the busyness you can think of starts happening as soon I commit to begin reading the Bible.

So the very first step, I think, as we begin and continue to commit to fill ourselves with the Scripture is making a daily appointment to do so. If you live your life by a calendar then write it or program it in. Just like with any other appointment, don’t let distractions or even urgent matters get in the way. Of course there will be exceptions: Truly life-and-death emergencies and other such things will always have us reschedule our appointments. Okay. But other than such extremes, make the appointment and keep it, every day.

Where do you start (or go next) and how much to read? Start where you’re most excited. If you’ve always wanted to read one of the gospels, start there. If you’ve always wanted to read Genesis, start there. If you read online, or if the Bible you’re reading has section headings, just read one section at a time, and use the “Ten Ways To Apply God’s Word To Your Life” Insert that’s in today’s Bulletin to the passage. (Let’s pull that out.) You don’t have to do all ten. Try them and then pick two or three that work for and help you live His Word in your life.

You can also use the reading plans in one of the devotional booklets around the church: Daily Walk takes you through the Bible in a year (with some study helps); Closer Walk takes you through the New Testament in one year (again, with some helps). Tapestry, Youth Walk, Upper Room, Daily Bread each have their own reading plans and devotional supplements. Or if you know you can’t (or won’t) read every day, start with the four Scripture at the top of our UPCOMING EVENTS page in the Bulletin each week: Seven days, only four readings! And, again, consider using a couple of the activities on the “Ten Ways To Apply God’s Word To Your Life” Insert to drive it into your mind and heart.

I recommend setting a timer – on your phone or on the stove. In our day of hectic schedules and deadlines to keep, if you’re busy and have never read the Bible each day before, you may find yourself always looking at the clock to make sure you’re not late for … whatever you’re concerned you might be late for. A timer will give you confidence that you won’t be late so you can be fully present with the Lord as you read. Start with 15 minutes, and when you want to increase (and over time you will) set it for 30 minutes. (And go on as the Lord keeps drawing you.) But just start and feel good about even 15…

One of the activities on the “Ten Ways To Apply God’s Word To Your Life” Insert is to Pray the Scripture back to God. And that’s what I’d like to talk about next.

If you still have your Bibles open, great. If not, open to Colossians 3:12… [After everyone’s there] Perhaps we’re reading through Colossians (like we did this morning and like the Study that’s beginning this Thursday night at Carol Phillips’ home), your section – “Living the New Life” – begins with verse 1 and continues through verse 17. Perhaps verse 12 catches your attention: “Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” You decide to pray it back to God, and it might go something like this: “God: You have chosen me, chosen me to be holy – different from those around me! You dearly love me. Help me to be truly compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient.”

When we pray the Scriptures we are taking what we’ve read and learned from our readings and praying the main points for ourselves, others, or for situations around us back to God.

Here’s another one based on Matthew 6:25-34. Let’s look through the passage for a moment, and then I will pray it… Won’t you pray with me? “Father-God, Your Word says that I am more valuable to You than even the most breath-taking wonders of Your creation. You know all the things I need, and You don’t want me to worry about any of them… Father, set me truly free from anxiety and striving-for-myself. Set me truly free to seek Your Kingdom in my work and daily responsibilities and to let You worry about providing the things that I need. Help me to make seeking You my priority, and to trust You with all my troubles each and every day.”

Joni Eareckson-Tada says this about Scripture-prayer: “We pray, ‘In Jesus’ name’ at the end of our prayers so naturally but we need to learn to pray like Jesus Who is the Word of God… The Bible is our prayer book, and we’d be remiss to neglect its riches. It holds the key to finding God’s will when we pray, providing balance and meaning. Great themes abound: God’s holiness, wisdom, faithfulness, sovereignty, love, and mercy – all of which beautify our praises, adorn our intercessions, embroider our petitions, and give weight and significance to every supplication. Most of all, using the Word of God in prayer is about as close as we can get to the Living Word, the Lord Jesus. If we’re going to pray in His name, it makes sense to speak in His language.”

Lastly, I’d like to talk about memorizing the Bible. Let’s pull out another Insert you’ll find in your Bulletins titled, “Taste And See That The Lord Is Good – Scripture To Memorize And Feed Your Soul”.

Years ago me and my family started trying to memorize Scripture. We work very hard to have dinner together every night, so we chose to try to memorize around the dinner table, with me quizzing everybody in random order. It was great fun, and we learned and took a lot of God’s Word deep into our hearts. But I messed it up.

