Meadowbrooke Church

Real Faith

Through every sentence and paragraph that makes up James’s epistle, it oozes with wisdom as to how the Christian can live out his/her faith.  The epistle helps us understand what faith looks like while suffering, how it responds to both poverty and wealth, how faith in Jesus impacts our speech, and how our faith as Christians helps us navigate life in our upside-down world. 
 
The group of Christians James addressed his letter to were Jewish Christians who understood what it meant to be a marginalized people, even before faith in Jesus; but after belief in Jesus as the promised Messiah, they were also ostracized by members of their community, and for some, their own family members. 
 
So, who was James? Let me begin by stating the two things that we know about the person who wrote this epistle: 1) James was the half-brother of Jesus, and 2) he did not believe in Jesus until he witnessed His resurrection.  Here is why I am mostly certain that James, the half-brother of Jesus (and not the apostle James) wrote this epistle:
The apostle James died by execution under Herod before this epistle was written (Acts 12:1-2), and the James mentioned in Galatians 2 and Acts 15 is the brother of Jesus who became a predominant leader in the Jerusalem church.
 
We are told in the gospels that Jesus had biological brothers who were born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus’ birth who did not fully believe in Jesus even though they grew up with Jesus (see Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3; John 7:3-5).
 
Jesus appeared to his brother, James, and then to the rest of His brothers, after his resurrection (see 1 Cor. 15:6-7).
 
However, when James did finally believe in Jesus, he was all-in on who his older brother claimed to be, and his belief was backed up by his life, actions, and convictions.  Not only was James all-in when it came to Jesus, but how he introduced himself in his epistle tells us a lot about who he was as a man of God: “James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad...” (v. 1).
 
James does not introduce himself as the half-brother of Jesus, but as a “bond-servant” of God.  The Greek word for “bond-servant” is doulos, and it literally means “slave.”  In other words, James’ authority as a leader does not come from his biological relationship to Jesus, but his submission to the Lordship of Christ, not as his older brother, but as the King of kings and Lord of lords.  The other thing to note here is that James places “God” and “the Lord Jesus” side-by-side, implying that Jesus’ words before James believed are the truth that he has since bowed his knee too (see John 10:30). 
 
I believe that James finally believed that his brother was the Messiah when Jesus appeared to him after He rose from the dead (1 Cor. 15:6-7), which is a good reminder right from the very beginning of James, that no one who has truly encountered the resurrected Christ can remain unchanged by an encounter with the living Christ.  James went from a doubter who grew up with Jesus to a believer who would identify himself as a slave to God, and held Jesus as the Lord over his life.   
 
The dispersed Christians James addressed his letter to most likely include hundreds of Christians who fled Jerusalem as a result of the stoning of Stephen and the great persecution Saul (before his conversion and was renamed “Paul”) and others brought upon the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.  I think James originally addressed his letter to those we read about in Acts 8:1-3,
“Now Saul approved of putting Stephen to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. Some devout men buried Stephen, and mourned loudly for him. But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and he would drag away men and women and put them in prison.”
 
It was to these Christians (and others), and now to us, that James’ letter addresses.  The two great themes that are repeated through this epistle are faith (a word used at least 14 times) and obedience to God as the fruit of genuine faith (there over 50 imperatives given throughout James regarding this).  This is the reason for the title of my sermon series: Faith and Works.  There were other titles I thought of while preparing for this sermon series that came to mind, such as: Faith-Acts, Faith-Works, but settled for Faith and Works.  If you are looking for a verse that encapsulates the theme of James, I submit to you James 2:17, “In the same way, faith also, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”
 
With the time that I have left, I would like to direct your attention to three categories that James addresses in verses 2-11 that set the tone for the rest of the epistle: 1) suffering and joy (vv. 2-4), 2) wisdom and knowledge (vv. 5-8), and 3) poverty and wealth (vv. 9-11).
 
Suffering and Joy are Compatible (vv. 1-4)
Suffering and joy sound just as incompatible as water and oil do they not?  Whoever wanted to sign up for a healthy dose of suffering?  You might be thinking to yourself: “Jesus did.”  You are correct in thinking so, but do not forget that on the eve of His suffering, we are told our Lord prayed while in agony over what He was about to suffer: “And being in agony, He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground” (Luke 22:44).  Jesus even included in His prayer, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done” (22:42).
 
The world tends to look at joy and suffering as incomparable, but James gives us a different perspective, he informs these dispersed Jewish Christians who have lost their homes and loved ones, “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials...” Notice that James does not use the word “some” but the word “all” when it comes to the level of joy that we should have over the “various trials” we will experience in life.  
 
