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Our culture does not offer us many examples of humility. Consider what you see in our culture. Athletes showboat at the slightest opportunity. Movie stars show us towering pride. Reality television shows have made a brand of arrogant people focusing every bit of their energies on themselves. And cable TV preachers tell us that we are number one.

 

But the Scripture gives to us a different standard. God treasures humility. God values a broken and contrite heart. After all, God is holy and we are sinners. It is only appropriate that we recognize our lowly state.

 

When Jesus was ministering, he was once approached by a woman who had a demon-possessed daughter. This woman, a gentile, came to beg Jesus for help. And the Savior’s response to her is interesting. To modern ears, the response of the Savior is rough. He lets the woman know that his ministry is for the Jews and not the gentiles. He says that he should not take the bread of the children and feed it to the dogs. By that, he meant that the Jews were to receive his blessings, and the gentiles did not have a right of claim on him.

 

Now, as an aside, understand that Jesus was speaking quite properly. He was sent by his Father to the nation of Israel, God’s covenant people. But, Jesus knew that his mission would eventually go well beyond that ethnic boundary. Jesus pointed out in John 10 that he had many sheep that were not of the sheep fold of Israel. He knew exactly what he would do. He knew that his salvation would eventually be for all nations. But his words to the woman were a bit of a test and a reminder that she, if she received anything from him, did not receive from him out of a covenant relationship. She did not have a claim on him.

 

Regardless of Jesus’ prioritizing the Jews during his ministry, can you imagine how a modern American woman would respond to Jesus’ words? Can you imagine what a person would say to the Savior if they asked him for something and he first pointed out to them their unworthiness, an unworthiness about which they could do nothing. But look at this woman’s humble response. 

 

Mark 7:26-30 – 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

 

The woman did not scream at Jesus. There was no, “How dare you!” She did not demand her rights. Instead, in humility, she asked for mercy. Are we gentiles the dogs under the table? Fine. Do not even dogs get crumbs from the table? She is not asking Jesus to focus on all gentiles. She is just asking for a tiny crumb of blessing from him. She wants help. She knows she does not have a right to demand it. She just asks in humility.

 

Of course Jesus then does what he already knew he would do. He heals the little girl and the woman can go away happy. But, in the process, she goes away knowing the proper ranking of humans to God. She goes away understanding that God’s plans and purposes are greater and of more value than our perceptions of those plans.

 

I wonder, are we ready to allow for the ways of the Lord to be as far beyond our ability to measure as we saw in this encounter? Jesus did not act as we expect. It is certainly possible that we would be greatly offended by his response. We wonder why. We think it inappropriate. But the ways of God are not our ways. We do not have the right to tell God how he is supposed to think of people. Instead, like the woman, we are to bow before him in humility and ask him for mercy. Any kindness he shows us, any at all, is grace.

 

Today, there is no longer a distinction in the family of God. Jew and gentile alike are welcomed into the same family of God by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. None of us outrank the other any longer. There is no room for pride. All people have sinned. All people deserve judgment. Anything we receive from the Lord that is less than Judgment is sweet mercy. May we not puff ourselves up. May we not demand our rights. May we see this woman’s wise humility, and learn to imitate it for the glory of God.

When we think of the word “witness,” many different things may spring to mind. If you are into courtroom dramas on TV, you will think of a person in the dock giving testimony about a crime. If you are a person who has been to church for a long time, you will think of witnessing as the act of evangelizing, which may give you different feelings based on your own personality and experiences.

 

In my reading of Deuteronomy 31, I found the word witness used in a way that we do not often consider, and in a context that is often not on our minds. God calls the people to witness against themselves with a song.

 

Deuteronomy 31:19 – Now therefore write this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel.”

 

Moses was called by God to give the people a song to sing. That song would be a witness. But, unlike our concept of Christian witnessing, taking the gospel to others, this song would be a witness for God against the people. The words that the people were to sing would speak against them.

 

When the people of Israel would sing the song that Moses would teach them, they would declare truth about God. As they would sing that truth, they would prove that they were aware of what God had revealed about himself to them. They would sing the truth of God’s commands. They would show, with their song, that they were responsible to follow the commands that the Lord gave to them.

