Search Menu Toggle navigation
Matthew Elton
Search Menu Toggle navigation

The Faithfulness of Christ

I was honored to preach this sermon at Living Hope Community Church on February 9, 2025.

The dictionary defines “faithful” as “loyal and steadfast”, “reliable”, “steadfast in allegiance”, “remaining true, constant, unwavering”.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are humans that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?

-Psalm 8:3-4

The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.

–Psalm 19:1-2

What is this knowledge that the heavens declares? Consider, for a moment, the stars, the moon, and the planets. Set in their orbits by God, moving on the course that God ordained, at the speed God ordained, never changing.

Century after century, millennium after millennium, the heavenly bodies do not change. Such that, by observing the speed and orbit of a planet, we can calculate exactly where that planet will be at any moment, even a moment 100 years from now, and at that moment, it will be precisely there.

From time immemorial, humans have admired the perfection of the heavens. The phases of the moon, century after century, so faithful to happen on schedule, that you can mark your calendar by them. The rising and setting of the sun, so faithful to happen on schedule, that you can set your clock by it. The movements of the stars, so faithful to never change, that a ship can navigate across the ocean by them.

No planet ever decides “you know, I’ve been following the same orbit for thousands of years, but I’m feeling naughty today… might just veer off course, not sure.”

If they did, the heavens would be a chaotic place, endangering life on earth.

What is this speech that the heavens pour out? What is this knowledge that they impart?

Perhaps it is this message: that faithfulness to God’s will produces order, peace, and harmony. In contrast, disobedience to God’s will produces chaos, disorder, conflict, and strife.

Of course, planets are just large rocks. They don’t have a will of their own. They can’t choose to obey or disobey. They just move according to how God put them in motion, and that’s it.

We, on the other hand, are free will beings. Our earliest ancestors, Adam and Eve, had a choice to make in the Garden of Eden – a choice to be faithful to God, or not. Likewise, every human being thereafter has also faced that same choice. Our faithfulness to God’s design can produce – like the heavens – peace, order, and harmony. Or, our disobedience can produce chaos, disorder, and strife, and we’ve seen the effects of that throughout the earth.

Every human has faced this choice. Every human has been tempted to disobey God, and has had to make a free will choice, whether to be faithful or not.

Now, some think that Jesus was an exception to this rule. He wasn’t really tempted, was he?

Well, the Bible says in Hebrews 4:15, NASB:

…we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.

-Hebrews 4:15 NASB

In other words, Jesus faced all of the same temptations we face, yet, somehow, he remained faithful to his Father through all of them. So, do you think there is something we can learn from Jesus’ example? I think so. So let’s start at the beginning, the very first record where his faithfulness is manifest.

Luke chapter 2, beginning in verse 41. Now, in this record, Jesus is still a small child. He’s not even grown up yet. Yet, even early in his life, his unwavering faithfulness is evident.

Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents were unaware of this. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.

-Luke 2:41-45

Now, lest you think that Mary and Joseph were bad parents, let’s understand something about the historical context. Travel in the ancient world was extremely dangerous. There was constant threat of ambush from bandits. We see this in the parable of the Good Samaritan. There was the threat of wild animals, including poisonous snakes. And, although the Romans had improved the quality of roads by this time, road quality was still poor in many places, and the availability of inns or taverns was unpredictable. Travelers would sometimes need to sleep outside, possibly exposing them to storms or unpredictable weather.

So, there were many dangers in the ancient world. And for this reason, when going on a long journey, it was advisable to travel in a large group. There’s safety in numbers. So, in this case, there was a large group of pilgrims travelling together. And these folks aren’t strangers. They’re identified here as the friends and relatives of Mary and Joseph. So Mary and Joseph don’t need to keep eyes on the boy Jesus 24/7. He’s mingling throughout the group, and lots of other relatives and friends are watching him. So you can totally see a scenario happening, where it’s like, “Hey, have you seen Jesus?” “What? I thought he was with you?” “Huh? I thought he was with you!” And all of a sudden he’s missing, and they have to go back and find him.

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.” He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them, and his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favor.

-Luke 2:46-52

“I must be in my Father’s house.”

The King James Version says, “I must be about my Father’s business.”

Another translation says, “I must be doing the works of my Father.”

Jesus said in John 6:38, “I came… not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

Are you about the Father’s business?

Or are you so busy with your own schedule and your own appointment that you miss a divine appointment?

God is always working. He invites us to join him in his work. His business. Ask God to show you where he is working. He will. Ask God to give you the words to speak to others. He will.

See, God has work for you to do! Did you know the Christian life involves work? We don’t just hunker down and wait for Jesus to come back. There’s work to do!

We’re not saved by works, but we are saved for works.

…we are what he made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them.

-Ephesians 2:10

As Christians, we don’t choose the works we do. God chooses. He already prepared the work ahead of time, and he invites you to join him in it. It’s his business. It’s not your business.

What is the work that God is doing, that he invites us to join him in?

Ultimately, God is at work in the world, to repair the world. God is working to repair the brokenness that our sin has caused in the world. The work won’t be completed until Christ returns. Nevertheless, God is working now, to advance his kingdom purposes now, bringing salvation, healing, hope, love, and peace to many.

Jesus’ life perfectly exemplifies this. Constantly, he would be on his way to a certain place, but then God would put someone in his path who needed help – who needed healing – and Jesus would stop what he was doing, and would minister to that person. He wasn’t so wrapped up in his own plans and his own schedule that he missed the opportunity. He was always tuned in to what his Father was doing, and joining his Father in his work.

Jesus said in John 5:30, “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

And in John 8:28-29, Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.”

And in John 14:31, Jesus said, “I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.

Faithfulness.

What’s striking to me in these verses is the humility of Christ. Always glorifying the Father. Always exalting the Father and not himself.

Humility is the key to faithfulness. Without humility, you’re not gonna be faithful. Humility is required. It’s the starting point.

This is the first main point of my message, and probably the most important, so if you get one thing from my message today, get this:

The Christian life is not about you. It’s about God. It’s about the work that God is doing, and joining him in his work. We must be about our Father’s business. This requires humility.

There is perhaps no greater contrast in the Bible than the contrast between the disobedience and fall of Adam, and the faithfulness, humility, and obedience of the second Adam, Jesus Christ.

Both were tempted by Satan! One, went his own way. The other, was faithful to be about his Father’s business.

Turn a few pages forward to Luke chapter 4.

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”

-Luke 4:1-4

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus adds these words: “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

In John 4:34, Jesus says this: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.”

My food. Faithfulness to the Father is what sustained him.

Consider how powerful that is.

Faithfulness to his Father sustained him.

Continuing the story in Luke 4:5-8…

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ”

-Luke 4:5-8

Here is Jesus, born to be the king of kings, prophesied to be the ruler of the world forever, “the government shall be upon his shoulders” (Isaiah 9:6) “and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:33) but he knew he would first need to endure the cross, to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins, to bleed out, to suffer, to die, to give up everything to pay the price for our salvation. Jesus knew what he had to do. It was written in Isaiah 53. Jesus knew the cross came first, then the kingdom.

But here, the devil was offering to give Jesus the kingdom without the cross! How great this temptation must have been!

But Jesus remained faithful to the will of the Father. “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”

Faithfulness.

Jesus resisted temptation. He defeated the devil. He stayed faithful to his Father.

Every. Single. Time.

Jesus’ life was an adventure of faithfulness.

Time after time, Jesus was faithful to whatever the Father wanted him to do.

He was faithful to be baptized to fulfill the law.

Faithful to turn water into wine.

Faithful to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to the woman at the well.

Faithful to preach the gospel of the kingdom throughout Galilee.

Faithful to heal the son of a royal official.

Faithful to teach in the synagogue.

Faithful to heal a lame man on the Sabbath.

Faithful to call 12 apostles.

Faithful to heal a demon possessed man.

Faithful to heal Peter’s mother in law.

Faithful to heal a leper.

Faithful to heal a paralytic.

Faithful to preach the Sermon on the Mount.

Faithful to heal a centurion’s servant.

Faithful to raise a widow’s son from the dead.

Faithful to heal a blind man.

Faithful to teach in parables.

Faithful to calm a storm.

Faithful to heal a man living among the tombs.

Faithful to heal a woman with an issue of blood.

Faithful to heal Jairus’ daughter.

Faithful to heal two blind men.

Faithful to feed five thousand people.

Faithful to walk on water.

Faithful to heal a Canaanite woman.

Faithful to heal a deaf man.

Faithful to feed four thousand people.

Faithful to perform the Transfiguration.

Faithful to refuse to destroy a Samaritan village when his disciples wanted to destroy it.

Faithful to send out the 70 to preach and teach.

Faithful to heal a woman with a crooked back.

Faithful to weep over Jerusalem.

Faithful to raise Lazarus from the dead.

Faithful to heal 10 lepers.

Faithful to welcome little children.

Faithful to dine with Zacchaeus.

Faithful to be anointed for burial.

Faithful to enter Jerusalem on a donkey.

Faithful to curse a fig tree.

Faithful to cleanse the temple and overturn the tables of the money changers.

Faithful to wash his disciples’ feet.

Faithful to institute communion.

Faithful to sing a hymn with his disciples.

Faithful to surrender to the Father’s will in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Faithful to heal Malchus’ ear.

