The Two-Season Preacher – 2 Timothy 4:1-5

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First, let me thank all of those who have prayed for me over the past 24-36 hours during my unexpected vacation to the hospital with blood clots in both lungs. The original source has been found but not the reason for it to have happened. So, I’m going to continue to IMG_0826[1]make lots of new friends with the staff at Meritus Medical Center for a few days. Though not the theme of today’s reading, experiences like this remind us of how fragile our lives are and how quickly they change. I’m told that had I not come in when I did, I might not be loading this devotional in the program or doing anything else this side of glory – which also reminds me to say that if you are reading this, it means that I figured out how to do it remotely from a hospital bed with two IV lines and two monitors attached!

The Two-Season Preacher – 2 Timothy 4:1-5

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The front entrance to Dallas Seminary

When I was a boy growing up and going to church and Bible conferences with my parents and grandparents, most of the great preachers we heard had a common heritage – this place called Dallas Theological Seminary. If you know me well at all, you know that I am intensely proud of my graduate and post-graduate connection to this school that has surely trained more pastors/teachers with greater impact worldwide than any educational institute in the history of the Christian Church. And the theme verse of the school is from verse two today – PREACH THE WORD!

This is ground zero. Now, one can successfully argue that God and the work of the Gospel through Christ is ground zero of the faith. That is a true statement. But let me ask you this:  “What would you know about God/Christ/salvation/eternal truth without the Scriptures?”  Not much – just the stuff of what we call “general revelation” from Romans 1 and Psalm 19 – which, in a sentence, is sufficient to condemn but insufficient to save.

There is simply no connection to God, nor is there a successful way of living life in a manner that counts for eternity without a significant understanding of Scripture. And yet it is oft resisted or set aside for another day by God’s people. Learning the Scriptures involves a large measure of “want to” … and of work, diligence, discipline and thinking.

So in our passage today, Paul is telling Timothy that he has one charge or commission that is above all others in his service as a minister/pastor/elder/shepherd – to preach God’s Word. As we would put together a sort of personality profile on Timothy, the picture is one of a more timid and gentle soul than the feisty Apostle Paul. He was a guy who seemed to sometimes need to be a bit “pumped up.”

So Paul is exhorting Timothy to be a two-season preacher, and of course this is not referring to winter and summer or anything of that sort. Rather, it is “in season” and “out of season” … essentially all the time. Clearly there were going to be times when the preaching ministry and church leadership work was going to go well, but others times when it was going to struggle. Through it all, Timothy was to be faithful and diligent in the teaching of the Scriptures – that would be his guide and measure of success, not the current seasonal response.

This teaching ministry would at times also feature varied tones. First there is a negative slant that involved reproof and rebuke – often not a natural proclivity for a typical pastor who is by personality frequently a lover of people with a soft heart. But secondly, there was a positive tone – to exhort with gentle patience and instruction.

Let me ask you:  As a general pattern of life, do you enjoy preaching and Bible teaching? Do you enjoy reading Scripture and expositional writings about the Word? Do you have a plan of life that you are executing to be known as a life-long learner of God’s truth? If not, you are being a fool and hurting yourself terribly.

At Tri-State Fellowship, our vision is that we will have a church of people who have such a continual hunger for the Word. And this is the second element of our Pathways Vision statement that we will continue to talk about this week.

2 Timothy 4:1-5

4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Seeds on the Pathways – Matthew 13:1-23

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I recently had reason to visit with some of my New Jersey relatives, and while I was there I drove past the high school I had attended 40 years ago. I noted that on the same hillside behind the football grandstands was a pathway leading into the woods. It was there 40 years ago; it is there today. The path was used by the cross country team and the gym classes, and apparently has continued to be used for the same ever since. Surely, over all those years, there are seeds of some sort that have fallen on the pathway – thistles or grass or ragweed – something. But it has never grown, as the path is too hardened to be penetrated.

And that is the picture of today’s reading in Matthew 13 as Jesus tells the parable of the sower and the seed. You will notice that there is nothing wrong with the seed in the story – which equals God’s Word. That is not the problem. The difficulty is in the condition of the soils.

The hardened pathway is the person who is firmly walled off to receiving the Word into his life. The only way it is going to happen is with major disturbance and tilling that busts through ground as hard as concrete. It is not likely to happen on its own.

And then there is the soil just off the hardened pathway, which represents a few openings between the rocks that allows the seed to take root and begin to grow. But there is still a hardness there that disallows the roots from growing deeply and nourishing a growing plant through the hard times of drought, which speaks of difficulties and persecutions that inevitably come into the life of the professed follower of Christ.