 

In some ways, the witnessing in this song is like a courtroom witness, giving testimony that the individuals who sang the song really knew the commands of God. The people would prove themselves guilty before the Lord by singing the testimony of the Lord’s truth.

 

So, this makes me wonder about our own singing and testimony. Do we bear witness when we sing our songs of worship on Sundays? Do the songs we sing have enough theological content to actually witness about anything? Or are our songs so full of empty sentimentality that they actually offer us no witness that could convict us of anything other than not feeling a certain emotion? May we be sure that, as we sing, we sing truth. May we be sure that our words are enough of a witness to the Lord that they could actually call us to account before the Lord.

 

Also, considering this kind of witness, may we also realize that when we witness to others, we are called to bring truth to bear. Being a witness for the Lord is not a call to use our powers of persuasion to change the minds and hearts of others. Rather, witnessing is telling the truth at such a level as to prove someone accountable for that truth. So, when we witness, we communicate to people the facts of the Lord’s gospel. We communicate their responsibility before the Lord. We do not do this harshly—there is no reason to do so. We do not communicate with a nasty attitude. Neither do we compromise the truth. If we are to be genuine witnesses, we give people the information they need to see where they stand before the Lord.

 

How would our lives change if we saw witnessing in the context of Deuteronomy 31? How would you change to think that you witness against yourself as you sing the truth about the Lord? How would your evangelism change if you realized that our call to bear witness to Christ is a call to tell others the truth so as to help them see their position before God. Yes, be loving to others. Yes, sing songs of joy and peace and love and hope and healing. But, yes, bear witness of the truth of the lord for the glory of God.

What do you think of when you hear the commandment not to take the name of the Lord your God in vain? I think, as I grew up, the only way I ever heard that used was swearing. Do not cuss using the word “God.” And while trying to make the word “God” part of a profanity is wrong, there is something far deeper involved in taking the name of the Lord in vain.

 

In Psalm 50, the Lord rebukes a people for something they were doing that is a perfect example of what it means to take God’s name in vain.

 

Psalm 50:16-22

 

16 But to the wicked God says:

“What right have you to recite my statutes

or take my covenant on your lips?

17 For you hate discipline,

and you cast my words behind you.

18 If you see a thief, you are pleased with him,

and you keep company with adulterers.

19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,

and your tongue frames deceit.

20 You sit and speak against your brother;

you slander your own mother’s son.

21 These things you have done, and I have been silent;

you thought that I was one like yourself.

But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

22 “Mark this, then, you who forget God,

lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!

 

Note, in that passage, the wicked that God speaks of are people who are claiming to be his. Yet, when these people put on the name of God, their lives do not change. They approve of evil. They keep company with the wicked because they enjoy the wickedness. They speak evil of their brothers. They say they belong to God, but they refuse to obey his word.

 

In an interesting phrasing, God says of the wicked who are taking his name in vain, “you thought that I was one like yourself” (v21). That may be one of the most telling verses I’ve read in a long time. A mark of human wickedness, of not knowing God even though you think you do, is to think that God is just like you. When you think that God sees the world as you do, when you assume that your morality must be the morality of God, you are in great danger of taking the name of the Lord in vain. Because, the Lord has revealed himself and his ways in his word, we must never assume that we can reason out who God is based on our personalities, our likes, our dislikes, or our cultural norms.

 

Are you taking the name of the Lord in vain? It is not about foul language. It is about saying you are a believer when your life does not match your claim. The Lord, at the end of this psalm, has very hard things to say to those who declare with their mouths only to be his. God wants people whose lives match their claims to be his servants.

I once recall having a conversation with some young people about the sovereignty of God. They had begun to ask me questions about this important topic, and they would not be satisfied without looking at the issues of election, free will, predestination, and all the rest. And, to be honest, I had no desire to have that conversation, because I knew the difficulties that are often associated with our reactions to God’s sovereignty.  

 

The reason that this particular conversation stands out in my mind is the ugly response from one of them. A person let us all know, in no uncertain terms, if they were not individually responsible for helping God on his mission, if they were not specifically needed by God in their efforts, they would not serve him. They would not go on any sort of mission or share their faith if they were not personally the difference in a person’s salvation or lack thereof.