We were trying to memorize one passage a week, and then – week by week – refreshing our memorization of the old passages while continuing to memorize new ones. We got a bit behind and I wanted to try to catch-us-up by having us memorize two passages at a time for a couple of weeks. Nobody else around the dinner table wanted to, but I pushed and pushed trying to get my way…

I succeeded. That is, I did not succeed in having my family grow in memorizing the Bible, but I did succeed in aggravating my children (as Colossians warns us against doing). It wasn’t long afterwards that nobody was interested in memorizing as a family any more.

I share that as a lesson-learned in how not to do it. But while it was working for us we wrote the verses on index cards and kept the stack of cards close by the dining room table. Sometimes I took them to review while I was walking on the treadmill… You know what would work for you…

Read the Bible. Pray the Bible. Memorize the Bible. Make whatever changes in your life you need to make to take the Scriptures into you and make the Word of God a part of you. It is the positive spiritual power established in us by listening and taking into ourselves the Word of God that enables us to counter the negative thoughts or suggestions planted in our minds by the evil one. To live such an empowered life and win this battle of the mind we have to read the Bible so much that when the devil tries to tempt us through unwanted thoughts or tricky situations, we can say “no”, (through the power of the Holy Spirit).

Ascription of Praise

Now, “Let the Word of Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom He gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (Colossians 3:16-17)

Psalm 139:23-24 [NLTse]

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Sermon – “Winning the War of the Mind”

Anybody recognize this? Yeah, it’s a sonogram. It’s just a picture I took off the internet, but I remember Amy and I going in for her whatever week sonogram all excited to see what our son, Caleb, was doing, making sure he was healthy, and hoping to get a glimpse of what he was going to look like… We didn’t want the technician to show us his private parts because – like with all three of our kids – we wanted to be surprised and wait until they were born to find out whether they were a boy or a girl. But I remember it was exciting…

Have you seen the new 3-D sonograms? Yeah, it’s like you’re right in there with the little guy or gal…

First we had X-rays, and then CT scans, and now MRIs. We had sonograms and now 3-D sonograms, and even (what they’re calling) 4-D sonograms – a 3-D movie of your unborn child skipping and dancing and sticking out their tongue in the womb! Science is constantly improving the ways of showing us what we can’t – on our own – see. What’s going on out there in space and the far corners of the universe; what’s going on at the molecular, atomic, and subatomic levels; what’s going on inside of our bodies, and even inside our various organs and cells themselves! Right inside a mom’s womb!

And yet, to see inside a persons’ heart – to see the condition of one’s soul – that remains a mystery…

Two Sunday’s ago we started talking about the spiritual battle that’s going on in every Christian’s mind: The battle that would distract us from God’s things (if we would let it); the battle that would make us luke-warm about Jesus (if we were to ignore it); the battle that could keep us from growing in Christ (if we weren’t to fight it); the battle that could make our lives no different than if we had never believed (if we were to lose it).

We talked about how this battle is waged around different lies we’ve believed: The lies that, perhaps, we believed before we gave our lives to Christ and that our hopes and fears are built upon; or the lies that, perhaps, we’ve come to believe through the effectiveness of the devil’s propaganda around us in our culture; lies that we’ve believed so thoroughly that we’ve built our values, our relationships, set our priorities, and developed our ways of living upon them. (Or been strongly influenced by them.)

To engage in the battle we need to be able to identify these lies. But how can a person see inside his or her own heart? O, if we could only see inside our souls as readily as we can see inside a mother’s womb!

But God has given us a way: In our families; in the Body of Christ.

Many of us are surrounded by family members and Christian friends who love us enough to tell us the truth about those idols we’ve unknowingly put our trust in, those lies of the world we’ve at different times believed, those twisted or misapplied truths that we’ve built our lifestyles and set our dreams upon. Usually we hear about these things from them when we’re in an argument, but here’s an opportunity to ask them for ourselves: To get their help against these battles we’re fighting in our minds.

Insecurity, jealousy, money, arrogance, rage, appearances… are all among the replies we should prepare ourselves to hear. But let’s try to receive them in love, asking clarifying questions if we need to, but perhaps just accepting the list as it is given to seek the Lord more about in our prayers.

Scott Thomas, one of the pastors of the online Acts 29 Network, has put together a listing of 35 questions a person who wants to know the truths of these hidden things might ask themselves. If you’ll look in your bulletins you’ll find it there… The questions are intended to help us see what our fears are based on, the focus of our dreams, where we’ve truly placed our hopes. Answer the questions honestly. Again, I would encourage you to bounce the results off a family member or Christian friend who knows us well and loves us enough to do the difficult things. The Lord teaches us that “just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (Matthew 7:20) And so you and I can trust that those closest to us will know the truth of these things.

