Fatal Trends for Churches

3 FATAL TRENDS FOR CHURCHES

CONSTRUCTIONISM
‘Build, build, build’

Partial truth- It is good to have quality facilities
False impression- Big building = successful church

The early church had NO building for 300 years. It was illegal. Yet the church was successful
The persecuted church today does this. In China the house church movement is growing rapidly. In South Korea they only get to go to the building once a month.
It’s not about buildings. You don’t go to church, you ARE the church

BUT: Don’t make the opposite mistake
Smaller isn’t necessarily better, it’s just smaller
The O.T. Tabernacle was very extravagant

SO: Build quality, build practically, but most importantly, build the Kingdom

CONSUMERISM
‘Sell, sell, sell’

Partial Truth- We do want to add people to our church
False impression- More people = more disciples

There are many ways to get lots of people
The early church was offensive to their community (Acts 7:54-59)
The early church was serious about discipline (Acts 5:1-11)

BUT: Don’t make the opposite mistake
We can’t sacrifice the message, but we better change the methods
We don’t sell our church or even Jesus, but we should be attractive to a hurting community

SO: Be in, but not of

CLERGYISM
‘The calling…the comma….the clergy’

THE CALLING
Partial Truth- ministers are called
False impression- Only pastors are ministers

This was a big debate at school
Ephesians 4:1-2
It’s a general calling (saved, sanctified, spirit filled, serving)
Sometimes it is specific

THE COMMA
Partial truth- Pastors do the work
False impression- Only pastors do the work

Grammar, spelling, even punctuation, they matter
Ephesians 4:11-12
It’s the people who do the work of the ministry

THE CLERGY
Partial truth- Clergy do study, pray, visit
False impression- They do it alone

Who Takes the Blame

A lot of possibilities were listed. I think we should investigate this morning.

The Romans (soldiers, Pilate) Matthew 27:27-31
Pilate was so violent that he was under watch, hence his timid behavior in the Gospels
Crucifixion was a brutal death sentence
They must have been the most responsible?
No

The Jews (their leadership) Matthew 27:15-26
Perhaps Pilate was right in verse 24 and the mob was right in verse 25
They were, after all, the one’s who wanted him dead.
The first 3 trials were Jewish. They were all done illegally.
People were afraid Gibson’s movie was spur anti-Semitism. In fact, he took out verse 25.
Surely they are most responsible for the death of Christ?
No

The Disciples (their fear) Matthew 27:3, 26:69-75, 26:56
They had acknowledged that He was the Messiah
They knew He was innocent
They had a lot of public support
They could have come up with a plan to save Him
They fled
Maybe it was the disciples that bear the guilt?
No

All Peoples (their need)
We are the one’s the made His death necessary
We dug ourselves into a hole
It was our sin that held Him there
Maybe we all take the blame?
No

God Himself (Isaiah 53:10, Romans 8:32, John 3:16)
“The controversy about who killed Jesus is marginal. He chose to die, His Father ordained it….God Himself was the chief actor in the death of His Son, so that the main question is not, ‘which humans brought about the death of Jesus? But what did the death of Jesus bring about for humans?’ (John Piper)
Long before the Romans nailed Him to the cross, His love was ready to hold him there
Long before the Jews plotted to kill Him, He had planned to give Himself up
Long before His disciples fled, He was willing to come for them
Long before we sinned, He was ready to be our savior

After the Holidays

LUKE 2:52

I. JESUS GREW IN WISDOM
The teachers were amazed by his understanding and answers 2:47
Jewish boys were well educated
New Years Resolution:
- Read more books
- Take a class
- Keep up on current events
- Manage money better
- Be wiser with time
- Etc, etc, etc…

It takes more than JUST growing in wisdom though
- Solomon

II JESUS GREW IN STATURE
Eating healthy
Exercising
Walking (everywhere)
Working (carpentry)
Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Our body is a gift from God.
Nailing a piece of wood as a carpenter was just as much part of God’s plan as being nailed to a piece of wood later on in life. God planned it all.
Hard work and dedication came before the fall
New Year’s Resolutions
- Diet
- Work out
- Exercise
- Go for walks

It’s more than JUST growing in stature
- Samson

III JESUS GREW IN FAVOR WITH GOD
Learned the Scriptures
- at temptation he quoted 3 Scriptures from Deut.
Learned to pray
-Gethsemene, withdrew to pray
At baptism, Jesus was already favored
He hadn’t done anything big yet that we know of or need to know of
New Year’s Resolutions
- Pray more
- Read Scripture more
- Tell more people about Jesus

It’s more than JUST growing in favor with God
- David

IV JESUS GREW IN FAVOR WITH MEN
Friend of sinners
People flocked to Jesus
Didn’t mean everybody liked him…those who were jealous or afraid didn’t like him.
New Year’s Resolutions
- Going to be nicer to my family
- Make new friends
- Give more to charity, help more

It’s all 4:
INTELLECTUALLY
PHYSICALLY
SPIRITUALLY
SOCIALLY

Which Character?

2 KINGS 5:1-19

5 MAIN CHARACTERS-WHICH ONE ARE YOU????

THE KING OF ISRAEL
He was on the DL (Disabled List)
i. He didn’t think God could move
ii. He was living in fear
iii. There are lots of Christians living on the DL
iv. Me until 17

THE YOUNG GIRL
She did right despite the circumstances
i. She didn’t have much support
ii. She helped her captors
iii. She knew who to point to
iv. Some of you are like this girl
v. Young Christian in China

ELISHA
He was known for God’s power through him
i. Didn’t understand the kings gloom
ii. Was ready for a challenge
iii. Had a very simple message, no cost
iv. Leaders in youth group, college, the church

NAAMAN
He was a great guy, but needed to be healed
i. He was great at what he did
ii. Leprosy is a BIG but
iii. Thought salvation would be a lot more complicated
iv. Wanted to show his gratitude
v. Wanted to take Christ with him as he left
vi. Some of you want to be healed, like me at 17

THE KING OF ARAM
He was a very successful person w/o a sense of need
i. He had a great kingdom
ii. He was a nice guy
iii. He was content to worship false gods

World Outside These Walls

Acts 17:16-34

There is a marketplace of ideas outside these walls
Our towns are full of ideas
Our towns are full of idols
Our towns are full of ideas
-Polytheism (Gentiles/Athenians)
-Pantheism (Stoics)
-Atheism (Epicurean)
-Monotheism (Jews)

There is an unknown God they need to know
A God who isn’t man-made
A God who made-man
A God who deals with the issue
A God who proved His authority

There is a life-changing decision for all to make
People can either sneer or hear

Paul practiced effective evangelism
-Paul was in the world
-Paul had a heart for the world
-Paul reasoned with them
-Paul preached the plain truth
-Paul connected with their culture
-Paul let God take care of the results

If you’d like you can turn with me in your Bible’s to the 17th chapter of Acts we’ll get right into God’s Word for us today. From time to time the text will hopefully be behind me on the screen as well. Today we’ll be focusing on Paul’s visit to Athens in verses 16-33, but before we get into that I just want to remind you of the general context of this 17th chapter.

This chapter took place near the end of Paul’s second missionary journey. The first nine verses of the chapter describe Paul and his ministry companions in Thessalonica. While they were there they preached Christ and the resurrection. Some Jews and many God-fearing Greeks joined them at this time, but other Jews were jealous and started a riot so Paul and Silas fled to Berea. They didn’t forget about Thessalonica though. Paul would later send Timothy there to help the church. He also sent them to letters of encouragement to them. We refer to those letters as 1st and 2nd Thessalonians.

Now even though a mob had threatened them in Thessalonica forcing them to flee, guess what Paul and Silas did once they got to Berea? They went right back to preaching and teaching about Jesus. The Bereans searched out to Scripture to see if Paul’s words were true and they must have thought so because verse 12 says many of the Jews and Greeks became believers.

But the jealous Jews from Thessalonica heard that Paul was now in Berea they sent the mob to stir everyone up and once again Paul was forced to escape for his life, this time alone. He was taken to Athens where he was to wait for his ministry partners to join him again.

And so here is Paul waiting in Athens for 19 verses. Paul didn’t know how long he’d be waiting in Athens, but he wasn’t one to sit around. After having your life threatened at two consecutive stops of this missionary journey he probably could have used a vacation. And what better place for a vacation than Athens? Athens was home to many magnificent buildings including the Parthenon. It had a great marketplace. It was the center for Greek culture, philosophy, and education.

But even though Athens was a happening place, and even though this account describes Athens almost 2,000 years ago, the similarities between what Paul found in Athens and what we, as a church, find outside these walls, are staggering. Athens at that time is not much different than Appleton today. The buildings are different. The technology is different. A lot of things are different. But people tend to remain the same. We see the same types of individuals and the same ideas emanating from them anywhere we go outside these walls.

The first thing we see in this Scripture about Athens, and also in our world today is that there is a marketplace of ideas. Athens was full of idols, individuals, and ideas. Our world is full of idols, individuals, and ideas. Let me read for you verses 16-21:

[16] While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. [17] So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. [18] A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. [19] Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? [20] You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean." [21] (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

Verse 16 says that Paul was distressed because the city was full of idols. Athens was infested with idolatry. When writer of that time remarked that it was easier to find a god in Athens than a man! The KJV says the city was “wholly given to idolatry.” The NIV says it was “full of idols.” The very literal rendering of the text could read that Athens was covered with idols.

