Braeside EMC - April 1 Easter Sunday

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

A man named Jesus walked all over Palestine preaching about the coming kingdom, healing the sick, and claiming to be God’s Son. He walked into Jerusalem, angered the authorities, and within a week was killed on a Roman execution device. Three days later, this dead man walked out of His borrowed tomb very much alive.

            Do you believe this?

Do you believe then that by putting your faith and trust in this man, Jesus, God has forgiven you of your sins?

Do you believe that the resurrection of Jesus is a historical and physical fact? That his resurrection signals the potential for your own resurrection after you die? That He is the firstborn of the dead?

            Then what more do you need to know?

            Nothing…and everything. This profession, that Jesus is the Son of God who died for your sins and rose again to eternal life, is only the first step in your journey of faith. It is enough to be saved from judgment. But the journey of faith is an ever expanding experience as we follow Jesus to the ultimate conclusion.

            Last week, Chris Loewen spoke to you about our future resurrection and how it hinges on the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. This morning I want to follow up that truth with the daily benefits of Christ’s resurrection, how our day-to-day journey in this life has been empowered with spiritual gifts because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

            When Paul heard about the faith of the Christians in Ephesus, he wrote to them and explained to them the riches of being in Christ. Then he prayed for them in Ephesians 1:15-23 that they would know more fully, more deeply what this all meant. This is a pastoral prayer for a church that believes in the risen Jesus and how that changes everything in terms of our faith and life.

1. Praise God for your faith

Believing is as simple as confessing what you know in your heart. What we believe, our faith in Christ, on the other hand, is no simple thing. To believe in God means believing that He had an elaborate plan to gather a people to Himself before the world even began.

            Consider Paul’s language earlier in chapter one: “…he chose us in him before the creation of the world…” (4); “he predestined us to be adopted…” (5); “In him we have redemption through his blood…” (7); “…he made known to us the mystery of his will…” (9); “…you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth…” (13). God’s forethought of you and I is amazing to behold.

            Considering God’s plan of salvation, considering that you are no accident but are included in God’s purposes, considering at what great cost God sent His Son to accomplish this, our belief may be simple but what we believe is complex.

            This is why Paul prays for the believers in Ephesus. He prays that they may grow in this faith. But first, Paul praises God that they have faith. “…ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus…”

            Paul’s words are carefully chosen. When Paul writes about Jesus, usually he writes “Christ Jesus” or “Lord Jesus.” He deliberately addresses Jesus as Messiah or as King. This is a reflection of the post-resurrection reality of who the Lord Jesus is in the hearts of believers. So when Paul states that he has heard about their faith in the Lord Jesus, there is a direct reference not only to the humanity and historicity of a person named Jesus, but to their confession that Jesus died and rose again.

            The evidence for Paul that this faith is genuine manifests itself in the love these people have for others who believe in the Lord Jesus. “…ever since I heard about…your love for all the saints” Jesus expressed His will for the church, the gathered people of God, that the world would recognize them by the love that they had for each other (John 13:34-35). This love was a hallmark that assured Paul that their faith had roots in the teaching of Christ. Unfortunately, in a few short decades, the church would lose this initial love (Rev. 2:4).

            Take a local church, any local church, and think about what brings these people together. They have different interests, disagree on politics and ethical issues…the church is a gathering of people that should just not get along. Yet they have one common unifier: faith in Jesus Christ. And because of this faith in the Lord Jesus, they love each other.

            I thank God for your faith, Braeside. I thank God for people who love the Lord as I do and who understand my worldview for the most part as it pertains to Jesus. I thank God that I am not alone but have the church to stand with.

2. Praying that you might know

Paul had praised the Ephesians for their faith in the Lord Jesus, the crucified, risen Lord of glory. They had proved their faith through the love and faithfulness they had shown. Now Paul prays for them that they would be able to grasp the deep truths of the faith they profess. Some of these amazing truths are hard to comprehend, for them and for us.

            Though we may not grasp all the depths of this gospel, we need to know that we are complete in Jesus, that we have everything we need to be Christ-followers. At the same time, we want to understand all that we have been given in Christ. Thus the prayer…that we might know:

a) That you might know the mystery of God – What we need to know cannot be taught in a class or read from a book. It is only through the Spirit that we can grasp the mystery of God.