 

You know, regardless of how you understand the sovereignty of God in salvation, I would hope that you can grasp that such a response to the commands of God is problematic. Calvinists and Arminians alike should know that, regardless of how God uses us or not, it is our responsibility to obey. We do what God commands, regardless of whether or not we can understand how he uses us. We obey out of devotion to the Lord, regardless of the way that the Lord chooses to use that obedience.

 

One terrible mistake that we can mentally make as we live our Christian lives is to allow ourselves to believe that we are helping God along in his cause. Dare we think that the Lord needs us to accomplish his task? Dare we assume that, without our bit, the plans of God will fail?

 

Psalm 50:7-15

 

7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak;

O Israel, I will testify against you.

I am God, your God.

8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;

your burnt offerings are continually before me.

9 I will not accept a bull from your house

or goats from your folds.

10 For every beast of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills.

11 I know all the birds of the hills,

and all that moves in the field is mine.

12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

for the world and its fullness are mine.

13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,

and perform your vows to the Most High,

15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

 

Perhaps you are familiar with the saying that the lord owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Often that is cited as a way for believers to rest in God’s provision, knowing that we have a rich, heavenly Father. But that is not the intent of the psalmist.

 

No, the cattle on a thousand hills saying comes from the mouth of God as a rebuke to a people who have decided that they are supporting God. Some people might have mistakenly begun to believe, as the idol worshipers of Canaan believed, that their sacrifices and offerings to the Lord sustained him. They may have decided that their burnt offerings fed the Lord. But such is not ever the case.

 

God let’s Israel know that he does not want their offerings because of any need. He is not fed by them. He does not need their cattle. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. The Israelites are not helping him by their participation in the sacrificial system.

 

The Lord tells the people to continue giving to him, but not to think they are aiding him. He wants them to worship out of a desire to worship him. He wants them to sacrifice out of thanksgiving. But he will most certainly not tolerate the concept of a person thinking they are providing for his needs. The Lord has no needs.

 

I would argue that the same thing is true of Christian service today. Whether we are talking about our giving in church, our singing songs of praise, or our participation in missions, we should not think that we are the linchpin in the plans of the Lord. We must not assume that God’s kingdom rises or falls based on our helping it along. The Lord is sovereign. He is King. He has no needs. And so we serve him for a different reason.

 

Now, this is not me saying that evangelism is unimportant. This is not me saying that giving or going is not important. God has commanded us to obey him. Obedience is important. However, the growth of the kingdom of God depends on God. He will have 100% of the glory for its establishment.

 

What the Lord wants of us is for us to understand that he is sovereign, and we may follow him out of obedience an joy. We share the gospel out of our desire to honor the Lord and have the joy of his glory. We give in church out of a desire to obey the Lord and demonstrate our trust in him. We sing God’s praises in order to declare truth about the Lord and his ways and our dependence on him.

 

I once illustrated this all with the idea of painting a wall in a house. Imagine a dad whose 5-year-old son wants to join him in painting. The dad can do the job better and faster without the little boy. But, out of love for the child, for the purpose of teaching him about work, for the kindness of letting the little one spend time with his father, the dad paints a line on the wall and asks the little boy to paint everything below the line. It is not that the boy’s participation is irrelevant. But, the dad lets the boy “help” because the dad loves his son.

 

When it comes to building the kingdom of God, we are like little ones painting the garage. Sure, we get some paint on the walls. But we also make a lot of messes on ourselves. However, out of love, our Heavenly Father has allowed us to join him in his work. But may we never think that we are indispensable to him in the completion of the task. He does not need us. He just loves us, which is far, far better.

In Mark 4, the Lord Jesus  speaks a parable about a sower who sows seed on a variety of types of soil. Of the 4 soils, only 1 produces a living, fruit-bearing plant. The other three produce, at the end of the day, only something dead. And the Savior tells us in his explanation of the parable that this all has to do with the sharing of the gospel.

 

What I wonder, when I consider this, is how many of us heard a gospel preached that, by the simple nature of how it was preached, would be more likely to fall on bad soil. Of course, I know that the Lord is sovereign over our salvation. He is the one who brings dead hearts to life and draws people to himself. So, do not take that out of the equation. But, what I wonder is, by the nature of how we speak, do we almost prepare people to be the rocky or thorny ground?

 

Mark 4:5-7 – 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.