Now the idols of those days were very different from the idols of our day, but not by much. They worshipped stone gods and carved images that they had made with their hands. Outside these walls people probably aren’t worshipping little figurines or big stone sculptures. They may, however, be worshipping television, sports, celebrity, or money. One of my favorite authors Keith Drury wrote an interesting article on how sports have become a god in our culture. Just like we have holy seasons at Christmas and Easter, sports have the World Series and the Super Bowl. Dedicated sports fans memorize stats and rosters of the star players. Those saints of the sport are now canonized in their respective halls of fame. The god of sports has its icons like trading cards and uniforms. The god of sports has mysterious rituals like face painting and the wave. The god of sports has its heroic stories of determination, pain, and sacrifice. And sports have their cathedrals, multi-million dollar cathedrals at that as a center for worship.

Verses 17 and 18 describe how Athens was full of unique individuals. In these two verses alone Paul reasoned with the Jews, Greeks, Epicureans, Stoics, and anyone else he ran into at the marketplace. There were all sorts of people in Athens and there are all sorts of people in our world today.

And each one of those unique individuals outside these walls this morning has a head full of unique ideas. Some have ideas that are more unique than others. Verses 19-21 tell us that the Athenians loved having and hearing all sorts of ideas.

Now the interesting thing about the kinds of people that Paul talked to in Athens is that they represent the four major ideas about the world. Those four ideas are still the four major ideas about the world today.

The first idea about the world is that it’s controlled by many different gods. This is the polytheistic worldview. They believed there were gods of love and gods of hate. There were gods of peace and gods of war. There aren’t as many polytheists in our world today, but they’re still out there.

The second idea about the world is called pantheism. That’s not a word we hear a lot, but it’s actually a pretty popular view, even for those who don’t know the word. This is the belief that everything is a part of god and that god is part of everything. The physical world is just something we put up with. The real purpose of life is to escape the laws of nature and be at one with the spirit world. This is your basic Star Wars theology. Hinduism, Buddhism, and a lot of new age religions fit into this group. The stoics that we mentioned in verse 18 were pantheists. They attempted to be unmoved by the circumstances of this world. They attempted to remove themselves from the suffering that is all to real in the real world.

The third idea about the world is called naturalism. These guys were pretty much the opposite of the pantheists. They believed the physical world was all there was. There was no spirit world. What you see is what you’ve got. They believed everything could be explained by natural laws. Evolutionists, Secular Humanists, and agnostics usually live out the principles of naturalism. The Epicureans that were mentioned in verse 18 were naturalists. Since this world was all there was, they tried to live for the moment. They lived for pleasure. They did whatever made them feel good. Sound familiar?

The fourth major idea about the world is monotheism. This is the belief that there is one God. Monotheists believe in the physical and spiritual world. They believe that our lives should be based on the standard given by that one God. The Jews mentioned in verse 17 would have been staunch monotheists. And monotheism is still the major view in the world today. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are the three major monotheistic faiths in the world. Obedience to the one God is the key.

So the city of Athens and the world outside these walls are much alike. They are full of idols, full of individuals, and full of ideas. There is a marketplace of ideas out there and Paul must have heard some doozies as he talked to people at the marketplace in Athens. I’ve heard some doozies myself as I talk to people about the world. I’ll never forget talking to a Mormon one night and having him tell me that “facts change all the time, but opinions are always true.” There is a marketplace of ideas outside these walls.

The second thing we see in Athens that is also true in our world today is that there is an unknown God. For all the ideas floating around our society today there are an unbelievable amount of people that haven’t heard about the true God. They have never really been presented with the Gospel. In Athens they had so many gods they couldn’t count them, but they didn’t know the one God that mattered! They did, however, recognize the possibility that they were forgetting some deity in their worship. This made them very afraid, so they made an altar with an inscription on it that read “To an unknown God.” Let me read verses 22 and 23 for you:

[22] Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. [23] For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

After talking with people about the Gospel, the Athenians took Paul up to the Areopagus, which was a hill they used for their most important trials. They were putting Paul’s idea about Christ on trial. Paul then went on to tell them about the true God in verses 24-31.

[24] "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. [25] And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. [26] From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. [27] God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. [28] 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' [29] "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone--an image made by man's design and skill. [30] In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. [31] For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

With this short sermon Paul gets right to the point. He expresses three key truths about this unknown God that the people of Athens needed desperately to hear. These are the same truths that the people outside these walls need to know about this unknown God.

The first truth the world needs to know about the unknown God is that He is the ONE Creator. Paul told the people of Athens, in the gentlest way possible, that the whole idea of building a god with your human hands is utterly absurd! A real God wouldn’t need to be made! God can’t be created with human hands. He created humans. He created everything and He’s in control of everything. He took one man and made all the nations of men. He determined when they’d live, how long, and where. He sets the rules and He sets them in such a way so that men would seek Him and find Him because He loves people.

We can tell that the world outside these walls doesn’t know or believe that there is ONE Creator. If they did believe there was ONE Creator they’d understand that they owe Him their lives instead of living for their own selfish desires. They’d understand that He sets the rules instead of making up the rules as they go along. They’d understand that everything they have is from Him instead of fooling themselves with pride. Our world doesn’t know the ONE God who created it all. And they desperately need to know Him.

The second truth the world needs to know about the unknown God is that He knows the ONE problem. The one problem in the world is sin. In a way, sin is the opposite of worship. We’re supposed to worship God with our whole lives. Anytime we are not worshipping God with our lives we are not doing what we were created to do. Sin is the One problem. Everything was good before the fall. God called it very good after day six. But the fall brought sin into the world.

The world outside is trying very hard to make the problem anything but sin. They blame what goes on in this world on our genetic makeup. They blame it on a lack of education. Some even blame it on religion. When someone sins today, they can come up with a hundred reasons why they did it, but none of those reasons expresses the reality that they are a sinner. The ONE true God knows the ONE true problem: sin.

The third truth the world needs to know about the unknown God is that He provides the ONE solution. Sin is the problem and the wages of sin is death. Sin is going to be judged. There is only one remedy to this disease. There is only one solution to this problem. Jesus Christ is that solution. No amount of education will fix the sin problem. Denying it’s a problem won’t erase the sin problem. Trying to escape reality won’t erase the sin problem. You know Buddha is worshipped and his ways are imitated by millions. He claimed to be enlightened and able to escape the reality of sin in this world. Theologian John Stott commented on his experiences at Buddhist temples:

“I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian Countries and stood respectfully before the statue of Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost like smile on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from the thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me!”

You see, the solution is not escapism. The solution is that exact opposite. The only solution to the sin problem is for a sinless one to enter into our sinful world. The only solution was for God to become a man. Job knew this was the only solution long ago. Some scholars say Job is the oldest book in the Bible, listen to his words in Job 9:32-35 describing the problem.

For He is not a man, as I am, that I may answer Him, and that we should go to court together. Nor is there any mediator between us, who may lay his hand on us both. Let Him take His rod away from me, and do not let dread of Him terrify me. Then I would speak and not fear Him, but it is not so with me.

Job recognized that sin was the problem. It created a barrier between Him and God. And the only solution to that problem was if God were a man. The only solution is if God somehow provided a mediator. The only way to boldly approach the throne of God is if God is also walking with you towards that throne!

Jesus Christ IS God in the flesh. He DID become a man. He IS our mediator. And in Him we CAN boldly approach the throne of grace. Jesus Christ IS the one solution. And the world outside these walls needs to know Him.

The third thing we note about Athens that we also see in our world today is that there is a choice to make outside these walls. For the unsaved there is a choice to either sneer or hear the Gospel. Let me read for you verses 32-34:

[32] When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject." [33] At that, Paul left the Council. [34] A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

There’s a world outside these walls that has that choice to make. It’s a life and death decision. It’s a choice they need to be confronted with. But they are not the only one’s with a choice. Today as you leave this sanctuary and head home, you’ll have a choice to make as well. You can either sneak or speak. You can make the choice to sneak around the world. You can try to make sure you don’t get noticed. You can try to cover up that you are different from the world. You can try to not mention Jesus and your beliefs about Him. Or you can speak to this world. Now that doesn’t have to be in words all the times. It can be through words or through actions, but it should be through both. The last thing I want to do today is give you some practical principles from Paul regarding this idea of evangelism. We know that there’s a marketplace of ideas outside these walls. We know that there is an unknown God outside these walls. We know that there is a choice to make outside these walls. But what are some practical principles for presenting the Gospel outside these walls?

First of all, Paul was in the world. He was in the world, but not of the world. It’s important for us, even though we are saved, to continue to live in this world. When you were saved Jesus didn’t zap you into heaven. He keeps you here and He keeps you here for a reason. We are to be in the world. We shouldn’t live our lives in monestaries. We should live in the world.

Secondly, Paul observed the world. When you go to Wal-Mart do you just go to Wal-Mart? When you’re walking down the street is that all you’re doing? We should be observing the world. We should be seeing what the world is up to. Paul made sure to know what people were up to in Athens.

Thirdly, Paul had a heart for the world. Many of us feel bad because we don’t have a passion to reach lost people. Well, maybe that’s because we never see them! It’s easy for Christians to hang out only with Christian people. It’s hard to have a heart for someone you never see. Paul was greatly distressed to see the city was full of idols.