A third soil is that which is off the path and in the midst of thorns and weeds. Here the seed is able to penetrate and begin to grow, but it gets choked out by all that is around it – the stuff of this world primarily – and it never gets to the fruit production stage.

But the final soil is the tilled field, where the seed finding this good earth grows and flourishes to the final state of fruit production. But even with production, there are three degrees of fruitfulness.

Everyone wants to think of themselves as fruitful at 100% capacity, but it is sadly not so. We have, in every evangelical church, a total mix of all the soil conditions and seed growth results.

We have the hardened heart people who, when they show up, do so out of some sense of obligation – more likely to a mother, spouse, or someone else, rather than God himself.

And then we do see the folks who do seem to grow for a while, and it is a great sadness when physical troubles or the peer crowd causes them to jettison their faith for a more comfortable situation. They soon drift away and are no longer seen.

And it is not rare in modern America to witness those who become much attached to the things of this world – to a variety of toys and joys that draw them increasingly away from faith, from participation with the church family, and ultimately also from the Scriptures and relationship with God.

Yet the great joy of ministry, even in the surrounding context of disappointments with so many people, is the opportunity to witness those who have seen God’s goodness in their lives as they have trusted him. They understand that a great gift has been given them and that the Word within them is their very lifeblood. Because of this, they are grateful for those who planted the seed in them … of others who watered it … and of God who is the one who caused it to grow and produce fruit.

This also means that these fruitful followers understand an obligation to be about the work of preparing the soil in other people’s lives – starting with their family and extending to the larger family of faith. This takes intentional effort. You’ve got to go the shed (so to speak) and get out the shovels and rakes. You need to sweat at it, and you need to study yourself as to when is the best time to drop the seed into the ground. The work has now just begun, because you have to be sure it is watered and tended. You need to be mindful of the weather, the insects, the weeds and other external factors that may choke the seed and the fruitfulness of the person whom you are mentoring/discipling/teaching.

It is about being intentionally cross generational – the lesson of last Sunday.

And it is about being a person of seed – a person with an appetite for the Word of God, NOT ONLY FOR YOUR OWN LIFE, but so that you may invest it by planting it well in the soil of the hearts of others around you. And that is the lesson for the coming week!

The Parable of the Sower – Matthew 13:1-23

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

The Greatest Story Ever – Psalm 145

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The study of one’s ancestry has taken on an entirely new dimension in the computer age. The technology and resources make it an accessible endeavor for common people. The web site Ancestry.com is an extraordinarily successful online engine with powerful tools. I have used it in recent years when researching my lost family background and found it to be amazing.

But also amazing to me is the way ancestors are so quickly forgotten in most families. When I finally met a blood relative (a cousin) from my biological, pre-adoptive family of origin, he was almost completely devoid of any stories or information farther back than our common grandparents. When we went to the family plot in the cemetery in Easton, PA, it was I who pointed out to him that our common great-grandparents were actually buried next to his own parents. He did not know that and knew nothing about them.

This loss of information does not seem to be uncommon for many people who are descended from anything less than someone rather universally famous. Most folks cannot recount anything about any ancestors more than three or four generations. But those who had ancestors who were extraordinarily famous for some reason, stories exist that they can pass down from generation to generation.

And this is the ability we have as God’s children. Our Father God – through his mighty deeds – is famous to the ultimate extreme, and his power and glory resides in the stories and accounts of what he has done. His character and works need to be passed on from generation to generation. Imagine if you were George Washington VIII … the 8th generation of the first President. Would you tell your children the story of who you are, who they are, who they are descended from … or would you just never get around to saying anything about it?  Well, in Christ, we are related to the creator God of the universe. Why would we not be quick to pass on the story of that incredible connection? Why would we not daily meditate on such a blessing of relationship? How could that reality not cause us to respond in worship?

These sorts of thoughts seem to be what the Psalmist has in mind today in verses 3-7 – the portion of the Psalm of most interest relative to our theme of generational ministry.  In our homes and in our church family, we need to understand the role we increasingly possess as we age – to be the mouthpiece of God’s greatness to those who are coming behind us.

Psalm 145

1 I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

9 The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you, Lord; your faithful people extol you.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.
14 The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.

Annoying Rich People – Deuteronomy 6:1-26

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There are two types of annoying rich people in the world who flaunt their wealth. The first is the guy who simply was born in the right place at the right time, and then he managed to live long enough to inherit the incredible wealth that existed even before he was a spark in someone’s eye. The second annoying type is the one who talks incessantly about all his hard work, but seems to forget the strength and good health God allowed him to have and all the infrastructure around him that helped facilitate the rewards of his labor.