Why should we consider it “all joy” when things get difficult in life? On the surface, it sounds like James is giving us the same advice Bobby McFerrin gave us in the late 80’s with his one-hit-wonder song, Don’t Worry, Be Happy. Some of you remember the song:
Here's a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry, be happy
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy
 
Ain't got no cash, ain't got no style
Ain't got no one to make you smile
Don't worry, be happy
Cos when you worry, your face will frown
And that will bring everybody down
So don't worry, be happy
 
Did you know that McFerrin’s song was number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks straight and that he received a Grammy for Song of the Year for that song?  If James told these Christians the same thing Bobby McFerrin wrote in his song, they would have assumed that James was out of touch at best, and crazy at worse!  Thankfully, James is not telling Christians who face the various trials that come our way to fake a smile and repeat to ourselves: “Don’t worry, be happy.”  That just will not work!  James also experienced the fear his dear brothers and sisters experienced when persecution came into their city, and he no doubt felt the loss of dear Stephen when he had his head and body crushed under a barrage of rocks that resulted in Stephen’s martyrdom (see Acts 7). 
 
James is not talking about putting a smile on your face or faking your joy after receiving news of a terminal illness, the loss of a job, or the death of a loved one.  He is reminding us that there is purpose behind our suffering even when it is brought to us by the hands of evil men or rouge cells in your body. Behind your suffering is a good God who does not waste your tears nor your hurts.  What James wants these Christians to understand, and what the Spirit of God wants us to know, is that the various trials you will experience are allowed into your life by design and with purpose.  Consider what two other apostles had to say about the purpose of suffering in the Christian life:
The Apostle Peter: “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ...” (1 Pet. 1:6–7)
 
The Apostle Paul: “...but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Rom. 5:3–5)
 
It is also important to note that James informs us that trials will come.  The question is not “if” they come, but “when” they come (v. 2). We will come back to the significance of verses 3-4 next week when we look at verse 12, but for now you should know that your trials are producing something in you dear Christian. What those trials are producing is the kind of endurance that is fueled by hope because what others mean for evil, or what the hard things in life will ultimately be used for is not your demise or destruction, but your good, because such trials are allowed for two purposes in your life: God’s glory and your good.  What else could verse 4 mean?  Such trials are wielded by the Almighty to bring about the following in your life: “...that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” 
 
Again, we will unpack this truth a bit more next week, but for now, think of “trials” as “trails” that God has purposed to use, to bring about verse 12 in your life: “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
 
Wisdom for Life is Found in God (vv. 5-8)
When we walk through the various trials that will come, such painful experiences can throw us through a tailspin.  This is why some “deconstruct” their faith and walk away from the Christian faith and ask questions like: “How can a good God allow such and such into my life?”  You can look at your circumstances and draw from those things your own conclusions without any regard for how God intends to use such trials to produce something much more lasting and beautiful in your life. 
 
Think about how easy it is to walk through your suffering and the hard things of life with little regard to seek wisdom from the One who has called us to walk through such trials.  The point of verses 5-8 is that all of life requires a greater wisdom that can only come from the One whose knowledge and understanding of your life and the world is infinite.  The fact of the matter is that you really do not know what is coming in while you sit and listen to this sermon.  You do not know if there is some rogue cell in your body that threatens certain parts of your body.  On a Monday (June 30th) I was told that my uncle was in hospice and by Thursday morning (July 3rd) he was dead.  This is why Jesus said, “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they” (Matt. 6:25–26)?  Jesus did not just tell us to not worry but provided the best way to fight and push back our anxiety: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you” (Matt. 6::33).
 
Listen, when the trials come in the form of waves or even tsunamis, if your faith is not tethered to the One who is sovereign over such waves, you will be “driven and tossed by the wind” (Jas. 1:6).  The point James is making in verse 5 is that we do what Jesus told us to do: Don’t lean onto your own understanding in the midst of your trial but seek wisdom from the God who wants to use your trials to produce what is lacking in you.  Instead of asking, “Why me?”  You ought to ask: “Lord, please use this trial in a way that helps me know and understand you more so that I can live the life you have called me to live better.”  Instead of running to your own conclusions, seek wisdom from the One who sees the whole picture of your life.  Instead of running to whatever solution you think is best, run to Him who knows what is best!
 
Our Treasure is Not Earthly (vv. 9-11)
Finally, regardless of what you have in your bank account, your position and status before God has nothing to do with what the world thinks of you but what God thinks of you.  The real question is not how much you have of this world, but how much of your heart does the Lord have of you?  What is your so-called “faith”?  Is it just religion?  Where or who is your treasure?  Most of those to whom James was writing, were poor. With the persecution that came to Jerusalem, they had lost their income, property, and social status.  However, there were some who were wealthy. 
 