Faithful to endure the trials and beatings and mockery and crucifixion of his Passion.

Faithful to welcome the thief on the cross into the kingdom.

Faithful to forgive those who cruficied him.

Faithful to appear to Mary Magdalene in the garden.

Faithful to appear to two other disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Faithful to appear to the other apostles.

Faithful to encourage the doubting Thomas.

Faithful to reinstate Peter.

Faithful to give the Great Commission.

Faithful to ascend into heaven.

Faithful to you and me today, working in and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit, actively working as the head of the church, guiding, directing, teaching, and encouraging us day by day.

Faithful.

The life of Christ is a picture of perfect faithfulness.

And what an adventure the life of Christ is!

The Christian life is always an adventure.

What adventure could possibly be greater than joining God in work that has eternal significance – the salvation of someone’s soul?

There is no greater adventure than the Christian life.

Anyone who is faithful to join God in the work God is going, is bound for adventure.

Because, when you join God in his work, he takes you to surprising places.

I’m convinced that God has a sense of humor.

Sometimes, you can’t see what God is doing, but you’re faithful anyway, and then God reveals how he was working all along, and you just laugh. “Oh, God, that’s what you were doing! That’s why you put that person in my path! That’s why I had to go through that! I see it now!”

Such joy!

Humble yourself and go where God is leading. Trust him.

Jesus humbled himself, and was always faithful to the Father’s will.

…he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.

-Philippians 2:8b

Turn forward to Luke chapter 22.

He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.” Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me, yet not my will but yours be done.”

-Luke 22:39-42

What is the “cup” Jesus speaks of? The “cup” represents his suffering, his death, his crucifixion. Jesus is saying, “God, if there’s any other way, if it’s at all possible, remove this cup…. BUT not my will, but yours be done.”

Faithfulness.

Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground. When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”

-Luke 22:43-46

The Christian life is an adventure. But the Christian life isn’t easy. It’s hard.

Faithfulness to God requires sacrifice.

For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ but of suffering for him as well.

-Philippians 1:29

Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.

-1 Peter 5:8-9

Jesus didn’t promise that the Christian life would be easy. Actually, he promised that there would be suffering.

I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.

-John 16:33 CSB

When you’re faithful to God, there’s joy in the suffering.

My brothers and sisters, whenever you face various trials, consider it all joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance complete its work, so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing.

-James 1:2-4

For our slight, momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure

-2 Corinthians 4:17

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.

-Romans 8:18

The Christian life has suffering. But there’s joy in the suffering.

Turn to 1 Peter 4, verses 12 through 16.

1 Peter 4 talks about suffering as a Christian, reassuring us that when we suffer for the sake of Christ, our suffering is not in vain. The disciples rejoiced when they suffered, because they knew that their faithfulness to God, even though there was suffering involved, was producing something of far greater value.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker. Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name. 

-1 Peter 4:12-16

In life, we suffer for various reasons.

If you’re suffering because of your own sin, I can’t help you.

If you’re suffering because you made mischief and it came back to bite you, I can’t help you.

But, if you’re suffering as a Christian – if you’re suffering because you are faithful to God’s will – I can assure you that your suffering is not in vain, but is producing something of far greater eternal significance, and ultimately, joy.

Turn to Hebrews 12.

I want to end with a very important passage of scripture that is, perhaps, the perfect summary of faithfulness.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

-Hebrews 12:1-3

For the joy set before him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.

He endured the cross, and he didn’t care about the shame, because he knew his faithfulness to the Father was accomplishing something far greater.

Another translation says “he endured the cross, despising the shame.”

Jesus didn’t enjoy the cross. As a human being, he hated the pain of the cross, yet he endured it anyway. Why? For the joy set before him.

What was the joy set before him?

The joy of knowing that God would raise him from the dead and exalt him as king of kings, to rule the world forever?

Certainly, that promise brought joy.

But I think it was even more than that.

Jesus knew what the cross would accomplish for you and me, and that brought him joy.

Jesus imagined the millions of people throughout the ages who would be saved through the cross, and that brought him great joy!

For the sake of that joy, he endured the cross.

Sometimes, when we’re faithful to do what God has called us to do, we suffer. But even in the suffering, we can still have joy, because we know our faithfulness is accomplishing something greater.

“God, I’m being faithful to what you called me to do, and it’s hard, but I rejoice because if even one person can be saved as a result of my faithfulness, if one person can be healed, if one person can be blessed, it’s all worth it. Thank you, Father!”

God is at work in the world.

Are we faithful to join him in his work?

It won’t always be easy. But it will always be worth it.

Are we faithful to reach people God puts in our path with the gospel and with his love?

Or do we say, “ehhh… I’ll let someone else do it.”

“See I’m just not good at talking to people.”

“Timypaul – he has the gift of an evangelist! I don’t have the gift of an evangelist!”

Hold up a second.

Timypaul may have the gift of an evangelist. He may reach a lot of people with the gospel.

But there are people in my life that I can reach, that he can’t.

And there are people in his life, that he can reach, that I can’t.

And there are people in YOUR life, who YOU can reach, who we can’t!

One person might reach the world with the gospel.

Another person might reach one person.

But in God’s eyes, that one person means the world to God.

There is great rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents!

It’s not about how many people you reach. It’s about: Are you FAITHFUL to reach the people God puts in your path?

Remember, God is at work in the world. He invites us to join him in his work.

It’s a privilege to join God in his work.

He doesn’t need us to do the work. He’s God. He’s all powerful. He could snap his fingers and the work would be done.

He chooses to allow us to do the work because he loves us and wants a relationship with us.

God is like a father working on a project, and we are his children – just little children who want to help. The father helps the little boy hold the hammer, helps him hit the nail. The boy misses the nail. Okay, let’s try again. Like a loving and gentle father with a little child, that’s how God is with us.

We mess up. We miss the nail. God is patient, forgiving, gives us another chance. He could probably do the work better without us, but he doesn’t want to. He wants to involve us in his work, because he loves us, and wants a relationship with us.

That’s how God is with us. He’s always faithful to us. Are we faithful to him? 

  • 0

Patience is a Virtue: Wait on the LORD

I was honored to preach this sermon at Living Hope Community Church on August 11, 2024.

Have you ever heard the phrase “patience is a virtue”?

The dictionary defines patience as “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.”

Dr. Charles Stanley defines patience as “the will to wait”.

Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.

Psalm 37:7

I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

Psalm 40:1

It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3:26

You don’t hear to many sermons on waiting. We live in a culture that values action. Seize the day. Go out and make something happen.

At best, our culture views patience as a necessary evil. At worst, I would say our culture hates patience.

We live in a culture that devalues patience, and values the exact opposite of patience – convenience. Instant gratification.

We have streaming television “on demand”. I don’t need to wait for a TV show to come on. I demand it now.

Don’t want to spend time cooking? We have Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Doordash so you can get a restaurant quality meal on your doorstep instantly.

We have Amazon Prime next day delivery, and now they even have same day delivery – I don’t even know how they do that, but you just hit a button on your phone, BOOM, same day it’s at your door. You don’t have to wait.

Our culture hates waiting. Studies show that if a website takes five seconds to load, 80% of people will click off of it and go to something else.

We live in a world where we won’t even wait five seconds for a website. Right? We want it now. It feels like agony to wait!

In the Bible, patience is also called “longsuffering”. Think about that. If you want something, but you have to wait to get it, you feel suffering. And if you have to wait a long time, it’s like suffering a long time.

Doesn’t sound very good, does it?

But the Bible says that longsuffering is a virtue.

Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer.

Romans 12:12

Be patient in affliction. Nobody likes affliction. Why should we be patient in affliction?

The Bible shows us that God is a God of redemption. He doesn’t cause all of our suffering, but God is working in the suffering to bring good out of the bad. In other words, when you suffer as a Christian, it’s not in vain.

My brothers and sisters, whenever you face various trials, consider it all joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance complete its work, so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4

Endurance and patience are related. To be patient, gives you the strength to endure. It gives you the will to wait. And when you build up that endurance, when you have that strength, the Bible says you become complete and whole, lacking nothing.

The one who is impatient suffers because he can’t wait to get what he wants – he’s lacking that thing he desires. But the one who is patient is not lacking, because he’s content through the waiting process.

How do we become more patient? Surely, there are strategies and practices that can help you to build patience in your life. But the good news is, you don’t need to muster up patience by your own strength.

Galatians 5 describes what are called “fruits of the Spirit.” If you believe in Jesus Christ and you follow him as your Lord and Savior, you have the Holy Spirit working in your life. God has given you His Spirit to dwell inside of you and change your life, change your identity, change your very nature. 

When you allow the Holy Spirit to work within you, God will grow virtues in your life just like fruit growing on a tree. They’re called the fruit of the Spirit. And we see these listed here in Galatians 5:22-23.

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.

Galatians 5:22-23

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience.

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit.

I love the way the New Living Translations puts this. It says, “the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Did you catch that?

Who produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives?

God produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. God works through the Holy Spirit to grow these virtues in our lives. And that includes patience.

In other words, you don’t need to muster up patience by your own strength. God will grow your patience as you surrender your life to him. That doesn’t mean you do nothing. Patience requires faith on your part. Patience requires courage. Patience requires prayer. A lot of prayer.

