Sermon Notes 7/22/2012

Sermon Title: The Passover

Sermon Text: Luke 22:14-22

Scripture Reading: Exodus 12:1-28

The 7 Old Testament feasts (Passover; Unleavened Bread; First Fruits; Pentecost; Trumpets; Day of Atonement; Tabernacles) had, among other important features, this one peculiarity—that they brought to the remembrance of Israel the great underlying facts and principles of their covenant-relationship to Jehovah. They invited the pious Israelite at stated seasons to collect his thoughts and fix them upon those things which were fundamental in his religious life. This is precisely why we regularly practice the Lord’s Supper together. What is the Lord’s Supper and what does it signify?

The Lord’s Supper is one of two sacraments that Christ gave the Church for the purpose of worship and joy. The Old Testament feasts were like mile markers, billboards, or appetizers. Paul best described them as shadows, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17).

The Backward Glance of Passover

It was especially in connection with the Passover (the oldest of Jewish festivals) that this purpose which the feasts were intended to serve became most apparent. The Passover was preeminently a historical feast. It pointed back to the deliverance of the people from Egypt. Each time this feast was celebrated in the families of Israel, it proclaimed anew that redemption through substitutionary blood, grace and by sovereign choice was the great fact which lay at the basis of their existence.[1]

The Backward Glance of the Lord's Supper

The Lord knew we would be forgetful. The Lord knew we would grow complacent. The Lord knew we would be distracted by service, work, and play. The Lord knew we could even be absent minded of Him where we sit this very hour. What the feasts were to Israel (remembrance of what had passed and a shadow of what was to come), the sacraments are to us [and] that the Lord's Supper especially ought to be to us.

Our Passover also has been sacrificed and each time that we repeat its observance, the Lord himself invites us that we shall call our thoughts home to the contemplation of that one thing on which our very life as believers depends, His atoning death.

We may well, therefore, adore the wisdom of our Lord who has given us this ordinance. Namely for the reason that it comes to meet our human weakness, that it brings His own person and grace within the reach of our senses, so that symbolically our eyes can see, our hands can handle, our mouth can taste the Word of Life.[1]

Symbolism of the Lord's Table

They are four primary guiding principles to remember in observing the Lord’s Supper.

1. A recognition of sin and slavery
2. The necessity of a substitute
3. Faith is not intellectual agreement but a union
4. Abandonment of slavery and movement towards love for God as displayed primarily through trust and obedience

In the first place, there is the plain, emphatic recognition of the fact of sin and slavery.

Exodus 12 records the swift movement from the story of Joseph in Genesis 40-50 to the forgetfulness and fear of Egypt’s Pharaoh.

Read Exodus 1:1-14 with an emphasis on the following:

• “let us deal shrewdly with them” v. 10
• “they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens” v. 11
• “they were oppressed” v. 12
• “they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves” v. 13
• “they made their lives bitter with hard service and in all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves” v. 14

Passover exposed sin as something far more personal than personal errors or moral failures, but as a power that holds people in bondage. Ancient Israel’s daily grind was lived under Pharaoh’s thumb. He owned her; she was in his labor pool and her babies no more than replacement workers. Sin enslaves and its bondage is cruel. It is bitter and joyless because it strips life both of freedom and of hope. Passover also showed that bondage is costly. Liberation can come only by death – not only that of a lamb but also of the idols our foolish hearts cherish in place of the only true God. For the LORD is jealous for our love: to break sin’s death-grip, he had once destroyed the no-gods of the Egyptian pantheon through 10 plagues. Today, the counterfeits our hearts cherish, counterfeits that enslave our lives must fall under this judgment too. He simply loves us too much to allow sin to deceive us into believing that real and satisfying life is possible apart from him.[2]

Read John 8:31-36 – Satan has never made a good man bad. Satan makes a flawed man worse by playing on his tendencies. Use Keller’s illustration of singing into a piano. Do you remember when you had to sing back? Do you remember when you tried to change and were stuck in a perpetual cycle with willpower as your only weapon? Are you still a slave? That baby you are holding in your womb or in your arms was likely doomed to be a replacement worker for the Kingdom of darkness if you would have remained a slave.