For those who are poor, it is easy to conclude that God has forgotten them.  For those who are wealthy, it is easy to forget God.  The danger for both groups of people is to become spiritually near-sighted to the point that you fail to set your eyes on what it is that you did not work for and cannot lose.  How can you experience joy in suffering?  Where does lasting wisdom really come from, wisdom that guides rather than blinds?  It comes from setting our eyes upon that which has been given and promised to those who have been truly saved by the grace of God through faith in His Son, to receive the gift of salvation that you cannot work for or earn. 
 
Those who share in James’ status as “bond-servants of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 1), are heirs of Him who spoke and owns the cattle on a thousand hills!  The poor are to glorify in their high position as those whose inheritance and status is found in the King of kings and Lord of lords! The rich person who also is a “bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,” must hold his/her wealth with an open hand in a way that honors God and serves His people. Why? Well, in the words of the famous missionary, CT Studd: “Only one life, 'twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last.”
 
Let me leave you with this final thought: When you are going through the hard stuff, know that because of your identity as a Christian, that God is more interested in your good than you can ever wrap your mind around.  When the trials come, because you are a Christian this much is true: “You are more sinful than you know and more loved than you imagine.”

The Word, The Life, The Light

Reflections

In my journey as a Christian over 43 years, I have learned a lot of lessons about spiritual growth and maturity that I wish I had known decades ago.  Since my heart attack in March, I am more aware of my need to leave a legacy to the work God has done in my life.  I’m probably not going to write a book, as too many have been written already, so I would prefer to share some of my lessons learned through sermons like this one.  My desire is to make your spiritual journey a bit smoother than mine has been.
 
Secular/Spiritual Dichotomy
 
First of all, I would like to share with you the snare of tolerating in your life what I call a secular/spiritual dichotomy—the idea that our spiritual life is compartmentalized into certain religious activities and our secular lives are still lived pretty much as they always were. 
 
In 2001 or 2002, I was attending a Bible study with some men from Cheyenne Hills Church.  At the time, I was a 10-year veteran in the U.S. Probation Office in Cheyenne, and looking forward to retirement in another 10-plus years.  Somebody was asking a question about what we would do after we retired.  Well, I thought I had a pretty pious-sounding answer: that I wanted to become involved in full-time ministry.  Imagine my surprise when Roy Howell, a local real estate agent, said, “Huh, I like to think that I already am.”  I knew that Roy facilitated AA groups in the jail and elsewhere.  That simple statement proved to be life-changing for me.  I realized that I needed to rethink how I approached life as a disciple of Christ, and that my first priority was to be making disciples.  I wasn’t doing that.  In short order, I was facilitating a Bible-based 12-step group in Cheyenne and I continued that until COVID.
 
Colossians 3:17 says, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”
 
That word in the Greek for “everything” means…everything.  All, the whole, entire.
 
When we become Christians, we are now bondslaves of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
I Corinthians 6:19-20 says
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you have been bought for a price: therefore, glorify God in your body.”
 
Imagine walking around all day with this ministry shawl on.  I got it when I was commissioned as a minister last summer with Volunteers of America.  I feel self-conscious with it on – and maybe that’s the point!  When I have it on, I think differently, I react differently, and people see me differently.  But if I am constantly aware that my primary responsibility in life is to be a disciple of Christ and in the business of making other disciples, then I should be thinking and reacting to things all day long just as if I was wearing this ministry shawl even when I’m not.   
 
As blood-bought Christians, there are no longer any secular activities.  We don’t just go on mission trips—we live on a mission field all the time.  When we are doing regular activities like working, going to the grocery store, or the bank, or getting gas in the car, we remain aware that the Lord may use us in ministry at any given moment.  A person who needs gas; a woman crying in the parking lot; a neighbor who has medical problems; a coworker going through a divorce; a client who is suicidal.  For us, there is no more luck; no more coincidence; no more chance encounters.  We are now destined for divine appointments with people everywhere we go.  This is a startling realization, but one that greatly increases how the Lord can use us. 
 
Even our recreation changes.  For example, I love to hunt pheasants, and I did it for a long time just to enjoy pheasant hunting.  But I am more intentional now on helping introduce pheasant hunting to others and making it a blessing to them.  I took a disabled veteran out last fall to shoot his first pheasant and have introduced several men and their sons to pheasant hunting. I still go pheasant hunting but the emphasis has changed. 
 
 
Stimulus/Response Gap
 
Another really important realization the Lord gave me came from a book by Viktor Frankl, called “Man’s Search for Meaning.”  He was a Jewish psychologist who survived the German concentration camp at Auschwitz, and gained a lot of rich spiritual insight in the process.  He learned that the greatest of human freedoms was the ability to choose our attitude in any given set of circumstances.  He elaborated in other writings that there always exists a gap between stimulus and response.  If we know that, then we can use that gap to choose to respond appropriately. 
 