It was this second category of person that Obama was seeking to address in his ill-advised campaign remarks when he said, “If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. … Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business—you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”  This, of course, offended the bulk of business owners who are not actually wealthy, and rightly saw that their conscientious hard work was devalued. Yet, apart from the unfortunate categorizations, the President did have a legitimate point that the ability to work hard and succeed is built upon the shoulders and inter-connectedness of others who have done the same—before us and around us.

When standing at the front door of a successful business, it is easy to forget and overlook both the diligent work over a long period of time that went into it, as well as the surrounding infrastructure that likewise contributed to making it possible. And so, in our reading today, Moses reminds the people that when they would soon be standing successfully in the towns and countryside of the Promised Land, that they should remember that the buildings, wells, and vineyards were not of their construction; rather, it was God’s strength through them and by his provision that these riches existed for them to enjoy. They needed to have an accurate “remembrance.”

That is the big idea today – remembrance. It is not a stretch whatsoever to state that whatever we have is due to God’s grace and provision. Life itself is from him. Our health and ability to succeed is from him. We stand upon the generations of others before us who have done much to make anything we enjoy possible – including the passing down of timeless truth to us.

By nature, our reality goes as far as our personal remembrances and experiences. The rest of true reality needs to be taught to us; and in turn, all we know needs to be taught by us to those coming after us – to our children in our homes and in our church family.

Here are some formulas for success and failure …

Remembrance + trust + obedience = success.

Forgetfulness + independence + disobedience = failure.

Left alone to our own devices and natural drift, we will tend to forget and devalue the work of God in the past. That is the problem Israel had, and it is a problem endemic to all generations apart from the older folks reminding the younger about these truths. An illustration is given in today’s passage in verse 16,  “Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.”  This story from the time of the Exodus from Egypt was one the Israelites would rather not recall, though it was an event they needed to remember. The people under Moses were in a position where they were out of water. And though they had previously seen God’s incredible provision for them, in a lack of faith and trust, they grumbled and rebelled. Essentially, they had forgotten – failed to remember. So the story of Massah is recalled here (and in a number of other places in the Bible) as “exhibit A” of unbelief; and the exhortation is, “Don’t be like that!”

That’s the lesson!  Don’t be like that! But that is how people will be – our children and youth especially – if we don’t help them remember! And it is my role as the lead pastor in this place to remember to remind you to remember and help the rising generations to remember! Don’t be like the annoying rich person who forgets the source of his success. I’m writing this in advance of the first sermon, and you’re reading it after it has been done, but I’m likely to have yelled a little bit at this point! But it is the main thing that I believe God has told me to tell this church … so I’m doing it.

Love the Lord Your God – Deuteronomy 6:1-26

6:1These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

13 Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, 19 thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.

20 In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” 21 tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”

The Downward Trend Line – 2 Timothy 3:1-17

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It was during the hippie, free-love, war protesting era of American history that I was a boy growing up in church. Weekly, the pastor would speak of the vile elements of the culture of that day, preaching about how surely the times were so evil that certainly the return of the Lord had to come at any moment. I recall thinking that I would never get to graduate from high school or be an adult, because the world was simply not going to last that long. It seemed to me to be more of a negative message than it was a positive one of the hope to be found in Christ.

Now, about 45 years later, I’m the older pastor in a church; and I’m feeling much the same way as did Pastor Robison back in the 1960s. I’m not one to say much about the sure and certainly soon return of Christ (though I believe it could happen at any moment), but my view of the surrounding world is just about as negative. So, is it just that as we age we tend to see the world more negatively? Do we just become more depressed as we accumulate the observations and experiences of life’s sorrows? Or is the world actually worse and indeed more evil and vile?

I believe the final of these questions does get answered with a definite “yes” and that this proposition is supported by the text of our reading today. Paul says to Timothy …

3:1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

Most of these descriptors could rightly be used to characterize our modern world and the systems of belief in this age. Endemic to it all and serving as a common denominator is a self-centered focus. And there are loud voices in our culture who champion this indulgence as appropriate, as even the educated choice … so Paul continues …

6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

Clearly this errant focus has no future … it never has, and never will. But Paul offers an alternative to the recurrent, self-centered, errant teachings that have most often predominated the surrounding culture in the last times (all of the years since this was written in the first century). The appropriate viewpoint is to know the truth from Scripture, along with the model and testimony of lives who have lived it before us, and to pass that down for the success of others who follow …

10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Paul references his own sufferings in living for Christ – the persecutions he faced in various places such as he lists here, and about which we studied just this summer in our journey through the book of Acts. True to Paul’s teaching in multiple locations, persecutions and opposition are par for the course for the Christian in this fallen and troubled world. It is not going to get better.