            Paul prayed, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you might know him better” (17). What is a spirit of wisdom and revelation? What Paul wants the believers to have is a complete understanding of their position in Christ and of what they possess in Christ. The revelation of who Jesus Christ is, that He is the Son of God who reveals the Father to us, can only be seen with spiritual eyes. The world cannot know Him. The world cannot fathom a man dying on a cross and rising from the dead.

            Around Easter time every year, skeptics begin a relentless campaign. In 2016, McLean’s top article was about a new research that uses memory analysis to disprove that Jesus even existed. A so-called NT scholar was quoted as the originator of this theory that the early believers’ memory was faulty and that as time passed they made up stories about Jesus. This scholar, it turned out, was an agnostic skeptic. For some reason, cynics like to drag everyone down into their unbelief.

            Paul’s prayer then is crucial for the believers – that we might comprehend the mystery of God, that a man claiming to be God’s Son, dying on a cross and rising from the dead, saves us.

            Paul’s prayer continues in this theme: “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” (18).

We sometimes talk of visualizing something with our mind’s eye. Did you know that your heart has eyes? The heart is the seat of our understanding, thinking, and feeling (not just feeling). It is a combination of what we feel and think. We sing, “Open the eyes of my heart Lord, I want to see you…” and rightly so. We want to be able to see the Jesus of the gospels. We want to know the hope that knowing Him brings us. We want to know that because of the cross we are acceptable to God and nothing can separate us from His love. We know this through the enlightening of our hearts.

            This hope is made more astounding as we see that we are “his glorious inheritance.” Earlier, Paul said that the Holy Spirit is the deposit guaranteeing our inheritance (13-14). Here we see that we are Christ’s inheritance. He looks forward to having us! He wants us! That’s why He went to the cross with such determination. Jesus went to cross “for the joy set before him” (Heb 12:2). We are that joy for Him. He is our hope and joy.

b) That you might know God’s power – Next Paul prays that we might know the mighty power of God at work in our lives. This request is so important that Paul used four different words to describe the “incomparably great power for us who believe.” These terms are only noticeable in Greek.

            The first word “power” or “dunamis” is where we get the English “dynamo.” This kind of power is inherent or potential power that resides in something or someone by virtue of its nature. Paul heaps on an adjective to emphasize that it is “exceedingly great” power.

            The second word is “working” or “energia” from which we get the English word “energy.” This is different than dunamis in that it is operative power, power at work. We get energy from the Holy Spirit to live for Jesus day by day. He is at work within us to give us power to live as Christians.

            The third word is “mighty” or “ischus.” It speaks of ability or strength. The power of God within us gives us supernatural spiritual ability to do what would otherwise be impossible. It is the same word Paul uses when he says, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).

            And the fourth word is “strength” or “kratos.” This term refers to an act of power, like a mighty deed. We have been given dominion over our lives and that which God gives us. We have the power over this life to live for God.

            What I find amazing about this power is the illustration that Paul uses to describe it. He says, “That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead…” (19-20). We understand the dynamics of planting, growing, creating, and nurturing. We can make a plant spring to life; we can even create artificial life through robotics. But if something dies we are powerless to bring it back. When a plant dies, it’s done. Humankind fantasized about making dead things live in the fictional story of Frankenstein, but that’s all it is – fiction.

            But God can make the dead come to life. Jesus was dead and buried. Three days he was in the tomb, decomposing. He was dead – crucified – speared in the side – dead. And with the breath of His mouth, God raised Jesus to life. That’s a power that humankind cannot replicate. That is pure power.

            Now Paul says that this is the power at work within you and me. Paul prayed that we would know this power, experience this power, to believe that God can do amazing things in us and through us. This power is in you!

c) That you might know Christ’s majesty – Paul’s third request for the believers is to know the Lord Jesus glorified. Jesus Christ finished the course; He did the work; Jesus said, “Not my will, but yours be done,” and went to the cross. He completed the work the Father had given Him to do. So when God raised Him up, He really raised Him up – He seated Jesus at His own right hand (20), giving Him a position of power and authority, as Paul said “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given…” (21). Jesus rules!

            Those who know me know that I like to quote the first part of the hymn in Philippians 2, how I underline that Jesus left the riches of heaven, His station with God, to become a servant and a slave to death, even death on a cross. Now is the time to quote the rest of this hymn. Because Jesus died on the cross at the will of God “…God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11).