But as we do these things, God will grow your patience. It may not always be easy. It may require discipline from God. It may require trials. But rest assured, it’s for your good. 

Sometimes when you pray, God will show you exactly what you need to do, all at once. More often, God will reveal one step. Only after you obediently complete that step, will God reveal the next step. Often, God will reveal his will for your life step by step. We feel frustrated because we just want to know everything God has planned for us, all at once. But God reveals his will slowly. It’s a journey that requires patience. But rest assured, it is for your good.

Sometimes when you pray, God will say yes. Sometimes he will say no. And sometimes he will say, not yet. We feel frustrated because we want answers now. But God is not in a hurry. He’s not in a hurry, but he’s never late. He’s a perfect God, and his timing is always perfect.

God’s will for your life will take time. The best things in life always do. Experiencing God’s will for your life is a lifelong journey, not an instant gratification. It’s not always easy. But rest assured, God’s will is for your good. Romans 8:28 promises us that.

Last Thanksgiving, my wife and I hosted a “friendsgiving” in Rhode Island. For those who don’t know, a “friendsgiving” is like Thanksgiving, but with friends invited, not just family.

For this friendsgiving, we made from scratch meat pies, shrimp, meat skewers, fried rice, jollof rice, beef empanadas, mac and cheese, candied yams, garlic green beans, bread buns, caramel budnt cake, and the star of the show: turkey wings. Not chicken wings. Turkey wings.

This took weeks of preparation. We had to drive up to a butcher in Malta to get the turkey wings because you can’t get turkey wings in Albany. Then the butcher didn’t have them, and I had to drive back a second time on a different day. We drove all the way to Rhode Island, and we made probably four or five trips to grocery stores to get everything we needed, and then we spent an entire day cooking before the friendsgiving event began.

It was incredible. One of the best meals I’ve ever had, and one of the best times with friends. It was a memory that will last a lifetime, and I cannot wait for Friendsgiving 2024 which may happen, if we’re not too burned out from the last one.

Now, we didn’t have to do all that.

We could have just ripped open a microwaveable TV dinner and called it a day.

Why didn’t we do that?

Obviously, that wouldn’t have been as good.

My point with this story is very simple. There will always be an easier, faster, more “convenient” way to do something.

But the best things in life take time. The best things in life require patience.

God grows patience in your life, because God wants the best for you. Patience is for your good.

There are many heroes in the Bible who learned patience.

Noah started building a boat – and a zoo – at least fifty years before the flood came.

Can you imagine? For literally fifty years, he’s got a boat sitting on dry land. No water anywhere in site.

His neighbors must have mocked him: “Hey Noah, why you got a boat on dry land?”

And Noah just had to say, “Rain is coming! It’s not here yet, but it’s coming!”

10 years later. Still no rain. 20 years. Still no rain. 30 years. 40 years later. Waiting. Waiting for what God promised to come to pass.

Sometimes, waiting on God will make you look stupid in the eyes of the world. Because the world doesn’t understand patience. The world doesn’t understand waiting on the LORD.

The world doesn’t understand that what God says will come to pass – not on your timeline, not when you want it to happen – but in God’s perfect timing, it will come to pass.

50 years of waiting. And then, all of sudden, one day, it began to rain. And Noah wasn’t looking too stupid anymore.

Patience.

How about Abraham? Turn to Hebrews chapter 6.

For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:  “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.” Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.”

Hebrews 6:13-15

When Abraham started out, he was just a guy worshiping idols in Ur of the Chaldeans – also known as Babylon. But one day the one true God spoke to him, and said, “go to the land I will show you.”

Abraham didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t know why he was going. And he didn’t know how long it was gonna take.

We get frustrated because God doesn’t reveal everything all at once. He reveals his will step by step. All Abraham needed to know at first was one thing: go to the land. That’s step one. So Abraham obeys that step. He goes to the land, the land of Canaan, which would become the promised land.

And slowly, one step at a time, over the course of many years, God reveals more steps. God promises this land to Abraham and his descendants forever. There’s only one problem. Abaraham doesn’t have any descendants.

Patience. It’s not until Abraham is one hundred years old and his wife Sarah is ninety years old that Sarah gives birth to the promised son.

90 years old? Patience. God can work a miracle.

And this son of promise was Isaac, who became the father of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, and Israel had 12 sons, who became the 12 tribes of Israel.

Now one of those sons was named Joseph. Joseph was Jacob’s favored son, and he received a coat of many colors, a symbol of his father’s favor. Furthermore, Joseph had dreams which symbolized his brothers bowing down and serving him.

Sounds pretty good, right?

But there’s a problem. Joseph’s brothers become jealous. They throw Joseph into a pit, and sell him into slavery. Joseph becomes a slave in Egypt.

Then, to make matters even worse, Joseph is falsely accused of sexual assault, and thrown into prison.

In prison, Joseph meets the king’s cupbearer, who is also in prison, and he successfully interprets his dream. So he says to the cupbearer, “hey, when you get out here, put a good word in for me with the king, see if you can get me out of here.”

But when the cupbearer gets out of prison, he completely forgets about Joseph. So Joseph continues to rot in prison for years.

Finally, the king of Egypt has a dream, and somebody remembers, “hey, wasn’t there that prisoner who could interpret dreams?” So Joseph is brought before the king. And he says, “I can’t interpret dreams. But God can. God will give me the interpretation.”

Sure enough, God gives Joseph the interpretation. The dream means that there will be seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine.

The king is so impressed, he puts Joseph in charge of Egypt, and Joseph, knowing that seven years of famine are coming, starts stockpiling food.

Finally, the seven years of famine come. There’s no food in Canaan, where Joseph’s brothers are starving. So they come down to Egypt searching for food.

They hear that there is this incredibly powerful royal advisor to the king who was so wise that he stockpiled food, as if he somehow knew that the famine was coming. And they come before him – not realizing that it’s Joseph – and they bow down before him and beg him to give them some food.

And when Joseph sees his brothers bowing down before him, he is so emotional, he has to leave the room and go cry in the other room where they won’t see him. And he weeps uncontrollably.

And finally, when he reveals himself to his brothers, they embrace each other, and they reconcile, and it’s this beautiful scene that you can read about in Genesis 45.

In that moment, the promise that God made to Joseph in that first dream that he had – all the way back when he was a kid – came to pass. Scholars say it was 22 years between Joseph’s first dream, and it’s fulfillment. 

A 22 year long journey that involved suffering, slavery, imprisonment. But in the end, God’s promise came to pass.

Patience.

Turn to 1 Samuel 10. I want to end with one last record from the Old Testament.

In 1 Samuel 10, Saul is King of Israel. Israel is at war with the Philistines.

The prophet Samuel comes to Saul, and he says to him:

…you shall go down to Gilgal ahead of me; then I will come down to you to present burnt offerings and offer sacrifices of well-being. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.

1 Samuel 10:8

Now, read this very closely. God is speaking to Saul here through the prophet Samuel, and it’s very clear what God’s instructions are. Who is supposed to offer the burnt offerings? Samuel. What is Saul supposed to do? Wait seven days until Samuel arrives.

Samuel is supposed to make the offering. Saul is supposed to wait for Samuel. This is God’s instruction.

Now turn ahead to chapter 13.

Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away from Saul.

1 Samuel 13:7-8

So Saul is waiting, like he’s supposed to. That’s good. But there’s a problem. Samuel is late.

So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me and the offerings of well-being.” And he offered the burnt offering. 

1 Samuel 13:9

Wait a minute. Saul wasn’t supposed to offer the burnt offering. Samuel was supposed to do it. Saul was supposed to wait for Samuel. But he got impatient. He got tired of waiting, so he went ahead and just did it himself. Something God did not instruct him to do.

As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to meet him and salute him. Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul replied, “When I saw that the people were slipping away from me and that you did not come within the days appointed and that the Philistines were mustering at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the LORD,’ so I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.” Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which he commanded you. The LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, but now your kingdom will not continue; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has appointed him to be ruler over his people because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

1 Samuel 13:10-14

Wow. Impatience has consequences.

We need to take impatience seriously. We need to root out impatience from our lives.

Some of you are impatient with your wives.

Some of you are impatient with your kids.

Impatience is not just a bad habit. Impatience can be sin.

Because if patience is a fruit of the Spirit, then impatience is a work of the flesh.

When we are impatient, we are forfeiting a blessing. When we are impatient, we are forfeiting the opportunity to grow in endurance, and become perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Saul and his descendants could have ruled the kingdom forever.

Instead, the kingdom was taken away from him.

With just a few hours of impatience, Saul forfeited eternal favor.

Impatience can ruin your life.

Saul could have ruled forever. Instead, he killed himself. That’s how Saul died. He killed himself, fleeing in terror from the Philistines.

All because Saul thought he knew better than God, what he needed to do.

See, I don’t care if you think you see a way to do something in your life that God is telling you to wait on. You might think, “It would be so easy to just DO it!” But if God is telling you to wait, then wait.

You might think it would be easy to just get married and hope that God blesses the marriage. But if God is telling you to wait, then wait.

You might think it would be easy to just start the business and hope that God blesses it. But if God is telling you to wait, then wait.

Saul’s kingdom was taken away from him, and it was given to man after God’s own heart – a man named David.

See, when David was just a little boy, the prophet Samuel anointed him and said, “You’re gonna be the next King of Israel.” But Saul held onto the kingdom was long as he possibly could.