But the good news is that there is a remedy. Paul reminds Timothy to draw upon it by remembering the truth of the teachings of Scripture he had received – in Timothy’s particular case, from his earliest years. This teaching would be sufficient to provide a perspective on the world, equipping him and the others whom he instructed with the wisdom and skills to navigate the crazy culture. The Scriptures provide parameters and the guardrails to live successfully in every sort of situation.

But the remedy must be taught to all people, and most especially to the youth and children. Even as the world has a natural descent and drift toward evil, so the church and Christian community needs an ascending line of biblical instruction and practical understanding. We have to not just receive it, but we have to pass it on. This is the stuff of cross-generational ministry, and it is our duty to not just learn it and apply it for ourselves, but to help others who are just beginning to walk in the Christian faith – equipping them for every good work by being models of that good work in the way we live and serve.

God’s Plan Tied Together – Malachi 4:1-6 / Luke 1:5-17

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The founding of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia was a long time ago – 406 years to be exact. We think of that as a substantial hunk of time, and it is. And that is the amount of time that passed between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament.

Yet the story from Genesis to Revelation is one grand story of God’s work. We even speak of it in our children’s ministry curriculum at TSF as “God’s Big Story.”  It is God’s masterpiece – it is THE BIG PICTURE. And we fit into that story as his workmanship … his ambassadors to a lost world.

What might not be immediately evident in today’s two Scripture passages is that, though there are 400 years between them, the story line itself has essentially no gap. The reading in Malachi chapter 4 is the end of the Old Testament. The reading in Luke chapter 1 is actually on the flip side of the page in terms of the working out of God’s plan. Malachi ends with the promise of the return of Elijah before the great day of the Lord, and Luke says that John the Baptist is the coming and fulfillment of that prophecy.

In the previous chapter 3 of Malachi, just prior to today’s reading, the prophet wrote,  “14 You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.’”

We have all had that feeling sometimes, right? … the sense that those who do wrong get away with things while good people suffer injustice. But the next several verses remind the readers that God is really good at record keeping, and in the end, the following happens …..

4:1 “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. 3 Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.

4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.

Malachi says that in a final day, there will be a just judgment – of fire upon those who are evil, and of light and life upon those who are the righteous. The picture presented here is of cattle who have been penned up, and then when set free, they really do run and jump for joy!

And verse four brings back to our memory so much of what we emphasized in the ReviveTSF.org writings from our Deuteronomy series this past spring – that God honors his covenant and blesses those who are obedient to remember and observe. “Remember” is a word that was used 18 times in contexts of exhortation in Deuteronomy.

5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

The concept of the “day of the Lord” is a bit complicated. This is the time when the Messiah does come – as Christ did, accomplishing salvation through the cross – though every aspect of the final judgment of evil and sin has not yet been fully realized. But the sunrise of this entire period was heralded by the coming and ministry of John the Baptist …

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold – Luke 1:5-17

5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

So John the Baptist is sent as a sort of “warm-up” act for the coming of Jesus. His ministry was recognized by masses of people as unique, and it set up a fresh expectation of God stepping into time to fulfill his covenant promises to the nation of Israel; and we know now that the plan of God through the work of Christ was truly universal – touching us as well.

God has a master plan. It is not about just the Old Testament and the covenant people of Israel. It is not just about the Christian church. It is about how God has redeemed a lost creation of mankind back to himself through the work of Christ on the cross. The Old Testament looked forward to it – presenting the background and the need. The New Testament finishes the story by telling how it was fulfilled in Christ, and how that message is one for us to preach until such time as God returns to make an end of his entire earthly work.

In a way, it might be said that we fit into that story book somewhere in the next to last chapter. And we have a lot of history and obligations to understand and put into practice in our world. We have obligations to live in a way that we are in right relationship with God. But our obligations extend beyond ourselves – most particularly to be passing along this truth to the rising generations behind us … in our homes first, then in the church, and finally to the rest of the world. We need to understand where we (personally, and as a church) fit into God’s plan, not how do we get God to fit into our vision.

All of this story was passed down to us … over thousands of years of people transmitting it – some at the cost of their very lives. We now carry the baton, but it must be passed off as well to those who will run after us (pending God’s return). How are you involved generationally in that transfer?