But now as you struggle you can say, “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh” (Romans 8:12).

In the second place, there is the positive and clear affirmation that the necessity of a substitute in death of the Son of God, his body broken, his blood poured out [and] appropriated by faith are the only and all-sufficient means of obtaining the remission of sin, peace of conscience and the title to eternal life.

“During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel – and God knew” (Exodus 2:23-24).

Passover was first celebrated on the day of Israel’s departure from Egypt.  As we read, Israel was required to select a perfect lamb (without defect), kill the lamb, spread the blood on the door post, cook the lamb, and eat the lamb. The lamb was dear to the family, as it would live with them for four months before its death.

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Passover showed that redemption is not based on the efforts of those in bondage – no knowledge or behavior on our part will make right what sin made wrong – but by the substitution of another.[2]

In the third place, there is the eloquent reminder that there can be no true participation in the merits which flow from Christ's atoning death except through such a faith consisting not merely in the mental acceptance of his sacrifice as a historic fact, but a faith which mystically feeds upon him, the living sacrifice, as he now exists in heaven.[1]

Not only were the Israelites passed over due to the blood of the sacrifice, the very sacrifice that shed its blood “indwelt” them. If we were to hold up Christ as a mere example to be followed by us in our own strength to the exclusion of the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in the heart, would we not be silently corrected by our Lord's own voice speaking to us at his table: "Except ye eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of man, ye have no life in yourselves"? (John 6:53).

And lastly, we have here impressed upon us the solemn obligation of everyone who receives Christ as his sacrifice and enters upon the communion of his sanctified life, to abandon sin and walk in holiness. You will observe it is specifically this fourth principle which Paul has in mind when he says to the Corinthians—"Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:27-32). It is never recorded that any Israelite or Egyptian participated in the Passover without also participating in the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In other words, they ate and began a movement away from their old home.

Thus we see that the Lord's Supper spans the whole breadth of our Christian religion. Besides being what it must always primarily be, the means for strengthening our faith, it may also render us the additional service of becoming to us an occasion for self-examination.[1]

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” (2 Corinthians 13:5a).

The Lord’s Supper

Read Luke 22:14-22. Here we see Jesus the God-man serving the Lord’s Supper to the disciples. Soon, they would see Jesus, the priest presiding over his own sacrifice cry out, “It is finished!”

Never mind that bread and wine, unless you can use them as folks often use their spectacles. What do they use them for? To look at? No, to look through them. So, use the bread and wine as a pair of spectacles. Look through them, and do not be satisfied until you can say, “Yes, yes, I can see the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” – 45.525

Sources:

1. A Sermon by Geerhardus Vos. Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton, New Jersey. October 1, 1902.
2. Sittema, John. Meeting Jesus at the Feast: Israel’s Festivals and the Gospel. Grandville, MI: The Reformed Fellowship, 2010.

Sunday School 7/22/2012

1 Timothy 3:1

First, notice that God intends His Church to have pastors. “And He (Christ – my parenthesis for contextual clarification) gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ…” (Ephesians 4:11-12).

Second, notice Scripture uses differing terms for the same exact office. In New Testament times it is all but certain that episkopos (overseer or bishop) and presbyteros (presbyter or elder) were two titles for the same office (John Stott’s Commentary on 1 Timothy and Titus).

• Acts 20:17 (elders/presbyteros); Acts 20:28 (overseer/episkopos); Philippians 1:1 (bishops/episkopos); Ephesians 4:11 (pastors [KJV] or shepherds [ESV]; poimen)

Why then were the same people given multiple titles? For two reasons at least: The word presbyteros (elder) was Jewish in origin (every synagogue had its elders) and indicated the seniority of the pastor, whereas episkopos (bishop) was Greek in origin (it was used of municipal officials, supervisors or subject cities) and indicated the superintending nature of the pastor’s ministry (John Stott’s Commentary on 1 Timothy and Titus). These were common terms from society which carried the definition oversight.

