Way to Go!

Introduction/Background:

Name the most popular Christian book series in recent history? Left Behind. The whole premise of the story is what would happen to a group of people who got left behind in the rapture & then came to Christ? Not an uncommon question…it’s one that people have been asking for centuries. And even the church has asked, what would happen if we got left behind? Have we already missed the rapture?

That’s exactly the issue Paul was tackling with the church at Thessalonica. In both letters to the Thessalonians, Paul went into much detail about what the end-days were going to look like for Christians, and the moment that Christ Jesus would call every believer to Himself in the twinkling of an eye. And from that…why we should at all times be ready!

1^st read about Thessalonica in Acts 17. Paul & Silas had just gone through the experience in Philippi where they were unfairly imprisoned & God decided to get the guard’s attention through a miraculous earthquake. Paul had earlier received the vision from a man in Macedonia calling him to come & help them, and now Paul & Silas had officially gotten there. Once in Thessalonica, Paul followed his normal strategy by going to the synagogue. There he preached for 3 weeks until he was kicked out by the Jewish leaders.

At this point, scholars disagree on the timeframe. In Luke’s narrative, the Jewish leaders seize Jason (since they couldn’t find Paul) & drag him before the authorities…and Paul moves on to Berea. Whether this happened at the end of 3 weeks or over a period of a few months is unclear since Paul apparently had time to set up his tentmaking business in town & received some gifts from the church at Philippi. Whatever the case, the church at Thessalonica was basically comprised of nothing but new believers in Christ…which makes Paul’s choice of teaching pretty interesting. What we see in 1 Thess is a flyover of everything from the deity of Christ to purity in sanctification to the rapture & 2^nd coming. Likely this is a miniature version of what Paul taught in every city he started a mission in – and wasn’t able to finish in Thessalonica due to his short time there.

Underscores the importance of teaching doctrine within the church! Often church’s advertise themselves as the place to get the best coffee & hear the best jokes each & every Sunday morning…but that has very little to do why God calls us to gather together (doctrine, fellowship, breaking bread, prayers – Acts 2:42).

[MAP] Seaport & center of a trading route crossroads. Thus a lot of different people were passing through. There were some fairly influential Jews there, but a majority of Greeks & other gentiles. (City actually still exists today!) Fairly large city at the time with 2-300,000 ppl there. Date of writing? Probably one of the 1^st letters written by Paul around 51AD (~ 20 years after the Res).

Starts by greeting the church – and it’s a joyful greeting! Paul is rejoicing in their faith & the evangelism that has resulted from it. There’s much to praise God for…and Paul was never one to refrain from doing so. J

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 (NKJV)
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

A. Typical Pauline opening. We sign at the end; they signed at the beginning… Silas & Timothy were with Paul & surely sent the same sentiments, but Paul writes the letter in the 1^st person throughout.

B. What’s the bond between Paul, Silas, Timothy & Thessalonica? They are “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!” They are all part of the same family of faith. Paul may not have been there long, but he was utterly assured of the fact, as he’ll make plain throughout Ch 1.

a. God is our Father because we are in Christ. Always important to keep in mind b/c although God is the Father over all creation, until the point when we are born again, we are outside His family. We are at enmity with Him (Rom 8:7) & are of our ‘father’ the Devil (John 8:44). … BUT through Christ we have been born-again & received the spirit of adoption (Rom 8:15) – and now we have been brought into the very family of God! Not only can we call God our Father, but we can call Him “Abba!” Praise God!!

b. Jesus = His name; Christ = His purpose (anointed to save); Lord = His position (divinity). Paul stresses the divinity of Christ here – note how he links God the Father & Jesus together by them both being the source of grace & peace…

i. Never let anyone tell you that Jesus is less than God! If He’s not fully God, than the whole of the testimony of the New Testament is in doubt, He could not have risen from the dead, and our faith is in vain. Jesus IS God & He IS Lord!

C. Grace & Peace: Always the same sentiments, always the same order. Combination of the common Greek (Charis) and Hebrew (Shalom) greetings. Always in that order b/c the grace of God through Christ Jesus always precedes the peace of God…

2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, 3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,

A. Was Paul obsessed with the Thessalonians & never able to think of anything else but them? Of course not – but he did thank God for them every time he thought of them…and he hadn’t been out of Thessalonica for too long by the time he wrote the letter. But Paul always demonstrated a pastoral heart for the churches he planted – he wasn’t there to build up his own resume; he wanted to see them flourish. And prayer is essential for that!

B. What specifically did Paul remember? Their “work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope.” Sound familiar? 1 Cor 13:13 same grouping, listing their importance among the gifts. In 1 Thess, Paul writes what they produce.

a. “Work of faith”: Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? [] But there IS a work…believing on Jesus Christ: John 6:28-29 (28) Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” (29) Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” [] Are we saved BY our work? Absolutely not! We’re saved by grace (Eph 2:8-9)…we’re saved by HIS work on the cross! But when asked what to do to be saved, the answer is always the same: repent & believe…

b. “Labor of love”: Whereas work can be enjoyable, labor is generally something that leaves you exhausted. And living out true agape love can be exhausting, because it’s exemplified in service… [] We often say “A faith that saves is a faith that works” & that’s the labor Paul’s referring to here. Our love for Christ & each other isn’t a lovey-dovey-sit-around-a-milkshake sort of love. It’s active & serving the Lord Jesus however He calls us to serve Him.

i. Underscores our motive for service. Our love for Christ is our primary motivation for everything else that we do. If we go into something for the Lord begrudgingly, complaining the whole way, we need to ask ourselves if we’re doing it for the Lord…

c. “Patience of hope”: While we’re here, we’ve got to be patient until we get there. Personally, I’m really looking forward to heaven – but I’m not expecting it here on earth anytime soon. In this world, we will have trials (anyone saying otherwise is selling something); so we need the patience from the Lord in order to endure…and that comes knowing that there’s more to come. No trial is going to last forever; one day we will be face to face with Jesus!

i. BTW, we’re not just waiting for anything in general. We’re not looking for the 12^th imam of Islam…we’re not awaiting reincarnation. We’ve got patient hope in “our Lord Jesus Christ”

d. Notice this is all past/present/future. We believed in faith – we currently live out the love of Christ – we wait for the future hope of heaven by death or rapture.

4 knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.

A. Why do we have that faith, hope, & love? Because we’ve been elected by God. We don’t have time to get into all the doctrine of election (go back and read Eph 1 for details)… Suffice to say that if you’re a Christian, God HAS chosen (elected) you to be saved & praise God for it. ‘But I don’t understand how God can choose me & yet I’m commanded to choose Him?’ If you’re married, you didn’t have a problem with it then – why now?

a. The problem we have with election is that we try to use our finite minds to look at things through God’s infinite perspective. From before the foundations of the world, God loved you & appointed you for salvation. From my perspective, it happened in 1987 when I put my faith in Christ Jesus. He chooses us; we must respond to Him in faith – amen! That’s all we need understand.

B. Our election means that we’re beloved! It’s one of the defining characteristics… 1 John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us. [] That’s incredible! Because no matter how unlovable you may think yourself to be, God still loved you for the work that He wanted to see done in you through Christ Jesus. In fact, God loved you precisely when you were completely unlovable…and yet still chose you for His own.

a. ‘How do I know if God loves me like that?’ Find out: repent from your sin & trust Jesus Christ for your salvation…

5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.

A. How do Paul, Silas, & Timothy know that the church at Thessalonica is part of the elect? Because they saw them receive the gospel! Paul describes their conversion in verse 6, but here he describes how the gospel went forth.

a. In word: Faith comes by hearing & hearing by the word of God (Rom 10:17). If someone is going to be converted, they need to be told the gospel 1^st! Paul never hesitated to preach the word of life to people.

b. In power: The word is δύναμις, usually referring to the miraculous power of God [“dynamite”]. In Acts 17, there’s no record of miracles being performed…was something done that’s not in the Scripture? Perhaps. But don’t forget the greatest miracle that’s occurred to every person in Christ: you’ve been born again! Paul will expand on this in verse 6…

c. In the Holy Spirit: It’s impossible for the word of God to go out with power without the working of the Holy Spirit. I don’t understand why some would teach we don’t need to pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit – praise God He indwells us at salvation & seals us for eternal life, but He makes His ongoing power available to every Christian for the asking.

d. In much assurance: The grammar implies that the Holy Spirit was the one Who gave the church their assurance of salvation – as He does us. We’re told to examine ourselves to see if we’re in the faith (2 Cor 13:5); if we’ve truly repented & placed our life/faith/trust in the hands of Christ Jesus alone, the Holy Spirit will assure us of that.

i. If you don’t have that assurance, get on your knees before God & ask Him to search your heart. Ask Him to reveal whatever it is that has gotten in the way of repentance & faith…and then deal with it!

e. In integrity: Paul’s reputation had come under attack in Thessalonica by the Jews who wanted him kicked out – so he’s going to appeal many times to the church’s knowledge of how he acted (esp. in Ch 2). But the point is clear…if we expect to see people converted by the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have to live lives that are demonstrably converted by Jesus Christ.

6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,

A. The result of the gospel going powerfully forth through the Holy Spirit? People were converted! They became followers of the Lord…how so? They became followers of Paul & Silas who followed Christ Jesus. Paul didn’t come to set up a sect devoted to himself; he taught people to follow (Gk: μιμητής ~ mimic) him so they would know what to do & how to live in order to imitate Christ. And the imitating Christ is basic discipleship 101: Matthew 16:24-25 (24) Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (25) For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. []

B. Not only did they receive the word, but they received it “in much affliction” – demonstrated when a mob took Jason out & hauled him before the leaders of the city accusing him of treason (Acts 17:7).

a. So often we think that we need the right environment to worship. For most of the world, that’s not the case! They are afflicted – and yet their faith not only survives; it flourishes…

b. In the middle of that affliction, we can have the “joy of the Holy Spirit”… Our joy isn’t based on our circumstances; it’s based on what God has done & is doing in us. He’s saved us – He’s adopted us – He’s preparing a place for us to that we can be with Jesus for all eternity…that’s a reason to have joy!

7 so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. 8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.

A. Because their faith flourished, they became examples to the whole church in Greece. Whether it was Corinth, Berea, Athens, or wherever – Paul could point to the church at Thessalonica & say “Look at them – they’re truly following Christ!” That’s true maturity…they learned from Paul how to imitate Christ & now other churches are learning to imitate Thessalonica in imitating Christ.

B. They weren’t just examples; they were evangelists…because of the work going on in the church, people all over the countryside were getting saved! Remember, Thessalonica was a major trade-route city – with people constantly passing through, they were able to witness to many people & all of Greece seemed to have heard of their witness. [] Even if they weren’t able to go to every corner of the world, they were able to help in that effort by aiding Paul in his journeys. 2 Cor 8:1 implies Thessalonica was one of the churches that helped supply Paul during his ministry in Corinth (somewhat to the shame of the Corinthian church).

i. Mentioned it before, but it’s worth remembering that because of your faithful giving, there are churches & missions in Mexico, Cuba, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Thailand, and more that are supported by CCT. From this little church in East Texas, the word of the Lord is sounding forth…praise God!

9 For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

A. Who are “they themselves”? The people coming in contact with the Thessalonian witness when passing through. Apparently Paul & Silas came across these people often & whenever they’d start talking to them, the people would say “Oh I’ve heard of you – you’re the ones who shared Christ with Thessalonica.”

