Shepherd and Guide - Psalm 23

                                    

This fall we’ll be journeying through the psalms. The psalms are Israel’s songbook, giving us words to talk to God, helping us find the words we need to talk to him as they speak to life and all that life can throw at us. They speak of joy and worship, of fear and hopelessness, of anger and confusion, and even of revenge, yet in all the psalms, except one, they end in trusting in God.

We begin our journey with Psalm 23, one of the most loved and well-known psalms in the Bible. This is a psalm of trust and hope written from the perspective of the sheep, from our perspective, as we look to God and Jesus. Psalm 23’s about belonging, being part of the flock. It’s an honest psalm, acknowledging our need for a shepherd who sticks by his sheep in quiet and in difficult times, a shepherd who’s diligent in his responsibilities. We need a shepherd because we’re not nearly as capable of taking care of ourselves as we believe we are. Of course, many of us can do fine without a shepherd when things go smoothly; it’s when life doesn’t go smoothly that we look to our shepherd, or we end up struggling along without hope, without peace, without a foundation of meaning, purpose, or belonging.

King David wrote this psalm in a spirit of trust and faith. “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” David has no ordinary shepherd, his shepherd’s the Lord himself, a powerful claim. “I lack nothing,” doesn’t mean that we get everything we want, but it means that we turn to our shepherd when we need something. David calls us to trust that our shepherd knows us and our needs better than we know ourselves. He provides for us in our needs: physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, relationally. Our shepherd provides enough for the entire flock; it’s up to us to make sure that we care for each other. There are always those who have more, those capable of creating more, while others aren’t able to provide for themselves and their families as well. This is why we’re part of a flock, we bring what we have to the table and make sure all have enough, whether it’s physical help, encouragement, a sense of belonging, or even a sense of purpose as we walk together. The early church in Acts 2 understood this, it made Roman emperors crazy.

The shepherd “makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” The Lord takes his sheep to pastures filled with healthy grazing, to quiet waters so they can drink safely. Sheep dislike running water and Israel’s filled with mountain streams so good shepherds would divert water from the streams to create quiet pools so the sheep would drink. Our shepherd cares about rest for our souls, about the worries, fears, and anxieties that fill many of our hearts and minds. More people are living with stress today, many of our teens and young adults confess to living with almost constant stress and growing levels of anxiety, but adults aren’t immune to this either.

Part of this comes from our economic situation, part of it comes from our obsession with social media and the freedom many people feel to strike out, bully, mock, and hurt others. Social media can have a negative influence on us, there’s growing nastiness and followers of Jesus are often part of it or impacted by it. We complain about our children and youth constantly on their phones, but parents and grandparents are often as much at fault. When camping, I noticed families and friends sitting at their campsites, staring at their phones rather than being with each other. It’s difficult to refresh your soul on social media, we need to turn to our shepherd to refresh our souls.

We need our shepherd’s guidance to keep on the right path, for our soul’s sake, and for the sake of our families, church, and community. How we live impacts others. Many of us aren’t always so self-aware and fail to recognize those times when we need those green pastures and quiet waters or wander down questionable paths. We’re not always good at listening to our shepherd’s guidance and how the Spirit urges us to keep our eyes on our shepherd. Over the next few years, we’ll be working as a church family to focus more deeply on faith formation and faith practices to help us in each of our households to grow deeper in our trust in Jesus and shape our lives more deliberately on Jesus’ way.

David recognizes the Lord has a destination and path in place for us, but that path will not always be easy. Jesus’ way is different than our society’s way and he doesn’t always fill us in on the why of his way. It takes trust that Jesus’ path is the right path, that he’s leading us on a path that leads to flourishing and shalom for us personally and as communities. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us, but we often choose our own paths instead like wandering sheep. Trust is hard, and we’ve been influenced by our culture’s insistence that we know better than God what’s best for us. This attitude goes back all the way to Adam and Eve who figured they knew better than God what was best for them and didn’t trust God completely and listened to voices different than God’s. This is one of  the reasons why we may find our path sometimes leading into dark valleys.

David gets real now about the importance of those times in green pastures and beside quiet waters. There are going to be times when we’ll walk through the darkest valleys, times when evil will feel close, when the shepherd’s path will be hard. There will be times when we’ll walk through sorrow, fear, loss, and brokenness that will sap away our strength and hope and make it hard to trust our shepherd as our souls and hearts get overwhelmed when life becomes turbulent and chaos engulfs us. This is a sharp turn from green pastures and quiet waters.  Our shepherd doesn’t always protect us from dark times, allows them to enter into our lives. I’ve experienced dark times like many of you, and what’s carried me through those times is the knowledge that I don’t walk those times alone. In experiencing darkness, I’ve learned to trust that Jesus will lead me back into times of light. I’ve learned to appreciate those times of green pastures better.

David trusts that, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Jesus offers us this same assurance when he tells his disciples, John 14:15–18, “If you love me, keep my commands.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth…. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” We hear an echo of this in Hebrews 13:5–6, “God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Jesus doesn’t come with a punishing rod or staff. Jesus’ rod and staff pulled me from times of potential disaster while protecting me from situations and people who only wished to hurt and destroy. Jesus’ presence gave hope and strength to make it through those dark times, even when they lasted longer than I wished.