Fourth, Paul made contact with the world. He didn’t just live in the world. He didn’t just observe the world. He didn’t just have a heart for the world. He took the next step. He engaged the world. He made contact. He reasoned in the synagogue and in the marketplace. He accepted their invitation to speak at the Areopagus.

Fifth, Paul connected with the world. That is a little different from contacting the world. Paul connected with them by expressing where he agreed with them and by using their culture illustratively. He found some common ground in verse 22 by admitting that they were very religious. He used their altar to the unknown God as a segue to his sermon. He quoted one of their poets in verse 28. Did the Holy Spirit just put that quote in his head without him ever reading it? Probably not! Paul had, at some point, taken the time to become familiar with their culture. He met them where they were. He connected.

Sixth, Paul was courteous to the world. He reasoned with them. He didn’t yell at them. He told them about God and His plan of salvation. He didn’t tell them about how they were on the fast track to hell.

Seventh, Paul got to the point with the world. It’s easy for us to be Christ like everyday at work and never mention Jesus or the Gospel. In fact, sometimes they’ll bring up the subject and it’s easy to shy away from getting to the point about their need for forgiveness. Indeed, it is important to be patient sometimes, but eventually we must get to the point because it really is a matter of life and death for them.

Eight, and finally, Paul let God be God. He let God work in the people. Once Paul did his part preaching the Gospel, he let God work out the results. In fact, Paul left the council as soon as his sermon was over. He didn’t stick around and press each person for a decision. He let God be God. It’s God who saves.

In conclusion, I want to stress that these are just principles. I didn’t give you specific steps on “how to reach people for Christ.” I didn’t give you specific methods. I pointed out principles from Paul. In the end, it doesn’t matter so much HOW we reach people. What matters is WHY we reach them. If we really believe that people need God, if we really believe that it’s a matter of life and death, if we really believe each person outside these walls will be alive somewhere a thousand years from now, then that’ll be motivation enough. That will be the WHY. And as a wise professor at College told me, once we have the WHY in place, any old HOW will do. The world outside these walls needs God. And we have the unbelievable privilege of being used by God to reach them!

The Creation Foundation

2 Peter 3:3-14

Biblical Creation gives science a foundation
Uniformitarianism vs. worldwide flood

Biblical Creation gives morality a foundation
Reletivism vs. absolute truth

Biblical Creation gives Redemptive history a foundation
Creation, catastrophe, confusion, cross, coming

2 Peter 3:3-14

Does any of this sound familiar?
In the last days scoffers will…..
1. Scoff
2. Follow their own evil desires
3. Doubt the coming of Christ
4. Reject creationism
5. Reject the flood
6. Reject a coming judgment

Creation gives LIFE a foundation
*Materialists tend not to shout from the rooftops that their worldview says that you are quite literally a freak of nature (no purpose, no plan, you are an accident, your life has no meaning)

“Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly Meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”’ Ecc. 1:1
*Solomon was an expert on what materialism offers (2:7-11). He tried it all and found nothing. He was honest about this. Few evolutionists are, but I found at least one…

“Let me summarize my views on what modern evolutionary biology tells us loud and clear. There are no gods. No purposes. No goal directed forces of any kind. There is no life after death. When I die, I am absolutely certain that I am going to be dead. That’s the end for me. There is no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning to life.”
-William B. Provine (Prof. Of biological sciences at Cornell University)

That’s an honest materialist, but sadly he’s holding this depressing worldview incorrectly

God created us with a purpose
1. Evidence of design points to designer
2. Creation points to creator
3. Art points to an artist

God has a plan for your life
-your parents might have called you an accident, but God intended you before the formation of the world (Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life)
-you are a treasure to God, the pearl of great price
-He died for you, now live for Him

Creation give SCIENCE a foundation
*Some scientists love to create a false war b/w Christianity and Science. No such war exists. They say Christians poor bias into science
1. I agree- We are biased towards believing God knows what He’s talking about.
2. I disagree- If they think they have no bias

“We have a prior commitment to materialism that forces us to create material explanations. We cannot allow a divine foot in the door.” Richard Lewantin

“Even if all the data point to an intelligent designer, such a hypothesis is excluded from science b/c it is not naturalistic.” (Dr. Scott Todd, Kansas State)

Sound unbiased to you?

Compare
Uniformitarianism-belief that geography looks the way it does b/c of the natural processes we see today
“Everything goes on as it has since the beginning”
-reject creation
-reject flood

For them- present is key to the past
For us- past is the key to the present

It’s all in the assumptions (NFL DRAFT- they all think they’re right)

Creation gives MORALITY a foundation
*We live in an age of moral relativism. There is no right and wrong…just personal preference.

“The freedom of our day is the freedom to devote ourselves to any values we please, on the mere condition that we do not hold them to be true.” (Harvard Valedictorian)

1. Don’t force your beliefs on others
2. That’s just your opinion
3. That may be true for you, but not for me
a. This isn’t new, look at the last verse of Judges

The world is a mess (pg 21 illustration: Relativism, feet firmly planted in mid-air)
The world tells them they are animals and they simply obey

Pretend dialogue with advocates of homosexuality, abortion, divorce, racism, etc

“We don’t invent morality, we discover it like the multiplication table”

So often as Christians we are spinning our wheels, trying to repair all the rooms of Christianity…while at the same time the enemy is destroying the ground beneath our feet.

Right is right b/c God said so…and if He didn’t there is no right.

Creation gives HISTORY a foundation
*There’s a purpose, a beginning, a right and wrong, and there’s a coming conclusion
1. Creation
2. Corruption
3. Catastrophe
4. Confusion
5. Christ
6. Cross
7. Consummation

The only thing we are waiting for is #7. We’re in the last days. The scoffers have come. Their work has intensified.

The cross is the most important event in our faith. The churches one foundation IS Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus IS the solid rock we stand on, but without the doctrine of creation, without the ground beneath the cross, the death of Christ is meaningless. The evolutionists know this…

“Christianity has fought, still fights, and will fight science to the desperate end over evolution, because evolution destroys utterly and finally the very reason Jesus’ earthly life was supposedly made necessary. Destroy Adam and Eve and the original sin, and in the rubble you will find the sorry remains of the son of god. Take away the meaning of his death. If Jesus was not the redeemer that died for our sins, and this is what evolution means, then Christianity is nothing.”

“It becomes clear now that the whole justification of Jesus’ life and death is predicated on the existence of Adam and the forbidden fruit he and Eve ate. Without original sin, who needs to be redeemed? Without Adam’s fall into a life of constant sin terminated by death, what purpose is there to Christianity? None.”

They know where the war is, it’s the church that is often oblivious
The battle is for the beginning
We must fight for the creation foundation

Psalm 11:3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Who is Jesus?

Luke 9:18-20

Jesus was just a legend
Did He exist at all?
Is the Bible a legend?
Is the Bible reliable?

Jesus was a lunatic
People of the time didn’t think he was crazy
We see no imbalance in his personality
Quite the opposite of a lunatic

Jesus was a liar
He couldn’t be just a good moral teacher
Why die for a lie?
Resurrection verifies truthfulness

Jesus Christ was and is Lord
Faith is not blind, it’s historic and evidential
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen

Aliens Among Us

Topical sermon

Antagonistic Alien
Local Alien
Indignant Alien
Elect Alien
Needy Alien
Supernatural Alien

INTRO.
-There are all sorts of conspiracy theories out there, ie
-According to Scripture, there is such a thing as aliens. In fact we’re going to look at 6 different types of aliens mentioned in Scripture. It’s possible that all 6 types are represented in this congregation today!
-Maybe you’re an alien. The question is, what kind?

6 TYPES OF ALIENS

A. ANTAGONISTIC- one who opposes and contends against another, an adversary

Psalm 144:7-8 Stretch forth Your hand from on high;
NASB Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters,
Out of the hand of aliens
Whose mouths speak deceit,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
-anti-Christian groups in the USA (10 commandments, pledge, no prayer)
think seperation of church and state means no God in government, that religious people shouldn’t be leaders.
-those who don’t want to be hear today. They’re opposed to Christianity.
-Bahai faith
Ephesians 4:18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

B. LOCAL- of, relating to, or characteristic of a particular place

2 Chronicles 2:17 Solomon took a census of all the aliens who were in Israel, after the census his father David had taken; and they were found to be 153,600.
-those that think they are sort-saved, kinda-Christian…they are really-wrong
-just coming to church, hanging out with the church crowd, being in a Christian family,
refraining from the big sins, that’s not enough
-they were to become Israelites, circumcised. Today, they are to receive circumcised
hearts and be saved and entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
-The church is to treat these as natives
Leviticus 19:34 The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God

C. INDIGNANT- angered at something unjust or wrong

-illustration of old missionary couple
1 Peter 1:1+6 To those who reside as aliens...even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
-the Bible is very honest that, in this world, life is difficult
-instead of complaining, realize that you’re not home yet
-S.C.C. song lyrics

D. ELECT- one who is chosen or selected

-we are not of this world, we are waiting something far greater
Hebrews 11:13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.
Ephesians 2:19-20 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone
1 Peter 2:11-12 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.