There is always a gap between stimulus and response.
 
Most people are oblivious of this gap.  They behave like Pavlov’s dogs: there is no conscious control over their response to provocation.  When Pavlov rang the bell, the dogs started drooling for food.  For people, if you insult them, they will respond in kind immediately. 
 
Even as Spirit-filled Christians, we will continue to behave as people of the world until we learn about the gap, and allow the Holy Spirit to rule that gap. This takes extreme diligence on our part.  If we are caught off-guard, almost surely, we will fail to let the Holy Spirit control our response and we will say or do something offensive. So, we must not be caught off guard!  Just as we learn to drive defensively—always anticipating other drivers to do something wrong—we learn to live defensively: always on guard for provocation, so it doesn’t blindside us and elicit a thoughtless response. 
 
When provoked, we will naturally be shocked, but if we have been anticipating that something like this might happen, we will likely have the presence of mind to beseech the Lord to help us.  In these situations, I have found that the assistance is immediate and effective as long as I continue to resist taking the provocation personally. 
 
 
 
This topic of provocation leads directly into a related discussion of anger in Ephesians chapter four.
 
In verse 26, Paul says, “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.”
 
In verse 31, he says, “All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice.”
 
How much anger must be removed from you?  All.
 
So, is Paul contradicting himself from verse 26 to 31?  Actually, no.  There are two separate Greek words for anger used in these verses.  In verse 31, Paul uses the word Strongs G3709, Orge, which means to be angry or wrathful or vengeful.  It’s a word used commonly in Scripture to refer to the wrath of God.  That is reserved for Him, and is not an appropriate response from us.  He is God; we are not.
 
The word in verse 26 is Strongs G3710, Orgizo, and means to be provoked to anger.  So, we are subject to be provoked to anger, but we choose to not act on that provocation or we would run afoul of the commandment to remove all anger from us in verse 31. 
 
Let’s say we decide that is asking a bit too much of us.  Getting angry is natural, and a little bit is okay, we just don’t want to go to bed angry.  Let’s give ourselves just five seconds to indulge in anger and then put it away.  That seems reasonable, doesn’t it? 
 
What can happen in five seconds? 
 
In five seconds, an unrestrained tongue can cause severe emotional and mental trauma and ruin a relationship.  In five seconds, an unrestrained fist can cause a physical assault.  A person carrying a concealed weapon can draw and fire in less than two seconds.  If we are indulging even a few seconds of anger every time we are provoked, we will probably have no healthy relationships in our lives.  Many people in prison are there because they let their anger go unrestrained for a few seconds. 
 
How do we stop fleshly anger?
 
With one second and the Holy Spirit. 
 
Watch how Jesus handles provocation:
 
In John 8:39-44, in a discourse in which the Jews claimed Abraham was their father, Jesus disputed that.  In verse 41,
 
“They said to Him, “We were not born as a result of sexual immorality; we have one Father: God.’”
 
Now, this was a dig at Jesus because they all knew that His mother had been betrothed to Joseph at the time she became pregnant with Jesus, and Joseph was not Jesus’ father.  They were displaying the common Jewish belief that Jesus was illegitimate. 
 
So, how does Jesus respond?
 
Verse 42: “Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came forth from God and am here; for I have not even come on My own, but He sent Me.”
 
Jesus completely ignored the insult, and did not let it distract Him from what He was trying to get them to understand. 
 
A bit later in Chapter 8, there is a similar situation. In verse 48, in response to Jesus’ statement that He is not a sinner and speaks truth, the Jews respond:
 
Verse 48: “The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not rightly say that You are a Samaritan, and You have a demon?’
 
Okay, calling a Jew a Samaritan was perhaps the ultimate put-down.  Jews despised Samaritans for historical reasons we won’t dive into here.  Not only that, but they accused Him of being demon-possessed. 
 
Here is Jesus’ response:
 
Verse 49: “Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon; on the contrary, I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. But I am not seeking My glory…’”
 
Jesus matter-of-factly addresses the issue about being demon-possessed, but totally ignores the comment about being called a Samaritan.  How many times do we waste our breath defending ourselves from frivolous disrespect?  We need to learn to ignore disrespect, and move on to substantive matters.
 
Well, can a Christian be angry and not be in the flesh?  I believe they can.  We see Jesus, for instance, angry with religious hypocrites in Mark 3:5.
 
Christians, if under the influence of the Holy Spirit, will be provoked to anger by hypocrisy; oppression of the poor; racism; and a host of societal evils brought on by living in a fallen world.  But we will not become angry and hostile about personal insults. 
 