David sees his shepherd as a protector and provider, especially in dangerous times, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” In the fields and wilderness are lions, bears, bandits and more and the shepherd protects his vulnerable sheep from these dangers. In the middle of danger, the shepherd sets a table, a place of hospitality and acceptance, a place of safety and plenty. In biblical times, it was custom to invite travelers and strangers to come eat while the host provided a safe place to refresh themselves. The table echoes ahead to Jesus’ parables of banquets and wedding feasts; for me it also echoes ahead to our communion table where we remember Jesus saving us from our sin through his sacrifice.

Enemies don’t always become friends; evil will always be part of our world until Jesus returns. This psalm doesn’t pretend that everything is always going to be alright, but it does promise that the Lord is with us, will provide for us, that he’s not stingy in providing us with what we need, whether it’s material things, grace, forgiveness, comfort, peace, or his presence. “My cup overflows.” The sheep’s trust in the shepherd shines brightly in the end, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” The sheep are confident in their shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep; Jesus, who took all our sin away on the cross, who protects us from Satan and evil, and who will come when our place in the Father’s mansion is ready, to take us home to be with him forever. Until that time, we choose to trust in our shepherd.

Signs and More Signs - Matthew 24:1-35

               

When you listen to the news, it seems as if persecution is growing in our world. People from many faith backgrounds are being killed for what they believe, but followers of Jesus are often the main targets. Christians are being killed in the Middle East and Africa, while persecution also happens in China and other parts of the world. The Western World is becoming more secular and the Christian faith has become a target in our culture. Since the pandemic, I hear more people talking about the end days, convinced Jesus’ return is close. But how can we know?

A good place to start is Matthew 24. Israel is proud of her temple. It's a sign of the presence of God among his people. As Jesus and his disciples are leaving the temple, the disciples call Jesus' attention to the magnificent building. But rather than marvelling at the wonder of the temple, Jesus tells them, "Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down." Then they all go to the Mount of Olives outside the city overlooking Jerusalem and Jesus continues his teaching as the disciples ask, "When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

Jesus has mentioned a number of times that he has to die, but the disciples are still looking to the beginning of a new kingdom of Israel with Jesus on the throne as king. Jesus isn’t first of all teaching here about his second coming, he's talking about the more immediate future using images from the Old Testament prophets. Jesus warns them that there will be a number of signs so that they won't be deceived and led away from following Jesus. When Jesus leaves, there will be many who will claim they've been sent by Jesus with special messages.

Israel had a problem with false Messiahs, many coming from among the Zealots, which led to the destruction of Jerusalem. One historian writes, "The Jewish zealots, reacting in opposition to Caligula’s campaign began a revolt against Rome, a revolt which led to Roman legion soldiers from Syria destroying the food stocks of the Zealots and the local Jewish population. The inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem died in great numbers via starvation. Roman General Titus encircled the city, and began the siege of Jerusalem in April, A.D. 70…. On the 10th of August, in A.D. 70 ..., the very day when the King of Babylon burned the Temple in 586 B.C., the Temple was burned again. Titus took the city and put it to the torch, burning the Temple, leaving not one stone upon another.  Thus, Jerusalem was totally destroyed as Jesus had predicted, and not one stone was left upon another."

As for signs of Jesus' coming, Jesus tells them, "There will be wars and rumors of wars, famines, persecution, hatred against Jesus' followers, increase in wickedness, and more, and because of all these things, the love of many will grow cold." Jesus talks about "the abomination that causes desolation" that will stand in the holy place which the prophet Daniel predicted. Daniel 9:26 says, "After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed."

This first happened when Antiochus, emperor of the Seleucid Empire defeated Jerusalem. He devastated Jerusalem in 168 BC, defiled the temple, offered a pig on its altar, erected an altar to Jupiter, prohibited temple worship, made circumcision illegal on pain of death, sold thousands of Jewish families into slavery, destroyed all the copies of Scripture he could find, savagely torturing the Jewish people to force them to renounce their faith. This led to the Maccabean revolt.

Studying predictions and prophecies in the Bible is like coming up on a mountain range. When you drive through the prairies towards the Rocky Mountains, at first all you see are the majestic mountains rising up from the earth reaching up to the heavens. It all looks like massive range of mountains, but as you come close you see that there are a series of mountain ranges all standing in a row, beginning with the foothills, then comes another line of ranges that are higher and then another range that stands higher still. Prophecies are like that, they may be fulfilled once, like Daniel's prophecy of the abomination that causes desolation standing in the holy place first being Antiochus who sacrificed pigs on the altar in the temple, then it was Titus who raised the Roman Legion's standard in the temple and also offered sacrifices there, and some say that the mosque that stands on the original site of the temple is another fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy.