E. NEEDY- wanting or needing affection, attention, or reassurance

-helping fellow Christians, missionaries, etc
3 John 1:5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you.
-helping those in our world that need help, social activism (food pantry, boys and girl
club, etc)
Deut. 10:17-19 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.

F. SUPERNATURAL- not subject to natural laws; not physical or material
Hebrews 13:1-2 Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

Beyond Circumstances

John 5:1-15

1. Looking beyond problems and toward solutions
Don’t give excuses for the problem, look toward the answer

2. Looking beyond the healing and toward the healer
Is immediate obedience enough?
Are we just glad to be saved, not caring to be sanctified?
We need to go back to the healer

3. Looking beyond the present in both directions
It’s hard to keep our focus on the healer
Two practical steps to maintain our relationship with God
-Rememberence
-Vision

OPENING DRAMA- to be performed by youth group members

(A comical skit that involves a common church scene. A pastor leads worship to a congregation of a few energetic actors. The funny thing about these congregates is that when they are asked to stand for the hymn they merely come to their knees. When the singing is over the pastor delivers and inspiring message about how God has given them legs to stand, walk, run, and jump. After expressing great excitement over this new found gift of God the church members stand to their newly found feet! The pastor is very excited to have enriched their lives through the Word. Upon leaving the sanctuary, however, the members return to their knees and squirm out the door to the dismay of the young pastor.)

If you have a Bible turn with me to John, Chapter five verses one through fifteen. We’re going to look at the story of a man who was living only in his circumstances. Before we get into that, though, I want to admit that circumstances are very real. There are many difficult circumstances in this life. We all experience them. I want to be sure not to appear to be marginalizing circumstances. They are real and they can be very bad, but it is possible to look beyond them and find comfort. As I turn to the text for this morning take a few seconds to think about the circumstances in your life, whether good or bad.

JOHN 5:1-15

¹Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. ²Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. ³Here a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. ⁵One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"

⁷"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

⁸Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." ⁹At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, ¹⁰and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."

¹¹But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' "

¹²So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?"

¹³The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

¹⁴Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." ¹⁵The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

From this account, we’re going to look at how this poor man needed to look beyond his circumstances. He needed to look beyond the problem and towards the solution. He needed to look beyond the healing and towards the healer. He also needed to look beyond the present, but in both directions. That third one might be confusing. You’ve probably heard someone talk about the importance of looking to the future and having a vision of your dreams and goals. You’ve also probably heard someone talk about the importance of looking to the past and learning from your mistakes and triumphs. I believe this Scripture shows the importance of both of these views. The man needed to look beyond the present, but in both directions.

LOOK BEYOND PROBLEMS AND TOWARDS THE SOLUTIONS (outline given)

At first glance, many of you who just listened to this portion of Scripture may be asking yourselves how your lives could have anything in common with this man who had had this terrible infirmity for thirty-eight years. He had been seeking healing for all this time and still had no relief. I believe many of us here today, in a sense, feels the same way this man did. It feels like we’ve been waiting to get well our whole lives, but time is going by and nothing is happening. We get so bogged down by this feeling that we start to doubt it will ever happen. That is what had happened to this man. Jesus came to him and asked, “Do you want to be made well?” The obvious answer is “Yes, of course!” But this man didn’t answer in an enthusiastic manner at all. In fact, his answer was very negative. He said, "Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." Obviously this man wanted to be made well, but the years of rejection had hardened his heart so much that he could only focus on the negative. Seems foolish doesn’t it? But the truth is that some of us here today have made the same mistake. We know our lives aren’t right. We know there’s something more to this life. We want to be made well, but we just can’t do it. If we experience this feeling long enough we’ll start to lose faith.

This man had lost hope that he would ever be healed. Instead of answering the question he gave a reason for his doubt. If only I had a good friend to help me into the water! If only I could move a little faster! If only others would realize that I’m in worse shape than they are and let me go ahead of them! If only! This man had given up on hope in exchange for a long line of what ifs. Sound familiar? I was guilty many times in my life of this same disease. Before I dedicated my life to Christ I made similar statements. If only God would speak to me in an audible voice, then I would give my life to Him and let Him make me well. If only. More often than not we know what would be good for us to be doing, but we make excuses. We give reasons why it can’t be done. The solution is obvious. We need to be made well! But we focus on the problem of our sickness and we give reasons why we can’t change.

The sad truth is that if we make excuses long enough our hearts will give up completely on being made well. This man, in my opinion, was very close to this point. Some of us here today might be near that point. Deep down you know you want your life to change, but you’ve been holding back for so long. It’s time to give up this resistance. Be made well! The amazing thing about this story in Scripture is that Jesus, who was asking the question “Do you want to be made well?” was able to heal him! Jesus was the solution to the problem. He is the same today. If we want to be made well Jesus is able to heal us. He’s able to change our lives into what they were intended to be!

In the movie Patch Adams Robin Williams played a young man who had checked himself into a mental hospital. While he was there he met a fellow patient who had formerly been one of the country’s leading minds. The old man seemed crazy to everyone. He went around asking everyone how many fingers he was holding up and everyone answered correctly much to his dissatisfaction.

Arthur Mendelson: How many fingers do you see?
Hunter Patch Adams: Four.
Arthur Mendelson: No no! Look beyond the fingers! Now tell me how many you see. You're focusing on the problem. If you focus on the problem, you can't see the solution. Never focus on the problem! See what no one else sees. See what everyone chooses not to see... out of fear, conformity or laziness. See the whole world anew each day!

Moments later, as his eyed focused beyond the blurring fingers, he found the solution: Eight fingers. Patch Adams proceeds from that point to do great things. Millions of people all over the world are focusing on the problems of life, but not getting anywhere near finding answers. We need to look beyond the problem to the solution: Jesus Christ. Some of you know in your hearts right now that that is the step you need to take today.

LOOK BEYOND THE HEALING AND TOWARDS THE HEALER

For others of you that first point didn’t really apply much to your lives. You’ve been made well! At some point in your life you gave up your fight against God and you accepted Christ’s free gift of salvation. Your life has been changed! But I now must caution you. We Christians have a tendency to lose sight of the one who healed us. Many times we end up focusing on just the fact that we have been made well. When the next troublesome event comes into our lives we don’t go back to the source of our healing.

I remember when I was young I collected lots of sports trading cards. I had over ten thousand football, hockey, basketball and baseball cards. Occasionally I’d be looking through the entire collection for one specific card. This could be a long process. I remember a few times through the years that I got desperate in my search so I made a deal with God. “God, if you will help me find this card I’ll NEVER ask for anything again!” It was quite a promise. Now I can’t be sure God really helped me find those cards, but it was always the case that after I’d prayed I found the cards quite quickly. Now comes the unhappy ending. Did I thank God for helping me find the cards? No. Did I give Him any credit for being part of my search? No. Did I keep my promise to never ask for anything from Him again? No. Granted, finding a baseball card is not nearly as important as a changed life, but I believe we can all think of magnified illustrations of the same point.

We can certainly see this syndrome with this man in Scripture. After waiting and waiting to be made well he finally was! But just hours later he hadn’t even bothered to be sure who had healed him! It says in verse 13 that “the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.” The first few times I read this verse I almost wanted to blame Jesus for the man not remembering Him. Jesus withdrew. How was this man supposed to find Jesus amongst such a crowd? He had just been made well. There were plenty of things he wanted to do for the first time. If Jesus really wanted to remain the focus in this man’s life, wouldn’t He have stayed with Him? Hadn’t the man thanked Jesus enough? After all, after being healed he obeyed his healer. We saw in verses eight and nine: “Jesus said to him, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk.’ And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.” Isn’t immediate obedience enough?

Whether it laziness, fear, neglect, or flat out rebellion we refuse to give more than a few mere moments to the one who made us well. Maybe five minutes each morning, maybe five at night. Maybe a whole morning on the weekend, maybe a prayer group on a weekday evening. But beyond this allotted time we will give no more ground. And before too long we find ourselves becoming as frustrated as we were before.

The wonderful truth is that the more of life we give to God in utter devotion the less frustrated and the more peace and joy we find in our lives. We have so many things backward in our minds. We grasp for fragments of love, joy, and peace for fear that risking our scraps for a chance at the abundant, satisfying and fulfilled life is not worth the risk. I tell you today with the authority of Jesus Christ that the risk is well worth it! There’s no comparison. I mentioned before how if He would help me find my baseball card I’d never ask for anything from Him again. How ridiculous! He WANTS us to ask! He wants us to focus on Him and not simply what He has done. Christian scholar Hank Hanegraaff says something to the effect of, “Too many Christians are Christians not for love of the master, but for what’s on the master’s table.” We need to get to the source, to the healer Himself so that we never have to worry again. Some of you in this room today have been made well. You’re a Christian, but you’ve stopped focusing on the one who saved you. Instead, you’ve started focusing on what He’s given you. You’re glad that you’ve changed your life. Your family life is getting better. You’ve been living a healthier lifestyle. You’ve been freed from the guilt of past sins and mistakes, but in all those good things you’ve lost focus of the author of those changes. Go back to the source. Focus on the healer and not the healing.