If we allow the Holy Spirit to rule the gap, then our response to provocation will be reasoned, calm, and convicting.  But if we run ahead of the Holy Spirit, we will respond with pettiness, defensiveness, and will invite truthful criticism of being a hypocrite. 
 
So, let God rule the gap!
 
III. Bearing Spiritual Fruit
This is a struggle for nearly all newer Christians! 
 
Galatians 5:22-23
 
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
 
When we think about a verse like this, we know that as Christians we should be filled with these things.  So, we try to be patient, and loving and kind because, hey, that’s what we do!
 
We grow up in a society where hard work and persistence are trumpeted as the pathway to success.  Finish the sentence:
 
“If at first you don’t succeed…”
 
“Where there’s a will…”
 
“Quitters never…” 
 
“God helps those…”
 
You get the idea.
 
But trying these techniques to produce spiritual fruit will leave you stuck in the waste land of Romans Chapter 7.  You know:
 
“For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.  For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.” Romans 7: 18-19
 
I doubt there has ever been a Christian who has not felt this way, and frequently.  But I will tell you good news: Paul didn’t stay stuck here, and you and I don’t have to either. 
 
Paul calls this process of failure “the law of sin and death” in Romans 8:2, and he tells us that the “law of the Spirit of life” has set us free from it!  Past tense!  It’s done! 
 
What does the law of the Spirit of life do for you?
 
He tells us in verses 3 and 4: “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, SO THAT THE REQUIREMENT OF THE LAW MIGHT BE FULFILLED IN US WHO DO NOT WALK ACCORDING TO THE FLESH BUT ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT.”
 
So why don’t we experience practical victory in our spiritual lives?  Because we fail to apprehend how to practically walk “in the Spirit,” and instead walk “in the flesh” because we don’t know any better.
 
You see, being godly is the easiest task ever for God, and will always be impossible in our own strength.  The Gospel is not that suddenly you have a Holy Spirit Cheerleader rooting you on to be loving, kind, peaceful, joyful, patient, etc.  The harder you try to be godly, the more failure God will ensure that you experience. He will never enable you to manufacture His character through your own effort. 
 
Instead, He reminds you that you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and it is just like falling off a log for Him to be humble, patient, joyful, loving, kind, and every other character attribute you can think of to describe God.
 
The secret to seeing godly character produced in our lives is not to try harder, but to yield more. 
 
Get out of God’s way, and let Him be Himself, through you.  It seems too simple, effortless really, and it truly is once we learn to let go of our stubborn desire to do everything.
 
Romans 7 is not the common experience of a mature Christian; it is the common experience of Christians who have not yet learned the fine art of yielding to the Holy Spirit. 
 
Well, there you go.  May God use these lessons that I’ve learned the hard way to make your spiritual journey a little easier.  And be sure to share the lessons you learn the hard way with others and me, because we all need to learn from each other.

The Christian Home

To BELIEVE in Jesus is to BE a Christian.  What I mean by “believe” is not agreeing that the Bible is true and Jesus is who He claimed to be.  What I mean by “believe” is that you are all in on what the Bible teaches and who and what Jesus claimed to be and do.  Genuine belief begins with your intellect, but it does not stop there.  Genuine belief affects your daily actions and life choices. 
 
So, to believe in Jesus is to live in a state of being as a Christian.  To “BE” is to “EXIST.”  You can believe certain things that do not affect your state of existence. An example of this is how I view the reality of math. I believe that math is both real and good, but my belief goes no further than my intellect. 
 
It is possible to “BELIEVE” in Jesus and not “BE” a Christian.  If you are a Christian, your Christianity is more than a religion or something you believe, but who you now are.  Think about what the apostle Paul wrote: “And you were dead in your offenses and sins, in which you previously walked according to the course of this world.... But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ...” (Eph. 2:1, 4-5).  If you are a Christian, you were once dead, but now you are alive with Jesus.  Because you are now alive with Jesus, Paul continued in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” 
 
To go from death to life requires a change in your DNA.  By the time Jesus arrived at Lazarus’ grave, he was dead and in his tomb for four days (John 11:17).  What that means is that decomposition had already started, his body was bloated, his bodily fluids were already seeping out of the orifices of his body, his internal organs were already breaking down, and because of the breakdown of the tissues of his body there was already an overwhelming stench that was present in the tomb.  When Jesus asked for the stone of the tomb to be removed, Lazarus’ sister, Martha, said to Jesus: “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead for four days” (v. 39).  For a dead Lazarus to become a living Lazarus, his body would have to go through a complete DNA change, and that is exactly what happened when Jesus raised him from the dead when He shouted: “Lazarus, come out” (v. 43)!  Lazarus’ body experienced an immediate DNA change, he then got up, and then he walked out of the tomb. 
 