Third, notice that although there is often a “first among equals,” Pastors are required to have the same desire, same appointment, same qualifications, same authority, and same (but not necessarily equally shared) responsibility.

First we will look at desire and appointment. Second, we will discuss the shared authority and responsibility. Next week we will examine the qualifications.

1. “If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task” (1 Timothy 3:1b). In 1 Timothy 3:1 Paul says the office of overseer is predicated by aspiration or desire. However, in Acts 20:28, Paul says the Holy Spirit appoints overseers, to care for the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood. Then, in Titus 1:5, Paul instructs Titus to appoint elders in every town. Which is it? The answer is “Yes.” Explanation… …
2. The overseer’s mutual authority and shared responsibility

The Basics: An elder is a man who (i) meets the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9, (ii) is recognized by his congregation as an elder, (iii) and leads the congregation by teaching the Word (1 Tim. 3:2), praying for the sheep (Jas. 5:14), and overseeing the affairs of the church (1 Pet. 5:2).

Oversight: An elder must watch over the flock. He must instruct all the sheep, strengthen the weak ones, guard the vulnerable ones, rebuke the obstinate ones, and bear with the difficult ones (2 Tim. 2:24-25; Acts 20:28; 1 Thess. 5:14). An elder watches over the members of his church as one who will give an account to God (Heb. 13:17).

Plurality: In the New Testament, local churches consistently have a plurality of elders (Acts 14:23, 20:17; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 5:17; Jas. 5:14). Christ, the Chief Shepherd, means to care for his flock through a number of godly men who together teach, guard, guide, protect, and love the sheep.

The following is a quote from John R. Sittema’s book “With A Shepherd’s Heart” Published by Reformed Fellowship, Inc. Grandville, MI.:

“Wait a minute,” you may say. “Pastoral care is the Pastor’s job, isn’t it? After all, he is the one called “Pastor.” He has the training and the experience, and he receives a salary for his work. Elders are busy laymen who have full-time jobs and many other responsibilities. Their term in office is only for a few years (in most churches). They simply can’t do the job like “the pastor” can. We shouldn’t expect them to try!” 

There is no doubt that a preacher ought to be busy pastoring the flock, tending to their feeding and their care as a representative of the Good Shepherd. But is it just he (or, in the case of multiple-staff ministries, “they”) – the paid “professional” – who is to do the work of pastoring the flock?

The Bible won’t allow it! Scripturally, the elders are the pastors of the church just as much as the paid, seminary-trained preacher. 

What we wrongly see in today’s churches are mere administrators. The senior pastor functions like a CEO who “markets the vision”; the deacons (usually by committee) fulfill the corporate role of the CFO (Chief Financial Officer); and in such a modern corporate or business model for the church, the elders become the Board of Directors. They commission or develop a “marketing plan” for church growth, and hold the CEO accountable for the implementation and success of that growth plan. They oversee programs and delegate any and all pastoral duties to the professionals trained to handle such contingencies.

The following information is from http://www.9marks.org/answers-for-pastors/leadership:

Biblically speaking, all elders are pastors. Peter tells the elders among his readers to “shepherd” [Greek: pastor] the flock of God that is among you” (1 Pet. 5:2). Paul told the Ephesian elders to “care for” [Greek: pastor] the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). And the only time the noun “pastor” is used in the New Testament there is no indication that it is a different office from elder (Eph. 4:11).

But what if a church has a “senior pastor” who does most of the teaching, marrying and burying,

and overseeing of the church staff (if there are any)? How do the elders relate to a senior pastor?