 

Jesus says there are a kind of people who, hear the gospel and respond quickly with joy. But, when either hardships or a desire for the things of this life arise, they turn from the gospel and prove to be dead and not alive.

 

Mark 4:16-19 – 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

 

Would not a half-gospel, an almost true presentation of Jesus, lead people to be more likely to look like the rocky or thorny ground? Think about it. So many preachers in modern churches offer people the love and forgiveness of God by grace through faith in Christ. But, somehow, in the preaching, the call to repentance and commitment to Christ is left out of the message. There is no lordship in the presentation.

 

Mark 1:15 – and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

 

The gospel is a call to repent and believe. It is not a call merely to say some spiritual word.

 

Romans 10:9 – Bcause, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

 

Paul points out that we both call Jesus Lord and believe in his completed work for salvation. He does not present to us a call simply to have an empty, head only faith. Faith leads to repentance. Faith includes a surrender to Christ.

 

But, so many presentations out there are a call to just give Jesus a try. The call out there is to pray a prayer, and you will notice everything gets better. People eagerly pray, and they might even be religious for a few months. But, when real life hits them in the face, they turn and run. They were never truly converted.

 

1 John 2:19 – They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

 

If merely mouthing ascent to a spiritual proposition, praying a prayer on a street corner, were the true gospel plan of salvation, 1 John 2:19 would make no sense. They could not go out from us, never having been part of us, if to be one of us only required a heartless prayer without commitment or heart-change. No, the good news is not so vacuous as all that.

 

Now, do not get me wrong. We are saved, if we are saved, by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. There is no religious action to perform in order to seal our salvation. There is no particular work that we do or particular amount of works that we do in order to be saved. Salvation is genuinely a free gift of God.

 

Part of some gospel presentations includes the idea that, if we want God’s gift of grace, we must take it from his outstretched hands. That is usually a bad version of synergistic teaching in which our act of will works along with God to apply salvation to us. And, of course, that is not true biblically. But, there is a way that I think we can use a gift illustration to help us. If you imagine that salvation is a package that you need to reach out and take from God’s outstretched hand, that is not bad. However, add to this picture this idea: Before you are saved, you are holding inn your two, full hands, the right of ownership over your own life. In order to receive the gift of salvation, you must hand to God the control of your life—lordship. Your hands have to be empty enough to receive the gift of salvation.

 

I’m not sure if that illustration works, but it may be close. Salvation is a free gift of grace. But, no person can receive that gift of grace while simultaneously keeping full control of his or her life. To genuinely believe in Jesus and receive him as lord includes the action of repenting, of surrendering the authority over our lives to the Lord.

 

To then tie this back to my concern, far too many supposed gospel presentations include the gift from God while far too few include the concept of repentance and lordship. It is almost like trying to sell someone on the concept of a wedding day without including a marriage. It is like trying to sell someone on the leap from the diving board without including the splash in the pool. May we be more honest than all that. May we not pretend that salvation is something a person receives by the mere mouthing of words. No, salvation comes when God changes our hearts, makes us alive, and causes us both to believe and to, in that belief, yield our lives to him. This is salvation that is not going to die the moment something more comfortable presents itself. This is the kind of salvation that does not disappear when life hardships or worldly success are before us. No, the genuine gospel is an all-life, all-eternity sort of thing.  

John 19:16b-18 – So they took Jesus, 17     and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18     There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.

 

One of the most fascinating things about the way that God’s word records for us the crucifixion of Jesus is the fact that we receive almost zero details regarding the actual event.  This passage just told us that Jesus was led out of the city to a place they called Skull Hill, that he carried his cross, that he was crucified, and that two others were crucified beside him.  So, though countless books, seminars, movies, and studies have been done on the physical effects of crucifixion, the Bible only focuses us on the details that surrounded the cross, not on the blood and gore of the cross itself.

 

William Hendriksen grasps this point when he writes:

 

*

It has been well said that the person who was crucified “died a thousand deaths.” Large nails were driven through hands and feet (20:25; cf. Luke 24:40). Among the horrors which one suffered while thus suspended (with the feet resting upon a little tablet, not very far away from the ground) were the following: severe inflammation, the swelling of the wounds in the region of the nails, unbearable pain from torn tendons, fearful discomfort from the strained position of the body, throbbing headache, and burning thirst (19:28).

