Tag: Travis Peterson

Acts 17:10-12

 

10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 

 

            How do you identify a good sermon when you hear one?  Is it how the sermon makes you feel?  Is it a good sermon if it sounds right to your ears?  Is it a good sermon if people weep around you? 

 

            The people in the church at Berea had sermon analysis correct.  They heard Paul teach, and they did not look into their own hearts to see if they liked his words.  Instead, as should be done, the Bereans daily searched the Scriptures to see if Paul’s words were true.  They looked at the inspired word of God to determine if they had been given truth.  And the bottom line is, when the word of God was clearly and rightly presented to the people, the people heard a good sermon.

 

            You know, there are lots of ways that people evaluate the truth of what they have heard.  As a pastor, I’ve heard people say to me, “I just can’t believe that God would do things that way.”  I’ve heard them say, “My granddad told me this was true, and so it must be.”  I’ve heard people say, “I just know this to be true in my heart.”  But none of those are solid ways to determine truth.  If you are going to measure the truthfulness of a statement, you must examine it in light of the written word of God.

 

            There are towns all over the Us and little churches too named Berea.  Why?  The people who understand the name understand that noble followers of God are people who hear the words of men of God, and carefully weigh them against the Scriptures.  Are you a Berean?  Do you examine your feelings, your beliefs, your desires, your doctrine against the Scripture to see if it is true?  God says that holding your life up to the word of God, examining it, and making sure that it measures up is a noble thing, so it might be worth it to you to learn from the Bereans. 

 

Exodus 5:20-21

 

20 They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; 21 and they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

 

            Does doing the right thing always lead to easy circumstances in life?  No way.  No matter how many people assume that doing good will always and without fail lead to easier lives, it simply is neither true nor biblical.  Certainly, in the eternal picture, doing what honors God will be rewarded.  But it is simply not wise to assume that a set of hardships is a sure sign that the one experiencing those hardships is outside the will of God.

 

            Let’s take Moses’ experience in Exodus 5 as a brief example.  Moses did what God said.  HE went to Pharaoh and asked for his people to be let go for a 3 day journey into the wilderness to worship God.  The Pharaoh, as God said, refused to let the people Go.

 

            What Moses may not have expected is that the Pharaoh had some interesting reasoning to add to the mix.  Pharaoh basically assumed that, if the Israelites have time to wander off and have a 3 day worship rally, they clearly have too much free time on their hands.  So, the best thing that Pharaoh could think to do was to double their workload and make their enslavement very harsh.

 

            The words we read in the Scripture verses above are the words of God’s people speaking to Moses after their meeting with Pharaoh.  They look at this man of God who did what God told him to do, and they can’t stand him.  “You!  You are the cause of all this!  You are the one making trouble for us!  Just leave us alone and we’ll be fine.  We don’t need your help if all it is going to get us is extra work and harsher beatings.”

 

            Did it work out in the end?  Of course it did.  We all know that God used Moses to lead the enslaved Hebrews out of Egypt.  Moses was vindicated in his lifetime.  But make no mistake about it, that vindication was not immediate.  Moses suffered under the horrible burden of knowing that his work looked, for a time, like a failure.  The people were turning their backs on him.  The Pharaoh was making the work worse for the people.  Everything seemed to be failing and falling apart.

 

            Yet, God was in control.  Sometimes God will take us through times like Moses went through.  Sometimes life will look like it is falling apart around us.  WE cannot assume that this is a sign of God’s judgment.  Sometimes God, as our good shepherd, leads us through the valley of the shadow of death for his glory (Psalm 23:4).  Sometimes darkness seems to reign before the light breaks through. 

 

            Christians, if you are in a tough situation, be careful what you assume.  Do not necessarily assume that your circumstances are the result of God’s disfavor.  Perhaps your circumstances are bad because God is trying to get your attention, but then again, maybe not.  What you must do is what we will see Moses do.  You cry out to God.  You constantly go back to his commands (for you that is the Bible and not a burning bush experience).  You do what you know God has revealed is his will.  And sometimes you suffer through the pain for the glory of your Lord.  HE will set things right in time or in eternity.  Trust him, and do not let present hardships totally steer your thinking.