            God gave the crucified Lord Jesus the crown, making His Son the King of the Universe, not just over spiritual things but over all things, seen and unseen, living and dead, with a title that supersedes all titles (president, prime minister, queen) for ever and ever.

            And when you call Jesus “Lord” you are acknowledging that He is the King, that He is the Lord of all things and the Lord of your life. You are His subject and you acknowledge that His way, His will, His word is your way, your will, and your word, to the glory of the Father.

            “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (22-23).

Do you believe what I have been saying?

Those who understand, even a little bit, of what I am saying have experienced the victory of Christ that we celebrate on this day, this Resurrection Sunday. You grasp the truth of what we have in Christ. You live and speak and act on what you know to be true. It is a simple thing. You “get it.”

            Paul prayed that the believers in Ephesus would “get it.” And I want to “get it” too. I want to know more about this Lord Jesus and all that is mine in Christ through the cross. Do you want that too?

            My hope and prayer is that we will know the spiritual blessings that we already have in Christ. That incredibly great power that is at work within us, that overwhelming claim that Christ has upon our lives.

            The incredibly wealthy William Randolph Hearst was a great collector of paintings. One day he read about a particular painting and became determined to own it, regardless of the cost. He sent his people out all over the world to find it. When they reported back to Hearst, they told him the painting had been found – he already owned it. The painting had been stored in one of his warehouses for years. He already owned it.

            We already have so much in Christ, more than we know or understand. I pray that we would know with the eyes of our hearts, with our experiences, and that we will live like people who know that these things are true – because in Christ, they are true.

                                                            AMEN

Our heavenly Father, thank you for Resurrection Sunday, for this day that we celebrate the Risen Lord! Thank you, that even though we are centuries removed from this incredible event, we have the Spirit of revelation to show us that Jesus lives and that He is now King.

            We have many facts and words written down for us, and we are the recipients of great knowledge. But we know that when we bend our knees, open our hearts, and invite the Spirit of God to show us these truths in the Word of God, this knowledge becomes living and attractive and compelling. Lord Jesus, help us to know you better, that the eyes of our hearts will be enlightened, and our faith will be empowered.

            We confess that we are sinners, because we know that only those who admit their sin can know this grace and receive this Lord Jesus. Now live in us and through us so that others may know this grace and truth.

            In Jesus name we pray…Amen!

Morrow Gospel - January 28

WHAT DO I KNOW OF HOLY?

What do we know of “holy”? The adjective “holy” is a very loosely used term these days. We may shout in a moment of amazement “holy cow!” or “holy sh…aving cream!”

            In the campy 60’s TV series, Batman and Robin, Robin would apply “holy” to a number of situations the dynamic duo found themselves in at the time. Robin had 369 different expressions beginning with “holy.” These included “holy popcorn, Batman,” “holy hallucination” and “holy ravioli.” But what did Robin know of “holy”?

            I believe the Christian pop group Addison Road had the right attitude when it came to “holy.” The question in the song “What do I know of holy?” is an apt one. We have overused and abused what we know of holy and have, perhaps, become too familiar with the Holy One.

            Consider the words of the song; the singer confesses, “I think I made you too small; I never feared you at all, no. If you touched my face, would I know you? Looked into my eyes, would I behold you?” And then with the chorus, the singer explodes the reality of her situation (show slide). She admits that God is so great and beyond explaining that she has no idea of the true holiness of God. And what would she do if she met Him?

            Isaiah did meet the Lord. One night, as he was closing up the temple after a day of service, the glory of the Lord broken into that place. A vision of the throne room of God, so real, so awesome, engulfed Isaiah and revealed to him the Holy One. What did he see? What did he feel? What did he do?

            This morning we are studying Isaiah 6:1-13 and we will attempt to understand this great vision. What I hope we will grasp is this: The revelation of God in His glory transforms the lives of God’s people inspiring them for service. Then, perhaps, we will know a little bit more about of what “holy” means.

1. Witnessing the Glory of the Lord (1-4)

Isaiah’s vision of the Lord came at a transitional point in Judah’s history: King Uzziah died that year. That piece of history would be lost on us if it were not so important.