1. An equal. First, they should regard him as fundamentally one of the elders. Even though the church has given him responsibilities that are distinct from the other elders, he occupies the same biblical office they do. He has one vote on the elder board. He is one of the elders.
2. First among equals. Because the senior pastor does the majority of the public teaching, he will likely accrue more influence among the congregation and the elders. In other words, he possesses the same formal authority as the other elders, but his opinion will generally carry more weight.

In the New Testament, the normal pattern is for churches to have a plurality of elders (Acts 14:23; Phil. 1:1; Jas. 5:14). Does this mean that no single man among them should be called the “senior pastor” and possess a larger measure of relational and institutional authority?

1. The New Testament does hint toward a distinction between elders that seems to make room for what we know as a senior pastor.
2. In 1 Timothy 5:17 Paul says, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” The Greek word for “honor” Paul uses clearly indicates that he has financial compensation in mind, and he singles out for that compensation certain elders who particularly labor in preaching and teaching.
3. So there were likely some elders who were supported full-time by the flock, and others who worked at another job.

So why have non-staff Pastors?

1. Non-staff elders help root the congregation’s leadership in the congregation itself, rather than in one man who may be called from the outside and might not be around forever.
2. Non-staff elders give people in the congregation a model of maturity to aspire toward even as they work in non-vocational-ministry jobs.
3. Non-staff elders teach the congregation that Christian ministry is something Christians should do regardless of whether they get paid.
4. Non-staff elders are necessary when the congregation does not demand the need and/or cannot afford a full-time paid elder.

Piper and Keller Wrestle with Sanctification part 1

Sermon Notes 7/15/2012

Sermon Text: Luke 2:21-40

Sermon Title: The Implications of the Incarnation Part 1

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 53

Introduction

We should note in Luke 1 and 2 how God uses a wide range of people and a vast array of social backgrounds to testify to Jesus: people in a rural setting and people in the city, male and female, a young engaged couple and today we will read about a pair of senior citizen saints.[1]

In this section of our study (Luke 2) Joseph and Mary’s commitment to the law is noted five times (vv. 22, 23, 24, 27, 39). In the short verses between Luke 1:31 and Luke 2:40 nearly 11 months have passed (the pregnancy and the 40-day cleansing period) and Luke is careful to repeatedly record their adherence to the law. Also, for the first time Jesus’ mission is related specifically to the Gentiles (v. 32).

Luke 2:21-24

The journey of Jesus’ parents to the temple in Luke 2:22-24 combines three separate ceremonies as required by God’s Law: The purification of a woman forty days after the birth of a child (Leviticus 12:2-4, 6), the presentation of the firstborn to God (Exodus 13:2, 12, 16; 34:19; Numbers 18:15-16) and the dedication of the firstborn into the Lord’s service (1 Samuel 1-2).[1]

In addition to the three ceremonies, Joseph and Mary are seen here (Luke 2:21) circumcising Christ at the end of eight days and naming him as they were instructed.

Why? Circumcision was a physical symbol of the spiritual cleansing of the heart that takes place at salvation (Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4). Jesus was sinless. Why then the circumcision? Jesus was presented to the Lord as required by the Law (v. 23). Jesus was the Lord. So, why was Christ presented? Jesus was never “born again.” Why did Jesus need to be baptized? (Matthew 3:13-17)

Luke 2:25-35

In the context of this event, Simeon is located either in the Court of the Gentiles or in the Court of Women, since Mary could be present only at these two locales. Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that Simeon is a priest. Simeon is presented as a simple man, a layman, not a priest, who dwells in Jerusalem.[2]

Simeon’s song of praise (Nunc Dimittis [Now Lord] from the first two words of the hymn in Latin) is the fifth song sung as a response to the coming of Christ (Elizabeth, Mary, Zechariah, the angels, and Simeon). After he finished his hymn of praise, Simeon turned to the young couple and both blessed and warned them. The purpose of Jesus coming is revealed by Simeon in his song (vv. 29-32) and his blessing (vv. 33-35). Jesus’ words to Nicodemus (John 3:19) best explain what Simeon meant in Luke 2:35. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).[3]

Jesus is portrayed as “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (v. 32). If Jesus is revelation for the Gentiles, he is more than that for Israel. He is her glory. As Isaiah 60:1-3 shows, the nation’s hope was that, with the coming of salvific light to Israel, the attention of all people would be drawn to Israel. What makes Israel special is that salvation comes through her.[2]

Division is a natural result of Jesus’ ministry because Jesus forces choices, and as a result, the heart of all will be revealed through their choices.