LOOK BEYOND THE PRESENT IN BOTH DIRECTIONS

Admittedly, this third point sounds a little confusing. Look beyond the present in both directions? What in the world does that mean? Some of you may think I’ve finally fallen off my rocker. Perhaps, but I still say this third lesson from this Scripture passage is incredibly valuable. Some of you in this room have been made well. You’ve had your sins forgiven and many of the problems in your life have been taken care of. What a wonderful thing! Of those people, some have gone the next step. You realize that your focus should be on Christ the healer instead of the healing of Christ. This focus gives you a clear purpose and adds meaning to your life. It’s a wonderful thing, but honestly, it can be difficult to maintain. It takes work. It’s hard to keep focus. We know it’s what is best for us, but we struggle to keep on keeping on. With this third point I aim to point out two practical steps towards maintaining this vital focus: Reflecting on the past and looking towards the future. REMEMBERENCE and VISION are two very important ways to maintain a consistent life of personal growth.

This man in Scripture had overcome the problem of focusing on his problems. He had found the solution. He had struggled with losing focus on the healer, but in verse fourteen we see that Jesus found him in the temple and thus created an opportunity for this man to live a consistent and focused life. What advice did Jesus have for this man? Here are Jesus words, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”

I did the bulk of my study in preparation for this sermon on the phrase “See, you have been made well.” The reason I looked into it more deeply is because I wasn’t quite sure why it was important. Why was it included in the text? There’s no way the man had forgotten that he was healed! He wasn’t back near the pool waiting for the angel to come stir the water up again; he was at the temple. Jesus was not simply informing the man that he had been made well. That would have been silly. There’s more to this than meets the eye in English. When Jesus told the man to SEE He was telling him to reflect and remember what had happened to him. Even more, He was telling him to reflect and remember WHO had happened to Him. Jesus was telling him to never lose sight of this great event in his life. Remembrance needed to be a consistent staple of his routine or else his heart would forget Jesus and he’d lose focus. I’d love to preach a whole sermon on the importance of remembering, but that will have to wait for another week. In the meantime REMEMEBER TO REMEMBER.

Remembering is a consistent theme throughout the Scriptures: The Israelites celebrated various festivals throughout their calendar year. These festivals were put in place in order that the people would remember all that God had done for them. The Passover commemorates the Feast of unleavened bread, the Feast of tabernacles and the Feast of Purim. And other Jewish festivals served as reminders of what God had done, or what he promised to do. Elsewhere in the Old Testament we are told to remember the Sabbath day, remember our creator and more. In the New Testament Jesus tells us to take communion in remembrance of Him. Peter reminds us to remember the words of the Prophets and Apostles. In Revelation chapter two the church of Ephesus had left their first love. What are they told to do? They are told to REMEMBER from where they have fallen. So throughout the Scriptures we find this emphasis on remembering. Why? Why does God feel remembering is so important? The answer is that we need to remember because we are prone to forget! We are more often than not negligent people, too often ungrateful. IF we don’t take the time to remember, we are prone to go our merry way, overwhelmed with the pressures and responsibilities of life, and we . . . forget! We forget to give God the praise that he deserves We need to take time to remember what God has done for us. This keeps us focused on the right things and gives us good perspective.

But remembering is only half the equation. Looking toward the future may be just as important. We need to have a vision, a set purpose in order to succeed in this life. So many people today are wandering through life aimlessly. It’s the people who know what they want that most often get there. Jesus gave this man a clear vision of what he was to do in the future. He said, in verse 14, “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." The absence of sinning is part of what we call holiness. Jesus was commanding this man to stop sinning or else the consequences of sin would catch up to him. Jesus was not just out to scare the guy. He cared so much for this man that he was commanding him and pleading with him not to sin because He knew what terrible things sin brings to one’s life. With this goal of sin free living the man could now remain focused. He knew that his future depended on his obedience. If he didn’t obey the command something worse than the thirty-eight year sickness was going to occur. Jesus gave this man a vision for holiness. We all need that vision. We all need to go on to perfection and strive for Christlikeness. Looking into the future and recognizing the logical results of our current actions in an invaluable tool for staying focused.

One night a man, down on his luck and lacking a feeling of purpose for his life, went on a walk. With his head pointed downward he walked aimlessly for hours. At some point during the walk he passed onto the property of an area prison. He was startled as an armed guard shined a flashlight on his face and asked, “where are you from and where are you going?” After a moment of careful reflection the man answered, “How much are they paying you to work here? If you will ask me those two questions each day I will pay you twice as much.”

Where are you from and where are you going? Those are great questions to be asked and to ask others. Don’t forget about all the life changing events that have helped to shape what you are. Lessons are only lessons if they are learned and remembered. Remember all the times that God has stepped into your life. Value your past. Remember. But don’t stop there without looking toward the future. Have a vision. Have a sense of purpose. Recognize all that is yours if you are a child of the King. Dream. Imagine. Hope.

So I challenge you today to look beyond the norm. Look beyond the problems of life. Look beyond the healing itself. Look beyond your present circumstances. Let God be the answer that He is. Let him be the healer that He is. Let Him be the leader of your entire life. Don’t leave this sanctuary on your knees like the members of the church in the drama we saw. If God has taught you a new truth today, apply it. Allow His truth to transform you and live in victory.

A Part to Play

1 Corinthians 12:12-13:8

1. The body is made up of individuals forming a unit
2. The body doesn’t work if some parts feel they are stinky feet
3. The body doesn’t work if some parts have a big head
4. The body is made up of members with differing roles, not differing worth
5. The body works when each part loves

After the Song

Psalm 106

Types of worship- adoration
- confession
- thanksgiving
- supplication
Summation: believe and sing

God is not interested in moments, He’s interested in lives

1. Israel lacked memory
2. Israel lacked purity
3. Israel faced judgment
4. Israel needed zealous leaders
--Moses
--Phinehas
5. Israel needed a God of restoration
God hears zealous leaders
God gathers His people and makes them holy
God remembers His covenant

Turn please to Psalm 106….

While you’re turning there let me pose one question to you. Why are you here today? Why are you here at church? Maybe you are here because it’s part of your routine. Maybe you wouldn’t know what else to do on a Sunday morning if you didn’t go to church. You don’t want to be lazy and sleep in two days in a row so you get up and you come to church. It’s part of your routine. Or maybe you’re not sure why you’re here. By the looks on some of your faces, perhaps you just woke up and you’re asking yourself how you got here. Or maybe you came because of your family. Perhaps you are a child or a teenager and you came because your parents want you to go or make you come. Or you’re a parent and you come because you want your kids to grow up in the church and with good values. You come because you feel it’s an expectation placed on you by the congregation or community or whoever.

We might come to church for these reasons, but the true purpose for coming to church is to meet with God. The true purpose for coming to church is to worship Him. We just had Sunday School class and we’re going through some basic Christian doctrine using 100 question cards. The very first card asked, why did God create human beings? And the answer was that they would worship and enjoy Him forever. We exist to worship. When we are worshipping we are doing what we were made to do.

There are numerous categories of worship. We see them in verses 1-12. The Israelites, and this Psalmist, engaged in worship through adoration, supplication, confession, and thanksgiving.

Verses 1-2, Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise? The Psalmist is worshipping God through adoration. He’s praising God, an obvious form of worship. Sometimes our greatest experience of worship comes through praise. Perhaps at a concert or during a hymn or a chorus you sensed God’s presence like never before. And you understood worship in a fresh way.

Or maybe your best worshipping experience was through supplication. The Psalmist prays, Remember me oh Lord, verse 4, Remember me oh Lord, when you show favor to your people, come to my aid when you save them. He is pleading for something to God. It is a form of worship because he is recognizing that he needs God’s favor in his life. Perhaps our greatest experience of worship is through an answered prayer. Perhaps a prayer for healing or a prayer for the salvation of a loved one is our greatest time or worship. And when that body is healed or that loved one is saved, after all those years, we worship God. He’s real to us in a powerful new way.

In verse 6 we see another type of worship: Confession. We have sinned, even as our fathers did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. Confession is another type of worship because it is recognizing that we are accountable to God for our sin. He’s the one we confess to. It’s His law that we have broken. His standards we’ve fallen short of. And I’m sure if I posed the question, when was the time in your life when you most sensed God’s presence, many of you would look back to your conversion experience. Perhaps then for the first time you realized how great God was. He was forgiving you so freely.

And finally, though there are other types of worship, the last one mentioned here is worship though thanksgiving. And in verses 8-11 the Psalmist thinks back to some of the things that he is thankful for. Things that God had done in the life of Israel. He saved them, He rebuked the Red Sea, he led them through the desert, he saved them from the hand of the foe etc. God had done so many wonderful and miraculous things for them that he worshipped simply by giving thanks. And maybe our greatest times of worship are through thanksgiving.

And as a summation to all these different types of worship the Psalmist declares that the people of God worshipped God. It says in verse 12, Then they believed his promises and sang his praise. It sounds almost like the close of a worship service. They worshipped through adoration, supplication, confession and thanksgiving. Then verse 12 is like the closing hymn. Then they believed his promises and sang his praise. But God…God is more interested, I believe, in what happens AFTER THE SONG. What happens after the great experience of worship, after the answered prayer, after the conversion, AFTER THE SONG?