The Old Testament prophecies pointing to the coming of the Messiah aren’t completely fulfilled with Jesus' first coming. The prophecies of the Suffering Servant who comes as a lamb to save his people are fulfilled in Jesus' first time here, but the prophecies that talk about the Day of Judgment will only be completely fulfilled at his return. When the disciples talk about the end of the age, they’re talking about the Roman oppression, not about Jesus' return. We need to be careful not to read back into Jesus' teaching more than what he's talking about. Too often we’ve been influenced by theologies and people who’ve tried to figure out the time of Jesus' return. There are many preachers who’ve made a fortune off of Christians' desire to know the exact time of Jesus’ return. Jesus himself said that he doesn't know when his return is going to be, only his Father knows.

There are always going to be wars and rumours of wars, famines and drought, plagues and natural disasters. There will be false Messiahs rising up and calling on people to follow and trust in them for meaning, purpose and salvation. Satan’s loose in this world, and while the Holy Spirit limits the damage Satan can do, Satan still has a lot of power. When Jesus talks about cutting the days short or the abomination in the holy place, he's talking about the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans. Jerusalem's defences had never been fully completed, allowing the Roman legions to defeat the Jews more quickly than expected.

The mountains were the only safe option left to the Jews after the city walls fell. When Jesus talks about being on the housetops and not going onto their houses to grab anything, it’s because rooftops were living spaces and the houses were built close enough together that you could go from rooftop to rooftop without having to go into the streets. They could reach the city walls this way and escape as long as they didn't go into their homes to grab things they thought were too special to leave behind. Jesus' reference to the Sabbath referred to those who would refuse to run away on the Sabbath because their religious rules forbid certain acts as being work and running was one of them.

When Jesus talks about his return, he emphasizes that everyone will know so if someone tells them to go out into the wilderness or an inner room, don't trust them. Jesus uses lightning as an example, you can see lightening for miles around, especially when you're on a mountaintop like Jerusalem. There's no hiding a lightning storm that's coming. Jesus quotes Daniel, "The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken." Jesus uses Daniel's Son of Man imagery. Part of this happens at Jesus' crucifixion; the darkness shows Jesus has conquered the forces of evil on the cross, and darkness during the second coming of the Son of Man is a sign of his power over all forces, especially Satan. It also points to political and spiritual upheavals. The Son of Man coming down on clouds is from Daniel; while trumpets called Israel to gather for announcements from the king, pointing to Jesus’ coming back as King.

Signs will always be here to remind us that even though evil is active in the world, Jesus is returning, and we need to be ready for his return at any moment. Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow, but focus on today and the works God’s prepared for us to do. Be a presence of grace and extend grace so that the world can know there’s a God and a way that builds community and wholeness. Jesus is returning and until that time, we have the privilege of inviting others to follow him so that the world might look more and more like God's kingdom; a place of shalom; peace with God, each other, creation and ourselves. You’ll hear the trumpets when Jesus returns. Until that time, we’re called to live as disciples, following Jesus as he taught us to live; with love for God and others guiding us in everything we do as we work in his kingdom as we wait for Jesus’ return.

 

The King is Coming - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11

 

There’s a lot of strange ideas out there about Jesus' return. Some believe that Jesus is coming to take his people out of the world for a time and then let the world destroy itself over 7 years before Jesus comes back again. If your faith isn't strong enough, you’ll have to survive those years of tribulation. The Left Behind books teach this, saying you still have a chance to repent in those 7 years. I call this second chance theology; if you miss out on being with Jesus the first time, you get seven years to get it right. There’s a fear aspect to these views of Jesus’ return. That’s always bothered me. We should have a joy-filled anticipation.

Jesus has gone back to heaven and Paul doesn't want the Thessalonian church to grieve without hope like the pagans do. In Jesus there's great hope, even when death comes. Paul takes them back to the cross where Jesus died, but then he reminds them that Jesus rose again. Death is not the last word; Jesus is. Jesus has returned to heaven and he's preparing to return again as king. This is “Day of the Lord” imagery from the Old Testament; when the Lord comes to claim his people and punish those against him. Even those who follow God and died will be with Jesus when he returns.

Paul uses the picture of a king coming to visit one of his cities. Notices would be sent to the leaders of the city that the king was planning to come visit his subjects. Time is given so that the leaders can mobilise the citizens to clean up the city and prepare for the king's arrival. The streets are cleaned up, the buildings in the city are repaired and whitewashed so that as the sun is rising or setting on the city, it gleams and shines and sparkles. The king will time his arrival for sunrise and approach from the west so that the rising sun shines on the city, making it beautiful. This is where we get a lot of our images of the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven; gleaming in splendour. Watchers are set outside the city and on the city walls to let everyone know as soon the king comes into sight so everyone can get into their finest clothes to greet the king as he approaches.

As the king and his entourage come closer, the king's trumpeters sound their trumpets to let everyone know the king is close. The nobles of the city quickly gather all the citizens together and go out of the city to meet the king, kneeling before him and acknowledging him as their king. Everyone then escorts the king with honour, fanfare, and celebration into his city. The word Paul uses here is 'parousia' which has often been translated as 'rapture.' The goal of the parousia is not to escape and leave the world to its sin and suffering, but the people loyal to the king come out to meet him in order to escort the king into what belongs to him. After everyone enters the city, all those who had stayed behind are rounded up and thrown out of the city since they’re considered traitors for not coming out to acknowledge the king as theirs. I hear Palm Sunday happening here but on a cosmic scale now, instead of just a few hundred people cheering Jesus into Jerusalem the week before his death, now all the followers of Jesus are escorting him back to his world.