 

[You might also want to read my post on this passage from last year, as it apparently got my attention a year ago too.  That post has a link to an excellent sermon on the topic that I once heard in the SBTS chapel (wow, I linked it here too).]

Ephesians 5:25-27 (ESV)

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

 

            Whenever you hear someone talk about the passage above, you are generally hearing them talk about the roles that husbands and wives play in the home.  This, of course, is perfectly right, as the passage is dealing with those issues.  However, there is another thing that it would do us well to notice about the picture that God is drawing for us through Paul’s writings.

 

            God calls husbands and wives to have their relationship of love and respect demonstrate for the world the relationship between Jesus Christ and his bride, the church.  But, if our relationships are to mirror the love of Christ for his church, we must, absolutely must, remember that Jesus Christ has that kind of love for the church.  Too often, we miss the fact of Jesus’ love.

 

            Jesus loves the church the way that a perfect husband loves his bride.  He thinks she is beautiful.  He wants to be with her.  He wants to take care of her.  He wants to protect her from harm and from slander.  He wants to help her to grow.  He wants her to be the most radiant, most beautiful, most perfect bride that she can be.  And he gives his all to make sure that this will happen.

 

            When you think of the church, do you remember that Jesus feels this way about his bride?  Are you able to look at your local congregation, a congregation with wonderful strengths and obvious flaws, and see the beloved of Jesus?  Do you remember that the others in the body, even those who look, think, and smell different than you, are the very people that Jesus considers his precious wife?  Do you find encouragement in the fact that Christ loves you in your blemishes, but that also means that he loves your brothers and sisters with their blemishes too?

 

            What will change when you see the church as the bride of Christ?  Our speech will change, for sure.  No one is going to look at a beaming groom and tell him, “Boy, your wife sure is ugly.”  It will also change our commitment to the church, as we realize that we must work together and each do our part to become the bride who will please our Savior.  It will change our giving and our attendance as we who are the bride of Christ would not ever want to give him anything less than our very best. 

 

            Church family, Jesus loves his church.  He loves us, warts and all.  He will work with us, from now until the day he returns, to make us more like the beautiful bride that he already sees in us.  Let’s pray that we remember that we are the bride of Christ, and let’s work to love God and others in such a way as to become the beautiful bride that our Savior deserves.

Genesis 50:20-21 (ESV)

20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

 

            Joseph’s brothers in Genesis 50 were deathly afraid that Joseph would lash out at them and do them harm in return for the evil they had done to him.  Just before the passage above, they had come to him, begging that Joseph not harm them.  They even agreed that they would become his slaves if he would simply keep them alive.

 

            How was Joseph able to be loving and kind in this setting?  Joseph was able to be kind to his brothers, and even to give to meet their needs, because he had a God-focused perspective.  Joseph knew that God had a plan to accomplish, and the accomplishment of that plan was more important than anything that he might have personally gone through.  God’s plan was to save many lives, and if that inconvenienced Joseph’s own life, that was OK. 

 

            This looks like the writing of Paul in . . .

 

Romans 8:28 (ESV)

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

 

            All things work together for good.  This is not a statement that all things are good, but that God makes all things work out for good eventually.  It was not good that Joseph was sold as a slave.  It was not good that Joseph was falsely accused of a crime.  It was not good that Joseph was thrown into prison.  It was not good that Joseph was forgotten in prison by the Pharaoh’s cup bearer.  But God made all those things work together for good, ultimate good.

 

            How can we survive when life makes us miserable?  One way is to keep an eternal perspective on matters.  We must remember that we cannot see what God is up to.  In our pain, he may be accomplishing something that is immeasurably bigger than us.  While it may not be feeding a nation in famine, it might be just perfecting us for his own glory, which is certainly a good enough reason for us to go through trials.

 

            Paul saw this truth clearly, and wrote about it in. . .

 

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV)

 

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

 

            That is proper perspective.  We go through momentary, light affliction.  Yes, it feels like the weight of the world comes crashing down on us.  We go through terrible things, full of hardship and pain.  But, when we remember that God is good and that God has a plan, we can have the kind of attitude we see in Paul and in Joseph.  Yes, it is affliction, but it is temporary; and it does not compare at all to the weight of eternal glory in the presence of God.