David spent 14 years running for his life, hiding in caves because Saul was trying to kill him. All this time, David is supposed to be the King of Israel, but he didn’t actually become king for 14 years.

Patience.

The patience of David. The impatience of Saul.

We sabotage ourselves with our impatience. The blessings of God will come. We receive them through patience. We forfeit them through impatience. The choice is ours.

A pastor I know once said, “don’t bail before the blessings!” Don’t bail out of the boat, don’t run away before the blessings. The blessings will come. The payment required to receive them is patience.

Jesus lived about 33 years before his death, resurrection, and ascension. Of those 33 years, he only did ministry for 3.

30 years of waiting and preparation, for 3 years of ministry.

Patience.

What if God asks you to wait 30 years?

What if he asks you to wait 50 years, like Noah?

What if he asks you to wait 22 years, like Joseph?

Do you have what it takes?

In my life, God asked me to wait 12 years.

For 12 years, I prayed for a wife, every single day.

I prayed for a wife every single day, for 12 years. 

I don’t think I ever missed a day. If I did, I don’t remember it.

If you counted up all the prayers I ever prayed for a wife, it’s over 4,300 prayers.

I prayed over 4,300 times for a wife.

Year after year goes by, I’m like “when is it ever gonna happen?” Some of you remember, I’m even up here preaching a sermon on singleness.

Literally thousands of prayers after thousands of prayers.

And I’m exploding with joy to tell you that, at the right time, God answered. He answered with a woman so far beyond anything I could have expected or imagined – a woman beyond my wildest dreams.

I share this story not to boast about how patient I am, but to boast about how great God is. To my single brothers and sisters, don’t give up. Keep praying. Keep seeking. Keep waiting.

Patience is radical. Patience is counter-cultural. The world doesn’t respect patience. The world doesn’t operate that way.

But Jesus Christ came to turn this world upside down. We need to get on board with his program, the way his kingdom works. It’s not the way the world works!

Pastor Michael Todd once said, “The only thing harder than waiting on God, is wishing you had.”

Waiting on the LORD is hard. It takes patience, endurance, longsuffering. Waiting on the LORD is not easy. It is a difficult journey.

But you know what’s even more difficult? Not waiting on the LORD. Not waiting on the LORD might feel good for a moment, but in the long run, you will look back and wish that you had waited. And that is so much harder.

Let’s choose the better path.

Let’s choose the path of his blessing and favor.

Let’s wait patiently on the LORD.

  • 0

Hold Onto God’s Promises When All Seems Lost

I was honored to preach this sermon at Living Hope Community Church on March 19, 2023.

Rembrandt, “The Raising of Lazarus”

Now a certain man was sick: Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 

John 11:1-2

If you’re reading through the gospel of John for the first time, you might not remember this event that John is referencing here, of Mary anointing Jesus with ointment, and wiping his feet with her hair. That’s because it hasn’t happened yet. It happens in the next chapter. So what is the point of John referencing it here? John is emphasizing the special relationship between Jesus and Mary and Mary’s family. This is not a random family of strangers. There is deep love between this family and Jesus.

So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not meant for death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister, and Lazarus.) So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. 

John 11:3-6

Verse 6 is shocking. Verses 1-5 establish that Jesus loved Lazarus and that the sickness is not meant for death. The story is set up so that we expect to read: “so when he heard that he was sick, he immediately went and healed him.” But instead, we read: “so when he heard that he was sick, he then stayed two days longer in the place where he was.”

The key is v. 4: “This sickness is not meant for death” (another translation says “this sickness will not end in death”) “but it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”

Love is written all over this text. The affection with which Mary anointed Christ with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair – that’s love. Verse 3, “Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick.” Jesus loved Lazarus. Again, John tells us explicitly in verse 5, “Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.”

Jesus didn’t immediately heal Lazarus. Instead, Jesus stayed two days longer in the place where he was. But that doesn’t mean Jesus didn’t love Lazarus. Jesus did love Lazarus. He had to trust the revelation he had received from God, that this sickness would not end in death. For Jesus to stay two more days where he was, he had to trust God with such faith that he would believe that even if Lazarus died, it wouldn’t be the end – God could raise him from the dead. How much faith is that?

The love of God and the glory of God. The two are not opposed to each other.

There is no greater love than to help another person see the glory of God. That is the ultimate love, and that is what happens in this story as it unfolds.

John Piper once said: “Love is doing whatever you have to do to help people see the glory of God as their supreme joy… The aim of love is to bring people to the fullest knowledge and the fullest enjoyment of the glory of God. Love means giving us what we need most. And what we need most is… a full and endless experience of the glory of God. Love means giving us what will bring us the fullest and longest joy. And what is that? What will give you full and eternal joy? The answer of this text is clear: a revelation to your soul of the glory of God — seeing, admiring, and marveling at and savoring the glory of God in Jesus Christ. Love is the longing that labors and suffers to enthrall others with what is infinitely and eternally satisfying: the glory of God. God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in him.”

Right now, Martha, Mary, Lazarus, and even Jesus himself are about to go through some trials. Lazarus is sick, and as we will see, he’s about to die. So in this moment, it’s hard to see how God is working. At this point in the story, we don’t know what’s going to happen next. We don’t see the full picture yet, as God sees it. We see only the sickness and suffering of this moment. Every impulse within us says: “What are you doing, Jesus? You gotta go heal this guy right now! What are you waiting for?” But Jesus stayed where he was for two days.

Jesus said in John 5:30, “I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak as the Father taught Me.”

He said in John 5:19, “The Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same way.”

Jesus always did the Father’s will. He too probably felt the human impulse to immediately heal Lazarus. But he stayed for two days because he had faith in what God was revealing to him – that God, who can see the bigger picture, was working something greater here. Jesus had to have great faith in order to persevere through this trial. He had to believe the promise God revealed in verse 4: the sickness will not end in death, but in the end, God’s love and his glory will be revealed. We will see throughout this story, Jesus is about to face ridicule and anger. He’s about to shed tears. He’s about to go through suffering. But it’s not in vain. God is working something greater here. Jesus had to trust in God through this trial and believe that in the end, God’s love and glory will be revealed. He had to believe that in the core of his being.

Is it any different for you and me? When we go through trials, we too must trust the promise of God revealed in Romans 8:28, that God works all things together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Do you believe that? Do you believe that even when you suffer? Do you believe that even when it’s hard?

If we want to overcome like Jesus, we too must trust in the promises of God in the midst of suffering. His word is truth. His promises will come to pass. Nothing else in this world will give us the strength to stand.

In the story we’re about to read, we’re going to see some suffering. We’re going to see some pain. We’re going to see tears shed. We’re going to see some moments where it feels hopeless. But don’t lose hope. Don’t lose faith.

As we read through this story, hold onto the promise of verse 4. The sickness will not end in death. God’s love and his glory will be revealed. To overcome like Jesus, we must hold onto the promises of God.

Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea again.” The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and yet You are going there again?” Jesus replied, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks during the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 

John 11:7-10

Jesus faced danger going to Bethany because, as seen in the previous chapter, the Jews were seeking to stone him to death. Verses 9-10 are mysterious. I’m not going to claim to fully understand them, but they might have something to do with John 9:4, “We must carry out the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.”

Jesus knew what the prophets had foretold – that the Messiah would be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. He knew that he was going to be crucified and die for the sins of the world. But he also knew that it had to happen at the time God had appointed. Jesus was crucified at the time of Passover. There was incredible symbolism here. Just as the blood of the original Passover lamb saved the Israelites from the angel of death at the exodus from Egypt, so the blood of Jesus the sinless lamb of God saves us from death. It had to happen at the appointed time. Jesus operated on a divine timetable set by God the Father. Throughout the book of John, he uses the phase “My hour has not yet come.”

The disciples are saying to Jesus: “You can’t go to Judea because if you go to Judea right now, they’ll kill you.”

But Jesus is saying: “No, they won’t, because my hour has not yet come. God has appointed a time of day and a time of night. The time of day is the time that I am in the world. The time of night is the time of my crucifixion. I will go to Judea with confidence because I trust that God won’t allow me to be killed until the proper time.”

This He said, and after this He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going so that I may awaken him from sleep.” The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will come out of it.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about actual sleep. So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus died, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let’s go to him.”

John 11:11-15

Jesus understood that death is sleep – that is, the dead are at rest until the resurrection of the dead when they will awake to face the final judgement. “Lazarus died, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe.” Isn’t this puzzling? Lazarus died, and I am glad I was not there? His dear friend whom he loves has died, and he’s glad? How does that make sense?

Look carefully here. He’s glad “for your sakes, that you may be believe.” Again, love is doing whatever needs to be done for someone to see and be satisfied with the glory of God. Despite the death, despite the grief of knowing his dearly beloved friend has died, Jesus can be glad in this moment because he knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that death is not the end of the story and that God’s glory is about to be revealed – and through that, the disciples will see and will believe. And that is something to be glad about, if we have enough faith to believe it!

See, even though Lazarus has died, Jesus is still holding onto the promise of verse 4: “this sickness will not end in death, but the glory of God is going to be revealed” That is the promise that Jesus received from God. And if it’s really true that the sickness won’t end in death, then it logically follows that even if Lazarus dies, well, God will need to raise him from the dead!