 

In the case of Jesus the emphasis, however, should not be placed on this physical torture which he endured. It has been said that only the damned in hell know what Jesus suffered when he died on the cross. In a sense this is true, for they too, suffer eternal death. One should add, however, that they have never been in heaven. The Son of God, on the other hand, descended from the regions of infinite delight in the closest possible fellowship with his Father (1:1; 17:5) to the abysmal depths of hell. On the cross he cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46).^[1]

*

 

Hendriksen has it exactly right.  The physical suffering that Jesus went through on the cross was horrific; however, the focus is more on what he suffered spiritually.  The spiritual aspect of what was going on is, I believe, at the center of John’s mind.  This is why John emphasizes that Jesus was led out of the city, as a criminal, with two criminals, and hung on a tree as one accursed.  Just listen to these texts of scripture, and see how much we should see in these events.

 

On Christ being led outside the city:

 

Leviticus 16:27 – And the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. Their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be burned up with fire.

 

Hebrews 13:11-12 – 11     For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12     So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.

 

On Christ being hung on a tree:

 

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 – 22     “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23     his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance.

 

Galatians 3:13 – Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

 

On Christ being counted with criminals:

 

Isaiah 53:12 – Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors ; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

 

What is it that God wants us to see in Christ walking out of the city, suffering the torture of the cross?  God wants us to see that Christ was becoming an offering for the sins of others.  He was becoming accursed for the sins for which you and I should be cursed.  He was being counted guilty though he was innocent.  Or, as Paul writes so clearly, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21).

 

Embrace the cross because of the atonement.  If you have placed your faith in Jesus, it was on the cross where God punished your sin.  Jesus was your sacrificial substitute who paid the price for what you have done.  On the cross, God satisfied his justice by fully carrying out the righteous sentence for your sin.  He also satisfied and displayed his mercy by allowing Christ to serve as your substitute, because he could bear the punishment that you never could.

Recently, I listened to Steven Lawson’s presentation from the 2017 Ligonier Conference. Lawson was given the topic of the recovery of preaching in the reformation. How did the preaching of the word impact the recovery of biblical Christianity in the lives of men like Luther and Calvin.

 

Lawson showed from history how Luther and Calvin gave themselves to preaching the word of God day after day after day. These men preached thousands of sermons, walking their congregations through verse after verse, chapter after chapter. They preached multiple times on Sundays. They preached during the week.

 

This presentation has gotten me thinking about this question: What do we have to offer? I serve a small church. There are not hundreds or even thousands of us. We do not have a building of our own. We do not have massive programs or tons of financial resources. We do not have the capacity to entertain the culture around us in any form that would match what the world offers. Besides, we live in Las Vegas, where the entertainment focus is beyond anything I’ve ever seen before.

 

What then can we do that is our own? What do we have to offer the world that they cannot get somewhere else? There are charities around us giving food and help to many. There is no lack of high-quality music all over the city. There are social clubs galore. There are programs for kids and for adults. What do we have to offer? 

2 Timothy 3:16-4:4 – All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

 

What do we have? We have the word of God. We have the infallible, inerrant, living and active Scriptures. We have the ability to preach the word. That is what we have that others lack.

 

What then must be at the center of the life of our church? It must be the word of God. Our church must be given to the preaching of the word. We must love the Lord by loving his word and obeying it. We must love one another by living as family and by helping each other to be accountable to the word of God.

 

In so many ways, this is better than the average church in America. So many churches are focusing their lives and ministries on trying to match the offerings of the world. Some try to match the world’s music. Some try to match the world’s entertainment options with social opportunities and kids’ programs. Some try to be the best charity in their community. But, so many of those same churches actually take the one thing they have to offer that is different from the world and they shunt it aside.

 

What would it look like for a church to set the word aside? Sermons would get shorter, as the focus of the services would be the entertainment value of music, drama, and other such things. The time that used to be given to the instruction of people in the word would fade as churches simply stop doing extra teaching. Evening Bible studies and classes of depth would simply go away. And, when teaching is done, it will be messages that are primarily illustration, story-telling and supposed application, and the simple exposition of Scripture will be hard to spot.