Christian, you experienced spiritually what Lazarus experienced physically the day you heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and believed. This is why Paul was compelled to remind the Ephesian Christians who they were with these words: “I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3).  So, how do you do that?  Paul tells us: “So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15–16).  Okay, but what does that look like in the home?  It looks like husbands loving their wives in the same what Jesus loved His church and gave Himself up for her (Eph. 5:25-33).  It also looks like wives, subjecting themselves under the headship of their husbands (vv. 5:22-24).  Oh... but how does one walk in a manner worthy of our calling in the way we parent our children or in the way we respond to our parents?
 
I struggled if I should address parents and children in the reverse order than how the apostle Paul did it but decided to follow in the same order he chose. 
 
Responding to Our Parents in a Manner Worthy of Our Calling
Paul addresses children by reminding us of the fifth commandment: “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged on the land which the Lord your God gives you” (Exod. 20:12).  For some parents, this commandment is abused; for some children, this commandment is ignored.  For a lot of people in the church, I suspect that the fifth commandment is confusing.  Just so you know, the first four commandments concern our relationship with God; the last six commandments concern our relationship with people. 
 
The first commandment states: “You are to have no other gods before Me” (Exod. 20:3). How you yield your mind, life, and heart to the first commandment will affect how your respond to idols, how you use the name of the Lord in what you say and do, and what kind of time you spend with the Lord in worship. Concerning the final six commandments, I suggest to you that how you yield your mind, life, and heart to the fifth commandment will affect how value your neighbor’s wife/husband, that which does not belong to you, your integrity, and what you think you need or do not need.  It all begins with what kind of relationship you have with God.
 
Show me how a young man or woman treats their mother or father, and I will show you what kind of husband or wife that person will most likely be.  If you cannot honor the person who is responsible for sheltering you, providing food, clothing, and an education for you... then when it comes to the other people in your life... you probably will not be a very honorable person (unless something changes, such as a spiritual DNA change). 
 
Now, for the big question many of you may be asking: “At what age does the fifth command expire?”  When you are eighteen?  Twenty? How about when you are on your own?  How about after you are married and have a family of your own?  The commandment doesn’t even indicate an age, but the word the apostle Paul uses is Ephesians 6:1 is “children.”  The Greek word for “children” is teknon and it means exactly the way every English translation translates the word, and that is “children.”  The point Paul is making is that if you are a child, then you have a command from God to obey, and that is to give your parents honor. 
 
Notice the order Paul address regarding the family.  He begins with wives, then moves on to husbands, then children before he addresses “fathers.”  Why?  Because if you are alive today, then you are a child of someone.  Not everyone is a parent, but everyone is a child.  In the context of Ephesians 6:1, Paul is speaking to non-adults, and the way they are to honor their parents is by obeying them.  However, this does not exempt every person who has a parent from honoring their parent(s).  So there are two things going on with Ephesians 6:1-3. First, for every non-adult in the room, if you are unwilling to obey your parents, then you are not walking in a manner worthy of your calling as a Christian.  Second, if you are a son or a daughter with a living parent, you are not walking in a manner worthy of your calling if you are not giving them honor. 
 
Let me help you understand what exactly is being said in these verses.  Walking in a manner worthy of your calling as a Christian as a non-adult means that you honor your parent(s) by obeying them so long as what is asked of you does not violate your primary obligation to obey Christ.  If a father or mother askes their Christ-following child to sin, then that child is obligated to respectfully disobey.  Honoring your parents by obeying them does not mean that you must endure sexual or physical abuse, nor require you to lie, cheat, or steal because your father or mother told you to do something immoral or wrong.  But when it comes to the things your parent(s) ask you do such as the rules of the house you live in, you are to honor your mother and father by obeying and respecting them. 
 
Non-adult children, listen to me.  Paul states that the fifth commandment has a promise tied to it: “Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may turn out well for you, and that you may live long on the earth.” Obeying your parents who want you to thrive and succeed will help protect you from the kind of friends and habits that could ruin or shorten your life.  The other way it will turn out well for non-adult children who honor their parents through obedience and respect for them, is that you will most likely develop honorable and healthy character traits. 
 
So, how old until you do not have to obey all the rules of the home your parents pay for?  Until you can pay rent and/or move out on your own.  However, when you do move out of the home of your parent(s), to does not mean you are no longer obligated to honor your parents. 
 