B. Don’t you love hearing someone’s testimony? They know what they were, what they turned from, and what God did for them in Christ Jesus! For the Thessalonians, they were idol worshippers… After hearing the gospel, they turned from their idols to God… Now they actively serve the “living and true God”…

a. Notice the work of faith & labor of love here: (1) They turned in a work of faith to believe on Jesus Christ as Lord, apart from their idols. (2) They served the Living God in a labor of love…Paul ties in hope in vs. 10.

b. This is the definition of repentance! To “repent” is simply to “turn” away from sin & “turn” to God…

10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

A. I love this – it’s the gospel in reverse! From the perspective of the church, this is exactly what & why we’re waiting patiently with hope.

a. Jesus delivered us from the wrath of God at the Cross…we absolutely deserved it because of sin & He absolutely fulfilled it in His death. Praise God that for the believer, there is no wrath that awaits us…

b. Jesus is raised from the dead…essential fact! The gospel isn’t merely that Jesus died for our sins (everyone dies), but that He paid the price for our sins, proven & declared through the Resurrection! We don’t follow a dead prophet…or a dead teacher…or a dead anything. Worshipping something that’s not alive is the definition of idolatry. We serve a LIVING Savior!

i. Raised by God the Father. Scripture also affirms Jesus was raised by the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:11) & raised by Himself (John 10:17-18). The whole Godhead takes part in the Resurrection – demonstrating not only the power of God, but the fact that Jesus IS God Himself. God alone has power over death; thus Jesus is fully God.

c. Jesus is alive in heaven & will be returning…

B. Notice the future tense here. The wrath of God was poured out at Calvary, but there is wrath yet to come (7 year Great Tribulation – written about in depth in Rev 6-18). And we will be delivered from it…this is not something Christians will go through.

a. Worth acknowledging that there is much debate on the subject of the rapture (and pretty much everything else concerning end-times). There are many Bible-believing, Jesus-loving Christians that view things vastly differently…but at Calvary Chapel, we believe in the pre-tribulation rapture (statement of faith). Want you to know this up-front, so you know the perspective from where we’ll be teaching it.

b. Don’t miss Paul’s point. Over & over throughout the NT, we are told that the Lord Jesus is coming back at any moment. In fact, it was the 1^st thing the apostles were told after Jesus’ ascension! (Acts 1:11) Are you ready?

Conclusion:

So the Thessalonians were doing everything the church should be doing! They believed in a work of faith – they were serving the Lord in a labor of love – they were awaiting the Lord’s coming in patience of hope. They weren’t couch-potato Christians just hanging around looking up for the Rapture; their hope in Christ’s return was so vivid that they could not help but go out and share the gospel with everyone around them. Amen! May every church in Tyler do the same thing…

Where we can get into trouble is in our distractions. We go to both extremes…either:

(1) The Lord hasn’t come yet, so we think we’ve got plenty of time to goof off & dabble in the things of the world. If so, we’re going to be surprised when He comes as a thief in the night.

(2) We get so caught up in the signs of the coming rapture that we neglect to tell people about the glorious gospel so that they might be included in it.

Let us have a patient hope…one that can be assured of things to come, but patiently serving our Lord & King until He does.

I’ll ask again: are you ready? Jesus Christ could literally call every Christian home at any time…are you going to be included in that call? I speak to so many people who think they are Christian because they’re decent people who provide for their family & go to church a few times a year…let me be clear: that in NO way makes anyone a Christian. What makes someone a Christian is by being born-again of the Spirit of God – and that’s only possible through the death & resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus went to the Cross because we had a debt of sin we could not pay; so He paid it in His blood & life. He died the death you deserved…but He’s not dead today; He’s alive! He makes this offer of new life & forgiveness available to the entire world…but you must ask Him for it.

Keep Your Word – Numbers 30-31

Ever make a “pie crust promise” – one that’s easily made & easily broken? Israel had apparently gotten pretty good at it – both with each other & the Lord. Barely 40 years after swearing themselves to live in covenant relationship with God Almighty (at the giving of the 10 Commandments), the nation had broken their promise time & time again. Even after one entire generation of Israelites had died off in the wilderness, the new army (sabotaged by the advice of Balaam) started worshipping false gods as the Lord Himself was preparing to move them to the Promised Land. Not good, to say the least!

Thus God underscores the importance of keeping one’s word. In Ch 30, with regard to vows made to God and agreements made with man; in Ch 31 with regard to preventing them from being broken in the 1^st place.

Numbers 30 (NKJV)
1 Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: 2 If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

A. Cuts straight to the chase here. Don’t know what necessarily brought on the commandment from God; perhaps it was another instance that popped up (re: the daughters of Zelophehad)… The idea is simple enough: if you said it; stick to it. …

a. Jesus basically said the same thing. We don’t need to be making vows left & right, but we DO need to be true to what we say… Matthew 5:34-37 (34) But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; (35) nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. (36) Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. (37) But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. []

b. Over & over again the Scripture puts forth the idea of personal responsibility – which is something that our own culture has lost…

B. BTW, why is it so important that we not break our word? Because God doesn’t! He’s faithful…even when we are not (Lam 3:23)! He IS the Truth (John 14:6)! [] God’s rules are always based upon His character & nature…

a. When we’re true to our word, then that’s a reflection back on God…and when we’re not, that ALSO reflects on Him as well. Part of us being witnesses (Acts 1:8) is that we’re always witnesses: for good or bad. …

- Slightly different rules for women…

3 “Or if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will release her, because her father overruled her. [father can overrule…]

6 “If indeed she takes a husband, while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself, 7 and her husband hears it, and makes no response to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her agreements by which she bound herself shall stand. 8 But if her husband overrules her on the day that he hears it, he shall make void her vow which she took and what she uttered with her lips, by which she bound herself, and the Lord will release her. [husband can overrule…]

9 “Also any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her. 10 “If she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an agreement with an oath, 11 and her husband heard it, and made no response to her and did not overrule her, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement by which she bound herself shall stand. [widows/divorcees accountable for their own vows] 12 But if her husband truly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded from her lips concerning her vows or concerning the agreement binding her, it shall not stand; her husband has made them void, and the Lord will release her. [not accountable if their husband overruled…]

13 Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void.

A. Summary to the previous verses…

B. Why does God take the time to spell this out in the Scripture? Is He saying that a women’s word is not as valuable as a man’s? No! Both Adam & Eve fell in the garden (and Eve was the only one who was honest about it)… Acknowledgement of the prevailing cultural attitude, but more than that, this affirms that the order of the household is that a wife would submit to her own husband (Eph 5…)

a. Ultimately this is a picture of Christ & the church. We are all His bride; and He is the head of all the church. We had bound ourselves to sin, but through the work and word of our Bridegroom, we have been released! We are not bound to that which Christ has freed us!

b. Goes back to the idea that as Christians we don’t HAVE to give into sin. So often we buy into the lie that we have no choice when tempted… But you’ve been freed from the power of sin & death; you’ve been given liberty in Christ to serve Him!

14 Now if her husband makes no response whatever to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her; he confirms them, because he made no response to her on the day that he heard them. 15 But if he does make them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.”

A. The husband can’t weasel out of it after the fact. If he’s going to act, he needs to act promptly… Of course in Christ, we never have to worry about this.

16 These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter in her youth in her father’s house.

A. Summary…

Numbers 31 (NKJV)
1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”

A. [Review context] From Ch 22-24, Balaam tried & failed to curse the Hebrews… In Ch 25, he got them to curse themselves by falling into idolatry because of the women of Midian… Got so bad that one of the leaders was brazenly fornicating in front of the door of the Tabernacle…Phinehas ran him (and the woman) through with a javelin, causing God to stop the plague that was running through the camp.

B. Because of this, God tells Moses to take vengeance on the Midianites. Take vengeance for the Lord? Can we do that? (Vengeance is the Lord’s – Rom 12:19) Because it’s the Lord’s, He can exact it through whatever means He so pleases. Uses the pagan Babylonians to discipline His children in the captivity…chooses to use Israel for this purpose. [] Technically speaking, God Himself will still be the one to take vengeance as He goes before the army of Israel & gives them a miraculous victory.

a. Keep in mind vengeance isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s bad in the hands of man because it’ll never truly be just. But in the hands of our righteous God, we know it’s ALWAYS just. The very fact that God would take vengeance shows just how righteous He is because sin is punished everywhere it is found. (Which gives us even more reason to praise God that Jesus took our wrath upon Himself!)

C. Moses is going to die after this event…God doesn’t give an exact timeframe. We know that after this point, Moses dictates (or transcribes) the Book of Deuteronomy. But the point is clear; this will be the last major battle that Moses will give leadership to. The next battles to be fought are to take Israel into the Promised Land – and that must happen through Joshua.

a. Keeps the picture intact: the law (Moses) doesn’t save; it prepares us to be saved through Joshua/Yeshua/Jesus! (John 1:17)

3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm some of yourselves for war, and let them go against the Midianites to take vengeance for the Lord on Midian. 4 A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.” 5 So there were recruited from the divisions of Israel one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

A. Relatively speaking, this is a fairly small number for the Israelite army. Joshua will cross the Jordan with 40K+ for battle. As with Gideon’s 300 men, the point isn’t the numeric strength of Israel, but that the Lord will be fighting for them. God is providing a witness to every one of the 12 tribes of Israel by choosing to use a small representative of them.

6 Then Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from each tribe; he sent them to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy articles and the signal trumpets in his hand.

A. Note that the army was not led by Joshua; but by Phinehas. This was a holy war… What did the “holy articles” include? Possibly the Ark, even though not mentioned by name [not everyone agrees here]. The idea is that GOD Himself was leading the way.

B. When we fight our battles against sin, the flesh, and temptation, the worst thing we could do is attempt to fight it in our own power! On our own, we have no strength – as Peter found out when he boldly proclaimed he would “never” deny Jesus (Mark 14:31). On his own he failed; but things were dramatically different after he was filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2-4)!

i. There’s a reason God calls us to “stand” in battle (Eph 6:13)…so that we would get out of the way & rely on God to fight for us! We don’t go in our power; we go forth in His!

ii. When was the last time you asked God to fill you anew with the Holy Spirit? We need that power every day!

7 And they warred against the Midianites, just as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed all the males. 8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of those who were killed— Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. Balaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword.

A. Every male killed & every king killed… The sad thing is that this wasn’t even necessary. ‘Midian’ could have been a grouping of different tribes & this branch was associated with Moab; or it was a region of people to the south. Either way, this wasn’t going to be part of the initial conquest…but they forced the issue when they tried to undermine God & His people.

B. Note who else? Balaam! [] How sad that Balaam died in his sin & rebellion! Here’s a man who was blessed and privileged to prophesy for the Lord despite his motives and background…yet he still fought against the Lord & the Lord’s people till the end. []

a. Underscores the importance of repentance… If we simply come to God as a ‘miracle worker’ or for ‘blessing’ we don’t really have a clue that what we most need is salvation. Our pride/ego/self has to die in order that we might be born again…

9 And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, with their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods.

A. This is going to get them into trouble! We don’t have the wording in Scripture, but God’s implication from “vengeance” was that all of the nation would be destroyed in righteous judgment.

10 They also burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt, and all their forts. 11 And they took all the spoil and all the booty—of man and beast. [complete victory]

12 Then they brought the captives, the booty, and the spoil to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. 13 And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp. 14 But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle.

A. [RECAP] Probably not the reception they expected!

15 And Moses said to them: “Have you kept all the women alive? 16 Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. 17 Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately.

A. Before we pass 21^st century judgment, we need to try to understand this from Moses’ point of view. These women were the very SAME women who had caused Israel to sin against the Lord, resulting in the death of at least 24K Hebrews. And yet somehow the Hebrew army thought it’d be ok to bring them into the camp… [] They were setting themselves up for another failure!

a. FLEE sexual immorality! Do whatever it takes to stay away from it. It will take you down…

b. Whatever the temptation, beware! We don’t want to get cocky & think that we’ve forever conquered its hold in our life. (WE didn’t conquer anything; Jesus did!) 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (12) Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (13) No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. [] There’s always a way of escape…even if it’s running out the door naked like Joseph! (Gen 39)

18 But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately.

A. Cruelty? Chauvinism? Or mercy? Mercy! Any woman who had not been with a man was provably innocent of the crime of Balaam. Since they didn’t participate, Moses is sparing their lives.