 

What challenges me is the call to preach the word in and out of season. In many places, it is out of season for the regular, repeated, intense preaching of the word. So many Christians have their time taken up with so many other things that they are barely bumped by the word of God for half an hour per week. May this not be so in our lives. May we find ways to continually open the word together for the sake of the honor of the Lord. May we learn to obey the word as we regularly see it alongside each other. No, may we not neglect loving one another and taking the gospel to our neighbors. But may we know that the word of God and the ordinances of the church are the things we have that are not available in some other social club in our cities and towns.

 

Do you want excellent music? Go to a concert. Do you want excellent drama? Go to a play. Do you want to be surrounded by cheering people who all have the same goals as you? Go to a sporting event. Do you want great activities for your kids while you get a little time off? Go to any number of kids’’ clubs, day-cares, or even the Y.

 

But, do you want to hear the voice of God ringing from the pages of holy Scripture? Do you want to hear who your Lord is and what he calls you to do and be? Do you want to know why you exist and how to have the highest possible joy? Do you want to know how to have a life beyond the few years you live on this earth? Do you want to know how to live in accord with the way that God designed you? Then find a church where the word of God is opened and faithfully taught. Find a church where they know that the word is what makes them different. Find a church where the preaching of the word is given priority. Find a church where they will let go of trying to compete with the world’s level of entertainment. Instead, find a church where Scripture, Scripture, and more Scripture are the orders of the day.   

Recently I’ve been reading some old Sherlock Holmes mysteries. I don’t go there often, but I do find it fun to read a good mystery. One of the most enjoyable moments in a novel like these is when the criminal makes that fatal mistake that gives him or her away to the keen eye of the sleuth.

 

I for some reason thought of a detective novel when reading through Mark 2. There, Jesus performed a wonderful miracle. But, before he did so, Jesus allowed the watching religious leaders to completely put their foot in it as the old saying goes. They speak an objection that will ultimately do more to help prove the case of the deity of Jesus.

 

Mark 2:6-7 – 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

 

You see, when Jesus saw the paralytic on the mat, his and his friends’ faith, he pronounced a glorious blessing. He told the poor man that his sins were forgiven. This, of course, caused an outrage among the scribes. They wondered just who Jesus thinks he is. Only God can forgive sins.

 

Unfortunately for the hapless scribes, that very question sets them up for failure. Like the crook who says something before a detective that only the guilty party could possibly know, the scribes give Jesus the ammunition necessary to close the case.

 

Mark 2:8-12 – 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

 

If Jesus were not seated in the house, teaching the mass of people crowding into the small room, I would almost expect him to pace the room just like Sherlock Holmes as he unravels the mystery. How, indeed, can Jesus declare to forgive this man’s sins? It is a given that only God has that authority. Thus, for Jesus to forgive is for him to declare himself divine.

 

Then Jesus asks the scribes a significant question. Which is easier to say? Is it easier to declare sins forgiven or to heal a paralyzed man? The scribes would have to understand that the statement of forgiveness is easier to make. After all, there is no proof that such a declaration is indeed true. However, a command to get up and carry your bed home, a declaration of immediate healing, is immediately subject to inspection. Thus, the scribes have to admit that the healing is the more difficult thing to do.

 

Then Jesus closes the case. If he can heal this man, which the scribes understand to be a supernatural action available only to one with the power of God, he must also be proving his right to forgive. If Jesus can do the harder thing, he must actually be giving proof to the claim that he is God in the flesh.

 

Then Jesus turns to the paralytic, commands him to get up, take his mat, and walk home. And all in the house see that Jesus has healed the man. Jesus has done what no human being has the power to do. Jesus has shown the power of God in himself. Jesus has, by the more difficult act, proved that he is the one who has the right to forgive. And, Jesus, by the very words of the scribes, has just given proof that he is the God who has that right to forgive. Jesus is God. It’s elementary, my dear scribes, elementary!

I have heard it said that, if you can believe Genesis 1:1, the rest of the Bible should be no problem. I agree. If you can allow your heart to grasp and submit to the truth that, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1), you should have no difficulty believing any miracle or claim of the Lord’s that follows. If God created, no other miracle is beyond his power. And, if God created, he has the full right to command us to do or to think anything he desires.

 

Now, it seems logical that the Creator has the right of ownership. Does, however, Scripture reveal this truth to us?

 

Deuteronomy 10:14 – Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.