God is more interested in worshipful lives than he is worshipful moments. He’s more interested in lifestyles of worship than he is weekends of worship. Too often, our lives are characterized by great, but short, experiences of worship followed by long work-weeks with worship on the back-burner. But how do we switch from the paradigm of a spiritual roller-coaster, where we experience God powerfully. Where we reach great mountain tops, but then descend deep into the valley. How do we replace that roller coaster way paradigm with what Eugene Peterson calls A Long Obedience in the Same Direction? How can we have a lifestyle of worship where we’re continually growing in grace? Can we have lives where we are moving upward in a worshipful experience daily? The truth is that if we are aiming for mere occasional experiences with God, we’ll probably find them, but then go downhill and get stuck in the trenches. We are either daily going upward toward God’s great mountain or we are…coasting. And there is only one way to coast: downhill.

So what did Israel lack that kept them from continuing in a lifestyle or worship? It’s clear that they didn’t. Most of the Old Testament tells of their rebellion against God. They had worshipful experiences, but not worshipful lives. What did they lack? Psalm 106 speaks of two essential things that Israel lacked. And if we are not experiencing lifestyles of worship, perhaps we lack the same things.

The first thing the Israelites lacked was memory. Not that they didn’t have the ability to remember, but they lacked the discipline of remembering what God had done for them. Let me read verse 13 and 21 for you. But they soon forgot what he had done for them and did not wait for his counsel. And verse 21, They forgot the God who saved them. Israel, after all the experiences of God they’d had, forgot Him! What? How foolish! How could they forget the God who saved them from the enemy? We would never do that, would we? But I fear that all too often that’s exactly what we do. We don’t forget God in the sense that we forget He exists, but we forget that we depend on Him. The Israelites forgot about God in the sense that it led them to not wait for his counsel, verse 13. Sometimes we forget God in that sense. We remember that He’s around, but we don’t remember that we need Him each day. We don’t remember that He is our leader. We don’t remember what He’s done in the past so we don’t way for His counsel in the present.

We need to remember. It’s a very Biblical concept. The Israelite people were to remember all the things that God had done for them in the past. They had numerous festivals and feasts. Each one represented something God had done. We have similar holidays on Christmas and Easter. We take communion in remembrance of Him. The church in revelation is told to remember the heights from where they’d fallen. We are to remember the cross. When is the last time you reflected on the cross and remember how he died for you?

Remembering gives us a bigger perspective. It helps us to see that God is in control. It helps us to see that the past has made us who we are today. Last week I went to a district seminar called re-focusing. And when we got there we wrote all the significant events in our lives that we could think of on little post-it notes. Then we put them in chronological order and ended up with a nice poster board picture of our life. And it was incredible to look over my past and see how God had been working in my life. He had put people in my life that had helped me enormously. Events occurred that, at the time, I didn’t think were good. But God used those events, and placed those people in my path, so that I would be closer to Him today.

We need to look back and remember what God has done. We are, all too often, more like the 9 lepers in Luke 17 that were healed and went on their merry way, than we are like the one who remembered what God had done and came back to give thanks.

The Israelites lacked memory and they lacked purity. Let me read verses 34 and 35. They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded them, but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.

Israel was a chosen nation. We remember back in the time of Abraham that God chose them. He said that through Abraham all nations would be blessed. It was God’s plan to make Israel His people so that, eventually, they would serve as the example to the nations around them. They would be a light to the rest of the world. They were to learn to be God’s people so that they could then be a change agent in the cultures around them.

But instead of being a change agent, they were changed. Instead of being in the world, but not of the world, they were in and of. God knew they weren’t ready to be change agents yet. That’s why He commanded them to destroy the people around them. He knew that first they had to BE His people before they could DO the work of evangelism. But they didn’t obey Him. They mingled. But more than that they adopted their customs. It is good for us, today, to have relationships outside the church. We should befriend those who are not saved. But it’s one thing to mingle with them, it’s another thing when we start adopting their customs.

The church is to be different from the world. We should not adopt their customs. We must be set apart. In a sense, the church is not part of the community, it’s a whole new community. The church must have different beliefs, different values, and live different lives. The church is to be holy for He is holy. But too often when the world looks at the church they see a reflection of themselves. They see the same immorality, the same pride, the same sin.

Two men were walking down the street and there was a sidewalk sale going on. They saw a nice looking suit and it was marked down considerable. They read the tag. It said, “slightly soiled, greatly reduced in price.” When we are slightly soiled, when we are no longer pure, blameless, and spotless before God, we lose our value. We are no longer worth what we were before because our worth is found in our ability to worship with clean hands and a clean heart.

And the reality is that when Israel lacked memory, when they forgot God, when they failed to wait for His counsel, when they lacked purity, when they mingled with the world and adopted their customs, when they did all these things judgment was on its way. Straying from God is a dangerous thing. Verses 40-43 tell us, Therefore the Lord was angry with his people and abhorred his inheritance. He handed them over the nations, and their foes ruled over them. Their enemies oppressed them and subjected them to their power. Many times he delivered them, but they were bent on rebellion and they wasted away in their sin. God’s judgment comes against a rebellious people. Israel’s bent toward rebellion was causing them to decay as a nation. The last line of verse 43 says they wasted away in their sin. When we fail to worship, when we fail to do what we were made to do, we are wasting away in our sin.

But God never slammed the door of judgment on Israel without providing a window of hope, restoration and possibility. They had the chance to become the worshippers they were created to be if only they would put two essential ingredients back into their lives. Psalm 106 tells us that one of those ingredients was zealous leadership.

The people of Israel needed zealous leaders if they were to have another opportunity to worship God with their lives. From time to time, they were given these leaders that beckoned them back to God. We are given two illustrations in verses 23 through 33: Moses and Phinehas.

Verse 23 tells us of Moses. So he (God) said he would destroy them- had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them. You remember the story. Moses went up the mountain to receive the 10 Commandments. While he was up there the people were down below and they forgot about God. They forgot about Moses. They convinced Aaron to lead them in building a golden calf so that they could worship it. And when they did this the Lord anger was aroused and He was going to destroy them, but Moses stood in the breach. Moses loved God. He understood God’s holiness. He loved the people too. And God was ready to destroy Israel and start over with just Moses. He could have taken pride in that. The people had certainly been a burden to him, grumbling against his leadership. But Moses loved the people enough that he stood in the breach and pleaded that God would show mercy.

Verses 30 tells us of Phinehas. But Phinehas stood up and intervened. And the plague was checked. This was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come. The story of Phinehas is similar to what we just heard of Moses. This time, the people were committing sexual immorality with the Moabite women. In fact the Israelite men were bringing the Moabite women right into the camp to do this. They were not even ashamed of their sin. And God sent a message through Moses that the leaders of Israel needed to destroy anyone who sinned openly like this. And sure enough one of the Israelite men brought a woman right into the camp, took her into his tent. And Phinehas stood up and intervened. He respected God’s holiness. He obeyed God and carried out the judgment against this Israelite man. He stood up for what was right. He stood up for purity amidst God’s people.

We need more leaders like Moses and Phinehas. We need leaders who will plead for God’s mercy when we are forgetting God, leaders who will stand up for purity when we are being impure. We need leaders like these in our homes, churches, communities, our nation and our world. Perhaps God is calling some of us today to be a leader. Maybe you have noticed something that isn’t the way it should be according to God’s Word. But instead of being a leader, you simply say to yourself, “someone should do something about that.” Maybe God wants YOU to do something about it. We should always be open to God calling us to take leadership, to stand in the breach, to stand up and intervene.

BUT, leadership alone will not help us. Leaders cry out and we need that, but we need something more than leaders. For if a leader cries out to an empty sky then the cry is worth nothing. We need something more than leadership because human leadership isn’t infallible. Even in this Psalm, verse 33, we see a fallen leader, and rash words came from Moses’ lips. Moses wasn’t perfect. He wasn’t infallible. He sinned. And there are no perfect leaders today. Leadership is necessary, but we need more than great leadership in order for us to live lifestyles of worship. And the obvious answer is that we need God. We need someone who will hear our leaders cry. And thankfully, we have a God that does hear. Verse 44 says, But he took note of their distress when he heard their cry. Our leaders cry out and God hears. We need God because, like we said earlier, we are prone to forget what He has done for us, but God, verse 45, remembered his covenant and out of his great love he relented. We forget God, but he doesn’t return to us in kind. He REMEMBERS even though we don’t deserve to be remembered. And we saw earlier that we were impure before God, but we see in verse 47 that God is willing to gather us from the nations. He is willing to cleanse us and purify our hearts again.

Why would He do all this for such a rebellious people? Why would he remember a people that had forgotten Him? Why would He gather a people that had mingled with the nations, adopted their customs, and worshipped false gods? The reason is given in the second half of verse 47. We are saved by God so that we may give thanks to (His) holy name and glory in (His) praise. We are saved to worship, just like it said in verse 8, Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known. We are saved to worship God, not just on Sunday mornings, but also on Monday morning. We are to worship God even AFTER THE SONG.

Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord.

Slippery Slope

Obadiah 1:10-14

4 Levels of Mistreating a Brother
1. Allowing Evil
2. Supporting Evil
3. Benefiting from Evil
4. Participating in Evil

For those of you who weren’t here last week, we looked at verses 3-9 and the issue of pride. Obadiah is written about the Edomites. They were going to be judged by God because of their pride and their sense of self-sufficiency. They felt that there allies were strong, there walls were strong, and they themselves were strong. With all these strengths they didn’t feel they needed God anymore. They felt He was unnecessary. They felt they were self sufficient. And they were very wrong. Judgment loomed on the horizon because of this false sense of self-sufficiency.