All the while, of course, let’s be asking God to reveal these secrets to us. God knows our hearts. Acts 1:24 tells us God knows every heart. Psalm 44:21 makes clear He knows the secrets of every heart. And Psalm 139:4 shows us that He indeed does since He knows what we’re going to say even before we’ve said it. We can count on Him helping us to know our hearts and reveal to us these secrets of our souls.

(This may all sound very psycho-babbly, and this part kind of is. But if we want to defeat our enemy it helps to know the weapons the enemie’s using to try and defeat us. And once we have an idea what it is that we’ve believed that is not true or what we’ve put our hope and trust in that are not God, we can begin training and equipping ourselves to believe and trust rightly and win the fight!)

Now that we know we have an enemy and know some of the lies and twisted truths he may be using against us, we can start fighting back. And, as we’ve been talking about these past two weeks, that’s where the Bible comes in.

Last week Pete Chapin from The Gideon’s International ministry came and shared story after story about the ways that simply reading and believing the Bible have transformed peoples’ thinking and lives around the world. Hebrews 4:12 says, “The Word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” Just what we need – now that we have some insight into some of those innermost thoughts and desires that might be keeping us from growing in Christ – just what we need to begin getting them out of us!

So, with “money” and “appearances” in mind, (two of the most prominent deceptions and twisted truths around our culture) how can I find out what God says is the truth about these things that are keeping me from fully giving Jesus my heart?

[Pick up the concordance.] Well, this is a concordance. Every single word that’s found in the Bible can be found in a concordance. (And many Bibles have little concordances in the backs of them, as well.) So I can look up “money” in my concordance and find every instance where the word “money” is used across the Scriptures. [Pick up the topical bible.] Or, this is a topical bible. Since looking up the word “appearances” may not take me to helpful passages or truth I can look up “appearances” and see what I can find, but I can also look up “vanity” since that’s related to it, or “beauty”. And it will show me the different teachings across the Bible about these things.

Of course, the computer makes it so easy. Bible Gateway is the most used Bible tool on the internet. Type in biblegateway.com; click on “Topical Index” in the left-hand column; and type “money” into the Search box. Depending on how often the Bible speaks about your topic – money’s a biggie – you might get a handful or you might get pages of listings. With “money” typed in the search bar you can see listings ranging from what the money referred to in the Bible was made from as well as examples of those who were covetous in wanting the money others had, and, as you can see, a lot more.

Now, when I typed “appearances” into the Search box I got a bunch of hits about “angel appearances” and “miraculous appearances” and the like. But when I typed in “vanity” and “beauty” I came up with all sorts of examples and truths to help put my twisted thoughts right again.

The goal of using these concordances and topical bibles is to equip us with Scripture passages that we can read again and again, meditating upon them, asking the Father to reveal to us how our lives would be different if we truly believed these things. To write these truths, to recite these truths, to pray asking the Lord to make these truths – His truth – the bases for the ways we live, for our deepest and innermost desires and dreams. We’ll talk more about that next week.

John Calvin wrote in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, “The human heart is a factory of idols… Everyone of us is, from his mother’s womb, expert in inventing idols.” You and I can know that something or someone is an idol in our hearts if it gives us worth, value, identity, peace, satisfaction, meaning or fulfillment because only the gospel can truly provide these things. Salvation, satisfaction, significance and pleasure are ultimately only found in Jesus: Only Jesus will never disappoint us. And if we ask Him and seek Him He will work with us and help us to uncover and get rid of every counterfeit!

So with the Holy Spirit’s help, search out the appropriate scriptures that address your issues. These scriptures will tell you what God is saying about that issue and will also give you your weapons of warfare to meditate and act upon on against them.

We’ll talk more next Sunday about some daily disciplines and a “training regimen” we can implement to win this “battle of our minds”.

Come! Bring your friends! And grow in the freedom we have in Christ. Jesus is the truth. And the truth will set us free!

A well-known Christian once wrote: “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that [what God wants me to do] is good…
“I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do…
“I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love [the ways God wants me to live my life] with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind…” (Romans 7:15-16, 18b-20a, 21-23b)
Anybody ever feel that way that you have a war going on inside of you trying get you to do what’s wrong when you’re seeking to love God and do what’s right? … Well, you’re in good company. It was the apostle Paul who wrote that, writing to the Christians in Rome.
Paul talked about these powers waging war against us to the Christians in Ephesus, too. Open your Bibles with me to Ephesians 6:12… Paul writes: “We are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
If you’re looking at this passage with me you can see that Paul’s speaking about every battle we ever might go through being a spiritual one. If you are warring with your boss or if you are warring with an employee (the issues Paul was just addressing in vv. 5-9), Paul says those fights “are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” If your struggle is with your parents or if you are struggling with your kids, or if your adversary seems like it’s your husband or your wife (the issues Paul was addressing in 5:22-v. 4 of our chapter) he declares “we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” If you’re warring against temptations toward having sex before marriage or greediness or other evil things, if you’re warring against speaking obscenities or vulgar things or even just “silly” talk (the issues Paul was discussing at the beginning of chapter 5) he assures us “we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
Whether it seems as though the wars we are waging are because of pressures and powers coming against us from outside of us or are because of pressures and temptations coming against us inside our minds: My friends, “we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