So, what about those of us who are adults?  The fifth command does not state “obey” although throughout the Bible, non-adult children are expected to be obedient.  The fifth commandment is also a principle to live by.  Notice what the commandment does not say.  It does not say “Love, admire, agree with, trust, or drop everything that you are doing for your parents.”  No, what the fifth commandment states is to “Honor your father and mother.”  The relationship I had with my sons when they were toddlers was very different then, than it is today.  How I relate to my 24-year-old son is very different than how I relate to my 14-year-old son.  If the day comes that they should ever get married, my relationship with them will be very different than it is today.  So what does it mean to honor my father and mother as an adult?  I am commanded to honor them no matter where they live, how old they are, what physical condition they are in, or how they feel about me.    
 
Tim Keller provides a clear answer that honors the tone of all of scripture when it comes to our parents: “Honor is a decision to treat your parents with dignity and with courtesy, and it’s also a decision to provide long-term loyalty to their best interests.”[1]  To walk in a manner worthy of my calling as a son or daughter must include seeing my father and mother as individuals created in the image of Almighty God, and that He entrusted my life into their care, and regardless of their sins and faults, I am to honor them by treating them with dignity and to do all that I am able to do to make sure that their best interests are provided for in a way that glorifies God and serves them well.  
 
Parenting Children in a Manner Worthy of Our Calling
Now to the parents in the room.  Paul is addressing dads, but moms are not exempt.  The word that Paul uses for discipline is the Greek word, “paideia” and it also includes instruction, teaching, and training.  The other word that is used is “instruction” which can also mean admonishing, warning, or even counseling.  To discipline your children is to enforce boundaries and to provide instruction is to bring your child along guiding and persuading into a person of character because you love them. 
 
To be honest with you, parenting is difficult!  It is especially difficult in the culture and day that we find ourselves in.  To raise your child in a way that protects them from the idols of both our culture and their own hearts is hard work and if it is done poorly or in a way that is heavy on law and light on grace... or heavy on grace and light on law... the consequences can be devastating to watch and experience as a parent.  The danger in striving to raise your child well with rules is to be overbearing where truth and the rules of the house leave little room to experience love and grace for your child.  This is how you can “provoke your children to anger...” 
 
If you want to raise a resentful, frustrated, and angry child, make sure you leave little to no room for your child to experience the love that you have for him or her.  Creating rules and enforcing them is easy and important, but to do that and at the same time making space and time to pay attention to your child’s heart, to listen to your child, to be safe enough so that your child feels free to speak to you, to respect the way God put your child together in terms of their personality... takes time and energy.  Your children do not only need you be their parent, but they need you be present in their life.
 
However, Paul does not end with his charge to fathers not provoking their children to anger.  Our responsibility as parents is to, “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”    
If you want to walk in a manner worthy of the calling in which you have been called, then you must bring up your child in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.  What does it look like to bring up your child, and what does it involve?  Check out what God instructed His people to do in order to pass on the faith of the parents to their children:
“Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. And you shall repeat them diligently to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. You shall also tie them as a sign to your hand, and they shall be as frontlets on your forehead. You shall also write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates.” (Deut. 6:4–8)
 
This passage in Deuteronomy is known as the Shema, and it was recited often as a prayer.  Orthodox Jews take the Shema literally in the sense that they literally tie the word of God onto their arms and their foreheads.  The scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ time did the same thing, what they wore on their foreheads and arms were called phylacteries, and they made sure they were big enough so that everyone could see how religious they were.  Listen to what Jesus said about the scribes and Pharisees:
The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and comply with it all, but do not do as they do; for they say things and do not do them. And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger. And they do all their deeds to be noticed by other people; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.” (Matt. 23:3–5)
 
Some of you grew up in homes with parents like this.  The scribes and Pharisees missed the entire point of the Shema! The point is not to look and act religious, but that what you say you believe in and your relationship to God is actually who you really are.  If you are really a Christian, then it should be who you really are when no one is looking, and especially in your home with those who know you better than anyone else.  So, when you are walking, when you are shopping, when you are mowing the lawn, and when it comes to the culture of your home... you really are who you say you are. 
 
When it comes to the rules in your home and the time you share with your child, and how you interact with the members of your family, consider what it means to love:
Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Cor. 13:4–7)
 
When it comes to the culture of your home, consider what the fruits of the Spirit are in the life of a Christian: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Gal 5:22–23).
 
What does it look like to, “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord”? It is the kind of disciple-making Jesus commanded us to be about, and it must begin in the home out of a love for God and a love for the closest neighbors you will ever have, namely the members of your own family.
 
[1] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

A God Above All Others

Thursday morning, while at Gold’s Gym, hours before news broke of Israel’s attack on Iran (ironically named “Rising Lion”), my thoughts were consumed by the crazy protests in Los Angeles and the posturing of California’s governor and our President against one another.  I also thought about the fragile state of our world, Putin’s unrelenting push to take Ukraine and Ukraine’s resolve to remain a sovereign state.  While on the Stair Climber at Gold’s gym, as I thought about the above current events, I typed the following on my “Notes” app on my phone: “The kings of the earth will mourn when Jesus returns because they do not want to give up what belongs to the King of kings.” 
 