Today we are going to look at the second major sin which the Edomites were committing. In fact, this is the sin that takes center stage in the book of Obadiah. It seems to be the focus. THe judgment against Edom would come in response to their wrongful treatment of their brother Israel. We see that in verses 10 through 14.

But first let’s get a little background on this blood relationship between the Edomites and the Israelites. The history of the relationships is actually quite fascinating.

The founder of the Edomites was a man named? You guessed it: Edom. Long time preacher Ray C. Stedman once said that, “Every nation in the Bible is a lengthened shadow of its founder.” Well this is certainly the case for the Edomites. Do you remember the story of Edom, or as he was originally named, Esau? He was a twin. His brother Jacob and him were very different though. Esau was an outdoorsman. He was his father’s favorite. Jacob was more of a TV watcher. He liked to stay inside. He was his mommas boy. Since Esau was the firstborn he had the right to his fathers birthright. But if you remember Jacob tricked him and ended up trading him a bowl of red stew for the birthright. After that point Esau was called Edom which means red. He ate red stew and his name became Red. Maybe that’s where we get the phrase “you are what you eat.”

So Edom had made a stupid trade and could no longer look forward to receiving the best of what his father had to give. Esau, obviously, became very angry with Jacob. This anger was passed down to his children. So let’s fast forward a little bit to when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. Remember when they finally got out and walked along the bottom of the sea. And then the Egyptian army drowned as they tried to catch them? If you remember the Israelites then journeyed toward Canaan. ON their way they ran into the Edomites. Their long lost relatives. But the Edomites didn’t like the Israelites. Esau’s hatred had probably been passed down to them. They wouldn’t let the Israelites journey through their land. SO israel grudgingly had to go all the way around.

But eventually they got payback! Some time later the Isrealites finally did arrive at their destination and they soon controlled all Canaan and established a kingdom. Their first King, Saul harasses the Edomites. The Israelites must have still been mad about not being allowed to cut across the Edomite land. Their second king, David, tries to exterminate the Edomites. Their third king, Solomon, exploits them. Obviously the Israelites and the Edomites don’t have a good relationship.

And you guessed it. The Edomites eventually get payback on Israel once again. The Lord begins to punish His people for their lack of obedience to Him and the Assyrians rise up and overrun Israel. Do you think the Edomites have sympathy for their old brothers? Of course not! In fact the Edomites are quite pleased with Isreal’s misfortune.

Many scholars believe that it is at this time that the book of Obadiah was written. Right as Israel is suffering and Edom is gloating. Right as Israel is being judged and Edom is once again beginning to thrive. But God has an important message regarding the Edomites: they too will be judged by God!

Now that we have a good background to this adversity between the Israelites and the Edomites we can look at what God’s message is in this great book called Obadiah. This is a message of judgement! Who would God judge? When would He judge them? Why would He judge them? How would He judge them? These are the questions we will start to pick away at.

There were four levels to Edom’s mistreatment of Israel. I suggest to you today that these four levels are a process. If you fall into the first level you’re on a slippery slope to the second level. If you remain on the second level you’ll soon find yourself on the third. And if you’ve made it to third base, it’s pretty easy to try to steal home. Thus, there can be no compromise if we wish to avoid this evil. As we look at these four levels, search yourself to see if you have compromised in any of these areas.

The first level of mistreating a brother involves ALLOWING EVIL. The Edomites neglected to help their brothers the Israelites when an enemy came upon them. Verse 11 says that In the day you stood on the other side. The Edomites stood and watched as Israel was attacked. They watched Israel fall. They didn’t come to their aid. They didn’t have any concern. They just watched.

Do we ever find ourselves allowing evil? You may remember a long while back a woman named Kitty Genovese from New York City. She was tortured and murdered on the street. People didn’t want to get involved. They ignored it! We probably don’t stretch the issue that far, but the same disease impacts us when we ignore sin around us in the workplace, at school, or even in our homes. God seems to associate indifference as a sin. He seems to put allowing evil and putting up with evil in the same category as the evil itself. He says at the end of verse 11, Even you were as one of them.

The second level of treating a brother wrongfully goes from allowing evil and begins to SUPPORT EVIL. Look at verse 12, you should not have gazed on the day of your brother in the day of his captivity (that is allowing evil, it goes on to say) Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction. Nor should you have spoken proudly in the day of their distress. Edom didn’t just sit on the sidelines and watch. They were entertained. They would have paid for admission. They enjoyed seeing Israel fall because in many ways they hated their brother Israel.

We never do that though. We never get enjoyment over watching a brother fall do we? Maybe we do sometimes. Maybe we get jealous of a brother in Christ and then when something bad happens to him we almost feel good about it. Maybe we’ve slipped past the level of just allowing for evil and we’ve actually started to support it!

But it doesn’t end there. There is a third level of mistreatment of one’s brother. Past allowing evil and supporting evil there is a level of BENEFITING FROM EVIL. Verse 13 mentions again how they should not have gazed on their brother in their distress, but it also says, Nor laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity. The Edomites even went to the level of benefiting from the evil that had happened to Israel. They went into the camp after the attack and took what the enemy had left behind. They looted the Israelites.

That’s always a temptation isn’t it? We see people taking advantage of a bad situation and we’re tempted to do the same. I remember growing up in school there were always some kids that were too scared to say no when asked for answers to the homework or answers to a test. And I would watch bully’s and the like take advantage of them. And it was always a temptation to get some answers myself! Are you ever in a similar situation? You see someone taken advantage of and instead of speaking up against this evil you take part in it!

And finally, there’s a fourth level of wrongfully treating our brothers. This is the one we most willingly recognize as an evil. It is the most obvious. This is what the actual enemy to Israel was guilty of. It is the level of PARTICIPATING IN EVIL. Verse 14 says, You should not have stood at the crossroads to cut off those among them who escaped. Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained in the day of distress. The Edomites went beyond sitting on the sidelines amidst evil. They went beyond paying admission and enjoying the evil. They even went beyond gambling on the game to make a profit off of the evil. Edom eventually actively participated in the evil. There had been some Israelite survivors and the Edomites hunted them down and killed them. They stood at the crossroads and waited for fleeing survivors.

I would guess that most of us don’t ever get to this stage where we’re actually the one’s directly doing the evil to our brothers. But we must recognize that this whole thing is a slippery slope. If you start allowing evil, it won’t be long before you start supporting evil. If you keep supporting evil, it won't be long before you’re benefiting from evil. If you continue benefiting, you’ll eventually participate in evil. It’s a natural progression. Let’s not fool ourselves.

There’s been a lot of talk recently in baseball about players using steroids and other drugs to enhance their performance. Some ex-players are saying that more than half of the ball players nowadays are using these enhancements. I’m not sure I believe that, but how do you think steroid use got so widespread in the major leagues. It probably started with just a few guys. Their teammates found out, but they allowed it. They didn’t speak up. Then they saw that maybe it was helping the player perform better and they said, “Hey, if it works for him and he’s comfortable with that, it’s fine”. Then they noticed that the team started doing better because more players were using the steroids. They were benefiting from it and they liked the fact that steroids were helping. Eventually they decide that since everyone else is doing it and the team needs every player playing well they might as well decide to take it themselves. That’s how things escalate. It’s a slippery slope!

It’s scary to consider that’s probably the same way that men addicted to pornagraphy become sexual offenders. Woman addicted to soap opera’s decide to cheat on their husbands. This slippery slope is alive in well in every little sin that we can imagine. Sin always finds away to drag you down into worse bondage.

God said His judgement would come against Edom for their rotten treatment of Judah. And make no mistake, God’s judgment did come. It was fulfilled in part about 100 years before Christ. But it will be fulfilled completely on the judgment day. He will judge all who continue in treating their brothers wrongfully.

Is there any other way? Is there any compromise that can be made between hatred and love? I started out today talking about the history of the Edomites. And we stopped at the time where God was promising to judge them for their pride and lack of love. Now let’s fast forward a bit to the days of Jesus. Do you remember Herod? The Herod who questioned Jesus before Pilate eventually sentanced Christ to death. The great historian Josephus tells us that Herod was Idumean by descent. Idumea is the Greek way of saying Edom. Herod was a descendant of the Edomites. And here was Herod, representing pride and hate standing face to face with Jesus Christ the perfect man full of humility and love. Sin and Sinlessness face to face. Was there any compromise that Jesus would make? No! Herod questioned Jesus and had him mocked. But Luke 23:8 tells us that Jesus Answered him nothing. There was nothing Jesus would say. There was no compromise for sin.

Earlier in Jesus ministry he had referred to Herod as a fox. A fox is weak, but it uses cunningness and deceit to get out of trouble. Herod the deceitful fox against Jesus the lion of Judah. Well, Jesus can not be tricked. He cannot be scammed. He knows exactly what is going on. He knows that we are sinful. He knows that we have had times of pride. He knows that we have had times where we didn’t love our neighbor as ourself. He offers us forviveness if we repent, but without repentance there is no compromise for sin.

If we want recognize the beginnings of hatred and bitterness in our hearts there’s not much we can do about it on our own. We know the answer is to replace hatred with love but we have only a vague idea of what love is. And we’ll never find true love apart from Jesus Christ. God is love. He is perfect love. Jesus Christ ended this cycle of hatred by saying nothing. He died on the cross for Edom and for you and for me so that we could love as He loved. Let me close by reading 1 john 4:7-21.