19 And as for you, remain outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 Purify every garment, everything made of leather, everything woven of goats’ hair, and everything made of wood.”

A. The war may have been commanded, but that doesn’t mean purification wasn’t needed. Remember death is a picture of the result of sin & that must be dealt with before coming to God in worship…

a. It’s no different with us. If there’s sin between us & a brother, we need to leave our gift at the altar (so to speak) & be reconciled 1^st (Matt 5:24). If there’s unconfessed sin between you & God; that’s the 1^st thing that needs to be addressed before worshipping Him (Ps 32:3-5).

21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to the battle, “This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord commanded Moses: 22 “Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 everything that can endure fire, you shall put through the fire, and it shall be clean; and it shall be purified with the water of purification. But all that cannot endure fire you shall put through water. 24 And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may come into the camp.”

A. Practical aspect: sanitary issues. Israelites had very specific cleanliness guidelines – but the pagan Midianites did not. Thus whatever could be sanitized or washed needed to be.

B. Spiritual aspect! Israel’s guidelines for cleanliness weren’t merely for their health; it was a demonstration of being set apart by God for His purpose. Purified by:

a. Fire: Our God is a consuming fire & the sheer power of His righteousness burns away impurities in our life.

b. Water: We’re washed by the water of His word…the Holy Spirit uses the Scriptures to continually cleanse us and transform us by the renewing of our minds…

25 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 26 “Count up the plunder that was taken—of man and beast—you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation; 27 and divide the plunder into two parts, between those who took part in the war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation. 28 And levy a tribute for the Lord on the men of war who went out to battle: one of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep; 29 take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest as a heave offering to the Lord. 30 And from the children of Israel’s half you shall take one of every fifty, drawn from the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep, from all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.”

A. Note the spoil was split into two equal parts; but with a far different distribution. ½ the spoil to the soldiers; ½ the spoil to everyone in the camp. Yet only 12K went to war & 2M+ stayed behind…

a. Everyone takes part in the benefit! When we send missionaries to the field, every single soul that is saved is someone WE were blessed to take part in sharing the gospel with…

b. The ones who go are always the ones most blessed. We don’t share the gospel to be blessed, but it’s impossible NOT to be blessed as we do it… Every teacher learns more of the Scripture as he prepares; every missionary is blessed (even in persecution) as they rely on the Holy Spirit on the field…

c. We don’t do it for a reward; but there IS a reward to consider. (The Bema Seat) 2 Corinthians 5:9-11 (9) Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. (10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (11) Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. []

B. Out of each half, part of the spoil was given to the Lord as an offering…which is only logical since He’s the one Who fought the battle for them.

a. In everything we do, we can give God the “sacrifice of praise” (Heb 13:15) because every thing we have is due to Him! (From the breath we breathed this morning to the gift of everlasting life!)

31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses. 32 The booty remaining from the plunder, which the men of war had taken, was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, 33 seventy-two thousand cattle, 34 sixty-one thousand donkeys, 35 and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of women who had not known a man intimately. [total figures]

36 And the half, the portion for those who had gone out to war, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep; 37 and the Lord’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five. 38 The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was seventy-two. 39 The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the Lord’s tribute was sixty-one. 40 The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was thirty-two persons. 41 So Moses gave the tribute which was the Lord’s heave offering to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.

A. The portion for the soldiers & for the Lord….

B. What would the Lord do with the people (the young women)? Probably use them as servants along with the Levites…

a. Did you catch the outpouring of grace here? It’d be easy to look at these women as unwilling slaves to the Levites; but understand what just happened – the descendents of Gentiles who had tried to destroy the Hebrew nation have now been brought into the service of the worship of the Lord!

42 And from the children of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from the men who fought— 43 now the half belonging to the congregation was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 44 thirty-six thousand cattle, 45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, 46 and sixteen thousand persons— 47 and from the children of Israel’s half Moses took one of every fifty, drawn from man and beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

A. The portion from the nation & for the Lord…

48 Then the officers who were over thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses; 49 and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a count of the men of war who are under our command, and not a man of us is missing. 50 Therefore we have brought an offering for the Lord, what every man found of ornaments of gold: armlets and bracelets and signet rings and earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.”

A. Note this was not an offering commanded by the Lord; this was a freewill offering from the army officers. They recognized God’s miraculous hand on them as not 1 man’s life was lost in battle – thus they gave even more of the spoil (over and above what was required) to the Lord…

B. It seems they recognized their sin in taking the women back with them & they wanted to atone for it. Obviously God cannot be bought off; He had already made provision for them through Moses…but at this point, the army is just grateful to God.

51 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from them, all the fashioned ornaments. 52 And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the Lord, from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. 53 (The men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.) 54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of meeting as a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord.

A. Big offering! Price of gold today is $886.19/oz. 16,750 shekels ~ $28.4M!

B. Remember where this came from: armlets, bracelets, etc…much of which was probably used in pagan worship. Now this was redeemed for the Lord’s work…

Conclusion:

Christian, the victory we have in Christ is FAR greater than what the Hebrews experienced against Midian. Jesus didn’t simply pay the wages of sin at the cross; He utterly defeated death the grave through the Resurrection! He completely frees us from the power of sin in our life & we are never backed into a corner and forced to break our word (either to man or God). There’s always a way of escape – either from the trial or through the trial by enduring it in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Are you making vows to the Lord you can’t keep? “Lord, I’ll never fail in this again!” Don’t set yourself up for sin or live in failure; live in the freedom that Christ offers through the Cross, Resurrection, and Spirit of God!

Seize the Day for Grace

Introduction:

So if you were in prison awaiting a possible death sentence, what would be your last words to your church family? Would you panic or pray? Considering Paul’s whole exhortation in Colossians about keeping our eyes on Christ, it should be obvious what choice he made.

Quick fly-over of Colossians: Caught between the legalism of the Judaizers & the pseudo-spirituality of the Gnostics, the church at Colosse had gotten distracted from the sufficiency that’s found in Christ Jesus! In Ch 1, Paul prayed for the church & showed the preeminence of Christ over all creation & the reconciliation He brings through the cross & resurrection. He is the hope of glory! In Ch 2, because He is preeminent, we don’t need to go anywhere else for living the Christian life besides Him. In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge…thus we are to walk in Him without the burdens of legalism or false-spiritualism… With this in mind, in Ch 3 Paul exhorted us then to leave the false things behind, put the Old Man of sinfulness to death & put on the New Man in Christ (already available to us), applied in the church & at home. And that’s enough to leave the church to chew on for a bit. J In Ch 4 he sends his greetings & basically says “Carpe Diem – seize the day!” Seize the time that’s left for prayer, for witnessing, for service, for grace!

Paul may not be able to be with the church (he may not even have MET this church!) & his life may be over any day, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do. There’s work to be done – there’s a Great Commission we’ve been given – and God (in His wisdom) has graciously allowed us to participate. And that’s what Paul exhorts them to do in the time they have left.

Colossians 4:2-18 (NKJV)
2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

A. Paul often put an emphasis on prayer. 1 Cor 14 taught about praying in the Spirit – 2 Cor 5, Phil 1, Col 1 he prayed for the church – 1 Thess 5:17, “pray without ceasing”, etc. Paul understood that prayer accomplishes much! ‘But I prayed & nothing ever happened!’ Wrong…something happened; you may just not be aware of what it was. We don’t pray to have our will be done; we pray for God’s will to be done (and for our will to be in line with His).

B. How are we to pray?

a. Being earnest: Several translations say “devote yourselves to prayer” – the NKJV “Continue earnestly” is only 1 word in Greek. The idea be continually diligent…to ‘keep on keeping on’ in prayer. [] So often, we relegate our prayers to once in the morning, and mealtimes, & maybe at bed…but we treat it as something to ‘get out of the way.’ That’s no different than any other pagan religion which has prescribed prayers at prescribed times that are mindlessly repeated (and Jesus specifically told us NOT to pray that way! Matt 6:7). Instead, we’re to be earnest & steadfast in our prayers…we’re supposed to actually mean what we say & do it continually all day long.

b. Being vigilant: When Jesus prayed in the Garden, the three disciples He took with Him (Peter, John, James) kept falling asleep all night. They could stay awake & keep watch with the Lord in His hour of distress. That’s the idea Paul’s trying to get across here – we want to be awake in our prayer times!

c. Being thankful: Thankfulness undergirds every aspect of our Christianity because we’ve got so much to be thankful for! We were dead in our sin & have been made alive in Christ – we’ve been indwelt with the Holy Spirit – we’ve been empowered for His work – we’ve been raised with Christ & are seated in the heavenlies – we have been adopted into the very family of God & MUCH more! Even on our worst days – in our deepest tragedies – we have much to thank God for simply because we have access to pray to Him in the 1^st place.

3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

A. Specifically, Paul asked the Colossians to pray for him in prison…but HOW he asks them to pray is mind-blowing. Doesn’t pray for: release, justice, protection, provision, etc… Instead, he asks for prayer that he’d be able to do the very thing that got him thrown into prison: the opportunity to preach the gospel! More to the point, Paul wants the opportunity to preach the gospel to Gentiles (which was the catalyst for his arrest in Jerusalem).

a. How important is the gospel? Enough for Paul to be beaten multiple times for, imprisoned, and eventually martyred. Enough for Peter to endure the same. Enough for thousands of believers around the world TODAY (esp. in NoKo, NAMESTAN, etc) to do the same. So often we pass over opportunities to share the gospel because the inconvenience (I’ve been far too guilty) – yet Paul desired the inconvenience if it meant one more opportunity to see someone repent & be saved!

B. Gospel is described as “the mystery of Christ” (in depth in Eph 3). Mysteries are truths about God in the OT, but hidden/not understood – now fully revealed to the church (the saints) through Jesus Christ (Col 1:26). What was hidden before? The fact that Jesus was going to not only be the Jewish Messiah, but the Savior to ALL who call upon Him! Isaiah 49:6 Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” [] This was a mystery, but it’s ALWAYS been God’s divine plan!

a. Amen! What an incredible thought…

C. Note this is his obligation: “as I ought to speak” … Paul was constrained to preach the gospel! Whether or not he was paid for his service or able to live in freedom outside of prison was of no consequence…woe to him if he did NOT preach the gospel! (1 Cor 9:16)

a. God hasn’t called everyone to be an evangelist; but God HAS called everyone to evangelize (proclaim the good news!). We have been entrusted with the greatest news to ever cross the face of history; we are stewards of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We simply MUST preach & proclaim it in whatever way He’s empowered us to do it.

5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.

A. Not only are we called to preach the gospel; we’re called to demonstrate it as well. Thus we are to “walk in wisdom.” Bluntly described by some as “the gospel with shoe-leather.” The church of Paul’s day had a terrible reputation among the Roman empire: they were thought to be atheists (since they didn’t recognize the Roman gods) – they were thought to be cannibals (ate the body & blood of Christ), etc. Walking in wisdom is to walk not according to the world’s wisdom, but the σοφία wisdom of God, prudently showing the love of Christ, thus proving we are His disciples (John 13:35).

a. The church of today doesn’t have too much of a better reputation! Talk to any non-Christian under 25 & the picture of Christianity they’ll paint isn’t very pretty. Just as the Colossians were to walk in wisdom, so are we! We need to walk in such a way that the love of Christ is demonstrated through our actions…

B. No better activity we could spend our time on…we’re called to redeem the time. [] How often we waste the time! We fill our minds up with junk & then wonder why our walk with Jesus is so shallow… [] Instead, Christian – redeem it! Literally, “buy up the time” for the Lord Jesus. Use every breath to give Him praise & take advantage of every opportunity for His glory.