Seeing the Big (and Biggest) Pictures – 1 Kings 12:1-24

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I know how to make it stop snowing! I can even stop a weekend blizzard! It has happened several times. All I did during a Saturday evening/Sunday morning snowstorm was make the decision to call off church; and sure enough, the temperature rose, the ice began to melt, and the clouds split with the storm mysteriously heading in an unexpected direction. I studied the forecasts and looked at the local weather radar, pulled back in the view and looked at the larger east coast image, and attempted a best decision. But when the warming sun arose on Sunday morning, several hundreds of people wondered why church was cancelled.

A situation such as I describe results from an inability to accurately step back from the situation enough to get an exact understanding of the future and what decisions to make. Hindsight is always 20/20, it is said. Accurate foresight is the challenge. Good vision and planning comes from evaluating the current circumstances of strengths and weaknesses, anticipating the future environment, and then charting a wise PATHWAY forward to lead into the unknown with the greatest wisdom available. This requires the ability to step back from the myriads of details, in order to gain a sense of the larger picture.

Our current preaching series that begins this weekend is a five-week effort to share with the church the work that the elders and staff have done in crafting a vision statement for the future of Tri-State Fellowship. This is our statement of the big picture. We are projecting what we would like to see, by God’s leading and grace, be the PATHWAY and outcome of the ministry of this church in the approaching years.

Today’s reading and devotional is from an Old Testament passage that I trust will give us some orientation for this type of thought process.

We drop into the very middle of Israel’s history today, to a time at the end of the reign of David’s son Solomon. This is at the end of the United Kingdom of Saul/David/Solomon – each of them having been the king of a unified Israel for 40 years a piece. Following this passage and its outcome, the kingdom will be divided as 10 northern tribes under Jeroboam continue on as the nation of “Israel,” whereas Rehoboam and the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin (a very tiny clan) will be known simply as “Judah.”

You will recall from Israel’s history that Solomon began well as Israel’s king, displaying a heart for God. But over time, his many foreign wives turned his heart away from God (summarized in the previous chapter).  A part of God’s punishment for this spiritual declension would be that Solomon’s son Rehoboam would not inherit the rule over the entire nation. Instead, as foretold by the prophet Ahijah, 10 of the tribes would rebel and be ruled over by a man from the tribe of Ephraim named Jeroboam – who had to flee to Egypt for his life when Solomon learns of this prophecy. After the end of Solomon’s reign, we pick up today’s reading with his son Rehoboam ready to become the new king.

12 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4 “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

Sectional differences between the north and south were nothing new, as several historical incidents made for some bad blood. The nation, including the newly returned Jeroboam, state their willingness to follow Rehoboam if he would lighten the taxation and conscriptions that marked the Solomonic era – which yielded great national expansion, but at a very heavy price.

5 Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.

6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.

7 They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”

8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 9 He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. 11 My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’”

Apparently the elders in Israel saw the unsustainable situation and advised a different and more conciliatory path than Solomon had taken. However, the younger crowd advised a more severe crackdown of centralized power and heavy-handed authority.

12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” 13 The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, 14 he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

The first temptation in seeking to apply this Scripture is to think that there is never any good advice to come from younger people. I don’t know about you, but I’ve gotten some pretty awful advice a few times in my life from elderly people. Yet it is true that those who have lived longer have seen more things and garnered a larger sum of life experiences. If they are wise in evaluating all they have encountered, they likely are a greater resource for wisdom. Yet it could be counter-argued that younger people understand the current day and the culture more precisely. Hence, the truth is more likely found in another Scripture, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”  (Proverbs 15:22)

The phrase within this passage that is often forgotten is verse 15 where it says “this turn of events was from the Lord…”  Simply stated, there was a big picture the young counselors failed to appreciate, but there was a bigger picture that it appeared everyone missed!

16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

“What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, Israel! Look after your own house, David!”

So the Israelites went home. 17 But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.

18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

20 When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.

21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.

22 But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: 23 “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.

So the 10 northern tribes simply decided to “blow off” Rehoboam; rather, they helped us (or confused us) for millennia later by placing the dude with the rhyming name in his place – Jeroboam. Rehoboam sends the IRS tax man and task master (Adoniram) after the northerners, but they stone him! Back in Jerusalem, Rehoboam musters 180,000 warriors to wage war against the rebels and restore the nation. But a prophet named Shemaiah tells them, again, that this division is God’s doing. And this time, they obey and go home.