What kind of faith is that? I think if any of us had a friend who was sick, and we felt like God was speaking to us and promising us that they would be healed, and then they died, we would say, “Well, I guess I was wrong.” There is a finality to death that none of us dare to question.

But Jesus doesn’t go there. Jesus has received this word from God that the sickness won’t end in death. So even in the face of death, Jesus continues to believe the promise of God. He believes to the core of his being that God, who cannot lie, will always keep his promises, even if it means raising the dead.

You want to know how Jesus overcame? This is how Jesus overcame. With this kind of faith. Incredible faith. Unimaginable faith. Faith so strong that even in the face of death he could be glad because knew death wasn’t the end and God’s glory was imminent.

Therefore Thomas, who was called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s also go, so that we may die with Him!”

John 11:16

Jesus is facing danger going to Bethany because the Jews are seeking to stone him. He has confidence that God won’t allow him to be killed until the proper time. But the disciples don’t have this much faith. They are fearful of the Jews who are seeking to kill Jesus, and they see going to Bethany right now as a suicide mission. They don’t have as much faith as Jesus has, so they are afraid. Nevertheless, they still follow him.

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away; and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them about their brother. So then Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed in the house. Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise from the dead.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.”

John 11:17-24

Martha believed in the future resurrection of the dead. She correctly understood that the dead are asleep, waiting for the resurrection, and on the last day, when the Messiah comes to judge the world and make everything wrong with the world right, on that day the dead will rise. Those who trust in Christ will rise and meet him face to face, and be with him forever on a renewed and perfected earth where there is no more death, or sorrow, or tears, or war, or sin. This is the gospel that Jesus preached. The gospel of the kingdom of God. Everything wrong with the world will be made right. Martha understood! She gets it! She gets the gospel message!

But notice how Jesus responds here. I would expect him to commend her, to say, “Blessed are you, Martha, for you understand the kingdom of God! Isn’t this good news! Yes! Lazarus will rise again!”

But that’s not what Jesus says. Look at verses 25-26.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” 

John 11:25-26

Martha believed the gospel of the kingdom. She had faith in a future resurrection of the dead. But Jesus took it a step further. He said: “I AM that resurrection, and I showed up right here and right now!”

Christ is the resurrection. He is the king who will raise the dead. All power and authority have been given to him by God. God has put all things under his feet. As it says in Revelation 1:18, he holds the keys to death and the grave in his hand.

So notice how Jesus connects Lazarus’ resurrection to your resurrection. It would already be an extraordinary thing for Jesus to claim that he could raise Lazarus from the dead. But Jesus takes it one step further. Not only is Jesus able to raise Lazarus from the dead by the power and authority that God has given him – he is able to raise you from the dead by that same power. He is able to call Lazarus out of the grave by name, and he is able to call you out of the grave by name.

Whoever believes in him, even if he dies, he will live again. Jesus is telling Martha that if she believes, the same resurrection from the dead that can happen to Lazarus can also happen to her, and to all who believe.

She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have come to believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, and He who comes into the world.”

When she had said this, she left and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard this, she got up quickly and came to Him.

Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still at the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house and were consoling her, when they saw that Mary had gotten up quickly and left, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there. So when Mary came to the place where Jesus was, she saw Him and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Therefore when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” But some of them said, “Could this man, who opened the eyes of the man who was blind, not have also kept this man from dying?”

John 11:27-37

Jesus wept.

The shortest verse in the Bible, but one of the most profound.

In understanding why Jesus wept, commentators often say that even though he knew Lazarus would be raised from the dead, he was still overwhelmed by sadness because of Lazarus’ death. Perhaps that is true. But I think there is another, more obvious reason why Jesus wept.

“If you had been here, he wouldn’t have died.”

“Couldn’t this man have kept him from dying?”

Three times Jesus is unfairly blamed for Lazarus’ death – first by Martha, then by Mary, then by the Jews.

They’re essentially saying to him: “This is your fault, Jesus. You’re the reason he died.”

Have you ever been accused like that? Jesus has. He’s walked in your shoes. He’s felt the same feelings that you feel. He gets you.

Isaiah 53:3 says, “He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”

Jesus knew sadness.

John 11:35 is not the only time when Jesus wept.

In Luke 19, Jesus wept over Jerusalem because he understood the destruction that was going to come upon the city at the hands of the Romans.

This weeping was not just tearing up a little bit or shedding a tear. The Greek word translated “wept” in Luke 19 means “to wail loudly.”

Jesus knows what it is to feel overwhelming despair.

He offered up both prayers and pleas with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His devout behavior. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.

Hebrews 5:7-8

Jesus wept.

The weeping here in John 11 is a different kind of sadness than in Luke 19. The Greek word translated “wept” in John 11:35 means “to cry silently.”

Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly what Jesus wept, and I don’t want to read into it, but I think the text implies that it was more than mere sadness that Lazarus had died. Remember, Jesus clung to the promise of verse 4: the sickness won’t end in death, but the glory of God is going to be revealed. He also knew, before he went to Bethany, that Lazarus was already dead. It’s not like he showed up and was shocked to discover that Lazarus was dead. He knew he was already dead, but he still believed it won’t end in death. So clearly, Jesus had to hold onto the promise of verse 4 and believe that God could raise the dead, otherwise, he wouldn’t have even come.

But the people don’t share his faith. They lack faith in this moment. They are filled with grief and anger. They are looking for someone to blame.

Verse 33 says Jesus “was deeply moved in spirit.” This translation is pretty tame. The Greek word here means “to be moved with anger, to admonish sternly, to snort with rage like an angry horse.”

Verse 33 also says that Jesus “was troubled.” Again, this is a very tame translation. The Greek word means “to be restless, stirred up, agitated.” It’s the same word used in John 5:7 to describe the waters of the pool of Bethesda being stirred up.

I don’t think it’s reading into the text, to say that Jesus felt something here beyond just sadness.

He is being blamed for Lazarus’ death. The people have no faith in his ability to rectify this situation.

He is facing the full force of their rage, criticism, and insult.

Jesus wept.

Jesus wasn’t a stoic. Jesus felt his emotions. Jesus wrestled with his emotions and worked through them. He wasn’t controlled by them, but he didn’t suppress them either. He felt them and expressed them to God.

So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 

John 11:38-40

Remember the promise of verse 4: “This sickness is not meant for death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”

So they removed the stone. And Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. But I knew that You always hear Me; nevertheless, because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” 

John 11:41-42

Jesus always gave God the glory. He had total confidence that God would hear him. Nevertheless, he thanked God for hearing him, and he thanked God out loud in the presence of other people, in order to publicly glorify God and give God the credit for the miracle that was about to be performed.

There are seven miracles that Jesus performs in the gospel of John before his passion. This is the seventh and the greatest. He wants to make sure that God gets all the credit for it. Jesus always gave God the glory.

And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Out came the man who had died, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

John 11:43-44

The promise of verse 4 has come to pass.

The sickness did not end in death.

God’s glory was revealed.

Death defeated. Wrong made right. Doubt turned to faith. Hopelessness to hope. Mourning to joy.

This is a foretaste of the kingdom of God. It’s not just something that happened. It’s a picture of what’s to come – for you and for me.

Just as Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave, if you believe, he’ll call you out of the grave.

One day, Jesus will return to rule the world, to bring peace and justice to the earth, and make everything wrong with the world right.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:3-4

Lazarus was in the grave for four days. Between the time that he died and the time that he rose, his family mourned. They felt devastated, hopeless, even angry. They criticized Jesus for not coming sooner. It was impossible for them, during those four days, to see how God was working, why God would allow this, how God could possibly work this out for their good and for his glory.

We go through similar experiences in life.

In life, there are times when we can’t see how God is working.

We have such limited perspective. We don’t see the end from the beginning, like God does.

The Apostle Paul said that right now, we see through a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face; right now we know only in part, but then we will know fully.

But be encouraged by this truth: The word of God is true, even when we can’t see it.

The promises of God are true, even when we can’t imagine how they’re possibly going to come to pass.

Do you have faith to say, “God, I don’t know how you’re possibly going to work this out for my good and for your glory, but I’m still believing that you are because it’s written in your word in Romans 8:28 and your word never fails. God who cannot lie has spoken it and your promises never fail. So I believe that you’re working even when I can’t see it.”

Do you have that kind of faith this morning?

If you do, you can overcome anything.

To overcome like Jesus, we need to hold onto the promises of God.

  • 0

The God of the Weak and Lowly

I was honored to deliver this Christmas sermon at Living Hope Community Church on December 18, 2022.

Adolf Hölzel, Adoration

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room.

Luke 2:1-7

What was this event, which Luke records with such simplicity?

A woman of humble means, wrapping her child in simple bands of cloth, laying him in a feeding trough for animals, because there was no guest room available.

There was no fanfare. There was no royal pageantry. There was no pomp and circumstance.

An estimated 385,000 babies are born every day.

This event – the birth of a single baby, in a seemingly insignificant region of the world, laid to rest in the humblest of circumstances – would, from a human perspective, have no obvious significance, and would not be expected to change the world or the course of history.

And yet, from God’s perspective, this was the most important day. And for those who believe, this day changed the universe, and has the power to change our lives forever.