When Simeon says, “and a sword will pierce through your own soul also” (v. 35a), the reference is to the pain that Jesus’ ministry causes Mary, as Jesus creates His own family of disciples, His own priorities, and voluntarily participates in His own crucifixion.

Luke 2:36-38

The next testimony to Jesus was given by a prophetess named Anna. Her name is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Hannah, which means “grace.”[3]

Although it is debated whether or not Anna was a widow for eighty-four years or was eighty-four years of age, Anna’s life seems to be best described by Paul’s discourse in Philippians 3:1-12, and particularly, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).

Luke 2:39-40, 52

Two very important facts are emphasized in vv. 39-40, 52:

1. They performed everything according to the Law of the Lord (v. 39) – this brings us back to the “why” question asked earlier in the message.
2. Jesus was fully man (vv. 40, 52); Luke’s description emphasizes Jesus’ full  humanity

The Hypostatic Union

The issue of Jesus’ simultaneous divinity and humanity has been one of the most controversial and confusing issues in all Christian theology. When we “land” places “like this” many of you might be tempted to turn me off. Getting it right about Christ is not merely a job for elite theologians. We should think deeply about who Christ is, what Christ did, and the implications of His person and work. “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). In short, my case for thinking deeply through mysterious, difficult, and controversial theological topics is as follows: you cannot savor what you do not see. Digging deep into the core of difficult theological principles is a striving to see and savor Him.

John’s (2 John) condemnation of those who denied that “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (1 John 4:2, 3; 2 John 7) was aimed at teachers who replaced the incarnation with the idea that Jesus was a supernatural being who seemed human but was really only so in appearance. Jesus was not 100 percent God in a human body. Jesus was all man and all God.[4]

Jesus becoming a man is often referred to as the Incarnation from the Latin meaning “becoming flesh.” “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-2, 14).

J.I. Packer: “The really staggering Christian claim is that Jesus of Nazareth was God made man…The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation.”

The “staggering Christian claim” is typically referred to today as the hypostatic union. The concept of the hypostatic union is as profound as anything in theology. Hypostatic means personal. The hypostatic union is the personal union of Jesus’ two natures (human and divine). What the doctrine of the hypostatic union teaches is that the human and divine natures are fully united in one person, the God-man Jesus Christ.

Therefore, in reference to Christ, rather than saying Jesus was 100% God and 100% man (making the two natures mutually exclusive, it would be more accurate to say that Jesus was the 100% God-man.

When Jesus became a man, he did not change his identity as God but rather changed his role. According to Augustine, “Christ added to himself which he was not, he did not lose what he was.” Jesus did not have to pick between being God and being man. He could be both at the same time.

Jesus had a human body (Luke 2:40), human emotions (Matthew 26:38), a human mind (Luke 2:52; Mark 13:32), and a human will (John 6:38; Matthew 26:29). “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).

Theologians capture this laying aside of the divine equality with the phrase, “he laid aside the independent exercise of his divine attributes.” What this means is that he didn’t continually exhibit the incommunicable such as his immortality, omniscience, or omnipresence, except when it was the Father’s will through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, while Jesus remained fully man and fully God during his incarnation, he maintained all of his divine attributes and did avail himself of them upon occasion. The Bible is clears that even when not availing himself of his divine attributes, he did in fact retain them (Jesus forgave sin [Luke 7]; Jesus exercised his omnipresence [Luke 4]; Jesus healed [John 9]; Jesus knew the thoughts and lives of men [John 4]).  Jesus was 100 percent the God-man who allowed His divinity to be regulated by the Holy Spirit.