God’s picture is the biggest picture. We need to remember this as we move into the future. God is working His own master plan, and by His grace we have a part in it. Yet we too – even as a church family together – need to think about what we anticipate is the picture of the plan that is ahead for us. Where do we believe God is calling us, and what are the wise steps to take as we move in that direction?

That is what this series is about. As we live in increasingly difficult times of growing hostility in what is likely the approaching end of the age, how do we practically be God’s people in this place? We want to take the timeless truth given us in the past, and carry it wisely into the context of the day and trends portending the nature of the future. So come with us!

(Welcome to the beginning of the devotional series. These will post in the early morning of weekdays over the coming five weeks. You may view them on the sermon series web page at www.PathwaysTSF.org, catch them posted daily as a link on Facebook, or sign up to have them delivered by email to your phone or device. Most will be much shorter than today’s introductory writing.)

In the End, the Beginning (Acts 28:1-32)

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Every story has an ending.  But the great stories have end with a new beginning.  In the final chapter of  C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series, the characters are invited “further up, further in” as the land of Narnia is restored.

“[T]he things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.” (C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle)

The same is true of God’s story, in which we are invited to participate.  So as we see the book of Acts draw to a close, we are reminded that this is not the end, but a new beginning.  The church continued long after Paul, and life with God will continue into eternity.

TIME IN MALTA

Acts 28:1-31  Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta.  2 The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.  3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.  4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”  5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.  6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

Some cultures are ruled by superstition.  In the ancient world, men who survived shipwrecks were thought to be righteous.  But men who were bitten by snakes were thought to be unrighteous.  Paul experienced both, so this was quite a pickle.  When God preserved Paul’s life, they thought he was a god.  There will always be those who see God’s work and attribute it to something else.  Thankfully, we can see that it is God working through Paul, as seen in Paul’s praying for the sick in the next section:

7 There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably.  8 His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him.  9 When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured.  10 They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.

FROM MALTA TO ROME

11 After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux.  12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days.  13 From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli.  14 There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome.  15 The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged.  16 When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

The next section deals with Paul’s journey to Rome.  When he got there, he was basically put under house arrest.  This wasn’t ideal, of course, but all things considered this wasn’t that bad.  He was allowed to have visitors.  He was allowed to write.  The letter to the Philippians was actually a thank-you letter for sending Epaphroditus to Rome with supplies.  While in prison, Paul wrote the letters we call Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

CONFERENCES WITH THE ROMAN JEWS

17 Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.  18 They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death.  19 But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar– not that I had any charge to bring against my own people.  20 For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”  21 They replied, “We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of the brothers who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you.  22 But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.”

23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.  24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.  25 They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet:  26 “‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”  27 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’  28 “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

Each of the above two paragraphs represents a separate conference Paul had with the Jews.  He explained his reasons for being in Rome—clarifying his innocence—but more importantly, he shared the gospel with them.

WHEN IN ROME

30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him.  31 Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul invested two years in the city of Rome.  Luke’s story ends here—confirming that Luke ended his writings of Luke-Acts at roughly 62-63.  Luke doesn’t record the end of Paul’s life, but in roughly 110 AD, a writer named Ignatius recorded what the church had apparently believed: Paul was beheaded by the Roman emperor Nero in 65 AD.

The end of the story?  Not for Paul.  And not for us, either.  While under house arrest in Rome, Paul said that his desire was to “depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Philippians 1:23).  Does God’s story move you?  Drive you?  Are you centered in God’s purpose, God’s story?  Does the thought of devoting yourself to God’s mission terrify you?  Thrill you?  Inspire you?  Don’t let what you’ve gained from this series go to waste.  Now, more than ever, we need men and women of conviction and prayer.

Men and women for whom prayer is their first impulse…and never a last resort.

Navigating Culture (Acts 27:1-44)

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What is culture?  Ask five people, and be prepared for six different answers.  For some, “culture” is something to be celebrated for its lavish diversity.  For others, “culture” is something to be feared and avoided.   “Culture” is basically the way we answer the question: “What does it all mean?”  Music, art, technology—these are all things we use to figure out what life is supposed to mean.

There was a day when we looked for meaning in the pages of the Bible.  No more.  Now, we live in a world of many competing cultures, many competing stories.  There are many different—often conflicting—ways of explaining what life is supposed to mean.  This is what we mean when we say we live in a “post-Christian” world.  If you look to God and His Word, you risk being labeled out of touch with today’s changing times.

God’s Word tells us to “seek the good of the city” we inhabit (Jeremiah 29:7).  This means that each of us is called to be a missionary to the world around us.  We look to the example of Paul, who continues on his journey to Rome.  We’ll lift some principles from his sea voyage to understand how to relate to today’s post-everything world.