It was, first and foremost, a real day. Unlike some religious figures such as the Buddha – whose births are unclear exactly when or, even if, they happened – this day is authenticated in history. A day attested to by historians – Christian, Jewish, and Roman. A real day, at a real time in history, when Caesar Augustus was Emperor of Rome and when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

A real place – Bethlehem. Here, Luke refers to Bethlehem by its traditional title “city of David” because of its historical ties to the ancient Jewish king. However, at this time in history, this “city” was only a small village. According to biblical scholar William Barclay, at the time of the birth of Jesus, the population of Bethlehem may have been as few as 200-300 people. John, in his gospel, uses the Greek word “ko-may” to refer to Bethlehem, a word meaning a small hamlet or village.

Bethlehem in 1698. Sketch by Cornelis de Bruijn.

And what of Nazareth, the town from which Mary and Joseph travelled, and in which their child would grow up? Nazareth was not much larger – perhaps 500 people according to some estimates. It was, so to speak, “in the boonies” – so much so that the people of that day asked, as recorded in John 1:46, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

And the region of Galilee, such a backwater that the people of that day asked, as recorded in John chapter 7, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? No prophet comes out of Galilee.”

From a human perspective, this was a seemingly insignificant day, a seemingly insignificant place, a seemingly insignificant event.

And yet, this was precisely the day, precisely the place, precisely the event that God chose to change our lives, to change history, to change the world, to change the cosmos and the entire created order.

It was a day the prophets had spoken of for thousands of years.

It was a day that Abraham envisioned and rejoiced to see.

It was a day foretold since the Garden of Eden.

The rise and fall of empires, the decrees of governors, and even the appearance of the stars in the sky were all guided by the hand of God, so that this day would come.

Moses told the people of Israel:

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet

Deuteronomy 18:15

Likewise the prophets:

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.

Micah 5:2

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Great will be his authority, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:6-7

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge for the poor and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

Isaiah 11:1-5

These are just a few of the many prophecies of Christ found in the Old Testament. In fact, every book of the Old Testament points to Christ in some way. The Jews looked with eager expectation for a Messiah who would liberate their kingdom from oppression. A man who would be both priest, prophet, and king. One who would finally establish peace, justice, and righteousness on the earth.

How did the people expect this great Messiah to come?

Surely, he would be a powerful warrior. Surely, he would come on a mighty war horse, commanding enormous armies.

Yet God, in his subversive gentleness, chose to undermine empire and defeat the powers of evil through the meekness of a tiny baby laid in a manger.

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth, and the coastlands wait for his teaching.

Isaiah 42:1-4

God could have brought his Son into the world any way he wanted.

How great is our God, that of all the ways he could have done it, he chose to work through a humble, ordinary woman named Mary?

Can you imagine the awe that Mary must have experienced when the angel told her that from her would come the Messiah, the one who would be priest, prophet, and king – the one who would save people from their sins?

Can you imagine her awe when she realized that of all the people who ever lived and ever will live, she was the one would bring the Son of God into the world?

Why Mary?

It was not because there was anything extraordinary about her – she was an ordinary woman!

But, she had extraordinary faith and obedience to God’s word.

Henry Ossawa Tanner, Annunciation

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be bornwill be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.“

Luke 1:26-38

According to some scholars, Mary was as young as 13 years old when this happened. She was a young, unmarried, ordinary woman.

There was nothing particularly extraordinary about Mary, except that she had the simple faith to say, “God, let it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

Do you have that faith this morning?

Do you have that faith to say to God, “Let it be done to me according to your word?”

God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called.

He doesn’t choose people who are good enough, strong enough, or wise enough.

God chooses people who are not good enough, who are not strong enough, and who are not wise enough.

He chooses the weak in the world to shame the strong.

He chooses the foolish in the world to shame the wise.

If you feel weak, if you feel foolish, if you don’t know how God can use you, if you don’t know where God is calling you to go next, I’m here to tell you, you don’t need to know. You don’t need to have all the answers. You don’t need to be strong enough, or wise enough, or good enough.

You only need to have the simple, humble faith, to say to God, as Isaiah said, “Here I am, Lord, send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)

Do you have that simple, childlike faith this morning?

If you do, God can use you, to accomplish more than you could ever imagine.

As John Piper once said, “He’s a big God for little people”

Mary and Joseph had each received a promise from an angel that Mary’s child would be the Messiah.

But let’s not forget that they had 9 months of anticipation leading up this moment. And this time had not been easy for them. They had to suffer the shame of having a child out of wedlock – I mean, how are you gonna explain that to your family?

And then, unable to even secure a guest room, they had to lay the child in a manger – a feeding trough for animals.

At this point, they’re probably wondering, “Is this really happening?” The promise had come 9 months ago – that’s a long time! The memories of the angelic visitations are fading in their minds. The reality of laying a child down in a feeding trough is before them. They need to receive some comfort, some reassurance.

That’s what I love about this next part of the story. Picking it up in Luke 2 verse 8:

Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

Luke 2:8-20
Annie Henrie Nader, Nativity

Can you imagine the comfort and reassurance that Mary and Joseph must have felt when these shepherds showed up just gave them that confirmation: yes, this is really happening. No, you’re not crazy. We saw the angels too! We know that this baby truly is the Messiah.

What overwhelming joy Mary and Joseph must have felt when these shepherds showed up!

Of all the people to be the first to see the Messiah, how great is our God that he would choose shepherds?

Shepherds. Some of the poorest individuals in the ancient world. They were outcasts who lived at the margins of society. Yet, it was these humble shepherds who were the first to see the Christ.

How great is our God? He doesn’t choose the mighty. He doesn’t choose the powerful. He chooses the humble. He chooses the meek.

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
    and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of the proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews ask for signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to abolish things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. In contrast, God is why you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

I want to close with a poem – the lyrics to a song by Audrey Assad called “Winter Snow”

As you hear these words, consider all of the ways that God could have brought his Son in the world. God could have done it so many different ways. He didn’t need to work through ordinary people like Mary and Joseph. He didn’t need to call shepherds to rejoice.

But consider how much love God has for simple, weak, ordinary, people, that he would choose to work through them.

You could have come like a mighty storm
with all the strength of a hurricane
You could have come like a forest fire
with the power of heaven in your flame

You could have swept in like a tidal wave
or an ocean to ravish our hearts
You could have come through like a roaring flood
to wipe away the things we’ve scarred

But your voice wasn’t in a bush burning
Your voice wasn’t in a rushing wind

It was still, it was small, it was hidden

You came like a winter snow
So quiet
So soft
So slow

  • 0

The Kingdom of God

Matthew 6:31-33 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

What is the kingdom of God? Jesus talked about the kingdom of God more than anything else. Surprisingly, he never specifically defined it.

His mostly Jewish audience would have understood the kingdom of God from the Old Testament. Unfortunately, many Christians today do not understand the kingdom of God even though it is the central theme of Christ’s teaching. If we are to seek it first, we must understand what it is, using scripture as our guide.

The Importance of the Kingdom

Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

From the day he began his ministry until he ascended into heaven, Jesus preached this message everywhere: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Jesus highly valued the kingdom of God and compared it to a treasure in a field or a pearl of great value that a person would sacrifice everything to obtain (Matthew 13).

Christ’s view of the kingdom of God was deeply eschatological in nature. In places like Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13, Jesus went into detail about the end of the present age and the beginning of a new, messianic age in which the messiah (meaning “anointed king”) would overthrow the governments of the world and rule as the king over the entire world forever. Almost all of Christ’s parables deal directly with this vision a final judgement that is coming soon to the earth (see Matthew 25:1-13, Matthew 22:1-14, Matthew 25:14-30, Matthew 20:1-16).

The Prophets Envisioned the Kingdom

Daniel 7:13-14 “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”

Identifying himself as the messiah whom Daniel had prophesied about, Jesus took upon himself the title “Son of Man.” In a verse often quoted at Christmas, Isaiah also prophesied about the messiah receiving a kingdom and power:

Isaiah 9:6 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders”

The prophets foresaw a coming messianic age in which the messiah would rule over the whole world and establish peace on the earth.

Isaiah 2:4 “And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war”

Isaiah 60:18 Violence will not be heard again in your land, nor devastation or destruction within your borders; but you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.

In this messianic age, there will even be peace in the animal kingdom.

Isaiah 11:6 “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them”

Knowledge of God will fill the earth.

Jeremiah 31:34 “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Rather than the sun, God himself will be the light of the world.

Isaiah 60:19 “No longer will you have the sun for light by day, nor for brightness will the moon give you light; but you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, and your God for your glory.

Everything Wrong Made Right

Revelation 21:3-4 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.'”

Revelation 22:1-5 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

We see all of the Old Testament prophesies about the kingdom of God beautifully fulfilled in Revelation 21-22, which is a vision of the age to come when the messiah rules the world. Comparing Revelation 21-22 (the very end of the Bible) to Genesis 1-2 (the very beginning of the Bible), the parallels are amazing. What God originally intended the beginning is what he gets in the end!

In the beginning, God created the earth “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Prior to sin, there was no death, disease, crying, or pain. God dwelled on the earth with man, walking and talking with man in the garden (Genesis 3:8). It was only after they sinned that Adam and Eve hid from God and felt ashamed. Sin caused a separation between God and man. Because of sin, the earth was cursed (Genesis 3:18). This curse affected the whole world and brought about thorns and thistles infesting the ground, disease infecting the world, and unrest in the animal kingdom.