Several Personal Implications of the Hypostatic Union

1. Jesus came to fulfill the law for us. To aid in understanding this, please remember the illustration Jesus uses of the tree and fruit (Matthew 15:10-20; John 15:1-5). The Lord is the tree and his behavior is a necessary outworking of who He is. He loves because He is love. He dispenses justice because He is just. Before the incarnation, Jesus was “The Law.” In the incarnation, Jesus voluntarily was born under the law. “He who was above the law, would come under the law, to free us from the law” (Bishop Hall). “I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. My note: Jesus came to lead us, so we would not be under the law forevermore. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Galatians 4:1-7). Being born under the law means Christ voluntarily placed himself under the obligation to fulfill it, while being tempted in human flesh in every way we are tempted (Hebrews 4:15). This explains all the ceremonial obedience in Luke 2, Jesus’ circumcision, baptism, etc. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
2. Jesus came so He could sympathize with us. Although without a sin nature, Jesus was tempted in every respect as you are (Hebrews 4:15). Although having no sin nature, his temptations were as intense as ours (Those who have made the biggest mess in human history: Adam, Eve, demons, Satan – none had sin nature) Therefore, he gently and patiently sympathizes while giving grace. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need…He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.” (Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:2).

The Gospels show Jesus experiencing human limitations (hunger, Matthew 4:2; fatigue, John 4:6; ignorance of fact, Luke 8:45-47; sorrow, John 11:35, 38). Hebrews stresses that if Christ had not shared all these facets of human experience – weakness, temptation, and pain – He would not be qualified to help us as we face such trials (Hebrews 2:17, 18; 4:15-16; 5:2, 7-9). As it is, His full human experience guarantees that in every moment of our relationship with God we may go to Him, confident that he has been there before us, and is the helper we need.

The incarnation is not only the way in which Jesus became Immanuel – God with us – but is an eternal testimony that he and His Father are unswervingly God for us.

“God has made the human heart in such a way that it will never be eternally content with that which is only human. Finitude can’t slake our thirst for the infinite. And yet, in our finite humanity, we are significantly helped by a point of correspondence with the divine. God was glorious long before he became a man in Jesus. But we are human beings, and unincarnate deity doesn’t connect with us in the same way as the God who became human. The conception of a god who never became a man will not satisfy the human soul like the god who did” (David Mathis; DesiringGod.org, December 19, 2007 Blog Post).

Give the example of Staci and the miscarriage – The law leads us to Christ. Christ then takes us by the hand and says, this is the most joyful way of life…It is hard…I have done this…let me lead you.

Sermon Notes 7/8/2012

Sermon Text: Luke 2:8-20

Scripture Reading: Luke 14

Sermon Title: The Holy Huddle

Last time we met, we walked verse by verse through the Birth of Christ in Luke 2:1-7. Luke 2:8-20 is a continuation of our study in vv. 1-7, for it tells the reaction to Jesus’ birth.

The Good News (Luke 2:1-7) and the Implications of the Good News (Luke 2:8-20)

The theme of this passage (Luke 2:1-21) is found in the angel’s declaration in verse 11, “there has been born for you a Savior (and the implications of this Good News à joy, worship, and evangelism – my added not in parenthesis).”[2]

The purpose of Jesus’ birth is “Good News.”

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners” (Isaiah 61:1).

The Gospel is Good News not Good Advice

The heart of most religions is good advice, good techniques, good programs, good ideas, and good support systems. These drive us deeper into ourselves, to find our inner light, inner goodness, inner voice, or inner resources. 

Nothing new can be found inside of us. There is no inner rescuer deep in my soul; I just hear echoes of my own voice telling me all sorts of crazy things to numb my sense of fear, anxiety, and boredom, the origins of which I cannot truly identify. 

But the heart of Christianity is Good News. It comes not as a task for us to fulfill, a mission for us to accomplish, a game plan for us to follow with the help of life coaches, but as a report that someone else has already fulfilled, accomplished, followed, and achieved everything for us. 