DESIGN, NOT DISASTER

Acts 27:1-44 When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment.

First, God’s missionaries see design where others see disaster.  To understand this better, we have to look beyond this chapter and see Paul’s journey as a whole.  He was destined to go to Rome (Acts 21:10-13).  Everything else that came his way was part of God’s plan.  This doesn’t mean that God causes disasters such as hurricanes and shipwrecks.  But it does mean that God is at work in every circumstance working it for His good.

Whether we experience tragedy or merely witness it, it’s tempting to look for someone to blame.  Political opponents.  Corporations.  Maybe even God.  But the question we should be asking is simple: “Does God know about this?”  Yes, that’s sarcasm.  God knows.  The storms of life don’t care about you.  Don’t know you.  God knows you, and God cares about you.

SUPPORT, NOT SOLITUDE

2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.  3 The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.

God’s missionaries seek support where others seek solitude.  Notice the “we” in verse 2?  Luke, the author of Acts, is actually one of Paul’s travel companions.

Too often we can view church community as optional.  If there’s nothing else on our schedule, if our vacation’s over, then we attend church…or at least come twice a month or so.  This makes sense when church is a duty and an obligation.  But for Paul, Christian community was neither of those things.  It was a joy, born from necessity.  When facing persecution, community shifts from being optional to being vital.

4 From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.  5 When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.  6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.  7 We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone.  8 We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.

9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast. So Paul warned them,  10 “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.”  11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship.  12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.

Do you understand what’s going on here?  The “Fast” refers to the time surrounding the Jewish holiday of the Day of Atonement, typically celebrated in the Fall.  If you were a good sailor, you knew the phrase mare clausum—literally “the sea is closed.”  Sailing didn’t usually happen between mid-September until February at the earliest.  Paul seems to understand this, and that’s an important point.  Paul’s trust in God’s design didn’t stop him from exercising wisdom along the way.  Sadly, this wisdom was waved aside like the flags on the White Star Line.

13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.  14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island.  15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along.  16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure.  17 When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along.  18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.  19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands.  20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

The final verse says it all.  Not only were they facing a storm, but they lacked the sun and stars that usually helped them navigate.  Our world is full of those who insist that we “trust our hearts.”  “Look within,” we’re told.  But neither trite slogans nor personal introspection are of any use when you’re lost at sea.

CONFIDENCE, NOT COMFORT

21 After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss.  22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.  23 Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me  24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’  25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.  26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”

God’s missionaries have confidence where others seek only comfort.  Paul had hope when all seemed hopeless.

Comfort is a fragile thing.  It can be taken away in an instant.  Yet if we’re honest, we find our value in the idols of comfort, convenience and control.  Outside the walls of the church this is understandable.  Inside the walls, it becomes toxic.  We judge our spiritual experiences not by what we invest into them—but by what we get out of them.  “I’m not being fed,” we complain.  And so the demand for comfort corrodes our souls and our communities.

27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land.  28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep.  29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.  30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow.  31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.”  32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall away.

COMPASSION, NOT CRITICISM

33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food– you haven’t eaten anything.  34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.”  35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat.  36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.  37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board.  38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

God’s missionaries display compassion where others display criticism.  The language here of breaking bread is similar to the language of the Lord’s table (cf. Luke 24:35).  With so many unbelievers present, it’s unlikely that this was a communion service.  But I think we’re meant to see this conversation as representing God’s incredible love for the world.  Paul still confronted the errors that he saw (27:21).  But his love went beyond merely saying “I told you so.”

When something troubles or offends you, what’s your first impulse?  Is it prayer?  Or a rant on Facebook?  When political decisions don’t go our way, when a beloved celebrity does something shocking, we should respond with bended knees and bowed heads—not with clenched fists.

SACRIFICE, NOT SECLUSION

39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.  40 Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach.  41 But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.  42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping.  43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land.  44 The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.

Finally, God’s missionaries pursue sacrifice, not seclusion.  Christians are (in)famous for living in a “bubble.”  We remain “pure” by creating a sub-culture.  Christian music.  Christian books.  Christian coffeehouses.  If we’re careful enough, we might never have to meet a non-Christian.  And apparently it’s working.  The magazine Christianity Today recently reported that an increasing number of non-Christians have never met an actual Christian.  This should shock us.  This should trouble us.  And this should provoke us to the same sacrificial love of Christ.  The cross shows us that sacrifice always leads us further into the world—not away from it.