But there’s good news: God has not given up on the earth! He is a God of restoration who has a plan to make what is wrong right. We see in Revelation 21-22 that in the end, God will get what he wanted in the beginning. Sin will be no more, and man’s relationship with God will be fully restored. God will once again dwell on the earth with man – “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them” (Revelation 21:3b).

The tree of life will be restored (Revelation 22:2) and “there will no longer be any curse” (Revelation 22:3a). In fact, there will be “there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4b).

The kingdom of God can be summed up in this one simple sentence: Everything wrong with the world made right!

God’s Covenants with Abraham and Isaac

Genesis 12:1-3 “Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

The story of the kingdom of God begins with Abraham. God called Abraham (originally named Abram) to leave the land in which he was living and travel to the land of Canaan, which God promised to give to Abraham and his descendants forever. From Abraham would come a kingdom that would last forever.

Genesis 13:14-15 “The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Raise your eyes now, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.'”

God later extended the territory to include all the land of Cannan.

Genesis 17:8 “And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God.”

God’s covenant with Abraham was renewed with Isaac, the son whom God had promised to miraculously give to Abraham in his old age.

Genesis 26:2-5 “The LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.”

God’s Covenant With Moses

Isaac’s son Jacob (later renamed Israel) became the father of twelve sons from whom came the twelve tribes of Israel and the “Israelites”. But there were some bumps in the road. The rest of Genesis explains how the Israelites ended up in Egypt rather than Canaan, the land that had been promised to them. In the next book, Exodus, God calls Moses to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and lead them to the promised land.

God made a covenant with Moses. If the Israelites kept the commandments, they would possess the land forever and be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation:

Exodus 19:5-6a “Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

God’s Covenant With David

The Israelites entered the land and took possession of it. Their first king, Saul, eventually turned away from God. But their next king, David, was “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22). God made a covenant with King David in which he promised that one of David’s descendants would reign as the king over the whole world for all eternity!

2 Samuel 7:12-13 “I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

In Jeremiah 33, God tied this promise to the sun and the moon – as long as the sun and moon continue to rise, this promise can never be broken.

Jeremiah 33:25-26 “Thus says the LORD, ‘If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.’”

Bumps in the Road

The Israelites eagerly awaited the promised king who would rule forever. But once again, there were bumps in the road. Israel became divided into a northern kingdom (Israel) and a southern kingdom (Judah). Then, the divided Israel faced serious threats from foreign nations.

First, the Assyrians invaded and conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, which accounted for ten out of the twelve tribes. Then, the Babylonians invaded Judah and took the remaining two tribes into exile in Babylon. At this point, the Temple lay in ruins and the Israelites no longer possessed any of the land.

But God was faithful. In a verse frequently quoted out of context, God promised that the Babylonian captivity would only last for 70 years, and after that, the Israelites would return to the land:

Jeremiah 29:10-11 “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’”

Sure enough, the Persians conquered Babylon and allowed the Israelites to return to the land of Canaan. But it was a still a rocky road. Under Alexander the Great, the Greek Empire conquered Israel and occupied the land. Under the leadership of Judas Maccabeus, Israel was briefly re-established during the Maccabean Revolt, which is commemorated every year in the celebration of Hanukah. But it didn’t last, and the land eventually fell to the Roman Empire.

The Messiah They Didn’t Expect

At the time of Christ, the land of Israel was under military occupation by the Romans. The Romans were polytheists with no respect for the one true God. Roman soldiers could force Jews into slavery by making them to carry gear for up to one mile.

It is in this historical context – a context of oppression and despair – that the Christmas story takes place. The Jews eagerly awaited the fulfillment of God’s promise to David – the soon coming king who would overthrow the Roman Empire and rule the world forever. This is why Matthew and Luke both open their gospels with long genealogies. They may seem boring to us, but they are actually incredibly exciting because they prove that Jesus is both a descendant of Abraham and a descendant of David, and therefore eligible to fulfill the prophecies.

Jesus identified himself as the Son of Man whom Daniel had prophesied about, but his approach to establishing the kingdom of God was totally opposite of what most people expected. The Jewish zealots were expecting a military leader like Judas Maccabeus who would liberate Israel by military force. Jesus, on the other hand, taught nonviolence: “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Rather than fighting the Roman soldier who could force you to carry his gear for a mile, Jesus said to carry it for two miles (Matthew 5:41) and if a soldier slaps you on the cheek, “turn the other to him also!” (Matthew 5:39).

The Jews expected the kingdom to be established by military force, but Jesus said: “do not resist an evil person” (Matthew 5:39) and “all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52).

Most shockingly of all, Jesus was crucified. To the Jews of that day, it seemed totally unimaginable that the promised king who was supposed to rule the world forever would be executed on a stake. But this had all been prophesied (e.g. Isaiah 53) and was part of God’s plan. Understandably, it was a hard truth to accept. Thus, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:23, “we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews”.

Sin had to be atoned for so that all people – including non-Jews – could enter the covenant promises that God made to Abraham, Moses, and David. Paul declares in Romans 9-11 that, like wild branches grafted onto an olive tree, we too are now counted as descendants of Abraham through our faith in Jesus Christ. This means that all of the promises God made about the kingdom now apply to us! The kingdom promises are received not through ancestry or ritual (e.g. circumcision) but through faith and love.

Galatians 5:6 ESV “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

The Kingdom Lifestyle

Luke 6:20-26 “And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.“

The ethics of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7, see also Luke 6) make absolutely no sense, unless you view them in light of the kingdom of God as a soon coming reality.

For Jesus, it was okay to suffer injustice in this present age because he foresaw a soon coming kingdom in which everything about the present world would be flipped upside down. “The last shall be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16).

In the present world, it is the rich, the powerful, the popular, and the happy who everyone considers blessed. But in the coming kingdom, the poor, the lowly, the despised, the weeping and mourning, the humble, those hungering and thirsting for justice – these are the ones who are blessed (Matthew 5, Luke 6)!

Jesus began his public teaching with the radical words: “Blessed are the poor… blessed are those who weep… blessed are you when men hate you” (Luke 6:21-22). He foresaw a coming kingdom in which the poor, hungry, and persecuted would receive blessing, but the rich would be “sent away empty” (Luke 1:53).

The ethics of Jesus are directly tied to this vision of the kingdom of God. He will judge his followers on whether they helped the poor and needy: “to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me” (see Matthew 25:31-46).

For Jesus, the kingdom of God flips the world upside down.

Mark 9:35b “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all”

Mark 10:44 “Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all”

Count the Cost: The Good News of a Challenging Gospel

The kingdom of God is everything wrong with the world made right. It is good news, but it is also incredibly challenging. It’s good news because there will be no more death, pain, sin, or evil when the kingdom comes. It’s challenging because seeking the kingdom means denying one’s self, taking up one’s cross, and following Christ. This is not a decision to be taken lightly. Jesus warned us to count the cost before we even begin to follow him.

Luke 14:27-33 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”

There are many false gospels in the world. We must always stay focused on the true gospel that Jesus preached: “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). Jesus was not introducing a new idea when he preached the gospel. Actually, he preached the same gospel that the Old Testament prophets preached when they foretold of an everlasting Kingdom that will be established on the earth with justice, peace, and righteousness forever.

In a world filled with war and terrorism, we have the hope that a king is coming who will establish peace on the earth forever (Isaiah 2:4). In a world filled with death and sorrow, we have the hope that a king is coming who will throw death into the lake of fire and destroy death and sorrow forever (Revelation 20). We share this message with others through words that tell them about the kingdom of God, and through actions that show people what the kingdom will be like by meeting real needs in the world with the love of Christ. “Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action” (1 John 3:18b).

As ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) and citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20) we represent the kingdom to the world by being peacemakers and demonstrating the radically sacrificial love that Jesus demonstrated – we love enemies, turn the other cheek, and forgive the unforgivable (Matthew 5-7). This kind of lifestyle is considered radical in the present day world, but it will be commonplace when the kingdom of God comes. By living it out, we represent the kingdom on the earth until it is fully established in the future and all evil is eliminated.

The kingdom message is both good news, and a serious challenge. It is good news because it promises everything wrong with the world will be made right. It is challenging because it demands repentance and obedience to Christ. In the same way that Jesus warned people to repent before the kingdom comes (Matthew 4:17), we should also preach repentance, “speaking the truth in love” (Epehsians 4:15).

The kingdom message is the gospel. The word “gospel” means “good news”. The gospel message is the message that the kingdom of God is coming, that Jesus – the king of the kingdom – is coming back to rule the world. It’s the hope that anchors our souls (Hebrews 6:19) so we can endure the challenges of this present evil age and shine as lights in a dark world (Philippians 2:15).

  • 0

Right Here and Right Now

One of my favorite stories in the the gospels is the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead, found in John 11:1-46. Lazarus was the brother of the Mary and Martha whom Jesus visited in Luke 10. Jesus loved Lazarus dearly (John 11:5) and his sisters must have been deeply distraught when Lazarus fell seriously ill (John 11:1). They immediately sent messengers to Jesus, but surprisingly, Jesus did not go immediately to Lazarus. Rather, he remained in the place where he was for two days, and told the messengers, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” (John 11:4).