6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

A. Walk with wisdom; but speak with grace. Is Paul saying to speak with winsomeness & charity? Sure – that’s part of it. But contextually, Paul is speaking about witnessing to others of Christ, and our speech is also to reflect that. Even if we’re not directly speaking of the Gospel of salvation, our speech should reflect the grace by which we’ve been saved. [dirty mouth as a new believer] Our mouth has been born-again right along with the rest of us! J

a. Specifically, our gracious speech is supposed to be “seasoned with salt”. (1) Salt is a preservative – our words should be edifying…and at the very least not contribute further to the decaying of the world around us. (2) Salt is flavorful – our words should be help make people thirsty for the Living Water…

B. Why should we always speak with grace? So that we can be prepared to answer. Answer what? Questions about our salvation… 1 Peter 3:15-16 (15) But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; (16) having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. [] As we walk in wisdom towards those outside – as we redeem the time – as we speak with grace – it should deny the opportunity of those who would defile the name of Christianity & provide the opportunity for us to tell them why.

- Paul is going to pass along greetings from folks with him…

7 Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. 8 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, 9 with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here.

A. Tychicus was apparently bringing the letter (probably read it to the church) & was going to update the church on Paul’s status in prison (originally from Asia – Acts 20:4). Love that description of him! Beloved brother… Faithful minister… Fellow servant in the Lord…

a. Also there to “know your circumstances and comfort your hearts.” Don’t you love this? PAUL is the one in prison, yet he’s the one trying to minister to Corinth by sending them Tychicus.

B. Onesimus was also a beloved brother – and he was one of them (i.e., a Colossian). He was also the repentant slave of Philemon…

10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me.

A. Aristarchus: originally from Thessalonica & seized in the Ephesian riot (Acts 19-20)…ended up going to Rome with Paul (Acts 27:2)

B. Mark: The SAME Mark who abandoned Paul early in his ministry & caused a split between Paul & Barnabas (Acts 15:36-41)… Later proved himself to be useful in the ministry (2 Tim 4:11). Wonderful object lesson in 2^nd chances!

C. Justus: possibly the same church-home host in Corinth (next-door to the synagogue – Acts 18:7).

D. Apparently there weren’t too many Jewish believers with Paul…which makes sense due to the reason for his arrest. Upon his arrival in Rome, he had attempted to speak to the Jews there, but they dismissed him & he vowed (once again) to go to the Gentiles (Acts 28:28).

12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis.

A. Epaphras: The original founder/pastor of the church in Colosse.

B. What does a heart for ministry look like?

a. Bondservant of Christ: literally a slave of Jesus! (Interesting considering Paul just wrote about the relationship between earthly slaves and masters). We are all slaves to whatever we present ourselves to obey (Rom 6:16) – since we’ve been bought with the blood of Christ, Who better to present ourselves as slaves of? [Bill Bright] Epaphras was willing to go anywhere God told him to go & do anything God told him to do because he was a slave of Christ. It’s so much easier to do when we realize our place in comparison with Jesus (He’s God; not us!)…

b. Laborer in prayer: Gk is where we get our word “agonize” from – same basic word used of Jesus when He prayed in the Garden (Luke 22:44). Epaphras demonstrated the type of prayer Paul was exhorting all the Colossians to engage in.

1. Interesting that bondservants of Christ are always prayer warriors. It’s virtually impossible to be one without being the other – if we’re going to be completely submitted to the will of God, we need to find out what the will of God is. And that only happens through the Scripture & prayer…

c. Desirer of maturity: Epaphras wasn’t the type of minister to blow into town, build a reputation for himself & leave people floating behind in his wake. He wanted them to “stand perfect & complete” in Christ. A good factor in determining a Godly ministry (on TV, radio, wherever) is to see who/what is being built up. Is the ministry exalting Jesus & edifying the church? Or is it all about the minister?

d. Zealous for souls: Epaphras didn’t merely pay lip-service to the church. He was truly concerned about them & labored over them. Ministers are (by definition) servants – and this was overflowing in his life.

1. A great determining factor in looking at people who believe they’re called to ministry is to see how willing they are to serve. A ton of folks want to jump in & start conducting seminars for a 1000 people at a time, but how willing are they to teach a 10 1^st graders – or whatever act of service?

14 Luke the beloved physician [of Acts & Gospel of Luke] and Demas greet you.

A. Demas: Don’t know where he was from originally; eventually he abandoned Paul & the ministry. 2 Timothy 4:10 for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. [] Notably, Demas isn’t given any commendation or description here – just the briefest of mentions. It’s possible his downfall to abandonment had already begun.

B. Perfect example of someone who DIDN’T redeem the time! Historically, we don’t know the exact reason for Demas’ departure, but whether it was the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life (1 John 2:16), Demas loved the world more than the call of the gospel that he had received.

a. ‘But wasn’t Demas just some lowly assistant to Paul? Who did his leaving hurt?’ It hurt Paul! It obviously hindered the work of the gospel in SOME way b/c he had originally received a call into ministry (Paul wouldn’t have taken him if he hadn’t). [] EVERY work within the Body of Christ is important – and if we aren’t functioning within the Body as we’ve been called, then everyone suffers as a result!

b. Interesting contrast with Mark, who had originally abandoned Paul but went back. We know even less about why John Mark left the mission field; but we do know his uncle poured into him & spent time discipling him (Acts 15:39). Whatever the case was with Mark, he realized that there’s always an opportunity with the Lord for repentance! Even if we feel we’ve wasted time (which we can do…just look at Israel in the wilderness!) – if you’re alive for one more day, there’s always an opportunity to redeem THAT day for Christ!

15 Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house.

A. Was Nymphas a man or woman? Different manuscripts have it listed differently. Don’t know anything about him/her other than this mention.

B. Note the church isn’t a building. The body of Christ is the church – and they can meet in any building big enough to house them. Can churches meet in homes? Sure! (We did! J) Historically, the 1^st churches all met in homes, eventually outgrowing them.

16 Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.

A. A lost epistle to Laodicea? (Not lost to God!) Some think it’s the letter to Ephesus – no definitive proof…

B. Notice Paul is encouraging each of them to read the other’s epistles. Paul always put a high emphasis on teaching – he didn’t hesitate to teach all night when necessary (even with people falling out of windows! J). From the very start of the church, they were encouraged to study the Scriptures! Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. [] This was their normal practice – and ours as well.

a. BTW – did you notice fellowship is just as important as doctrine in that list? “Church” is not over during the fellowship time; the Church is still meeting with each other & ministering to each other…

17 And say to Archippus [possibly the son of Philemon – Phile v2], “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”

A. Special note to Archippus… Later wrote similar advice to Timothy (2 Tim 1:6) to “stir up the gift of God which was in him.” It had been given to them for a reason & the Lord expected them to use it.

B. Applicable to all of us! We’ve mentioned it many times before: not every believer has the occupation of ministry, but EVERY believer has the vocation of ministry. We’ve all been called in the Great Commission! We’ve all been equipped through the Holy Spirit (everyone receives at least 1 gift – 1 Cor 12:11)! Thus we’ve been given a stewardship we need to care for & fulfill…

18 This salutation by my own hand—Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.

Conclusion:

Amen! Grace be with you! Grace to you as you redeem the time… Grace to you as you play your part in the Body of Christ… Grace to you as you walk with Christ – not distracted by Judaizing legalism or Gnostic dualism or anything else! The only way we can redeem the time for Christ is by relying on the grace of Christ.

In a nutshell, that’s the whole message of Colossians: Jesus has done everything, so keep your eyes on Him & on what He’s doing. We are complete in Him & Him alone – so if you’re trying to live any part of the Christian life outside of Christ, you’re simply guaranteed to struggle. So get your eyes back on Christ & just follow Him through the power of the Spirit.

If you’re not a Christian, the message is similar – you need to turn away from the world, get your eyes ON Christ, and follow Him. ‘But I am a Christian – I go to church & do good things.’ Praise God, but that doesn’t save your soul! No matter how many ‘good’ things you do, you can never pay the price for your own sin. Lies can’t be taken back, no matter how much else you tell the truth. Our own mouth condemns us of our sin when we use God’s name as a 4-letter curse word. Pick any sin that you’re guilty of, and there’s no resolution to it outside of sheer death. Here’s the good news: Jesus Christ died that death for you & because He rose out of the grave He offers you new life in return. He makes it available to every person on the planet – but we MUST call upon Him to receive it.

The New Man at Home

Introduction:

So what should a Christian family look like? It’s interesting to me that the popular image of Christian families deal more with externals (bumper stickers, radio stations, political causes) – yet Paul repeatedly deals with internals: how we relate to one another in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Contextually, this comes right at the tail end of Paul’s discussion of putting on the New Man in Christ…which fits perfectly. After all, because we are raised with Christ (symbolized through baptism) we know what to put off (the Old Man in sin…put it to death!), and we know what to put on in its place (the New Man – characteristics of Christ that we might put on agape love & be unified as we worship the Lord). Summarized in vs. 17…

So the 1^st place Paul brings application to this is the home. If we’re going to live as new creations in Christ, than the 1^st place we ought to do it is with our families. Our families deserve vastly more than our ‘leftovers’ – if there’s anyone that we should relate to with the New Man, it’s the ones we love the most & spend the most time with…

This section of Scripture is VERY similar to Eph 5:22 – 6:9, repeating some sections word-for-word. But they make a great commentary on each other & we’ll go back & forth a bit today.

Colossians 3:18-4:1 (NKJV)
18 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

A. Keep in mind, this was also controversial to the 1^st Century church. To the Roman mindset, wives were little more than property who were needed to bear legitimate children & not much else use (they had concubines for ‘recreational’ sex). Paul does two extraordinary things in these 1^st two verses:

a. Addresses women as being worthy of being addressed. He’s not talking down to them; he’s addressing them as valued members within the Body of Christ who have a choice on how to live out their “New Man” as a wife.

b. Teaches their husbands that they are worthy of far more than motherhood – but of their specific directed love…

B. 1^st, note who this is directed to. This isn’t “all women are supposed to submit to all men”…this is specifically for “wives” directed to the relationship between them & their “own husbands…” Women are not obligated as a whole to submit themselves to anyone outside their husbands. There are roles within the church that Paul addresses in 1 Tim 2 & 1 Cor 11, but nothing outside of that.

a. How can we say this for certain? Because Christ is not divided! Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [] Keep in mind Paul is writing about a wife’s role in a marriage relationship; not her value as a woman. A woman’s value is the same as any man because Jesus shed the same blood for her as for him.

C. 2^nd, note what he says: “submit.” He does NOT say “obey” (different words in Greek from vs. 20). Actually a military term meaning to ‘fall into ranks’ – when applied to non-military use, it implies a voluntary willing submission/cooperation. This isn’t a command from Paul for wives to be “barefoot, pregnant, & in the kitchen” – it’s a call to order…an application of the humility of Christ.

a. Is submission bad? No! Jesus is fully equal within the Trinity, but His role is submissive to the Father (“the head of Christ is God” – 1 Cor 11:3) & Jesus willingly humbled Himself (Phil 2:8). Submission isn’t bad; it’s Christ-like!

D. Why? This is “fitting in the Lord.” Paul ISN’T saying that as long as a husband is acting as a Christian, that’s the only time a wife needs to submit to him. Paul doesn’t even specify that both husband and wife are both Christians in this context & Peter goes so far as to suggest that a Christian wife’s Godly submission is a wonderful witness to an unsaved husband… 1 Peter 3:1-2 (1) Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, (2) when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. [] So what IS Paul saying? Simply that: Godly submission from a Christian wife to her husband is fitting/proper because that is the role God designed a wife to fulfill.

a. What is the role God designed for a wife? To be a helpmate – a “helper comparable” to her husband (Gen 2:18). Keep in mind this was before the Fall – the conflict in roles didn’t come until afterwards.

19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.