            Uzziah was a good king; the best they had had since David. He reigned 52 years and brought peace and prosperity to the land. Then, in a moment of pride, Uzziah went in to the temple and offered incense to the Lord, something only priests should do. He was immediately struck with leprosy. His pride led to his downfall (2 Chron. 26:16).

            With Uzziah’s death, Isaiah and the people must have worried about what would happen to the nation. Uzziah was, in fact, representative of the people: self-sufficient and proud. The first five chapters of Isaiah reveal how far the people had fallen into every kind of sin: national, social and spiritual.

            It was in this context that Isaiah saw the Lord. Now no one can actually see God. What Isaiah saw was what God allowed him to see. The Lord revealed his glory, a manifestation of his majesty to Isaiah. And that’s what we read here: “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple” (6:1bc). The throne, the robe which filled the temple, and the attendants or angels were all symbols that a man like Isaiah could understand to grasp the majesty of God.

            Those attending the Lord were called “seraphim.” These are angels whose name actually means “the burning ones.” They each have six wings which suggest that they are in constant motion. Two wings covered their faces to shield them from God’s glory; two covered their feet representing service on the earth; and with two they flew.

            But what catches our attention is their cry or their song. “And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD God of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’” (6:3).

            “Holy, holy, holy,” is a super-superlative that is found nowhere else in the Bible except Revelation 4. Holiness is the supreme truth about God. We say that “God is love,” and this is true. But holiness covers even love. What does holiness mean?

            The journey to understand holiness takes us to the brink, and from there the experience of God is beyond words. Every effort to describe God and define his holiness ends up in the same place: God is holy, meaning – God is God. There is no one like Him in the universe. He is absolutely unique.

            If we look at the root of what holy means, we may find that it is to cut or to separate. A holy thing is cut off and separated from common use. We call a lot of things holy to imply that they are distinctly devoted to God. We can speak of holy ground, a holy nation, holy garments, a holy city, holy men and holy women, the Holy Bible, and so on. Almost anything can be holy if it is separated for devotion to God.

            But when the description of “holy” is applied to God Himself…well, what can you separate God from to make him holy? He is holy because He is God. And if the angels cover their faces in His holy presence, how can we dare to act in a familiar manner before the God of the universe? He is so pure, so good, so righteous, no human can stand in His presence.

            So immense is the holiness of God that C.S. Lewis imagined that the seraphim surrounded the throne and shouted, “I see holiness,” while another shouted back, “I see holiness here too!” I don’t know if he was correct, but the implication is that no one person can grasp the wholeness of God on their own. We need each person in the church to share their perspective of our holy God.

2. Confessing Sin in the Presence of Holiness (5-7)

Isaiah was so overwhelmed by this revelation of God’s holiness that, in our colloquialism, “he freaked out!”

            Isaiah cried, “Woe is me! For I am lost (ruined, undone, wrecked); for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (6:5).

            Isaiah was a good man, a prophet, a servant of the Lord. He could, in most people’s estimation, be set apart from the sins of the people. But the presence of Almighty God revealed to him his true condition. He had to identify himself with his sinful brothers and sisters.

Isaiah identified his sin in a unique way: he identifies his sin by his lips. Back in 3:8 Isaiah rebuked the people of Judah for this very thing when he said, “because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence.” With our lips we may pretend to honor the Lord, but eventually those same lips reveal the true nature of our hearts. (Jesus talked about this in Matthew 15:18-19)

Remember when Jesus told Peter to try fishing again after a hard night of catching nothing? Peter does as Jesus said and caught so much fish it almost swamped the boat. And Peter’s response? “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8). Such is the effect of the holy presence of God.

The good news is the swift response of the Lord in cleansing Isaiah. Isaiah admits he is lost. Isaiah confesses his sin. And immediately the Lord takes the initiative to send a seraph with a coal to touch the place of confessed need: the lips.

            Notice from where this coal originates. The seraph takes the burning coal from the altar. The altar is the place of sacrifice, of blood and fire – the place of atonement. The blood washes; the fire purifies.

             There is no waiting period for this atonement to impart forgiveness. Isaiah is forgiven on the spot. The seraph then says, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for” (6:7).

            There is hope in this cleansing. Isaiah must have thought, “If I can be forgiven, there is hope for my people.” There is hope for us in this too. If even Isaiah needs forgiveness, I must need it. And if I confess my sin…

3. Responding to the Call of the Lord (8-13)

The scene is not finished. For the first time, Isaiah hears the voice of the LORD Himself saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (6:8).