What good news for Mary and Martha! Jesus Christ had clearly stated that the sickness would not end in death. But only a few verses later, we find a shocking plot twist. Jesus tells his disciples, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.” (John 11:11). The disciples thought he was talking about natural sleep, so they said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better.” (John 11:12). They did not realize that Jesus was talking about the sleep of death. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead” (John 11:14).

What a shock this must have been for the disciples! I think many of us, familiar with the resurrection of Lazarus, do not realize the full emotional impact of those three words: “Lazarus is dead.” Jesus had clearly said that the sickness would not end in death, and yet, just two days later, he said, “Lazarus is dead.”

Had Jesus failed?

The disciples must have been terribly distressed, so much so that Thomas said, “Let us also go, so that we may die with him” (John 11:16 KJV).

And so they set off for the house of Lazarus, and when they arrived, his body had already been laid in a tomb for four days (John 11:17). The scene there was one of total chaos. The Lord had said that the sickness would not end in death, yet Lazarus was dead. Mary and Martha must have been horribly distraught and confused. Why had Jesus waited two days instead of coming immediately to heal Lazarus? Now it was too late! Martha and Mary both blamed Jesus, saying, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21, 32). Some of those present even mocked Jesus, saying, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” (John 11:37).

In the midst of all this confusion, John tells us that “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). John does not tell us why Jesus wept, but I believe he wept over their unbelief. Jesus had promised that the sickness would not end in death, yet no one believed him. The one who performed many miracles and healed many people seemingly failed to heal Lazarus before it was too late. They blamed him for foolishly waiting two days instead of coming immediately. They mocked him. They had no faith. Jesus wept.

Yet it was all part of God’s plan. It was God’s will that Jesus wait two days instead of coming to Lazarus immediately. One of the great lessons we can learn from this story is that even when the situations and circumstances of life seem utterly helpless, even in those darkest moments, God is ultimately working all things together for good for His glory (Romans 8:28).

Here is the part of the story I find most fascinating and significant:

John 11:23-26 – Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”

Contrast the doubt of Martha with the faith of Abraham. Abraham, when tested by God, was willing to offer up his son Isaac, because God had promised to make a great nation through Isaac. Abraham knew that God could not break his promise (Numbers 23:19) and therefore, Abraham believed that even if Isaac died, God would be faithful to raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:19).

Martha had also received a promise – that Lazarus’ sickness would not end in death. This means that even if Lazarus died, his death would not be the end. Jesus Christ would be faithful to raise Lazarus from the dead, “so that the Son of God will receive glory” (John 11:4). Martha believed that everyone who has ever died will be raised at the end of the age (Revelation 20:13), but she had lost hope in the power of Christ in the here and now. Before her stood the Son of God who possesses all power in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18) even the power to raise Lazarus from the sleep of death immediately. Jesus had said, “I will go and wake him up” (John 11:11). But instead, Martha was waiting for the end of the age.

Martha put her faith in a future event, instead of in the person of Christ.

Christ’s response to Martha is one of my favorite sayings of Jesus: “I am the resurrection and the life.” Martha had put her faith in her theological understanding of the future resurrection, without realizing that Jesus Christ IS himself the resurrection. He IS the life-giving spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45) and the fountain of living water (John 4) that heals us today (Isaiah 53:5). Martha had faith in the Kingdom coming in the future, but no faith that the King standing before her could work a miracle in the present!

When this evil age comes to an end, there will be established a Kingdom on the earth where all who are made righteous in Christ will be raised from the dead to live with God forever (Revelation 21). But the Kingdom of God is not only our future hope, but also our present hope as well. Jesus is already King – his victory has already been won, his throne has already been established. From the right hand of God, he is ruling and shepherding his global Body and he’s ready to work mighty miracles if we would turn to him in faith. Thus, Jesus says to us, “the Kingdom of God is already among you” (Luke 17:21).

We may have a great understanding of what Jesus accomplished, historically speaking.

But do we know what he is accomplishing in our lives right here and right now?

We may have a great understanding of Jesus, theologically speaking.

But do we know who he is, personally?

Brother Yun is a Chinese Christian evangelist who founded many underground churches in China and was imprisoned and tortured for his faith. In his book The Heavenly Man, he describes his miraculous escape from Zhèngzhōu Maximum-Security Prison.

According to Yun’s own account, each door opened before him and he heard the voice of Jesus instruct him to walk out of the prison. At the risk of being shot to death by the guards keeping watch from the towers, he obeyed the voice of Christ and walked out through the front gate. Miraculously, no one saw him, as if he had become invisible. He is the only prisoner in history to have escaped from that prison.

Brother Yun makes an insightful observation on the story of Lazarus on pages 74-75 of his book Living Water: 

When Jesus informed Martha that he had come to raise Lazarus from the dead, Martha resorted to her theological knowledge by saying, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (John 11:24). This is a chief attribute of Christians who only know Jesus from a theological viewpoint. They know about the history of God’s workings with humankind, and they know that in the future God will make everything right. But they do not know Jesus in the here and now. Jesus has become a historical and a future figure, but not a present figure in their daily lives. Many churches are spiritually dead today because they keep Jesus at a “safe distance” while they control their own lives and make their own plans. Until you realize that Jesus Christ wants to be a major part of everything you do, you will not see revival. Until He is rightfully enthroned as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, your plans will continue to be frustrated and you will see little true blessing of heaven on your activities.

We too often intellectualize Jesus into a mere historical figure. It’s easy to think of him as the one who died for our sins, and will come again to rule the world, yet completely forget about the work he is accomplishing right here and right now in our 21st century lives.

I don’t want to treat Jesus as merely a historical figure or settle for merely knowing about him.

I want to know him personally, right here and right now. I want to have a relationship with him!

Most of all, I want to see his power manifested in my life. I want to hear his voice daily and follow his direction in my life. As Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Do you know Jesus… or do you only know about him?

  • 1

He Must Become Greater

 

The message of the Bible is all about Jesus Christ. He’s in every book of the Bible. Only when we center our focus on Christ do we see the spiritual meaning of biblical events. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the hinge upon which all of scripture swings. We see it foreshadowed in the bread and wine offered by the high priest Melchizedek (Genesis 14), in Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son of promise (Genesis 22), in the story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50) and Jonah (Jonah 1-4), and in Moses’ raising up of the snake in the wilderness (Numbers 21, John 3:14). When we fix our eyes on Christ, we see him on almost every page.

As powerful as the ministry of John the Baptist was, he knew he was insignificant compared to the one who was coming after him – Jesus the Messiah:

John 3:27-30 – John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. This should be the desire of our hearts today. Yet our human tendency is always to take our focus off of Christ and onto ourselves. When we look honestly at ourselves, we realize how hopelessly inadequate we are. By ourselves, we are completely incapable of serving God as he deserves. In and of ourselves, we are incapable of holiness and we consistently fail to please God. Left in our own sinful condition, we cannot enter God’s holy presence. When our focus is on ourselves – on our own weakness, sinfulness, and insufficiency – we cannot help but feel like failures.

Fortunately, our faith is not about us… it’s all about Jesus. We are sinners, but Jesus Christ is sinless. We were separated from God by sin, but Jesus Christ bridged the gap between God and man. We could not atone for our sin, but Jesus Christ paid the price in full when he died on the cross.

When we put our focus on Christ instead of on ourselves, our whole perspective changes. By ourselves, we are slaves of sin… but in Christ, we have victory over sin. By ourselves, we are children of wrath bound for destruction… but in Christ, we have the hope of eternal life. By ourselves, we are separated from God by sin… but in Christ, we can come boldly before the presence of God, being cleansed of all sin not by our own works but by his holiness.

Jesus says “I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). Our faith must be centered on Jesus Christ alone. Apart from him, we can do nothing.

One of my favorite stories in the gospels is when Peter walked on water in Matthew 14:22-33. The fact that Jesus walked on water is amazing, but what really amazes me the most is that Peter walked on water! He had the incredible, bold faith to say to Jesus, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water” (Matthew 14:28). And then, the awesome faith to step out of the boat and onto the water!

As long as Peter kept his eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, he could walk on top of the water. But as soon as the wind and waves broke his concentration on Christ, Peter began to sink. This story symbolizes the walk of every believer. Like Peter walking on water, we must keep our focus on Christ each and every day. As soon as we allow the troubles of this world or even our own human plans to distract us from Christ, we begin drowning in the mire of this world. Hebrews puts it this way:

Hebrews 12:1-2 – Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

The desire of my heart is for Jesus to increase in my life, and for myself to decrease. As Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

When people look at my life, I want them to see less of me, and more of Christ. As I walk with Christ day by day and endeavor to follow him, I want his will and his power to be manifested in my life. To really be followers of Christ, we must make him Lord of our lives and keep our focus upon him.

He must become greater. We must become less.

  • 0
Matthew Elton is an Anabaptist-minded Christ-follower in Albany, NY. Contact him at: mattelton15@gmail.com

Categories

Abraham Baptism Calling Charity Christmas Church Daniel David Death Evangelism Faithfulness God's Will Healing Humility Isaiah Israel Jeremiah Jesus Jonah Joseph Kingdom of God Lazarus Love Marriage Mary Mercy Miracles Money Moses Noah Obedience Patience Peace Prejudice Repentance Resurrection Saul Sex Simplicity Singleness Suffering The Great Commission Uncategorized Unity

Recent Posts

Recent Comments