2 Corinthians 10:1-6 [NLTse]
10 Now I, Paul, appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ—though I realize you think I am timid in person and bold only when I write from far away. 2 Well, I am begging you now so that when I come I won’t have to be bold with those who think we act from human motives.
3 We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. 4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 6 And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.

During the time of the Roman Empire a prosperous city would surround itself with a stout wall for protection. Strongholds – fortified towers – would be strategically placed around that wall from which defending soldiers could strike back at their attackers below. When the Romans attacked such a fortified city they’d come against it with siege machines like testudos (that protected their battering rams), onager’s (trebuchet’s that threw burning boulder’s), ballista (that shot large, missile-sized projectiles), catapults (that hurled rocks or large explosives), siege towers (that helped them engage those fighting from the tops of the walls and the fortified towers), and galleries (that offered protection when they sought to weaken the very walls themselves, or to try and dig beneath them).
And that is the picture Paul is describing here: Of an army attacking and tearing down the fortified defenses of an enemy. Except that our battle is not against flesh-and-blood enemies so we don’t wage war as humans do. Our battle is not against flesh-and-blood enemies so we use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons. The strongholds Paul is describing are those clever arguments and “warped philosophies” that perhaps we came to believe before we became Christians or that perhaps we’ve come to believe through the effectiveness of advertising and the media upon us. The “proud obstacles” are barriers that believing and trusting the world’s truths have formed in our minds to keep us from believing – trusting – the truths of God.
For example, there was a young fella named Kevin who grew up listening to his father tell him that “real men” worked hard and provided for their families. So Kevin’s always worked hard, sometimes working two or three jobs. Now Kevin’s married, has a well-paying full-time job and also a part-time job, and all his hard work has produced a nice home and a nice standard of living that and his wife, Janet, have been enjoying with their three children. But Janet’s begun complaining that Kevin’s working all the time, and they’re starting to experience some disciplinary troubles with their oldest girl. Kevin’s small group has been encouraging him to honor Janet and put his marriage and family first and suggesting he perhaps quit his part-time job since they can live off of his full-time work. But Kevin doesn’t understand: He’s working hard (two jobs, even!); he’s being a “real man”; Janet and his kids have everything they could want; and look at all the Bible says about hard work! He’s doing everything right (he feels). So why is his life starting to fall apart?
Sometimes even good things (like hard work) can become warped into “proud obstacles” (Kevin thinking, “I’m working two jobs! I’m being a ‘real man’. Janet and the kids have everything they could want! And the Bible says that working hard is good!”) These “proud obstacles” can keep us from believing – trusting – the truths of God from friends and from His Word.
But Paul says that God has given us weapons that knock down these clever arguments, warped philosophies, and worldly priorities; weapons that can destroy these “proud obstacles” that have been built up against the truth of God. These weapons we’ve been given can also take every thought captive – like capturing prisoners after the siege – to make these thoughts obedient to Christ! Once the lies or deceptions or twisted truths have come down, and the priorities and ways of living we built on top of them, we can begin “reconditioning” our thoughts to believe and put into practice what God has said is true and most important and establish new priorities and ways of living on Christ.
And that takes us back – almost – to where we started: Ephesians 6 and the realization that “we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Paul goes on to describe, what he calls, “the full armor of God”. Perhaps you know it:
• the belt of Truth
• the body armor of God’s Righteousness
• for shoes, the peace that comes from the Good News
• the shield of faith
• salvation as your helmet
• the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and,
• praying in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion, alert and persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
• (Of course, Paul adds in another place [Colossians 3:12] to put on – like a surcoat overtop of it all – love.)