Jesus is coming back. He’s the king Paul’s referring to. Luke tells us that when Jesus left, as everyone had their eyes glued to the skies trying to get that last glimpse of Jesus before he disappears out of sight, two angels appear, “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” The problem is that it happened so long ago that we really don't let this promise affect how we live anymore. We have the same priorities as everyone else; get a job, pay our bills, save a little so we can retire, make sure our kids get a decent education so they can get good jobs, help out others when we find some time or a few extra dollars, try to be good people, and so on. We try to get some devotions in each day, pray over our meals, and come to church on most Sundays. All good things, and yet I wonder if we took Paul and Luke more seriously if our lives might not look different from what they do right now.

Paul encourages the people in Thessalonica to live like Jesus is coming back soon. This is about preparing yourselves, getting dressed in your best, making sure you're sober. This isn't about being dour, but being awake with all your senses tuned to Jesus and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Put on faith and love, Paul encourages us a few verses later, let these two virtues shape who you are and how you live with each other because this is who God is. Faith trusts that the way of life Jesus has laid out in his teaching and life is really the best life for you, and then living it. Love’s about how we treat each other. It’s grace in our words, peace in our actions, patience, self control and kindness towards others, especially towards those we might find hardest to be kind to when they know how to push our buttons. Paul adds hope to the list of things to shape our lives with. This is confidence that Jesus is with us, no matter what we’re going through, that we belong to him and he doesn’t let go of us.

Paul reminds us that we belong to Jesus, we’re his subjects. We are not our own, but belong, body and soul to our Saviour Jesus Christ as the Heidelberg Catechism reminds us in Lord's Day 1. Our king cares about his subjects, loving you so much that he died for you so that, whether you are awake or asleep, you may live together with him. Nothing can separate you from Jesus' love; nothing can tear you away from him, not even death. One of the most promising scenes in Scripture is Jesus' conversation with the thief on the cross who asks, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom," and Jesus tells him, "Today you will be with me in paradise."

You belong to Jesus and he wants you to keep an eye out for his return. It's like the teenage girl who stands by the window eager for that first glimpse of her boyfriend's car coming down the street to pick her up. Paul wants you to have that same sense of anticipation as you walk through each day, making yourself as beautiful or handsome as you can for when Jesus shows up; building each other up so you all can be who God has created you to be as you get ready to greet his Son. This reminds me of what Paul talks about how a husband should love his wife in Ephesians 5:25–27, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Jesus is working to make us beautiful, but we need to accept the work of the Holy Spirit in us that guide and shapes us into a radiant church and people.

But there's that second part; getting the city ready for the arrival of the king. We do this work because the king’s important to you and you want to honour him. This is about putting your beauty, putting your life at the service of the city to get everything ready for the coming of the king because the king is your king and he means everything to you. You can go back to the beginning of time and God's call on us to take care of creation and to discover and develop the potential and wonders in his creation to God's glory.

This means getting involved in a deliberate way in the world, in our culture and neighbourhoods as part of developing creation. It's not just the physical creation we're called to be part of and grow, it's the arts, culture, music, business, sports, politics, and more because these are all pieces of how God’s created us to be as humans in relationship with him and each other. God has given you skills and abilities to develop and help your family, your church, your community, your workplace, your places of play to flourish, and he calls you to invest in these things as part of preparing for Jesus’ return so they reflect who Jesus is.

What we believe matters. The Reformed view of Jesus’ return fills us with hope for the future and a call to be deeply invested in the day to day living out of our faith in Jesus; good news that can shape our lives, the lives of those around us, and the flourishing of the communities we live in.

Run the Race Well - Hebrews 12:1-3

                      

Over this past week, we hosted our Athletes in Action soccer camp. We learned new soccer skills, played lots of games, and cheered each other on. I enjoyed watching the different age groups; the older teams were focused on growing their skills, while a number of younger players were distracted by dandelions, butterflies, and pets walking by, especially by the end of the day. I noticed how cheering each other on made a difference in our energy levels.

Competition was a big deal in Greece and Rome. It’s from Greece that we get the Olympic games. The games then were about celebrating and worshipping the physical body. Today, no matter where you grew up, games and competition are a natural and normal part of being human with soccer being one of the most popular sports in the world.

The author of the book of Hebrews describes life as a race. This isn’t a 100-yard dash though; life is a marathon, a gruelling long-distance race that takes, training, focus, and determination to run. I can’t expect to sign up to run a marathon for next weekend and expect to do well, or even to finish. I need to do some serious training with someone who knows how to run long distances if I want to finish the race and run the race well. Knowing what to expect is important and having someone who has run before is a huge blessing. There are predictable times in a race when all you want to do is stop because your body’s telling you that it’s done. Knowing this is coming helps you prepare for it, giving you the determination, strength, and ability to push through it, knowing that on the other side of that wall you’ll find the strength and will to carry on.