~ Michael Horton, The Gospel-Driven Life

So the gospel is news of what God has done to reach us. It is not advice about what we must do to reach God.

An Outline of Our Text

Luke 2:8-14: The Shepherd’s Receive Good News

Luke 2:15-16: Good News à A Desire to See and Know à A Hasty Pursuit (The Greek denotes great haste [1 John 1:1-4])

Luke 2:17-20: A Hasty Pursuit (Experientially Knowing) à Joy and Evangelism

This pattern is not isolated to the story of the shepherds. The pattern of the shepherds is the pattern of Scripture:

Notice the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-11)

• Poor in Spirit; Mourn; Meek
• Hunger and thirst for righteousness; merciful; pure in heart
• Peacemakers; persecuted

Notice the Leper (Mark 1:40-45)

• The Leper was poor in spirit (kneeling and begging) v. 40
• Jesus has pity, shows mercy, and heals him v. 42
• The leper spreads the news so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter v. 45

Notice the Deaf Man (Mark 7:31-37)

• They were poor in spirit and begged Jesus v. 32
• They were astonished beyond measure and they zealously proclaimed it v. 36-37

Notice the Two Blind Men (Matthew 9:27-31)

• They were poor in spirit and cried, “Have mercy on us, Son of David” v. 27
• Jesus showed mercy and healed them v. 29
• But they went away and spread his fame through all that district v. 31

Notice the Woman at the Well (John 4:1-30)

• So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” vv. 28-29

Many of you might have heard Ed Young Jr.’s controversial comments this week regarding his harsh critique of reformed theology:

“Most of the Calvinistic Churches don’t reach anybody. Reformed is deformed, most of it. Reformed theology often leads to ecclesiological deformity. Some Calvinist are evangelistic, most are not. Most of it (reformed theology) leads to intellectual snobbery, meanness, and people who don’t care about those going to hell. When you go to a Church, ask the question, ‘Who are they reaching?’” 

~ Ed Young Jr.

I would never lead my family to attend Fellowship Church in Texas. I do not agree with the unwise, untactful, and prideful way Ed Young Jr. shared his concerns about reformed theology. However, his critique is very valid. I do not ever intend to lead by pride, fear, or guilt. As you know, the awe and gratitude flowing from a right understanding of the Gospel should be our driving and empowering force. However, who are we reaching? Raise your hand if you are a member here who was led to Christ by another member of OPBC? Raise your hand if you can say, “I was brought to saving faith under the ministry of OPBC.”

Now, how many of you would say you were brought to saving faith through the ministry of a largely Arminian, program-driven, dispensational Church? How many of you joined here after leaving a place like I described in the previous question? I would submit we all should repent of spending more time and energy telling Christian people where they shouldn’t attend Church rather than telling lost people the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Who are you reaching? Who are we reaching? What are we doing? I work very closely with those in the membership process and many questions are asked as people seek to be wise and discerning in joining a Church. However, the question is rarely asked, “Who are you reaching? What are your plans regarding evangelism?”

Reformed people often join Churches motivated by finding a fitting holy huddle for their family. We hide behind our families, our children, our intellect, and our knowledge to the neglect of the primary purpose for which we are here:

“The fact that Paul begins his discourse on Church affairs with this particular topic indicates the important role that prayer is to play in the life of the Church. If God’s primary objective for His Church involved fellowship, knowledge of the Scriptures, or conformity to the image of Christ, His plan would be best accomplished by bringing us to Heaven immediately. But these are not the central function of the Church on earth. God has left us here to reach the lost.”[1]

“The response of those who come to Christ is to tell others about Him. Usually the most bold and passionate people in proclaiming the Gospel are the newest Christians; the longer people are saved, the less excited they seem about their salvation, and the less eager they are to share their faith. But true spiritual commitment is determined by the quality and tenacity of believers’ long-term joy over their salvation. One measure of that joy is how eagerly they share the gospel. Lack of the zeal and passion that compels believers to tell others about Christ betrays a sinful heart of indifference and ingratitude”[2]