As you can see, the only offensive weapon we are given is the “sword of the Spirit” which is not the “Word of God” (in the way that we can think of the entire Bible as a whole) but the “sword of the Spirit” is more accurately the “words of God” (particular Bible passages) the Holy Spirit brings to our minds at the right time to attack darkness, death, and ignorance, confusion, deceptions, and outright lies, to come against the gates of Hell.
We’re going to talk over the next couple of weeks about the “sword of the Spirit”:
• Next Sunday a representative from The Gideons is going to be sharing story after story about the ways the Word of God has transformed peoples’ lives for Christ.
• The Sunday after that we’ll talk about how we can equip ourselves to recognize these lies we’ve come to believe, how we can root out and tear down the areas of our lives we’ve built around them, and how we can begin bringing our thoughts into line with Christ.
• Then the first Sunday in November we’ll talk about setting up a training regimen to move us from being just hearers of the Word to both doers and users of the Word each day.

I hope you’ll come and that you’ll bring those you care about, or who seem hungry and thirsty for Christ with you, or even those who just seem interested in spiritual things whom He might be drawing to faith.

By the way, Kevin took the criticisms of his wife and the challenges of his small group seriously. He got some additional counsel from his pastor and others he respected around him and, not only did he quit his second job (which he realized he didn’t need and could free him up for more time at home and to get more involved at his church), but he started a small men’s group on being a godly dad hoping that leading and working with others would help him learn and grow that much better. Money’s been a little tighter but Janet couldn’t be happier and the discipline issues with their daughter have all but disappeared into just the normal challenges of raising a pre-teen.

Ephesians 1:1-14 [NLTse]

1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.

I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.

² May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

³ All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. ⁴ Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. ⁵ God decided in advance to adopt us into His Own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. ⁶ So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son. ⁷ He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. ⁸ He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

⁹ God has now revealed to us His mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill His Own good pleasure. ¹⁰ And this is the plan: At the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in Heaven and on Earth. ¹¹ Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan.

¹² God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. ¹³ And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His Own by giving you the Holy Spirit, Whom He promised long ago. ¹⁴ The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His Own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him.

[From behind the Lord’s Table] One of the reasons we have come here today is to celebrate Communion. Today is “World Communion Sunday”. Many Christians around the world, whether because they celebrate the Lord’s Supper on the first Sunday of each month (as many churches do) or because of this special day – “World Communion Sunday” – are celebrating the Lord’s Supper; more Christians celebrating the Lord’s Supper today than on any other single day of the year except, perhaps, Easter – Resurrection Sunday.

And yet we’re not celebrating “World Lord’s Supper Sunday” but “World Communion Sunday”. And “Communion” has come to be another title for the Lord’s Supper, but the word “communion” does have a meaning all its own that gives us a special focus for our celebration today.

The word “communion” is derived from the Latin word communio (which means “to share in common”). It translates the Greek term ????????, which is most often translated by the English word, “fellowship”. In Ancient Greek, ???????? could apply to a business partnership, to the fellowship of life in marriage, to a spiritual relationship with a divinity, to comradely fellowship between friends, as well as to the relationships enjoyed within a community or society.

In the New Testament and Christianity, ???????? – communion – describes and celebrates the especially close relationship that Christians, as individuals and as a Church, have with God and with other Christians. The Lord Jesus describes this close relationship we have with Him and each other as abiding in Him. The apostle Paul speaks of it saying, we are “in Christ”.

In our reading from Ephesians this morning the apostle Paul wrote that “Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His Own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ.” (1:4-5)

To Timothy Paul wrote of it this way, “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time—to show us His grace through Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:9)

Think about that with me: Even before God began Creation He had chosen you to belong to Him.  With all the wonders  He had on the drawing board He wasn’t thinking about universal marvels the Bible makes clear He was thinking about you.

With all the wonders God had planned for the world He wasn’t thinking about what He was going to make He was thinking about uniting you with Himself, establishing you in Christ. So even before He spoke Light into being and before He made the land and the atmosphere and the stars, Almighty God was planning for you and me to share in the blessings of Jesus Christ!

Across Jesus’ life on Earth, too, God thought of you and me as being in Christ: Whatever Christ did God counted it as being something we did, too. The Bible makes this especially clear when speaking about Jesus’ death, because when Christ died God thought of us as having died, too. Romans 6 says our old self was “crucified with Him”. “I have been crucified with Christ,” Paul writes in Galatians 2. And this being in Christ in the past overflows to Christ being in us here and now in the present as Paul goes on to say, so “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

This dying and rising with Christ occurs in this present life when we become Christians. Paul sees this present death and resurrection with Christ as a way of describing and explaining the change the Holy Spirit brings about in our character and personality when we become Christians. In Christ and with Christ in us we become so unresponsive to the pressures, demands, and attractions of our previous, sinful way of life that Paul can say we are “dead” to these influences, because we have died with Christ (Romans 7:6; Galatians 2:20; 5:24; 6:14; Colossians 2:20). We find ourselves wanting to serve God much more, and able to serve Him with greater power and success, so much so that Paul says we are “alive” to God because we have been raised up with Christ!