In Bethel we focus on mentoring, especially our youth because following Jesus is a marathon. We’re on a life-long journey following Jesus and it takes training, encouragement, and the wisdom and experience of others to help us run our race well. Hebrews talks about a great cloud of witnesses. The writer talks about some amazing faith stories in chapter 11; reminders of people who leaned on their faith in hard times, some even dying because of their faith in God; people like Abel, Noah, Abraham, Rahab, and many others.  

Life isn’t always easy. Hebrews 11, “There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” I won’t promise you easy, but I will promise you it’s worth it to run your race to Jesus instead of away from him.

A Taizé website shares that “The “great cloud of witnesses” that surrounds us are people from every age whose lives were determined by their faith in God. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews compares them to sports fans in the stands of a stadium. They have already finished their race. But they do not lose interest in those who are still struggling and running. They urge them on and applaud them. That is how witnesses support our faith.” It’s like when we were playing soccer this past week, it’s much more fun when your team and coaches cheer you on. The encouragement of the witnesses comes because they understand how hard the race can be. Yet they kept their eyes on God; they ran their race even when it included suffering because they know God’s at the finish line. Our children and youth need coaches and encouragers, teachers who are investing them. Grandparents and older members are especially important in these roles; you bring a wisdom that’s so needed for our children and youth. Ministries like Sunday School, Children in Worship, Treasure and Truth Seekers are beautiful ways for older members to share their wisdom and life experiences with our children and youth, and they’re eager to learn from you how to run the race of life, keeping their eyes on Jesus.

We’re called to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” This gives us 2 different images of what it looks like to get distracted or side-tracked from running our race well. There are those things that can hamper us from running or keeping our eyes on Jesus. They’re not even bad things or sins, and can even be blessings that God gives us. These good things can be family and children and allowing their desire and wants to draw you away from Jesus and his desires for you. We’re constantly being told to put ourselves and our wants first, and these messages sink in so when it comes to making choices to please ourselves over kingdom activities, the kingdom is often our second choice. It can be our toys and pleasure activities, which are blessings, but can take precedence over spending time with God or engaging in engaging in activities that are focused on blessing others and creating a community of blessing. Often, our first priority is to bless ourselves, our eyes are on our mirrors instead of Jesus and our race suffers. As Tim Keller reminds us, “We take God’s good things, and make them gods.” Faith looks to God and neighbours before ourselves, we live into a sacrificial faith.

We’re given an image of a fishing net entangling us. A fisherman would go out in his boat and cast his net into the water and hope for fish to swim into it, making it possible for the fisherman to pull them into the boat. If a fisherman’s not careful, a fishing net can get all tangled up, and if it’s bad enough, it can become useless and need extreme measures to salvage it. Think of Jesus’ need to leave heaven and become human and die on the cross for our sin. We get so entangled in sin, distracted by God’s blessings instead of keeping our eyes on Jesus, that Jesus needed to become one of us and take our punishment on himself to untangle us from sin and free us to run our race again.

We don’t run our race on our own. Just like runners have people along the road handing out water or oranges to help us keep up our strength, and coaches who run alongside us for a bit to tell us how we’re doing and how to run the next stretch, we need others to help us run our life race. From parents, to teachers, counsellors, coaches, mentors, faithful friends, we need others to help us run the best race we can. Just like we need others to help us, we need to use our gifts to help others run their races well. Seeing a number of our youth step up as assistant coaches this week was wonderful. There are no spectators in the Christian race of life; we do it together as a team, as a family. You’re never too young or too old to run your race well. In the history of the church there are children and youth who did great things for Jesus, as well as senior members of the church.

The best way to run our race is by keeping our eyes on Jesus. The call is not to keep our eyes on the heroes of faith; they’re there to encourage us, our goal is Jesus. Jesus is called the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Pioneer means “originator” or “founder.” A pioneer is at the beginning of, and center of, something new. Jesus is the one through whom everything is created, he’s the founder of creation and the universe and as the origin of everything, he’s the center of our faith; he’s God. Jesus is the perfector of our faith. The word used is “telos” meaning finishing, end goals, and completeness. For our soccer camp, the goal was for the kids to learn about Jesus, to gain soccer skills, and to play the game. We keep our eyes on Jesus because he’s our finish line and knows what it takes to get there and how to help us complete our race through life. It’s not just about finishing, it’s about running the best race we can. A great race is about representing Jesus well, about creating peace, living with grace, and equipping others to run their race for Jesus.

Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit who keeps pointing us to Jesus, reminding us that he is our best coach and guide in life, that he lived life with us and knows how hard it can be, but he also knows exactly what we need to make it to the finish line and gladly gives it to us. My encouragement to you is keep your eyes on Jesus, allow him to be your coach and guide, and he will give you everything you need to run your life race well and finish strong.

 

 

Covenant of Redemption Fulfilled - Revelation 5

          

This morning we’re wrapping up our series on covenants. In Revelation, we see how the covenants get wrapped up in Jesus. We’re given a glimpse into the throne room of heaven and a foretaste of what’s to come and an overview of history and our place with the spiritual kingdom that we can often sense but normally not see. God is on his throne surrounded by fantastic creatures worshipping him, confessing their allegiance, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” We see a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain.