One of the reasons we constantly remind ourselvess of how God loves and how God forgives is b/c it is not natural for us to be like Him. Only through learning about God and having His Spirit dwell inside of us do we begin to understand and put into practice the compassion of our loving Lord. Psalm 103.

Pride Before Fall

Obadiah 1:1-9

1. Edom had pride in their homeland Security
They had a natural system of defense
They didn’t recognize God as their protector
Does are nation depend on God?

2. Edom had pride in their political alliances
Edom had friends in high places
Do we use God as a last resort?
Only God can be trusted

3. Edom had pride in their wisdom and strength
Education is not the same as wisdom
Physical armor is not the same a spiritual armor

Never before have I heard a sermon on the book of the Bible we’ll be looking at today. In fact a month or two ago I wouldn’t have been able to tell you very much about this book except that its author was one of the minor prophets and it is very short. In fact, it is the shortest book in the Old Testament. Only 21 verses. But it is a great book which I have learned a lot from in these past few weeks while I’ve been studying and then as I began to prepare this sermon. It is the book of Obadiah.

Turn with me please to Obadiah. If you need help finding it, it is on page 1,518 in my Bible! Just kidding…you got Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah. So it’s right between Amos and Jonah if that helps. I know it can be tricky finding a 1 page book. I seem to remember Pastor Pockock telling me that some of you recently covered the minor prophets. I don’t know if that was for Sunday School or what, but for these next two Sunday’s we will take a good hard look at Obadiah and see if we can grasp the message God has for us.

Verse 1 of a book is many times, and quite conveniently, an introduction to the whole of a biblical book. Let’s look at verse 1 together so that we can get some background on why God inspired this book and preserved it for us today.

This book is clearly written to assure everyone who reads it that the Edomites were going to soon be judged. God says in verse 2, Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You shall be greatly despised. And then in verse 3-9 we are shown some of the reasons for their coming doom. These reasons all fit under the category of pride. Edom would be judged for their pride! For their feelings of self-sufficiency! And the principle here is that God will judge all pride eventually! Pride really does come before a fall.

In verses 3-9 I see three different types of pride that the Edomites had:

First I see a pride in their homeland security. Let’s read verse 3, The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Whose habitation is high; You who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’ The Edomites lived up in the mountains and had quite an impressive system of natural defenses. They had rock walls that sheltered them from their enemies. They were full of pride over their self-sufficiency.

They never reached the point that Moses reached after experiencing years of death in the wilderness. His prayer is recorded in the 90th Psalm which we read earlier this morning. He says Lord, YOU have been our dwelling place in all generations. Moses wasn’t trusting in natural rock formations to protect Him. He wasn’t trusting in man made defense structures. God was His dwelling place. He knew that in God’s hands He was secure. After all, He was God before the mountains were brought forth, verse 2. The mountains that the Edomites were trusting were created by God. But they were putting their trust in the creation instead of the creator. And in the rest of the Psalm Moses goes on to discuss how frail man is and how powerful God is.

Who are we like as a nation? Are we like the Edomites who refused to put their trust in God and instead trusted in rocks to keep them safe? Probably not so much anymore. But before September 11th I’m sure many American’s had that type of pride. The had pride in their self-sufficiency. They had pride in the fact that we are the most powerful nation on earth. And as usual pride came before the fall. God said in verse 4, Though you ascend as high as the eagle, And though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down.Who are we like as individuals? Are we like Moses, wise enough to admit that we are frail and God is forever? God help us to be fear the Lord and have the wisdom to put our trust in the creator and not just in His creation. God help us to be humble because pride comes before a fall.

Our nation is currently seeking ways to vastly improve homeland security and it is a good thing for our nation to improve in this area. But we must never get to the point where we trust in our own agencies and our government to keep us safe. Trusting in man is a form of pride. It is saying that man is qualified to rule by himself. We must trust God. He is our rock. He is our fortress. He is our defender. In him we should trust.

A second type of pride the Edomites had was in their political alliances. They felt they had everything under control because they had powerful friends. They were probably powerful enough on their own, but especially with the right connection Edom was indestructable! But once again, pride comes before a fall. Verse 7 says, All the men in your confedarcy shall force you to the border; The men at peace with you shall deceive you and prevail against you. Those who eat your bread shall lay a trap for you.

Are we ever like that? Do we ever take so much comfort in the fact that we’re in the UN or that we are good friends with The British and other world superpowers that we forget our NEED for God. We start to think we’re not really dependant on Him. Maybe we are still glad he’s on our side, but He is more of a last resort. We don’t need Him because we have other friends in high places. Well, just like Edom was about to find out. Political alliances aren’t as dependable as an ever faithful God. Allies eventually turn into enemies and enemies turn to allies. Just look at who our American allies are right now! We used to be at war with most of them! We need to get back to a place where we know that only God can fully be trusted. We need to rid ourselves of the pride that makes us think He can be replaced by friends in high places.

How about as individuals. Do we feel secure in our job only because we have a good friendship with the boss or do we still thank God for giving us employment? Do we feel safe because we have friends in high places? As a nation and as a people we need to remember that people sometimes break their promises. Bonds come apart. But our God is faithful. He is the true faithful friend. He is the friend that sticks closer than a brother.

A third type of pride existed in Edom. They had pride in their own wisdom and strength. This completed the trifecta. They had pride in their neighbors, in their walls, and in themselves. They had all the bases covered. Verse 8-9 reads, Will I not in that day, says the LORD, Even destroy the wise men from Edom? And understanding from the mountains of Esau? Then your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. Edom had pride in their wise men and in their strong men. Maybe they felt they had the best scientiests, the best doctors, the best inventors. Maybe they thought they had the best athletes, architects, and philosophers.

Sound familiar? Do American’s ever take pride thinking their the best at everything? Do we ever have a boastful spirit about the accomplishments of our people? If so, that pride needs to die. The Edomites soon had it killed for them! They learned the tough way. We shouldn’t make the same mistake. Our wise men should not need to be destroyed. Our strong men should not need to be cut off. We need to repent of our pride as a people and a nation and understand that it is God who grants us such strength.

We need to stop thinking that education will be the answers to our problems. Education is certainly a good thing. But Christians must realize that no matter how much someone knows it’s still in their nature to do the wrong thing! My favorite professor at college told a story once about when he was a teacher in grade school. During a staff meeting a special teacher was brought in to talk to the teachers. He started talking about how if we educate kids about the choices they have to make they will be sure to make the right one every time. It was just a matter of knowing what’s right. This is not the reality of the human condition though.

So many times when we act on our human instinct we end up doing exactly what we know we shouldn’t be doing. That is why Paul says in Romans 7:15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. Paul is saying that he knew what the right thing to do was. And he even wanted to do that, but his human nature led him to do the opposite. Education is not the answer. No matter how many wise men we can develop in this nation, we will never be secure without the hand of God protecting us.

What about strength. Can we count on might to be our savior? Might didn’t work for the most powerful nation on earth 11 months ago. Might didn’t work for Goliath, the most powerful man in the world when David’s stone hit him in the forehead. The truth is that no amount of earthly power can protect us from potential disaster. That is why David says in Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. God alone is all wise and God alone is all powerful.

conclusion

Where do you stand today as an individual? Where do we stand as a people? Are we trusting in our national defenses? Will the new homeland security branch put your mind at ease? As individuals do we feel safe because we live in a peaceful area of Western New York? Or do we realize that God alone is our protector. He is our shield.

Do we put our trust in our political alliances? Do we feel that our friends in high places makes us safe? If disaster strikes, we could always ask them for help or know that they would be able to fix the problem. Or do we recognize that God alone is our faithful friend. Do we understand that God alone will never fail us?

Do we find ourselves to be pretty self-sufficient because of our wisdom and our strength. Do we take pride in the fact that we are a world superpower? That our president is most likely the most powerful man in the world? Does that make us feel safe? Or do we understand that God alone is all-wise and that God alone is all-powerful. Man’s wisdom shows to be foolish after a while and man’s strength gives out after a short time. But God’s wisdom and strength are eternal. Where is our faith?

Putting our trust in our walls, friends and our own wisdom and strength is a sin. It is the sin of pride. It is the sin of thinking that we don’t need God. That we can handle life by ourself. The Edomites had this pride and they deceieved themeselves with it. Their sense of self-sufficiency would soon be shown as foolish by God’s just judgment.

And when God’s judgement comes it will be complete in every way. Everything will be taken. Look at verses 5 and 6, If thieves had come to you, If robbers by night – oh how you will be cut off! – Would they not have stolen till they had enough? If grape gatherers had come to you, would they not have left some gleanings. Oh, how Esau shall be searched out! How his hidden treasures shall be sought after! The Lord is saying that His judgement will be complete. We will have nothing of value left if we are found guilty of these evils.

The problem is that we have all been guilty of these same sins from time to time. We, like Edom, have been prideful. And we too will be judged in like matter at the judgment day unless those sins are forgiven.

God promises that His people, the one’s who repent of their sins and live with humility and are filled with love, will be delivered. Verse 17 and 18 tell us that there will be deliverance for the house of Jacob, but the house of Esau shall be stubble and will be devoured. The end of 18 says And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken.

The only good thing we can do with pride is repent of it. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.