We are not on our own! Christ is in us because we have trusted in Him! And every spiritual blessing earned by Christ because of His sinless life and perfect sacrifice is ours if we are in Him! “Eternal life” (1 John 5:11), “faith and love” (1 Timothy 1:14; 2 Timothy 1:13), “grace” (2 Timothy 2:1), “salvation” (2Timothy 2:10), “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3) and God’s “riches in glory” (Philippians 4:19).

Because Jesus has inseparably connected us to Himself, the Holy Spirit gives us all the blessings that Christ has earned! And as Christ lives in us He calls us to live in Him: Everything we say to say for His sake; everything we do doing it for His sake. Keeping our minds set on Him so that people will see us and get to know Jesus because He’s in us.

Pastor and Christian author John Murray writes about it this way, “Union with Christ has its source in the election of God the Father before the foundation of the world and has its fruition in the glorification of the sons of God. The perspective of God’s people is not narrow; it is broad and long. It is not confined to space and time; it has the expanse of eternity. Its orbit has two foci, one the electing love of God the Father in the counsels of eternity; the other glorification with Christ in the manifestation of His glory. The former has no beginning, the latter has not end… Why does the believer entertain the thought of God’s determinate counsel with such joy? Why can he have confident assurance with reference to the future and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God? It is because he cannot think of past, present, or future apart from union with Christ.” (John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied, p. 164.)

[Back to behind the Lord’s Table] The devil would have us forget that Jesus dwells in us, but Jesus tells us, “Do this to remember…”

And that is what we celebrate this World Communion Sunday: Our communion, fellowship, and sharing in the lives of each other. Our communion, fellowship, and sharing in the life of God!

Genesis 22:1-14 [NLTse]

1 Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.

“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”

2 “Take your son, your only son – yes, Isaac, whom you love so much – and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”

8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At that moment the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”

12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh–Yireh (which means “the LORD will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

“Yahweh–Yireh” is most literally is translated, “The Lord will see”, but it carries with it the implication that “The Lord will provide” because for God to see a need among His children indicates His commitment to provide for that need. The way we sometimes say, “I see,” when we’re implying that we will see to it, or that we will take care of it. That is the meaning here.

In addition to the confusion at being asked to sacrifice his child, a variety of other issues likely plagued Abraham’s mind and tempted him to disobey God as he made provisions for the journey and across the days they travelled to Moriah. Abraham must have been thinking about his wife, Sarah, and wondering how she would react if she heard he’d sacrificed their son; he must have wrestled through the promises God had made he and Sarah that were wrapped up in Isaac’s life and future; I can only imagine he must have wondered how Isaac would respond and what Isaac would think of him, his father, binding him and raising a knife to him; and, perhaps, if he had any energy left, his mind might even go to the response his friends and neighbors might have to his act of slaying his son in the name of God.

And yet the only response we see from Abraham concerning these temptations was his resolute focus on God’s faithfulness. When Isaac asked, “We have the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” Abraham replied, “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son.” …

I have us focusing on Abraham’s faithful obedience and God’s faithful provision this morning because I owe you all an apology. For the past two or three years I have preached nothing about money. As the economy got bad and then stayed bad I had (and continue to have, in many ways) much compassion for those who are hurting because of job-loss or salary-reductions and the effects of the loss of overtime, etc… And I am aware that when the church talks about money during times when money is tight that listeners can sometimes be deceived into thinking that all the church ever cares about is money, and I didn’t want you to be tempted to think that.

However, I’ve come to realize that, by not talking about money these past years, what I’ve done is stopped encouraging us about God’s provision, and stopped giving us any guidance on God’s plans for the use of whatever money we do have (whether we have a lot of it or only a little). And with society constantly feeding us selfish, greedy, and heart-hardening messages, by not preaching about these things I have left you undefended to fight off such attacks. I am sorry for that.

So I wanted to stand before you today and remind you about the good news of tithing!

“Tithe” is an Old English word meaning “a one-tenth part of something”. So when the Lord calls us to tithe across the Scriptures He is calling us to take one-tenth of all that He has given to us in our income and return it to Him for His purposes through His church.

Pastor and author Tim Keller, in his book, “Counterfeit Gods”, writes about the idolatry of money and the issue of tithing. He writes, “There have been times when people have come to me as a pastor, and asked about ‘tithing,’ giving away a tenth of their annual income. They notice that in the Old Testament there are many clear commands that believers should give away 10 percent. But in the New Testament, specific, quantitative requirements for giving are less prominent. They often asked me, ‘You don’t think that now, in the New Testament, believers are absolutely required to give away ten percent, do you?’ I shake my head no, and they give a sigh of relief. But then I quickly add, ‘I’ll tell you why you don’t see the tithing requirement laid out clearly in the New Testament. Think. Have we received more of God’s revelation, truth, and grace than the Old Testament believers, or less?’ Usually there is uncomfortable silence. ‘Are we more ‘debtors to grace’ than they were, or less? Did Jesus ‘tithe’ his life and blood to save us or did he give it all?’