John the Baptist calls Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” David Bast writes, “That is an imperative. Behold him; look at him; look at him. This is God in our world. This is how God is God in our world. This is what it means to be God. It means to have your hands bound and your feet bound and maybe nailed to a cross, and like a lamb, your throat is cut – in this case, maybe it is a spear in the side – but in all of that weakness and suffering and sacrifice and death, the life and power of God is there. So look; look at him; this is who he is; this is how he is…. the Agnus Dei: Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; have mercy on us, grant us your peace.”

There’s so much imagery here from the Old Testament; there’s the scroll of destiny echoing back to Psalm 139. There are strange images that echo back to Ezekiel, Daniel, Genesis and other books. This Lamb is first referred to as the Lion of Judah in Genesis when Jacob blesses Judah, but it looks like a lamb that has been sacrificed, deliberately pointing to the sacrifices of Israel, especially the Passover lamb, reminding the people how God saved his people from slavery, pointing to Jesus’ death on the cross, the moment that changed the history, setting it on God’s path as revealed here in Revelation.

John’s overwhelmed with what he sees. Then his eyes are drawn to the person sitting on the throne and John notices a scroll in his right hand with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. John knows this scroll is the book of God’s decrees. The story on this scroll is a long and crowded story and needs both sides of the scroll to tell it. It’s sealed with seven seals like a Roman will, only to be opened when the legal representative appears. The seals tell us this is a scroll filled with secrets, secrets only God himself knows. Now they’re waiting for the one who can open the scroll.

A mighty angel calls out in a loud voice. It carries through all creation, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one’s found who can open the scroll and John weeps because it looks as if God’s plan can’t move forward. He weeps because the world has moved so far away from God that there’s no one left that God can reveal his secrets to. John senses that the people have become so focused on themselves that they’ve left God behind. He weeps because he knows that this means pain, hurt, and loneliness for the world.

The elders turn to the Lamb, to Jesus. Jesus takes the scroll, “because you were slain, and with your blood purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” The image John gives us here is of a slave market where people go to buy slaves. This is a business transaction, treating people like livestock. This is a common image for John’s readers. The slaves come from defeated nations, or are people who’ve fallen on hard times and can’t pay their bills and so sold into slavery, or people who deliberately sold themselves into slavery so they could be sure of eating everyday.   

The purchase price isn’t money, it’s blood; it’s life. The Lamb buys these slaves from every nation, tribe, and language at the cost of his own life blood, “with your blood purchased people for God.” We’ve been bought for life. We sold ourselves into slavery by allowing Satan and our own hearts lie to us that we are free when we listen to them instead of God, echoing back to Adam and Eve. Jesus pays with his blood for people who should never have been slaves; he pays the blood price for rebelling against God, all so we can experience freedom. Jesus pays our ransom; paying for what’s already his.

Jesus is able to reveal the secrets that are in the scroll and carry out the plan of God written in it. He’s more than just a Lamb. This Lamb has seven horns which are horns of power. There’s no one more powerful than the Lamb that was slain and then raised up to the throne of God. This Lamb has seven eyes. There’s nothing it doesn’t see happening on the earth, under the earth, or in the heavens above. There are no secrets hidden from him; he sees everything, including what the devil does in the darkness.

The Lamb takes the scroll from his father’s hand. The heavens erupt in adoration. The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fall to their knees in front of the Lamb. They carry golden bowls filled with incense. These are our prayers. They’re so precious to God that they come to him in precious bowls, through the fragrance of incense, making them pleasing in all ways. They’re carried to him and offered as part of the worship of God. Our prayers that seek relief from pain and suffering, looking for God to come and carry us through the valleys and deserts of our lives, are priceless and brought before God.

The reason we’ve been purchased is “to make them, us, a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and to reign on earth.” Those people Jesus bought with his blood are us; you and me and all those people God is calling to become his children, to become followers of his son Jesus. Peter puts it this way, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

God takes us from slavery and gives us a new identity by making us a new kingdom, echoing back to the covenant with David. As priests, we connect people to God and his kingdom, which is what the priests’ role is, echoing back to the covenants with Abraham and at Sinai. God gives us the Holy Spirit to help us be priests and grow God’s kingdom through telling others about the new life that’s possible in Jesus and inviting them to be part of it by following Jesus. This is done in a context of praise, which is why coming together as God’s people on a Sunday is important to who we are, but also important in showing the world who we are.

Pentecost is the moment where God equips us to be kingdom builders; turning our focus towards the world, fulfilling the charge to Abraham to be a blessing to all the nations. Jesus gives us his Spirit to remind us of what we’ve been taught in order to reassure us, echoing to the new covenant in Jeremiah. This challenges us to go out and share the good news of Jesus with the world; a world God loves so much that he sent his only son to die so that if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. God’s so generous in his love that he wants the entire world to know of the new life he offers and his desire for everyone to come to him. Paul writes Timothy, “This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” In the Old Testament, God tells Ezekiel, “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live.” Peter writes, “The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”

God gives John a vision of the Lamb who’s won the battle against sin; filling us with a hope that never fails because Jesus is King over all creation. The future’s in Jesus’ hands; directing his Father’s plan written on the scroll; preparing everything for his return when every knee will bow and confess that he is Lord and all God’s covenant promises are completely fulfilled. We’re all part of our Father’s plan!