 

            God is good.  God has a plan.  And if we can remember that God is in control and doing his will, we can keep a proper eternal perspective.  It is that perspective that can help us avoid wrong reactions to our own circumstances.

Psalm 22:1-3

 

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

3 Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.

 

            Does your faith have room for such a word as Psalm 22?  At the beginning of this psalm, we see what is a fairly clear pattern of the Psalms.  The writer is hurting, crying out to God, and feeling forsaken.  Yet, in all of his distress, he acknowledges one thing, God is holy.

 

            The broadly grinning television evangelists present to believers that we who follow God are offered a path free of suffering.  They assure their followers that, if they will just have enough faith and give enough money, they will escape the hardships of this life and live as royal princes and princesses, children of the divine King.  They offer us freedom from sickness, from financial woes, and from emotional hardships if we will just claim certain promises as our own and fill our minds with positive thoughts.

 

            The fact is, however, that suffering is a genuine part of following Christ.  Jesus suffered, even citing the words of Psalm 22 in his agony on the cross.  Jesus also told his followers that, if the world mistreated him, how much more would it mistreat those who claim to follow him (John15:18-16:4).  Jesus even said, in a radical departure from what is preached in many churches and on the networks, that those who are persecuted are actually blessed by God (Matthew 5:9-12).    

 

            This world is a hard place to live.  We sin and fail.  People sin against us.  Sickness shows us that our bodies, in their fallen states, will not last forever.  Sorrow sneaks in from all directions.  God wants us to understand that he did not design us for life in a world that is in rebellion against him.  He did not create us to live in a fallen state.  God created us for perfection, for joy, for fellowship with him, to display his glory.  The hardships of this life are to point us to the reality that we are not yet there.

 

            So, does your faith have room for words like those that begin Psalm 22?  Can you live with the fact that sometimes life hurts, and God does not always take the pain away right away?  Can you remember that God is holy, his ways are perfect, and what he does is right, even when the bank book looks bleak, the church attendance numbers don’t meet our expectations, or the doctor brings us bad news?  This is a major mark of Christian maturity, to grasp that God is good and in control, even when things are hard around us.

 

            You might ask, “What should I do when things get ugly as you described?”  Read the rest of Psalm 22.  The psalmist trusts God.  He keeps crying out to God.  He keeps relying on the Lord, because he knows that, in the end, God will do what is ultimately best. 

Genesis 44:33

 

Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers.

 

            Is Christ truly on every page of Scripture?  Does, as the title of my favorite little children’s Bible declares, every story whisper his name?  Is the gospel hinted at or depicted in one form or fashion in every account?

 

            There are times when I see someone look at a passage, say that they see Jesus, and I find myself scratching my head.  But I must also say that there are many, very many, that require very little imagination to see Jesus.

 

            Of course, I say all of that, and today is the first time that I have managed to notice that Genesis 44:33 is a verse that shows us Christ in vivid color.  When the eleven brothers of Joseph come to Egypt to buy food, Joseph tricks them and makes them believe that their youngest brother, Benjamin, is going to be required to stay in prison in Egypt.  Judah, knowing that his father would be devastated at the loss of what he believed to be his only living son through Rachel, approaches Joseph, and he shows us a glorious picture of Jesus.

 

            Judah stands before Joseph and begs, “Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers.”  What does Judah do there?  He says, “for the joy of my father, please punish me in the stead of my little brother.  Let me suffer in his place.  Let my suffering free him to return to his father.”  The only thing that I see missing in this account to parallel the story of the atonement is that the father is not also the offended party in the redeeming transaction, but then, no parallel ever truly holds up under all scrutiny.

 

            What did Jesus do?  For the joy and glory of the Father, he came to earth.  He interposed himself, put himself in the middle, between the just wrath of God and God’s children.  Jesus suffered in our stead, allowing himself to be punished in order that we might be free to be reconciled to the Father.  If the parallel isn’t perfect, it’s awfully good.