A. Wives are exhorted to “submit”; husbands are exhorted to “love.” Do husbands get off easy here? No! “love” = demonstrative form of ἀγάπη. [phileo – eros – storge – agape]. Agape is the love exemplified by Christ (beautifully defined in 1 Cor 13). Shown practically as “service/sacrifice” – Jesus loved His disciples to the end (John 13:1) & immediately began to wash their feet – God demonstrated His love for us by sending Jesus to die for us (Rom 5:8)… So then: how did Jesus love/serve the church? … Ephesians 5:25-29 (25) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, (26) that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, (27) that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. (28) So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. (29) For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. []

a. He gave Himself for her…He sanctified & cleansed her…He will present her to Himself…THAT’s how husbands are to love/serve their wives! Completely sacrificial where husbands are serving their wives in such a way that we can present them back to God in an act of spiritual stewardship. (Sobering thought!)

B. 2^nd exhortation: don’t be bitter. Speaks of one’s attitude towards their wife…husbands are not to be cross or harsh with the helpmate that God has entrusted to them. Always keep in mind that although your wife may be yours in marriage, she ultimately belongs to God! []

a. ‘Does that mean I’m in sin every time I have an argument with my wife?’ That depends – how do you treat your wife during your argument? We CAN be angry with each other & not sin (Eph 4:26)…the challenge is continuing to die to our flesh when we’re angry. Contextually, Paul seems to be referring to an ongoing attitude of bitterness (in opposition to an ongoing demonstration of love) – but we want to avoid bitterness at all times…even the rare times.

b. If we know husbands should not be bitter, what SHOULD they be? Understanding! 1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. []

20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.

A. Note the primary difference from wives here. Wives are not exhorted to “obey” their husbands; children are. The word properly means “to obey/to hearken” – the same response someone has to a knock at the door is to immediately answer…this is the same form of obedience Paul exhorts.

B. Is there an age limitation on this? Not necessarily, but the word & context implies that the children would still be in the home. A 30 yr old living at home would seem to be under the same obligation as a 10 yr old…which might provide them good motivation to move out.

a. We may not always be in a position to obey our parents (might not be Christian – may be out of the house, etc.) – but we ARE always in a position to honor them! (5^th commandment…) Why? Because they are representative of God the Father in the home…

b. When children (no matter the age) honor/obey their folks, it pleases God!

C. What do children obey their parents in? “all things”…pretty exhaustive! There are always going to be some things kids aren’t going to want to do (clean room, mow the lawn) – but our responsibility as parents is not to cater to our children’s whims, but to help them grow up to be responsible God-fearing followers of Christ. When children learn to obey the law of the home, they’re going to be predisposed to obey the law of the land & the Law of Christ. []

a. This is not “carte blanche” for parents & it’s certainly not a license forcing kids to engage in illegal and/or sinful behavior. [Austrian incest crime] Kids (like the rest of us) 1^st have a responsibility to God before anything else…

21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

A. If children have a command to obey, then fathers have a responsibility not to provoke them…we’re not to overuse the authority God has entrusted to us thus creating an environment ripe for rebellion. (Josh McDowell – “Rules without relationships lead to rebellion.”)

a. Just fathers? Same word translated “parents” in Heb 11:23…so the command could apply to both father and mother. BUT the heart of this is especially to fathers! Gk: πατήρ (paternity) – fathers have a tendency to provoke their children & thus need to be specifically aware not to do it.

B. Why? They might “become discouraged.” (AMP) “Fathers, do not provoke or irritate or fret your children [do not be hard on them or harass them], lest they become discouraged and sullen and morose and feel inferior and frustrated. [Do not break their spirit.]” That’s intense! Dad, we don’t want to encourage an unhealthy obsession with self-esteem (which is the tendency with our culture), but at the same time we don’t want to break the spirit that God put into our kids either! We should raise them in such a way where they see themselves as God sees them: in need of a Savior, but so much loved by God that He provided One.

a. Basically, Paul’s saying that we can get in the way of that! It’s possible for fathers to put such a burden on their children that it becomes almost impossible for them to see their Heavenly Father. So what’s one way of ensuring they don’t get discouraged? Lead your kids to the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. []

C. What if you didn’t have the best example of a father at home? How can you learn to be a good Christian dad? Look to the example of our Heavenly Father! There’s a reason the Bible says we call Him “Abba” (Gal 4:6) – He not only gave us physical life, He gave us spiritual life & adopted us into His own family… He loves us perfectly (which includes not provoking us – 1 Cor 13:5) – when you have doubts, do what you would do in any other situation: go to God in prayer & the Scripture & model His character.

D. This Father’s Day, enjoy the love of your family…but take the time to reflect on what kind of father you are. If you’ve been failing, it’s never too late to change & ask God for restoration – that’s part of the reason behind the gospel message. Malachi 4:6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. []

22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.

A. “Bondservants” = δοῦλος = slaves. Is this still a relationship in the home? For the Roman world, yes! Very much part of the day-to-day relationships…

B. Bondservants are to obey…this is the same word Paul used of the children. They were obligated to serve their masters as however their masters directed.

a. Does this mean Paul approves of slavery? No! Christian slaves were not to be concerned about their servitude, but if they had an opportunity for freedom, they were to take it. (1 Cor 7:21)

C. There’s a qualification here: “obey in all things your masters according to the flesh…” They may have had to perform menial tasks for their masters, but it was only physical stuff. Jesus alone was master of their spirit! In the Lord, they were already a freedman (1 Cor 7:11) – this was merely their physical responsibility due to the social condition.

D. BUT – just because they were obligated to serve didn’t mean they shouldn’t serve well. How not to serve? With “eyeservice”…i.e, when only their master was looking & then goof off the rest of the time. God desired them to serve in “sincerity of heart…” to be without guile & without hypocrisy. Like Joseph (Gen 39), they were to serve in such a way that it would give glory to God…

a. Why? This comes out of a healthy fear of God! See vs. 23…

23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

A. Ultimately bondservants (and everyone else!) serves the Lord & not men. We belong to Him – we were bought at a price – so everything that we do, we should do unto the Lord. The bumper sticker is half-true: “My boss is a Jewish Carpenter” – the full truth is that our “boss” is the Risen Savior! We serve the Lord Christ!

a. What’s the implication of this? We’re ALL in ministry…despite what your career title might state. Your occupation might be accounting, but your vocation is ministry. We’re a kingdom of priests, so no matter if you’re the servant or the boss – we all serve the Lord in whatever it is that we do.

B. Thus: Do things heartily! Because we serve the Lord, there’s no work that we perform that we should be lazy in. Literally, we should work “with soul” – think of yourselves as musicians… J

C. Why is it bondservants/slaves could be expected to serve their masters with soul? (1) Because ultimately they serve the Lord… (2) Because even though they may not have one now, they’ve got a reward coming from God Himself. They may not have lands or possessions, but they are co-heirs with Christ!

25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

A. Sober warning. BECAUSE we serve the Lord Christ, then we know Jesus is going to be truly just: to servant AND master. Paul warns the servants in Colossians & masters in Ephesians.

a. We reap what we sow…can’t avoid it! If we sow to the flesh, we’re going to reap of the flesh (Gal 6:8). If we’re lazy at work, we shouldn’t be surprised when we’re fired…and we definitely shouldn’t blame God for it.

B. Although this is a warning, this is also a glorious truth: “there is no partiality” with God! Amen!

1 Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

A. Masters aren’t exempt. They are to give what is just and fair. Slaves may have had no legal recourse for any rights, but that doesn’t absolve the master’s responsibility to answer to God for how he treated his slaves. He had the responsibility to feed/clothe & generally treat them well.

B. What’s their motivation to do so? … Masters have a Master in heaven! Every idle word a man speaks will be accounted for on Judgment Day (Matt 12:36) – how much more the way earthly masters treat those under their roof?

a. Interesting that Paul is writing to Christian slave owners here. (Non-christians wouldn’t be reading the letter!) We need to keep the cultural context in mind. Slavery was (1) vastly different than what we know in American history, and (2) universally accepted at the time & thought of as vital to the fabric of society. Christianity was THE major factor in abolishing slavery in the Western world (and still is today!) – but it took time.

b. Also interesting that Paul sends another letter to Corinth about a Christian slave & slaveowner (Philemon). What is just & fair? I suggest a good argument could be made that Paul’s hinting at freedom.

C. Any modern application to this? Sure – are you an employer?

Conclusion:

Did you notice the common thread in all of these exhortations? None of this comes naturally! Wives don’t want to submit – husbands don’t want to serve – children (definitely) don’t want to obey, etc… Yet what doesn’t naturally comes supernaturally when we put on the New Man in Christ!

In Christ, wives can submit & husbands can serve… In Christ, children can obey & fathers can build them up… In Christ, slaves can heartily serve & masters can do what’s right… It’s ONLY possible through Christ Jesus! Too often we look to self-help books to try to accomplish these things…as if our “self” is any help at all in our home life! (Our “self” is what generally gets us into trouble.) If you want your home transformed, it only happens through the Lord Jesus & putting on His character. Christian: one of the worst things you could do is play the worshipper in the world & live in your flesh with your family…that’s called hypocrisy. May we be sincere at all times – and give our families the very best of what Christ is doing in us.

Is Christ doing anything in you at all? Before your home can be transformed, YOU have to be transformed (born again) by the grace of God. Too many people want the benefits of salvation without being saved…but it doesn’t work that way! The most important need you (and everyone else) has is to be forgiven of your sin – everything else is secondary.

Preparation Through Worship – Numbers 27-29

Numbers 27 (NKJV)
1 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying: 3 “Our father died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the Lord, in company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.”

A. Understandable difficulty. The law made provision for sons, but what about daughters with no brothers? … This is a matter of financial provision…the daughter’s inheritance was generally their dowry – but without a father, brothers, or husbands, there is no dowry to receive.

B. BTW – note the women’s faith! They haven’t entered the Promised Land yet & already they are concerned about the inheritance their family has not yet received. They simply take the Lord at His word that they had something to inherit…

5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord.

A. Amen! Exactly what he should have done. Moses didn’t assume anything – he didn’t ignore anything – simply took it to the Lord in prayer.

6 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them.

A. Who says the Bible is misogynistic? God provides for the widow & orphan – and He provides for these daughters who have no earthly recourse…

B. God is just! There are many who want to pin ‘evil’ onto the Lord saying, “If God were truly good, He wouldn’t allow evil to exist.” News flash: Evil is OUR fault (Adam’s, technically)… [] But God is good (all the time) – even in the midst of an evil world…and He is truly just & righteousness. Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He. []

8 And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the relative closest to him in his family, and he shall possess it.’ ” And it shall be to the children of Israel a statute of judgment, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

A. Sets up a precedent for future situations… Comes up again in Ch 36 when Manasseh is worried about losing their overall tribal lands if these daughters marry into other tribes. God solves this by requiring women in this situation to marry within their own tribe.

a. Isn’t it interesting how we panic over issues that are nothing for God to handle & solve? How much stress would we save ourselves if we’d only take things to the Lord in prayer? J

12 Now the Lord said to Moses: “Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. 13 And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. 14 For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)

A. Question: is this God’s judgment or God’s grace? Both! God had to judge Moses for his rebellion… But God didn’t have to show Moses the land…

B. Could Moses have taken Israel into the Promised Land? No. Moses is a type of the Law & the Law never saves; it just shows us our need for salvation & deliverance. Only Joshua (Jesus – Yeshua) can bring us victory over sin & death. John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. []

15 Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying: 16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17 who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.”

A. Moses prays for a successor…I love this! Moses is not bitter or spiteful at the fact he’s not allowed to bring Israel into the land; his heart is simply for the people to be cared for.

a. Anyone called to ministry should hold the ministry “lightly” – ultimately the people don’t belong to you; they belong to the Lord…

B. God is “God of the spirits of all flesh”…despite whether or not “all flesh” believe in God; He is still God! And because He is God, He knows what dwells in the heart of every man – He alone is able to determine the best leader for Israel’s needs. Moses doesn’t presume to dictate to God who that should be – he simply leaves the choice up to the Lord…

C. We need a shepherd – and have the best one in Christ Jesus! (John 10:11,14)

18 And the Lord said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; 19 set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight. 20 And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. 21 He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the Lord for him by the judgment of the Urim. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him—all the congregation.”