 

The New Covenant - Jeremiah 31:23-37

                          

Israel’s living as captives in Babylon. Even after all the covenants God has made with Israel, all the promises and guidance through the gift of the Law, the gift of the Promised Land, God still has to step in because the people with power, wealth, and influence keep using it against the weak, poor, widows, and orphans for their own benefits rather than treating each person with respect and honour as fellow image bearers of God. The saddest thing is that you see so much of that still happening today; we don’t learn very well. God allows Babylon to defeat Israel and take her best and brightest into captivity. God punishes and allows the consequences of our sin play out in their painful ways, but he refuses to give up on or abandon his people. Ezekiel shows us the Spirit leaving the temple and heading east since God goes with his people, Ezekiel 11, “Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. The glory of the Lord went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it. The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia in the vision given by the Spirit of God.”

It’s early in Israel’s exile. Yet they deeply long for their punishment to come to an end. In Israel’s case, the punishment’s going to last a while yet, so God tells Jeremiah in 29:5–7, ^“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

Covenant has been broken and Israel’s facing the consequences. But, as Pastor Stan Mast reminds us, “There was that business of the Promised Land that goes all the way back to Abraham and is renewed here in verses 27 and 28… “I will be your God and you shall be my people,” …  That covenant relationship will continue.  Even the horror of the Exile did not break that relationship, though it seemed that God had forsaken them.”

God doesn’t allow them to wallow in sorrow or fear. He tells Jeremiah, “When I bring them back from captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘The Lord bless you, you prosperous city, you sacred mountain.’ People will live together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks. I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” But there are other prophets who don’t like what Jeremiah’s saying and they trash him, telling the people that Jeremiah doesn’t know what he’s talking about. The Lord steps in and promises to punish the prophets Hananiah and Shemaiah for their rebellion. The Lord will bring his people home, but it’s not going to happen anytime soon. Covenant’s been broken, yet God always remains faithful to his people.

The Lord has allowed Israel to be torn down as a people and nation. Because God is a God of covenant and has fully committed himself to his people, he promises to build them up again, “The days are coming when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant.” The Lord’s going to bring them home, he’s watching over them, he’s going to rebuild them, plant them, help them grow again; grow in relationship with God, grow in their understanding of who God is, and who they are as his people. God is promising to invest in them and help them flourish again.

The Lord allowed Babylon to crush Israel. Israel is now able to experience what the nations are really like under their gods, helping them realize just how much the Lord has done for them, how the Lord has always stayed in relationship with them, even though they keep drifting away; attracted to the ways of the other nations. The Lord’s now showing them the depth of his commitment to his people, staying true to his side of the covenants, even as he allows them to experience the consequences of trusting in alliances and covenants with other nations. What alliances and groups do you place your trust, who commands loyalty in you that should rest in Jesus alone? Our hearts are easily drawn to the promises of others, causing us to forget Jesus’ promises and call on our lives.

Now the Lord says something that sounds kind of strange. “In those days people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.” We hear an echo back to Deuteronomy 5 where the Lord tells Israel, “You shall not bow down to idols or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” This acknowledges that parents’ sins often create pain for their children. We saw a little of this at Synod where churches who have declared themselves churches in protest because of the decisions of the past few years, have been placed in discipline, even if not every person in the congregation agreed with their council’s decision.

Now the Lord moves closer to his people, into a more intimate relationship with his people. Now each person will be responsible for their walk with God. When you go your way instead of God’s way, Jesus’ way, you’ll experience the consequences of your choices and actions. This doesn’t mean that someone else’s sin and wrong choices won’t affect you; that happens way too often, even today; it doesn’t mean that your parents’ bad decisions or sin won’t impact you in hurtfully or even harmful ways. Abuse, greed, lust, anger and more are such a part of the world that many of you have been hurt by others, yet this is because of their choices, not because God is punishing you through their sinful choices.

God tells Jeremiah that he’s going to make a new covenant with the people. “The days are coming when I will make a new covenant with my people…. This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time, I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” This is covenant given in a new way. Unlike the covenant at Mount Sinai that was written on stone tablets, this covenant is going to be written on the peoples’ hearts so they can’t forget. The covenant at Sinai was rooted in laws showing the people how to live with God and each other, and show us the character of God as a holy, righteous God who cares about justice and the flourishing of all his people, not just the wealthy and powerful. Now the laws will be right in the hearts and minds of the people. God gets deeply intimate with us here.

Pastor Stan Mast writes, “God’s people will actually have that law written on their hearts.  “I will put my law in their mind and write it upon their hearts… the new covenant does not reject God’s law.  Instead that law is injected into God’s people.” The Lord shows what that looks like in Ezekiel in 36, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”

Jeremiah and Ezekiel point ahead to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross where his blood washes us clean from our sin, and to the gift of the Holy Spirit Jesus gives us after he rises from the grave and returns to heaven. Jesus’ Spirit now lives in our hearts, pointing us constantly to Jesus and leads us into lives that reflect the fruit of the Spirit in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Are you embracing the guidance and movement of the Holy Spirit, are you allowing yourself to be shaped in this new covenant into a deeper relationship with God? The new covenant calls us to say “Yes!” to Jesus each day, always remembering his commitment to us! Say “Yes!” to Jesus today, and every day!