“Tithing is a minimum standard for Christian believers. We certainly wouldn’t want to be in a position of giving away less of our income than those who had so much less of an understanding of what God did to save them.” (Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods,p. 62)

And, of course, Mr. Keller is right. However, It think it’s true that the typical Christian today does not seem to see the idea of tithing as good news! And that tells me that the world’s messages of selfishness, greed, and hard-heartedness are winning in our souls.

So I have linked the Lord God’s command for us to tithe (and more than tithe) with the Lord God’s provision of a ram for Abraham to sacrifice in Isaac’s place this morning because I believe that tithing (and more than tithing) not only gives us opportunity to demonstrate how greater a debtor to God’s grace we are than those Old Testament saints, but because I believe that in giving us tithing that the Lord desires to give us opportunities to experience His grace more than we ever would otherwise.

Like weapons in the hands of a warrior, tithing and the more-than-tithing-generosity-that-demonstrates-the-Holy-Spirit-is-within-us are the weapons the Lord gives us, His children, to combat greed and materialism and the temptation to put our hope in money. Now, we may not look at our lifestyles and spending habits as being “greedy” or “materialistic” or even “idolatrous”, but that’s part of the enemy’s deception as we live in this world, isn’t it? Yet the Lord reveals the presence of these traits within us when He calls us to tithe (and more than tithe) and we balk and recoil at His call.

Because if we truly trusted God to take care of us and to provide for our every need as He’s promised, then none of us would ever pause or delay in giving God His tithe, nor would we hesitate in giving to any and all of those around us whom we see in need: We would see the need and then give to help provide for the need, trusting that the Lord also sees our needs and readily gives to help us provide for them.

Tithing (and more than tithing) has been transformative to me in helping me trust God for my daily bread instead of trusting my job or any investments over my life in Christ. Now don’t forget that I know the same pressures you know: We have a mortgage and bills that need paying; and we homeschool (which means we pay school taxes but also have to pay for all of our own curriculum and school expenses – basically, paying double for our kids’ education); our seventeen year old will be going to college in two years, and our fifteen year old the year after that, (and our youngest’s time will come soon); and Amy’s and my parents are at the age of needing our care and attention and, perhaps, our financial assistance; and, of course, seeking to save for retirement (God willing), etc…

But as those pressures tempt me to ignore the sound of God’s voice calling me to tithe and promising to bless me in tithing (and more than tithing), I seek to follow the example of Abraham and focus my thinking on God’s promises to provide.

After listing many of the pressures of the world the Lord Jesus charges us, “Don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:31-33)

After talking about the Lord’s provision for him, the apostle Paul writes to the Philippian Christians, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” (4:19) And King David sings, “Once I was young, and now I am old. yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.” (Psalm 37:25)

So every time I get my paycheck from the church I immediately write my tithe check back to the church. When Amy and I first started tithing it was a challenge: There were some comforts, entertainments, and extras we’d gotten used to that we had to give up. But now, as long as I write the check as soon as I get paid, the money’s not in my account long enough for us to even miss it! And I find that living with 10% less money than we did before gives me and my family so many opportunities to worship God and celebrate His grace and provision to us. Because, since we’re tithing, money is much tighter and Amy and I find many more opportunities to pray about and even argue about money than we used to. (Now, that may not sound to you like good news but the reality is that because money is tighter Amy and I need to seek our Father’s provision for paying bills more often than we did when we didn’t tithe. And then we get to see and experience His miraculous provision when He’s made clear that we have enough!

In addition, the added pressures on me as provider and husband get me needing to seek our Father to provide me with the grace I need to be a better husband. And as I get to see His provision and Amy gets to see His provision, it gives us cause to celebrate Him in ways we wouldn’t have if we didn’t tithe! And as we see His provision for our household and for our marriage – sometimes with plenty of time to spare, sometimes right at the last minute – we both get to know the Lord better, and know a closeness to Him and to each other that we never would have without tithing.

God is the same today as He was in Abraham’s day. In the hour of Abraham’s great need, when there seemed no hope and he was out of options, the Lord saw Abraham and provided for his need. And He promises the same to all the children of Abraham – including us – today.