How to transition leaders Biblically? We can mess this up if we’re not careful!

A. Look for someone filled with the Spirit: This is what the early church did in looking for the 1^st deacons (Acts 6:3). [] Absolutely necessary! Without the leading & empowerment of the Spirit of God, anything else that the leader would do would be worthless. (Not by power, nor by might, but by My Spirit – Zech 4:6)

B. Publicly ordain him: In this age of internet ordination, this becomes especially necessary. People need to see that elders within the church have affirmed the call of God upon someone’s life before entrusting their spiritual instruction to them…

a. Keep in mind what ordination is: the church’s recognition of God’s previous call. The church doesn’t call anyone to ministry; God does. But the church does affirm that call through the prayers of Spirit-filled leadership.

C. Empower them for ministry: Moses didn’t just give Joshua lip-service in front of the people; God had him empower Joshua for the work by granting him “authority.” Whatever ministry God may have put you in, you need to be free to fail as well as succeed…

D. Put him to work: Joshua was now going to be the one to stand before Eleazar & inquire of the Lord…thus the true transition taking place.

22 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. 23 And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.

A. Moses did it.

Numbers 28 (NKJV)
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time.’

A. Introducing regulations on offerings… ‘Why go through these now? Didn’t God teach on the offerings in Leviticus?’ Yes – but since the nation was about to occupy the land, this is a necessary reminder. They will live in the land, but the land won’t belong to them…it belongs to God! Thus they need to be reminded of how to worship God their provider & sustainer…

B. Note they needed to “be careful” to offer them at the right time…this is definitely worship, but God cares about the details of our worship. We’re not to “go through the motions” – nor are we to worship in disorderly chaos. We’re to worship Him in spirit & truth! (John 4:23)

3 “And you shall say to them, ‘This is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to the Lord: two male lambs in their first year without blemish, day by day, as a regular burnt offering. 4 The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, the other lamb you shall offer in the evening, 5 and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil. 6 It is a regular burnt offering which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord. 7 And its drink offering shall be one-fourth of a hin for each lamb; in a holy place you shall pour out the drink to the Lord as an offering. 8 The other lamb you shall offer in the evening; as the morning grain offering and its drink offering, you shall offer it as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

A. Burnt offering was offering of consecration… Drink offering was offering of dedication…

B. How regular is regular? Daily.

i. Do we give ourselves daily to the Lord? Heaven forbid we make “worship” into merely 20 minutes every Sunday & Wednesday! Psalm 55:17 Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice. [] This isn’t a legalistic “have-to”; this is a liberating “get-to!” We GET to worship the Lord any time of day all day…we GET the privilege of boldly coming before the throne of grace. What possible reason would we have for NOT doing this at every opportunity?

C. Offerings done right were “sweet aromas”. Sometimes we forget the fact that God enjoys worship. It’s pleasing to Him. When we worship our God & King, we get the opportunity to please our Creator, Master, & Savior…it brings glory to His name. (And if we don’t do it, the rocks will!)

9 ‘And on the Sabbath day two lambs in their first year, without blemish, and two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, with its drink offering— 10 this is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, besides the regular burnt offering with its drink offering.

A. Every Sabbath had additional offerings beside the daily ones…showed that the day was special & set apart for the Lord’s purposes.

B. Today? Our Sabbath rest is found in Christ…but we still have a day that we set apart specifically for worshipping the Lord. What makes it special is not the day of the week, but the fact that Jesus is the sacrifice that’s been made!

11 ‘At the beginnings of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish; 12 three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, for each bull; two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, for the one ram; 13 and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with oil, as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering of sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord. 14 Their drink offering shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, one-third of a hin for a ram, and one-fourth of a hin for a lamb; this is the burnt offering for each month throughout the months of the year. 15 Also one kid of the goats as a sin offering to the Lord shall be offered, besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

A. Month beginnings had extra offerings…would have been in addition to the daily offerings. (Levites stayed pretty busy!)

B. Also had a sin offering – monthly reminder to the nation of their sin…

16 ‘On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the Lord. 17 And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. 18 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. 19 And you shall present an offering made by fire as a burnt offering to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year. Be sure they are without blemish. 20 Their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah you shall offer for a bull, and two-tenths for a ram; 21 you shall offer one-tenth of an ephah for each of the seven lambs; 22 also one goat as a sin offering, to make atonement for you. 23 You shall offer these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a regular burnt offering. 24 In this manner you shall offer the food of the offering made by fire daily for seven days, as a sweet aroma to the Lord; it shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering. 25 And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work.

A. Offerings for Passover… (Crucifixion)

26 ‘Also on the day of the firstfruits, when you bring a new grain offering to the Lord at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. 27 You shall present a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, 28 with their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each bull, two-tenths for the one ram,
29 and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs; 30 also one kid of the goats, to make atonement for you. 31 Be sure they are without blemish. You shall present them with their drink offerings, besides the regular burnt offering with its grain offering.

A. Offerings for 1^st fruits & Pentecost… (Resurrection & Holy Spirit)

Numbers 29 (NKJV)
1 ‘And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets. 2 You shall offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the Lord: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish. 3 Their grain offering shall be fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram, 4 and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs; 5 also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, to make atonement for you; 6 besides the burnt offering with its grain offering for the New Moon, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, as a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

A. Offerings for Feast of Trumpets – Rosh Hoshanna… (Rapture)

7 ‘On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls; you shall not do any work. 8 You shall present a burnt offering to the Lord as a sweet aroma: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year. Be sure they are without blemish. 9 Their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the one ram, 10 and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs; 11 also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, besides the sin offering for atonement, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

A. Offerings for Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur… (Tribulation)

12 ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work, and you shall keep a feast to the Lord seven days. 13 You shall present a burnt offering, an offering made by fire as a sweet aroma to the Lord: thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year. They shall be without blemish. 14 Their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths for each of the two rams, 15 and one-tenth for each of the fourteen lambs; 16 also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

A. Offerings for Feast of Tabernacles… (Millennium)

B. 7 days. Note the change in offerings by the day. Vs. 17-32 show a decrease in one bull each day; everything else stays the same…

a. That’s a LOT of offerings! Some estimate the total giving in Ch 28-29 at 1 ton of flour, 1K gallons of wine & oil, 13K oxen, 60K sheep given annually (Courson). (Guzik) “Significantly, none of it was enough! Not one of these hundreds of thousands of sacrifices over the centuries could every take away a person’s sin; that had to wait until a perfect sacrifice was offered – the sacrifice of Jesus.”

35 ‘On the eighth day you shall have a sacred assembly. You shall do no customary work. 36 You shall present a burnt offering, an offering made by fire as a sweet aroma to the Lord: one bull, one ram, seven lambs in their first year without blemish, 37 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance; 38 also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

A. Still the Feast of Tabernacles; just a new day (8^th day); new week – new offering. One bull, one ram, 7 lambs this time. Possibly significant as a new beginning (traditional interpretation of “8”). Prophetically, at the end of the Millennial Age starts the rest of eternity w/ the new heaven, new earth, & new Jerusalem…

39 ‘These you shall present to the Lord at your appointed feasts (besides your vowed offerings and your freewill offerings) as your burnt offerings and your grain offerings, as your drink offerings and your peace offerings.’ ” 40 So Moses told the children of Israel everything, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

A. How were all the sacrifices & offerings in the last 2 chapters given? In addition to all the other freewill offerings & vows that the people bring individually to God. Seems to speak of:

a. The priority God places on worship in time & expense. Aside from Scripture & prayer, there is no better way to interact with the Lord God than through worship. It ONLY happens through the expense of His Son’s; but in the eyes of God, it’s completely worth it.

b. The importance of BOTH individual AND corporate worship… [] We tend to place all the value on individual worship – and although this is crucial for our relationship with Christ, we are no longer simply individuals. In Christ, we’ve been placed into a body – and that body needs to worship together. Thus we don’t forsake the assembling together of ourselves (Heb 10:25).

Conclusion:

If that’s the value God puts on worship, what’s the value we put on it? Over & over again, the Bible exhorts us to sing – shout – praise the Lord – worship Him. With everything that we have, we worship Him. With everything we are, we worship Him. WHY? Because He’s WORTHY to be praised!

Psalm 150:1-2 (1) Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! (2) Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! [] His acts ARE mighty & His person IS excellent! He loved us when we were unlovable – He adopted us when we abhorred Him – He gave us life when we were dead & happy to remain that way.

Christian, if there’s anything that holds you back from worshipping the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength – confront it & deal with it…take it to the Cross & crucify it with Christ. Because God is WORTHY to be praised!

Putting on the New Man

Introduction:

Sometimes knowing what NOT to do can be helpful in knowing how to handle situations.

Paul began Ch 3 by telling us what to put off (take off/kill)…the old man. (Described by sensual sins & social sins) That’s what NOT to do. But once you’ve put it off, what are we supposed to put on? The new man who is renewed in knowledge (vs. 10)… Both aspects of this are important to know. We cannot put on the new man until the old man is gone; but once the old man is gone, we need to replace it – or the old man will be replaced for us…

Remember the foundation of all this: we have been raised with Christ! He is the preeminent one – in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge – we are complete in Him. Great theology & doctrine! So now what? So now we don’t merely let Jesus change our mind; we let Him change our life. Jesus is LORD – He is the image of the invisible God – the 1^st born over all creation…as a born-again Christian, we don’t have the option of simple mental assent. Our very lives belong to Him…thus we’re to glorify Him with everything that we are. Part of that is putting on the new man…

Colossians 3:12-17 (NKJV)
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;

A. “therefore”: because of everything that Paul had written about us dying & living in Christ…

B. “the elect of God”: simple statement of fact – as born-again believers, we ARE the elect. Simply means that as born-again Christians, we’re chosen of God (we’re all God’s favorites!). (We love Him; He 1^st loved us – 1 Jn 4:19)

a. Don’t let theological debates scare you off from the term. “Elect” has gotten a bad rap in the Calvinist/Arminian wars – thus many non-Calvinists don’t want to even accept the word. (I’ve heard pastors say “I don’t believe in the elect.”) If you don’t believe in the elect, then you don’t believe your Bible… Word is used 12 times in the NT epistles alone!

i. Beware of the tendency (trap) of trying to force the Word of God into the logical system of Man. God’s Word is absolutely true & rational – but it’s still talking about an infinite God… The Bible plainly speaks about God’s election & predestination (see Eph 1) AND plainly speaks about man’s responsibility to choose God in repentance (see John 3, Acts 17 – Athens). We simply need to believe what the Bible says.

b. How do you know if you’re one of the elect? Repent, trust Christ, and be born again. If you do, you’re elect!