 

            Lord, as I watch what Judah did, it shadows what is to come.  I read this account, and I thank you for Jesus.  He, the perfect Son of God, chose to suffer on behalf of the children of God.  I thank you for this, as I know that I could never escape the wrath that I deserve without the perfect substitution of Jesus.  I fully trust in him and his finished work for my eternity.  I also pray that you will help me, like Judah did here, to point the world to Jesus in all that I say and do.

Genesis 20:6

 

Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.

 

            With the disaster in Haiti still constantly on our television sets, newspapers, and computer screens, I find myself reminded of other tragic events.  I remember stepping out of the shower and hearing that evil men had flown airplanes into buildings in New York City on 9-11.  I remember sitting in an airport, stunned at the horrors of the tsunami that ravaged Thailand and Indonesia at the end of 2004.  Not only do I remember these events, I remember prayerfully considering how I, as a pastor, could offer people any sort of explanation of what was going on. 

 

            Whenever tragedies strike, be they natural disasters or human evils, people often ask questions about the involvement of God.  Some people bow to God’s sovereignty and goodness in the midst of seeming Chaos.  Others offer attempts at explanations for why God chose to do what he did as if they could explain the motivation that would cause God to send an earthquake, tsunami, or wasting disease.  Others attempt to remove or soften an attribute of Gods’ being in order to say that he either did not know that the tragedy was coming or that he cannot stop the tragedy without violating his own natural laws.

 

            A few days after 9-11, I was talking with a leader in a Christian denominational agency that I will not name.  I asked him how he would explain to people what happened on 9-11.  He told me that, while God was saddened by those events, God does not take action to inhibit the decisions and actions of his free creatures.  Amazed that this man would tell me that God did not move to sometimes change the directions of people’s lives and actions, I asked him if he did not think that God moved to change the actions and attitudes of individuals in the Bible such as Pharaoh or Nebuchadnezzar.  The response of this “Christian” leader was to tell me that it only seemed that God was intervening to the writers of the Bible, but that we know that this was not the case.

            What that man offered to me and to others as a way to explain the tragedy was totally useless.  Regardless of how many explanations we give to try to  “Get God off the hook” for the hardships that occur in our world, such explanations ultimately offer no hope to believers.  God does intervene in human affairs.  God himself has declared that he prevented free men from doing things in Genesis 20:6 above.  God has the power, the knowledge, and the skill to stop or start any natural event imaginable—he did create the universe with a word after all.

 

            No, the fact is that God is in control.  We will not understand his acts and his ways, at least not enough to allow us to say that a particular storm hit a particular neighborhood because of a particular sin.  Yet, God has given us insight into his character in his written word.  God is mighty, wise, powerful, and perfect in every way.  His ways are not our ways, neither are his thoughts ours (cf. Isa 55:8).  But his thoughts and ways are always holy.  There is no trace of sin or of evil in God.  He will do rightly.  He will intervene in the affairs of men on earth for the sake of his holy name.       

 

            I don’t know how to explain Haiti.  I cannot say what God is up to.  But I can confidently say that God was not surprised by what happened,  Nor was God powerless to stop it or ethically bound to act or not to act.  God has moved in the lives of people in the past.  God has moved the forces of nature in the past, stilling storms and walking the sea.  God is sovereign and good.  God is still worthy of our worship and praise, because he is a truly wonderful and gracious God.

In a challenging message that I heard this morning, John Piper said something that I found to be profound.  He pointed out that we cannot guarantee that reading the Bible regularly will make us strong.  However, we can guarantee that, if we do not read the Bible regularly, we will certainly not be spiritually strong.

 

*From the message which you can check out here

 

So I am giving you no guaranteed regimen or device or scheme or trick for spiritual power and health and fruitfulness. Bible reading is not magic. Bible

memory is not mind control or divination. I don’t know if your reading the Bible and meditating and memorizing will give you power and health and fruitfulness.

…

 

What I do know is: Without it you starve every grace that God means for you to thrive on his world. There is a spiritual diet without which no Christian

can be strong and healthy and fruitful. And that is a diet of the word of God.