 

Psalm 95:4-5

 

4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;

the heights of the mountains are his also.

5 The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands formed the dry land.

 

God claims the earth and heavens as his. Why? Look specifically at why God claims the sea as his property in Psalm 95, “because he made it.” The creation declares God’s right of ownership.

 

Consider what this means for you and me. We are made by God. If we are not, we are not special. If we are created by God, we have worth. And, if we are created by God, he has full right of ownership of us. He has the right to do with us as he pleases. He has the right to command us as he pleases.

 

Also, if the Lord created us, as Scripture clearly declares, God knows us. I illustrated the importance of this to some students recently with a video game illustration. If a player is stuck on a particular level of a game and simply cannot solve the problem or defeat the main enemy, that is a problem. However, imagine that a person tells the player, “I know how you can get through this level.” When the player asks how this person could possibly know, the man responds, “I designed and programmed the game.” If this were to happen, the player should most certainly listen. The programmer would know better than any person how to best navigate the game to victory.

 

The Lord has made us. He is the programmer of the game, and there are no bugs, no cheat codes, and no hacks. God has designed us and shaped us. He is above us. He knows what is best for us. He has the right to tell us how he wants us to proceed.

 

So, may we learn from the mandate of creation that the Lord, he is God. May we learn, as Deuteronomy 10:14 reminds us, “Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.” And we are part of the all that is in the earth. We belong to God, and this is what makes us special. Believe the Lord created you. Submit to his rule. Rest in his knowledge.

Psalm 46 is a poem that inspires sweet confidence in the Lord. David writes about a city. That city is a good city with strong walls and a river watering it. He clearly is depicting the people of God, connecting them with the city of Jerusalem.

 

But, the city is threatened. It looks like armies are surrounding the city. They are crashing against the walls. Their campfires are dotting the fields at night. The people inside the city must be afraid. There is danger. How will they survive? How can they fight such a battle.

 

Then the Lord speaks. Interestingly, in his speaking, we do not know for sure whether the Lord is speaking only to the people inside the city, or if he is including the people outside the city.

 

Psalm 46:10-11

 

10 “Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!”

11 The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

 

God says to be still. Many have said that this is a phrase that means to stop fighting, to cease striving. Instead of fighting, people are to know that he is God.

 

Now, if that was spoken to the armies outside the city walls, that phrase is a powerful command. Put down your weapons. Stand aside. Do not think for a moment you can take this city. God is not going to let you. He is God. You cannot beat him.

 

If, however, God is speaking to those inside the city, the words are sweet words of comfort. Don’t fret. Don’t think you have to fight this battle. God is God. He is on his throne. He will not be moved. He will not be defeated. The Lord of hosts, the God over all the heavenly armies, is with you, your mighty fortress. You will not be ultimately defeated.

 

Either way, this gives us so much hope. The church lives in a world of opposition. The polarization between the church and the community is growing stronger and stronger day by day. The laws of the land in America are turning against the freedom of Christians to believe the Bible and to live according to its principles. The hostility of skeptics and atheists and special interest groups is ramping up at a dramatic pace.

 

Yet, the Lord says to be still and know he is God. Be still, stop fighting. That does not mean to give up or give ground. But it certainly means to not fret. We are not to sit around and gripe and complain about how dreadful the world is. God is God. He has the battle. He will be victorious. No nation will defeat him. No people will overcome the Lord. Kings and governments have tried to destroy the plan of God forever. Just think of how many have tried: Satan in the garden, Pharaoh in Egypt, Assyria multiple times, Babylon, Haman in Persia, Syria under Antiochus IV, Rome under Titus, and that just takes us through the 1^st century A.D. How many other governments have tried to put Christianity away? But the Lord has never given and will never give his church over to ultimate defeat. That, by the way, is the major point in the book of Revelation. Things may get bad, really bad, but the Lord will not ever lose.

 

So, we learn to be still. We stop. We breathe. We rest. We trust. We remember the promises of God. Yes, we keep serving. Yes, we keep working. Yes, we keep sharing the gospel. Yes, we keep discipling our children. Yes, we keep loving God and each other. And, yes, the world keeps being hard to live in. But, ultimately, we remember that the Lord, he is God. He is over all. He will be victorious. So, we be still, and we know that he is God.