C. How are the elect described? As “holy & beloved”.

a. We are holy because HE is holy! Because Jesus set us apart to Himself – because He gave us His righteousness – because of HIM, we are considered holy. ‘But wait a second…I know me. I’m anything but holy!’ Not according to God. When you were born again, He clothed you in the righteousness of Christ & you are holy! Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. [] PTL!

b. We are beloved (ἀγαπάω)…how do we know? Because we’ve been made holy! J This is how He demonstrated His love for us (Rom 5:8)…

D. What are the elect supposed to do? Put on the character traits of the new man…

a. Tender mercies: Lit “bowels of compassion” – reaching from the depth of our being to show mercy to one another in the Body.

b. Kindness: defined by some as “benevolence in action.” It should be common sense that Christians would be kind to one another…

c. Humility: “egotistical Christian” is a contradiction in terms. We’re supposed to crucify the flesh & put the old man to death – which most certainly includes our ego.

d. Meekness: could be defined as “power under control”…NOT weakness! Jesus is definitely meek (wouldn’t break a bruised reed – Is 42:3), but He is definitely (infinitely!) powerful!

e. Longsuffering: Patience, but more so. I like the translation “longsuffering” b/c it describes what patience does. Patience is more than the ability to wait through a traffic light – the patience of Christ helps us endure during suffering…

f. Ultimately, these are all character traits of Christ! He IS merciful – kind – humble – meek – longsuffering… This is God’s plan for us as believers…He desires for us to look like Jesus – Romans 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. []

- Paul goes on to describe what these character traits do…
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

A. Bearing with one another: How to deal with present offenses/complaints caused by fellow Christians? Bear with it – endure it – be longsuffering… Sometimes it’s easier to do this with the world under the idea of being a witness for Christ; but we’re not quite as ready to do it with others in the Church. [] We’re supposed to bear with one another…

B. Forgiving one another: How to deal with past offenses/complaints… “Forgiveness” in the NT has its root in cariV (grace) – the whole idea of the word is to “give grace” to someone else. [] In what way are we supposed to forgive? As Christ forgave us. That raises the bar, doesn’t it? When we forgive others, we need to forgive them fully & completely. Christians have no place (or even a right!) to bear grudges against one another…doing so is completely the opposite of what Christ did for us.

a. Our natural tendency is to want to BE forgiven, but then to withhold forgiveness from someone else (re: unforgiving servant – Matt 18:21-35). How important is this? So much so that Jesus included it in His model prayer for us – Matthew 6:12, 14-15 (12) And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. … (14) “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (15) But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. [] Serious stuff! If we withhold forgiveness from others, our fellowship with God is broken…why? We’re playing the hypocrite & thus in sin.

b. Be careful not to make forgiveness into “lip service”…we have to do it! “so you also must do.”

14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

A. All the traits Paul just listed are needful – but one is more so. We need to put on mercies, etc., but most of all we need to put on love! (ἀγάπη) [selfless – sacrificial]

a. If you put on love, you’ll put on the rest. Love suffers long, is kind, bears all things, etc., (1 Cor 13)…

B. Paul’s description of agape is interesting: it’s “the bond of perfection”. Not only does it perfectly bond the other character traits of Christ together (like an outer jacket on the New Man), love bonds US together as believers. It’s one of our primary defining characteristics! The world knows we are in Christ through our love for each other (John 13:35) – without love, we have nothing (1 Cor 13:1-3). In fact, if we DON’T have love for one another as believers, it’s a good sign we need to reexamine our faith. 1 John 4:7-8 (7) Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. (8) He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. []

15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

A. In addition to love (ἀγάπη), we need peace (εἰρήνη)…we need to let the “peace of God rule” in our hearts. “Rule” is an athletic term – like an umpire, the peace of God through Jesus Christ should help “call the shots” & help us walk with Christ. Two aspects to this:

a. Within the Body of Christ: The whole context leading up to this point has been how we relate to other believers – either through sinning in the Old Man, or by following Christ in the New Man. The New Man deals with conflicts in bearing, forgiving, loving…and seeking the peace of God. Got a question in how to act with a brother or sister whom you’ve offended? Or has offended you? – What can you do that would bring about peace – what would demonstrate the peace of God? Wonderful rule of thumb in acting out in love & grace…

b. Within ourselves: As we make decisions, the peace of God is a deciding factor. Whatever is not from faith is sin (Rom 14:23), so the peace of God is one way in determining these things… When we DON’T have the peace of God about something, we should stop what we’re doing & go to the Lord in prayer & Scripture. With that in mind…the peace of God should be a guiding rule for our practice – but be careful not to be driven by false notions of what this is. (Wiersbe) ““I had peace about it!” is not sufficient evidence that we are in the will of God. We must pray, surrender to His will, and seek His guidance in the Scriptures. The peace of heart alone is not always the peace of God.”

B. Be thankful! Be thankful for what? Be thankful for the peace that God gives you through Christ Jesus. God doesn’t merely shout out a command to us & then leaves us to blindly grope about wondering how to apply it…He graciously gives us peace by working in us through the Holy Spirit as we walk day-by-day.

a. Too many Christians live with a dead faith. To them, everything about Jesus & the Bible is past tense…but it’s VASTLY more than that! Jesus is alive & is interceding for you before the throne of God right now – the Holy Spirit is indwelling you & ready to empower every believer right now – God the Father reigns & is using His word to speak to us right now! [] Why be thankful? Be thankful that every day is supernatural to those in Christ Jesus. You have access to go boldly before the throne of grace in prayer (Heb 4:16), and God supernaturally responds through many ways – including His peace.

b. Why else? Be thankful that you were called to one body! IOW – be thankful that you’re saved! J You were dead in your transgressions, headed for the judgment of God & preparing to spend eternity in Hell – but the Lord Jesus changed everything! When you cried out to Him in faith, He forgave you – gave you a new birth – made you a new creation – sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in you – gave you an inheritance in glory – blessed you with every spiritual blessing! That we should be thankful is a blessed understatement.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

A. Paul has discussed who we are supposed to BE when we put on the new man (our characteristics)…now he describes what we are supposed to do.

B. 1^st – let the word dwell within: What’s the “word of Christ”? The Scripture – the gospel – both? Commentaries are somewhat split, but if the gospel of Christ is dwelling in us, we’re obviously going to be meditating on the Scripture as well…it’s all His word. (Be careful of being a “red-letter Christian” – ALL of it is the inspired word of God…) [] “dwell” = “To feel at home.” Ever feel awkward traveling? [This week…] Always great to be home! … That’s the idea Paul’s getting across – many Christians only “visit” the Bible (the Word of God); it should be at home in us!

C. 2^nd – let the word spring forth: We don’t read the Word of God to do nothing with it – how do we use it (and the wisdom it brings) within the church? By “teaching and admonishing one another…” Through the Word we are to instruct one another & help build up one another in Christ. We’re also to caution & correct each other. It’s profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, & instruction in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16) – since it’s profitable, let us use it!

a. Notice the “one another.” Are pastors/teachers the only people who can teach & admonish those within the church? No. We are the Body of Christ – we’re ALL the priesthood of believers, thus we’re to help each other. That’s not to say we’re supposed to preach a sermon…simply that God may give you a word or Scripture for someone – share it!

D. How is this expressed? Through music! (Say what?!) It’s possible that doctrine was taught through the worship songs of the church (church today does much the same thing…which is why it’s important for worship leaders to be careful about the lyrics we sing). Also possible that Paul’s saying, “As you teach & admonish one another, break out in song because of what Christ is doing through you.”

a. “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs”: Almost every commentary defines these terms differently…probably the best distinction is psalms (OT hymnbook), hymns (NT odes to Christ), songs (NT odes about Christ). Whatever the case is, the idea is worshipful singing!

b. BTW – this should put all the ideas about “worship wars” to rest. The Bible tells us to sing in hymns, so we sing hymns. The Bible tells us to sing in psalms & spiritual songs, so we do that as well. Arguing about the style is unhelpful & illogical. What is a “traditional” hymn to the church today was obviously a new song at one time…and people probably argued about it in 1600 too.

E. Proper worship?

a. Sing with “grace in your hearts”: Some translations say “thankfulness” – the word is χάρις, which is translated “grace” 130 times in the NT in most versions. Granted, we always sing with a thankful heart unto the Lord – but we sing with the grace of God because we have experienced the grace of God…so in our praise, we give God what He deserves: glory!

b. Sing “to the Lord”: We don’t merely sin to hear how pretty our voices are…we’re singing to God! []

c. Notice the implication here: we’ve got to be Christian before we can worship Christ. If we haven’t experienced the grace OF God, we cannot sing with grace TO God. [] A lot of people show up in churches because the worship is exciting & they want to be a part of it – but without belonging to Jesus Christ, all our singing is in vain. Over & over through the OT, we see that God doesn’t care about our worship if there’s sin in the way. [Isaiah 1:13 – “futile sacrifices”] Psalm 51:16-17 (16) For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. (17) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise. [] What’s necessary? Repentance & a new birth!

17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

A. Paul opens it up far beyond worship and instruction in the church. “Whatever” we do, we do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. “word or deed” is all inclusive…whatever we do it going to fall in either one of those categories. J BOTH are important. Words DO matter… Our intentions must be followed by deeds…

a. Whatever it is, do it in His name! (Walvoord & Zuck) “there is no sacred-secular split in God’s eyes; He is Sovereign over all— whether in word or deed (by lip or life) should all be done in the name of the Lord Jesus (i.e., for His glory; cf. 1 Cor. 10:31)”

b. This makes a wonderful guideline for what we should & shouldn’t do as Christians. [People wonder how far they can go…] Ask yourself, “Can I do XYZ in the name of Jesus Christ?” If not, it’s probably something to avoid, if not outright sin.

B. Undergirding all of it? Thankfulness! As in verse 15, we’re thankful that God is working in our lives & thankful for our salvation in Christ.

a. We can only give thanks to God the Father through Jesus Christ. There is no other way!

Conclusion:

What glorious instruction to the church! In Christ, we put the old sinful man to death – but we’re not left wanting. We’re raised with Christ (Col 3:1) & thus raised to a new man nature. So put it on! ‘Don’t we automatically get this new nature in Christ? Why this exhortation?’ Yes – we have been clothed with the righteousness of Christ & been made into new creations. But it’s our choice whether or not to walk as one. Many Christians (including myself!) make the mistake of thinking that life is the same-old, same-old…that when sin & temptation arises, we’ll just fall back into old patterns. Or if conflict pops up, we just respond like we always did in our flesh. … But God has SO much more for us than that!

We have been FREED from sin, death, and the power of the old man nature…we don’t have to walk in it any longer! We’ve been given new clothes & a new man in Christ – thus we need to appropriate it by faith. We can put on the characteristics of Jesus Christ – put on love – be ruled by the peace of God – and edify each other by the Scripture as we worship God in grace. This is something that’s flagrantly impossible for the world – but available to every believer in Christ! Why settle for anything less?

A Death Sentence You Can Live With

Paul has a habit of dividing his letters into the doctrinal & the practical – and Colossians is no exception. In Ch 1-2, he described the preeminence of Christ Jesus as Redeemer – as Creator God – as Reconciler… We need nothing else BUT Him…in Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge, so we don’t want to get cheated out of that by empty deceit/vain philosophy…nor legalism…nor false spirituality/ascetism. We cannot ADD to Christ; we are complete in Him!

Since we are complete, does that mean we do nothing? We just sit around & enjoy our salvation while indulging in all the temptations the world has to offer? After all, we can simply claim, “Once saved – always saved! I prayed a prayer, what more do you want?!” Perish the thought! Christ Jesus didn’t merely save us from death so that we could continue to engage in dead practices (the stuff that killed us); He saved us so that could live with & in Him!

This is what Paul is looking at today & it’s vitally important for the Colossian church (and us!). Remember the Colossians had been dealing with all sorts of heresy (Judaism & Gnosticism), and now that Paul has emphasized the need to keep their eyes on Christ, he now needs to make them aware of practices that could either help or hurt them in this.

Colossians 3:1-11 (NKJV)
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

A. “If” = “since”… As a believer in Christ Jesus, you HAVE been raised with Christ Jesus. This is not a work you perform; it’s a work He does in you upon your salvation. Note the past tense (aorist in Gk)…this has already taken place. In Christ, you ARE a new creation (2 Cor 5:17) because spiritually you died & rose again with Christ… (“If” is still appropriate b/c the only reason it’s “if = since” is IF you are a believer!) How were we “raised with Christ”? Through baptism into Christ, represented by physical baptism…

B. So what? This is great theological truth; what do we do with it? Then “seek those things which are above…” Don’t waste your time seeking after the things that are earthly; seek after the things that are in heaven. Too many Christians spend WAY too much time scurrying after stuff that’s going to burn… Matthew 6:19-20 (19) “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; (20) but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. []

a. ‘Ok, great. I’ve done that – I belong to Jesus.’ PTL! Then Paul would now tell us, “Good, then act like it. Realize that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him because He IS the treasure & we need to seek after Him.”

b. Keep in mind Paul is not talking about ascetism – he’s not instructing us to swear off careers & go move to a monestary somewhere. (He just got done calling that kind of stuff “false humility” – Col 2:23). This is a call to keep our priorities straight. The world offers all sorts of cheap substitutes for what the Lord intends…there’s nothing inherently wrong with jobs, pleasure, etc. – the problem arises when we substitute these things for God. We are risen with Christ! What will be our priorities in Heaven? Then why wait till then to seek after those things? Do it now…

2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

A. Welcome to the department of redundancy department. J Paul’s repeating himself for good reason – we have a tough time with this! It’s incredibly easy to get into a daily rut & stop seeking the Lord without realizing it… [lack of prayer; lack of the Bible] All of a sudden we find ourselves falling into sin because we’ve been seeking the things of the earth & not of heaven…

B. Don’t just do it once – keep on doing it! Greek implies continual action here. This is a complete mindset change…

a. So is this being (per DL Moody) “so heavenly minded that we’re no earthly good?” No. With respect to Moody, we cannot be any earthly good until we realize that our home is there; not here. When we have heaven before our eyes, we realize that not everyone is going there – thus we’re going to be motivated to do what God has called us to in the Great Commission.