In the Old Testament, we see another missionary, and another storm at sea.  Like Paul, Jonah was called to reach a group of Gentiles and bring them back into fellowship with God.  But unlike Paul, Jonah refused.  Jonah got on the boat to flee his calling, Paul got on the boat to fulfill his calling.  The message of this contrast is simple: God will always fulfill His purposes.  He will accomplish His mission through us, or He will accomplish His mission in spite of us.

Which one is your prayer?

Outsider Reactions to Insider Faith (Acts 25:23-26:32)

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It started as a simple conversation, but dinner that evening came served with a side of awkward.  I was out with some friends during my college years when the conversation landed on the subject of religion.

We’ve probably all been there.  That deer-in-the-headlights moment.  You weren’t looking for a spiritual conversation, but the conversation found you.  Ironic, isn’t it?  Religion, along with politics, is one of those subjects you just don’t bring up casually.  For some, these topics are off-limits entirely.  But there I was.  I don’t remember the exact question that was raised—or even my response to it.  But I do remember the anxiety.  I’ve never wanted to hide my faith.  But in that moment I felt the pressure, the need to “get it right.”  If they didn’t understand, how could I make them understand?

If you’ve been there, you’re hardly the first—or last.  In today’s reading, we look at the way Paul shares his own spiritual story.  We’ve heard his story before—of God’s radical grace and transformation.  But in this passage we get to see it through an outsider’s eyes.  How will the Roman officials respond?

…BY SAVING FACE?

Acts 25:23 – 26:32  The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high ranking officers and the leading men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.  24 Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.  25 I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome.  26 But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write.  27 For I think it is unreasonable to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him.”

I love the phrase “great pomp” (as opposed to mediocre pomp?).  King Agrippa had arrived.  This was a big deal.  But a conversation with Festus, the local governor we met in Acts 25, it’s starting to look more and more like a government foul-up.

If you remember, Paul had appealed to Caesar.  If the leaders followed through, Paul would be on his way to Rome.  But Festus seems worried.  What would he write to the Emperor?  Would he look foolish for making such a fuss over an innocent man?  Maybe by escalating it to the attention of King Agrippa, he could “save face” in front of his superiors.

The next lengthy section is a summary of Paul’s spiritual journey.

Acts 26:1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense:

2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews,  3 and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

4 “The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem.  5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.  6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today.  7 This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me.  8 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

9 “I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.  10 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.  11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

12 “On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.  13 About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions.  14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’  15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied.  16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.  17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them  18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

19 “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.  20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.  21 That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.  22 But I have had God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen–  23 that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”

…BY THE INSANITY PLEA?

24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.”  25 “I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable.  26 The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.  27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”

We don’t know much about the faith background of Festus.  Previously he’d seemed to be fairly open.  But a man rising from the dead (26:23)?  This was too much.  So Festus is quick to dismiss Paul by the insanity plea.  The message was too weird to be taken seriously. King Agrippa was familiar with Jewish custom; this was probably not the first he’d heard some of these concepts.

If we’re honest, we speak a very different language from the rest of our world.  We speak in terms of “quiet times” and “devotionals.”  We talk about something that “the Lord laid on my heart.”  We insist we “have a relationship, not a religion.”  What’s wrong with any of that?  Nothing.  But like Festus, there will always be those in our world who think such language is just plain weird.

…BY ONE CONVERSATION?

28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”  29 Paul replied, “Short time or long– I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”

Paul was expecting more of a reaction from the King.  “Do you believe the prophets?” he pleaded.  “I know you do.”  But the King was unmoved.  We can’t assume that a total conversion can happen by one conversation.  Instead we need to pray the words of Paul—that God would accomplish His purposes regardless of the time that it takes, short or long.

30 The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them.  31 They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.”  32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

Their conclusion?  The man’s crazy, but no criminal.  In fact, the craziest thing of all is that he appealed to Caesar rather than enjoying his freedom.  Paul is arguably the greatest missionary who ever lived.  Yet even he was labeled as crazy.  Why would we expect any different?

The greatest sin of our culture today is to be too dedicated to any one particular thing.  A “religious” person might be tolerated—maybe even admired for being morally upright.  But a person sold out to Christ and His gospel is just…well, weird.  No one wants to be labeled a “fanatic.”  But if I believe the gospel, I can be secure in my own identity in Christ.  Even negative reactions provoke me to bold love rather than cowardice.  Following Christ demands I place others ahead of self and faithfulness ahead of success.  “There is no failure here,” sings a popular musician. “Just when you quit.”

Are you praying for faithfulness in sharing your faith?