Christians will – and should – continue to feel bad for not sharing their faith. Christ is the most glorious Person in the world. His salvation is infinitely valuable. Everyone in the world needs it. Horrific consequences await those who do not believe on Jesus. By grace alone we have seen Him, believed on Him, and now love Him. Therefore, not to speak of Christ to unbelievers, and not to care about our city or the unreached peoples of the world is so contradictory to Christ’s worth, people’s plight, and our joy that it sends the quiet message to our souls day after day: This Savior and this salvation do not mean to you what you say they do. To maintain great joy in Christ in the face of that persistent message is impossible.[3]

Hell is Real. Hell is Soon. Hell is Forever.

Eternity is a sea without bottom and banks. After millions of years, there is not one minute in eternity wasted; and the damned must be ever burning, but never consuming, always dying, but never dead. The fire of hell is such, as multitudes of tears will not quench it, length of time will not finish it; the vial of God’s wrath will always be dropping upon a sinner. As long as God is eternal, He lives to be avenged upon the wicked. Oh eternity! Eternity! Who can fathom it? Mariners have their plummets to measure the depths of the sea; but what line or plummet shall we use to fathom the depth of eternity? The breath of the Lord kindles the infernal lake (Isa 30:33), and where shall we have engines or buckets to quench that fire? O eternity! If all the body of the earth and sea were turned to sand, and all the air up to the starry heaven were nothing but sand, and a little bird should come every thousand years, and fetch away in her bill but the tenth part of a grain of all that heap of sand, what numberless years would be spent before that vast heap of sand would be fetched away! Yet, if at the end of all that time, the sinner might come out of hell, there would be some hope; but that word “Forever” breaks the heart. “The smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever.” What a terror is this to the wicked, enough to put them into a cold sweat, to think, as long as God is eternal, He lives forever to be avenged upon them!  

~ Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity, p. 63.

Biblical wrath is not impersonal. It is the outpouring of the fury of a Person done wrong.

The takeaway from Luke 2:1-20 is that God is not a God of isolation. He seeks to involve himself with creation. God pursues; God serves; God humbly bows; God rescues; God engages; God spares no expense to save. Where are the afflicted? Where are the captives? Where are the broken-hearted? Where are the prisoners? I am troubled over the fact that many of us would sit here much more uncomfortable and disturbed knowing we forgot our telephone or wallet this morning versus knowing we have forgotten the blind, afflicted, captive, broken, prisoners of darkness. God pursues; Jesus seeks. Jesus did not come to be educated so he could preach in the Temple, hoping the lost would be invited to hear his teaching. He went to where they were. He went to get Matthew and Peter. He went to find James and John. He came to seek. 

Think about the Scripture reading in Luke 14:

Luke 14:1-6 à The Pharisees are so focused on doctrine that they miss people altogether

Luke 14:7-24 à The Parable of the Great Banquet “Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame. And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled’” (Luke 14:21b-23).

Aren’t the most popular mission trips ones that take us far from our own neighborhood? Wouldn’t you be excited if I announced today that we were going to Honduras, Russia, or Africa? Why is that?? Woe to us! May we repent of indifference, intellectual snobbery, haughtiness, self-absorption, idle time, wasteful and shallow entertainment!

Could a mariner sit idle if he heard the drowning cry? Could a doctor sit in comfort and just let his patients die? Could a fireman sit idle, let men burn and give no hand? Can you sit at ease in Zion with the world around you damned?

~ Leonard Ravenhill

Sources:

1. MacArthur, John. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1 Timothy. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009.
2. MacArthur, John. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Luke 1-5. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009.
3. Piper, John. The Darkness that Feeds on Self-Absorption taken from When the Darkness Will Not Lift by John Piper, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, p. 65, 2006. www.crosswaybooks.org.