 

The Davidic Covenant - 2 Samuel 7:1-17

                           

Israel’s at rest. David’s a man of action, so as he sits in his palace, he realizes, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” The ark’s back in Jerusalem after being captured years ago by the Philistines, but they gave it back after God showed them his power. David arranged for the return of the ark and now it sits in a tent. David doesn’t believe it’s right that the ark sits in a tent instead of having a proper home. Nations were judged by the power of their gods and the grandeur of their temples, so David wants God to be honoured. The prophet Nathan also thinks this is a great idea, but God has different ideas.

The Lord comes to the prophet Nathan. When Nathan tells David to go ahead with building a house for God, he never thought to seek the Lord’s leading first. Nathan falls into the trap of thinking that if it sounds like a great idea, then God must also think it’s a great idea. It’s not that David’s idea is a bad idea, it’s that it doesn’t align with what God’s doing, or where God is leading. This is why we’re given the gift of prayer, and today the gift of Scripture, gifted wise people in our congregations, and the ability to gather together to seek God’s leading. David and Nathan forgot all this.

The Lord tells Nathan to go to David and give him God’s plans; which are different than David and Nathan’s plans. The Lord tells them, “Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” The Lord reminds David that he’s never had a house, he’s always been a God on the move with his people wherever they found themselves.

When the Lord says, “a house to dwell in,” he uses the word tabernacle. The tabernacle was the meeting place for God and his people, which is why John in the opening of his gospel writes about Jesus, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” In Greek, John says, “The Word tabernacled among us,” echoing back to Israel’s time in the wilderness, and to this conversation. It doesn’t matter where we find ourselves, God’s there with us.

Since Pentecost, the Spirit makes our hearts its home, picking up on the idea of the tabernacle and God being with us wherever we are. Jesus gets at the same thing in his conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” Through the Holy Spirit, God’s always with us and we can worship him everywhere.

The Lord’s not against a temple. That’s not what the Lord’s getting at here. A physical place that reflects God’s presence is a blessing, not only to God, but also to the people, giving us a place to gather together to worship that reflects who God is. God gives detailed plans for both the tabernacle and the temple; both places of great beauty and wonder, places of craftsmanship. The layout of the buildings leads them closer to God, reminding us that God comes towards us first. The Lord reminds David of what he’s done; raising him up, being with him always, and now giving him peace.

We read in 1 Chronicles 22:7–10 that the Lord shared more with David about why he’s not the one to build the temple, “‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.”

This helps us understand what the Lord says next, “I will provide a place for my people, a home, and rest from enemies.” Then comes a personal promise to David, “The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.” The word that God uses for “house” is bayit and it has three meanings in Hebrew.  It can mean “house,” “temple” or even “dynasty.”  David wants to build a house that is a temple for the Lord.  But God turns it around and promises to build a “house” that’s a dynasty for David.  As one scholar writes, “God rejects “temple,” but promises “dynasty.”

David’s children will succeed him. The Lord promises to establish David’s son’s kingdom and it will be this son who will build the house for the Lord’s Name; for the Lord’s reputation and fame. The Lord is also clear about the future. David’s line isn’t always going to be faithful; they’re going to sin. The Lord says straight out, “When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.” This punishment is not about vengeance, it’s about guidance back into a right relationship with God.

Like a parent disciplining their children, it’s to help our children realize where they’ve gone wrong, but also to help them change. Change looks like realizing your wrong, confessing you’ve sinned, asking for forgiveness and reconciliation, and to continue to grow in your relationship with God and the body of Jesus. The beauty is that we don’t have to fear not being forgiven, “But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” This isn’t permission to do whatever you want, counting on Jesus forgiving you no matter what. Paul writes in Romans 6, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

This is a call to recognize Jesus’ commitment to us, and to respond to Jesus through obedience; that’s what covenant looks like. Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” We see Jesus’ love in the cross, in his willingness to take on himself our sin and punishment in order to make us right with God our Father, and it calls for our love in return.

Walter Brueggemann writes, “David, David’s son, and David’s line can never lose Yahweh’s loyalty.” God’s work in David’s life and through his descendants reveals a shift from God’s presence with the people to God’s presence with the people through the line of David. The coming Messiah will be a king just like his father, David. Brueggemann writes, “David is given no credit and assigned no merit in this recital. David’s pre-eminence and power are all Yahweh’s doing. David is the creation of Yahweh’s powerful, relentless graciousness.”

This covenant is about presence and commitment, something that flows through all the covenants; it’s the promise of a kingdom and king rooted in relationship with God. We’re part of God’s people, grafted in as adopted children. God’s at work in our lives, present through the Holy Spirit in us. Jesus is on the throne; he’s been given all authority in heaven and on earth; he’s King of kings. We’re called to submit ourselves to Jesus our king, to live his way as he taught and modelled. We’ll sin, but we live in hope, knowing that through Jesus, God’s love is never removed from us. We may face punishment for our sin, we’ll certainly experience the consequences of our sin, but we never have to fear the we’ll ever be outside of God’s love.