The Lord has saved us, and wants to direct our lives as our Lord. Sometimes those directions make sense to us, but other times they do not. But as we trust, follow, and obey Him – in the hour of our utmost need – God has promised and proven to see us, and in seeing our need, provide for us.

Money seems to be one of the biggest items we trust in, thinking that having more and more of it will make us happy. But, in truth, we are happiest when we are close to, enjoying, and trusting in God!

So I charge each of us to tithe – to give away to Christ 10% of all that God gives into your lives – and to give ourselves opportunities to need God and experience Him providing for our needs. And as we tithe I charge you to let your tithing grow you closer to God, grow you in knowing your need for Him, and grow you in experiencing His provision to meet your every need.

He is Yahweh–Yireh, the One Who Sees and Provides!

Paul’s Letter To the Galatians 6:1-10 [NLTse]

6 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. ² Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. ³ If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

⁴ Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. ⁵ For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

⁶ Those who are taught the Word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.

⁷ Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. ⁸ Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. ⁹ So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

Today we are going to be commissioning Mike Dickerson to serve First Presbyterian Church in the part-time position of Coordinator of Ministry Development. uuu (Here is a picture of Mike for those of you who might not yet know him.)

Mike’s been a part of our congregation for 14 years, I believe. He and his wife, Suzie, have grown children. He is a seminary graduate (among his other educational accomplishments), and is a retired bank president.

Mike has led and served among us in the offices of both elder and deacon over the years (a fairly rare thing since the two offices require such diverse abilities and temperaments). And he’s demonstrated his commitment to local and overseas missionaries, area youth, preaching, and church administration by his participation in these different areas of ministry.

As our congregation continues to grow I can no longer personally minister effectively to everyone who attends our church and effectively oversee our growing number of ministries. But we are not yet big enough to hire another pastor or full-time staff person. So the elders have created this part-time position we’re calling “Coordinator of Ministry Development”.

As I’ve shared in previous sermons, I believe the Bible makes absolutely clear that Jesus came to set us free from slavery-to-the-power-and-effects of sin, so that in such freedom we could love and serve Him and the people around us. I believe we do that by letting the Holy Spirit pour Himself into us (through Bible Studies, prayer meetings, and other discipleship groups) and us pouring ourselves out into others (through being a part of ministries that proclaim Christ and serve others in His name).

As we strive to establish more Small Groups for prayer, care, and study on the one hand, on the other hand it will be Mike’s job as the Coordinator of Ministry Development to help each of you live your lives to the fullest by finding ways to use the talents and abilities the Lord has given you in Christ’s service and to show the people of Milford, the Tri-States Area, and the world His steadfast love. In addition, Mike will be working to strengthen our existing ministries and establish new works as the Lord provides opportunities for us to serve Him and our neighbors in new ways.

Those of you who know Mike know that he is perfect for this position because of his knowledge of the Bible, his administrative experience, his direct, no-nonsense approach, and his love for Christ and for people. Mike will be sharing how he first met the Lord and gave his life to Him in a little bit, and how that’s led to him offering himself for Christ’s service among us today.

With that in mind, I hope that Mike’s joining our staff will serve as a challenge to each of us across the church, to get involved in Christ’s ministry here, as I’d like to share four reasons the Bible gives us as to the importance of serving others:

First, serving models the life of Jesus. uuu In Mark 10:45, we read that Jesus came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as ransom. We discover true greatness when we serve because we are becoming like Christ when we serve others.

Secondly, serving is the natural response to the gospel. uuu In Romans 12:1-2, Paul urges the Christians to present their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. The basis for this appeal is the magnificent mercies of God. The depth of the gospel message propels us into a life of all out service to Him. When we rightly understand what we’ve been saved from, we’ll desire to give our lives to Him in service, not to earn His favor or to repay Him but as a natural, loving response to what He’s already accomplished for us.

Third, serving utilizes the spiritual gifts God has given us. uuu In I Peter 4:10-11, we learn that each of us has been given a spiritual gift that is to be used to serve others. Each of us is on mission with God to build up the body of Christ so that all become mature in the Lord. As we use our gifts in the ministries of the church, not only are we helping others grow spiritually but we also are growing into maturity.

And lastly, serving combats our natural self-centeredness. uuu In Philippians 2:3-4, we learn that we are to look not only to our own interests but also to the interest of others, as a way of imitating what Christ has done for us. We are all naturally self-centered but serving in the church is a grace by which we combat those sinful tendencies and consider others more important than ourselves.

Let’s put ourselves to God’s work. Offer yourselves to be a part of Christ’s ministry here, and say “yes” when others approach you to serve in ways they believe you to be gifted and called.

For our good, for Milford and the Tri-State Area’s good. Because God is so good…