            Isaiah’s experience with the presence of the holy Lord compels him to respond. He has seen the true King (Uzziah’s death is swallowed up in the reality of the eternal King), and he has been cleansed from his unholiness. Isaiah is ready to go. So he says, “Here I am! Send me.” This is literally “Look – me!” As we used to say on the playground “pick me, pick me.”

I have been a free agent since last spring, teaching and preaching where invited. I taught at SBC last fall. So at a SBC luncheon for faculty I overheard Prof. Dave R. saying he needed someone to fill in for something, Dr. Terry H. offered my name. I immediately said, “I’ll do it.” A few minutes later I asked, “What did I say ‘yes” to?”

That was like Isaiah’s response. He was eager to serve the Lord out of gratitude and the awe of God’s presence. But he didn’t know what he was saying “yes” to exactly.

The Lord then gives the mission: “Go and say to this people: ‘keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull…” (6:9-10).

Wait a minute. What kind of a revival message is this? Does God not want people to be healed or to be forgiven? What an odd message. Actually the message is described by its effects and not its content.

The message that Isaiah preaches to the people will be rejected for one peculiar reason: it’s too simple. In Isaiah 28:9-10, Isaiah is accused of having so simple a message the people will say it is meant for children. This is nursery school stuff, they will say. This same passage (6:9-10) will be quoted by Matthew describing why Jesus spoke in parables. Jesus told stories to convey kingdom principles. And the intellectuals, the academics didn’t get it. They thought it was nonsense. It was too simple. The gospel was not philosophical enough for them.

The Lord goes on to say that the unresponsiveness of the people is an aspect of God’s judgment on them. They have chosen arrogance and indifference; they don’t want to hear the Lord, so they won’t. Their hearts will be hardened and their land will be devastated (11-12).

            But the Lord still says, “Preach!” Tell them anyways. There is mercy in this. God is a God of mercy and compassion even as He speaks judgment on His people. A slender hope is revealed in v. 13: the land and its people are likened to a stump of a tree after it is felled. Judah is a great tree that is put to the axe and brought down because of their sin. Yet the stump remains. And that stump symbolizes the truth that God is not done with these people. The seed suggests regrowth, renewal, restoration. A new people shall grow up out of the devastation and become the people of God.

            So Isaiah, preach the Word!

The revelation of God in His glory transforms the lives of God’s people inspiring them for service.

            What can we take away from such a great revelation of God’s glory? What are the applications to your life?

1) We need to meditate on passages like Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4 to gain an appreciation for the holiness of God. My own opinion is that Christians, the church in general, has taken God for granted. We have become too familiar with him. Hipsters will begin their prayers with “Hey God…” and bring their shopping lists into the petition.

            As one writer put it, “Your God is too small.” He is beyond our comprehension. He is transcendent and holds the universe in His hand. Fear Him! And yet He has condescended to us in the person of Christ, a poor man, a peasant. He came to us at the ground floor of life and showed us his glory in the flesh. Can we see what Isaiah saw?

            We do see the glory of the Lord. Read 2 Corinthians 3:12-18.

2) When the Word of the Lord convicts us, we are compelled to confess our sin. That is the only way we can fully know God’s will. We are forgiven through the cross of Christ. Jesus’ blood and righteousness are ours every day. But we cannot take this lightly. It was a costly grace that was displayed on the cross. So who am I to pretend to be immune to sin each and every day? As my dear departed brother, Dr. Chuck Nichols used to say, “Every day I pray: Lord Jesus, I confess my need of your grace today knowing that it is sufficient for all my needs.”

3) We must be willing to go where God sends us and to speak what God wants us to speak, even if it is not popular. The simple, clear, concise gospel of Jesus Christ is our message. It is not popular today. But the Lord calls out, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”

            Read 2 Corinthians 4:3-6.

Can you see what Isaiah saw?

Can you feel what Isaiah felt?

Can you do what Isaiah did?

            And what do we know of holy? We know Jesus Christ, the holy Lamb of God.

                                                            AMEN

Prayer:

Thank you, our Father, for this marvelous revelation of your unceasing labors on behalf of mankind. Grant to us who have felt the touch of the cleansing coal from your altar that we should be like the prophet, eager and available to go. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.