3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

A. Did you know you were dead? [] This is foundational to the gospel – discipleship 101 is: die. Luke 9:23-24 (23) Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. (24) For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. [] People didn’t pick up their cross with the idea of taking it with them on a picnic…they took it knowing they were about to be killed on it! This is the life that Jesus has saved us for: that our ‘self’ would daily be crucified in order that He could live through us.

a. Note the past tense again (“died”). Positionally, this has already happened! Practically, it needs to keep happening day-by-day. IOW, our physical lives should daily reflect the spiritual reality of our being dead to the world & risen in Christ.

B. What occurred when we died? Our life is now “hidden with Christ in God” Like a treasure that’s hidden away in a safebox, so are we hidden away with Christ in God. The devil can do a lot of things to us: tempt us – lie to us – try to kill us – but he cannot snatch us out of the hand of God! (John 10:28) He can snatch away the Word of God from a non-believer (Matt 13:19), but he cannot take us away from our Savior & Redeemer!

a. What does this say on the ongoing debate regarding eternal security? Contextually, not much. We have a tendency sometimes to read the Bible specifically to find prooftexts for the positions we like & against the positions we don’t…the problem is that we end up missing the meaning of the verse to begin with! (“A prooftext without a context is a pretext.”) Contextually, Paul’s saying we ARE with Christ, so we should set our minds to the things where He is because we’re there too!

4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

A. Jesus Christ IS OUR LIFE. Don’t miss this! Paul just got done telling us we are dead – but we’re not left dead. Jesus wasn’t left in the tomb to rot there; neither are we left dead to decompose in our sins pining away until Jesus comes back; we live in Him – He is our life.

a. He’s not “part” of our life or “in” our life; Jesus IS our life. (Gk = “the life of us”) This is radically different than what we sometimes are led to believe. [compartmentalize our lives – Jesus over in the corner] Christianity simply doesn’t work that way. You were completely DEAD in your sins – you died with Christ – He gave you new life by redeeming you from the grave – you’ve been bought with a price & are not your own…we simply don’t have any existence without Him!

b. Are you living like Christ is “in” your life, or are you living like Christ IS your life?

B. What do we know about Jesus’ basic activities? He lived, He died, He rose, He ascended…and He’s coming back! …. [] When HE appears, we’ll appear too (the rapture).

a. Put it all together so far. Our life is hidden with Christ & Christ is in heaven. He’ll appear, and we’ll appear with Him in the sky. He IS our life & He lives at the right hand of God. Since this is the case, why would we ever value anything that’s here on EARTH? Our whole life, being, and future is in Heaven! THAT’s where we should set our minds…(vs. 1-2)

b. How do we do this? See vs. 5…

5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

A. How can we put something to death if we’ve already died? Paul’s talking about two separate things here. WE died with Christ & rose again with Him (demonstrated through baptism); but although we are spiritually born-again new creations, we still live in this fallen body with its sinful habits & weaknesses. The remaining stuff is what we put to death. Romans 6:11-12 (11) Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (12) Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. []

a. “reckon” = accounting term. We have to intentionally do this in our mind. If we simply wade into temptation headlong & blind, what do you think is going to happen? We need to count ourselves as dead to sin & alive in Christ…

B. What do we put to death? These various members (NOT talking about church membership rolls!) J …referring to different sins that take place in the various members of our body – they act like an extension of our body. To the Gnostics, it didn’t matter what you did with your body (it was evil anyway), so as long as your mind was specially prepared, you were ok to engage in whatever lusts you wanted. Paul says, “Uh-uh! What you do with your body has a direct impact on your mind & your relationship with Christ! So kill off those evil desires of the flesh.”

a. Fornication: πορνεία (pornography, etc) – talking about sexual sin of any kind. God lovingly limits sex to husband & wife – and ANY sexual act outside of that falls into the category of “fornication.” This ranges from homosexuality to someone “sowing their oats”…

b. Uncleanness: Talking about sexual impurity. People often try to make excuses saying “I didn’t actually go to bed with anyone” – but sin isn’t limited to a motel bed.

c. Passion: Not talking about good passions (husbands SHOULD be passionate for their wives) – the word is specifically used of depraved passions & lustfulness.

d. Evil desire: A general longing to be around or engage in lustful living.

e. Covetousness: Most of us understand what covetousness is…relates to the 10^th Commandment. Contextually, Paul’s referring to sexual covetousness (which the 10^th Commandment specifically outlines as well)… [] Paul takes things a step further, however, and shows us that covetousness is really the same thing as idolatry…

f. Note that Paul’s list is progressive. Idolatry/Covetousness leads to evil desires…leads to lustful passions…leads to physical uncleanness…leads to actual sexual fornication…

6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.

A. ‘But these are just little sins…it’s no big deal. It’s not like we’re talking about murder or something like that.’ Wrong. This IS a big deal…so much so that this is the reason the “wrath of God is coming.”….

a. It HAS come (on the cross) and IS coming (as discipline), and WILL come (tribulation & judgment)…

b. Is this stuff worth the wrath of God? Yes! Our bodies were created in the image of God, thus we are to honor Him with our bodies. He knit us together in our mother’s womb (Ps 139) – we have no right to trash what He put together! [trashed hot rod]

B. How bad is it? These are distinguishing marks of the unsaved (“the sons of disobedience”). … Ever hear from your parents, “I didn’t raise you to act that way!” [Olivia] – our Heavenly Father could say the same thing. He didn’t save us so we could act that way!

8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

A. “put off”… Put off what? More sins…perhaps less evident than the earlier listing, but sin nonetheless. (Wiersbe) “We are so accustomed to anger, critical attitudes, lying, and coarse humor among believers that we are no longer upset or convicted about these sins. We would be shocked to see a church member commit some sensual sin, but we will watch him lose his temper in a business meeting and call it “righteous indignation.”” God still cares about these sins too! [] Keep in mind that God calls us to holiness because He is holy…

a. Anger: There can be righteous anger (re: Jesus in the temple) – but that’s not what Paul is referring to here. Seems to be describing a smoldering attitude of anger that people can live in…

b. Wrath: If “anger” is the lava in a rumbling volcano, “wrath” is when it bursts forth.

c. Malice: The intentional desire to do evil to someone. It should be unthinkable for Christians to engage in this, but it’s more common than we might realize… Word covers more than physical injury; we can injure someone’s character as well.

d. Blasphemy: More than taking the Lord’s name in vain; this seems to include all sorts of injurious speech (slander, insults, etc.).

i. But don’t forget the primary application of this word is blasphemy of the name of God – and Christians are still guilty of this!

e. Filthy Language: Personally speaking, my mouth took a while to get cleaned up after I came to Christ… [] Interesting to me that filthy language is placed right next to blasphemy. God created us to praise Him & give Him glory…when we use our mouths to speak forth obscenities it profanes the reason for our creation.

9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,

A. One more: put off lying. Why? Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6) – Christians have no business lying or bearing false witness against one another. (And yes, this includes to the gov’t as well. J)

i. Why does Paul set lying apart? Speculation… Perhaps because it was the 1^st sin recorded for us in the Bible (Gen 3:1) – Satan is a liar & the father of all lies (John 8:44) – when we engage in lying, we’re engaging in something particularly demonic.

B. All that stuff is what the old man does. What’s the old man? Some scholars take this to be the unbeliever who died with Christ; others take it to be the temptations of the flesh that we continue to endure. I suggest Paul intends a bit of both here. Our old man has definitely died with Christ; yet we must continue to put to death our members which are on earth – whatever it is that is keeping us from truly following Christ, we need to (1) realize that we died to it, and (2) continue to put it off whenever it arises…

10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

A. What is the old man replaced with? What else – the new man! J Paul wrote the same thing to the Ephesians – Ephesians 4:22-24 (22) that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, (23) and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, (24) and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. []

B. What is the distinguishing mark about the new man? He/she is “renewed in knowledge”. “knowledge” = ἐπίγνωσις…sound familiar? “Gnostics” – Is Paul siding with the Gnostic heresy that special knowledge is needed for salvation? No, but he is stealing their terminology! J ἐπίγνωσις = “precise & correct knowledge” – we can’t just know just any formula or special initiation facts…we have to know SOMEONE. We have to know Jesus!

C. How so? “according to the image of Him who created him” – i.e. Jesus! Now compare that with the list of sins Paul just went through…the old man is associated with the devil; the new man is according to the image of Christ. We want to look like Jesus!

a. Paul says something similar in Rom 12:2 “transformed by the renewing of your mind”…

11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

A. No differences nationally: We often think of “Jew” as a religious designation, but it’s really more of a national designation of citizenship. It’s ironic, but there are many atheistic Jews… [] Paul is saying, “It doesn’t matter what nation your passport may have listed on it, if you’re in Christ you’ve got a new citizenship & all of us have the same one…”

B. No differences religiously: Someone could be born a Jew, but their family had to take a step of faith to have the boys circumcised. [] This isn’t universalism; this is unity in Christ. We may have started out as atheists, agnostics, Jews, Muslims, or Hindus – but when we repent & are born again, we’re simply Christian!

C. No differences culturally: To the Greeks, the barbarians included more than Conan. J Anyone who didn’t speak the Greek language was considered a barbarian…and the Scythians were the worst of them all (wild & savage). [] We may not encounter too much of that here (though probably more than we realize) – but we need to understand around the world, this is incredibly good news! To the Indian Dalit, Jesus Christ offers the same salvation as the ruling caste…

D. No differences economically: Doesn’t matter what side of the tracks we may have come from, we all have the same inheritance of glory in Christ Jesus!

E. Why no differences here? Because “Christ is all & in all” – He is our life – He is our being – He is everything to us! We had nothing without Him, but in Him we have everlasting life & an inheritance in glory. Despite how different we think we are, we’re all equally in need of a Savior – and Jesus (PTL!) is no respecter of persons & grants us the same salvation in Him.

Conclusion:

Good news, Christian: you’re dead! J You died with Christ & He raised you up to life in Him in return. Since you are dead to the world already, then it behooves us to die to the old man as well…

One of the most common lies fed to us by Satan (and the world) is that we don’t have a choice not to sin. He tempts us & says, “You can’t resist, so just give in & give up.” That is a lie straight from the pit of Hell! If you are born-again, you are DEAD to those things. We don’t HAVE to give into temptation; we just do… [] You have been freed from that stuff – so instead of seeking sensual sins, social sins, or just the stuff of the world – seek after Christ!

Those are all glorious promises to the saved – but the unsaved has a different reality. You have not been raised with Christ, and (despite whether you know it) you are living enslaved to sin & awaiting the wages to come – which is death. ‘I’m not enslaved – what are you talking about?!’ Ever told a lie? Stolen something? Lusted? Blasphemed? You’re enslaved & you have to face God on Judgment Day. The question is: are you going to face God on your own or in Christ?

Recognize – Repent – Receive