We are promised by God’s Word: “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him.”  Of His return to judge the nations, Jesus said: “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:30).  When Jesus comes again, He will come with “power” and “great glory.”
 
Jesus is coming, He will judge the nations, and He will come with power and great glory!  I do not know when He will come and neither do you, but what I do know is that time is running out!  My dear brothers and sisters, the hour is late and His coming draws nigh (Luke 21:25-28)!  It is possible that you are here or watching the livestream, and as you do... you are still sleeping.  Men, it is possible that you are here, or you are watching the live stream, and you are currently suffering from an identity crisis.  Permit me to explain what I mean.
 
After God created all things, on the sixth day, He created man; more specifically, we are told that He said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image according to Our likeness...” (Gen. 1:26).  We are later told in Genesis that God put Adam in the Garden and before He formed Eve from His rib, God commissioned Adam as the first man to “cultivate it and tend it” (2:15). God also said of Adam as a man, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him” (v. 20).  The man and the woman were to complement each other, but the man was also responsible to cultivate and tend to his wife, or as the apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:25, Adam was to love his wife in such a way that would later be demonstrated upon a cross by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 
 
God Created You to Know and Enjoy Him (vv. 18-21)
Adam and Eve were to serve as His ambassadors in His creation; Adam was to serve as priest in his home in the way that he loved his wife and eventually parented his children alongside and with his wife.  All that was good in Adam’s home and the peace that he and his wife knew in the presence of God was vandalized by the first couple’s sin and Adam’s failure to shepherd his wife as a lover of her soul.  The serpent sought to destroy God’s image bearers bypassing Adam while targeting Eve.  Although Adam was right next to his wife while the serpent tempted and deceived her, the man did not provide, nor did he protect by refusing to protest the lies of the snake on behalf of his wife.  Eve believed the wicked serpent and ate of the fruit that God warned would bring death, and after Eve took the first bite, she then gave it to her husband, and he ate of the forbidden fruit. Both Adam and Eve were then filled with shame. 
 
I would like to suggest to you that I believe Adam bit into the fruit because he wanted glory and power that did not belong to him.  In fact, ever since Adam and Eve bit into the forbidden fruit, mankind has pursued a glory and a power that belongs only to the Creator.  I would like to suggest that the underlying motive of idol worship in whatever form it takes is a desire for power and glory.
 
What do I mean by “power and glory,” and how do they relate to idol worship?  What I mean by power is chasing after the thing, person, or experience that God has said you cannot have or that you cannot have on your terms, but on His. In the garden, God said no to the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but He provided every other fruit in the garden for their enjoyment.  Another example of how idol worship is really a pursuit of power is determining that you will go outside of God’s prescribed moral boundaries so that you can get, receive, or experience what you think is best for you.  When you do that, you make yourself to be “like” God in the same way Adam and Eve desired to be like God when they ignored His word to receive what they believed was best for themselves.  This is the point of Isaiah 45:18-21; for a moment let verse 18 settle on your soul: “For this is what the Lord says, He who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it as a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited): ‘I am the Lord, and there is no one else.’” In other words: There is only one Creator, He is Yahweh, and you are not Him.  His creation that He made was designed with your living and thriving in mind within the way that He designed all of it.  When you make decisions or act in such a way that goes against what Yahweh has declared to be good or bad, you assume an authority that is not yours.  Idol worship is assuming the role of Yahweh and the power to determine what is right and wrong, apart from Him. 
 
What I mean by “glory” is by making yourself the center of Yahweh’s creation.  By default, because He was able to create all things, He is God.  There was no one before Him and before all things, He existed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Not three different forms at different times, not by three different titles, but as One God in Three Persons.  There is no God like Him!  The good news is that He is equally holy as He is good.  He is not like the idols we humans create that can only burden and crush those who worship them.  However, when we do bow down to idols, we do so because we have determined that they can give us what God cannot.  Anytime we make something ultimate in our lives (even the good things), we essentially have determined that the thing, the person, the experience, can give us what God cannot give.  When we do this, we become guilty of self-worship and have removed God from His rightful place in our lives and placed ourselves at the center of His universe. 
 
Listen, just as it is true that any idol you create is a god of your own creation that you must carry that will only burden you... so it is true that any idol you create and bow down to is self-worship. To do this is no different than those, “Who carry around their wooden idol and pray to a god who cannot save” (Isa. 45:20).  Your idols will lead you away from the life and joy the true God intends for you, not to it!  This is why in Isaiah 45:21, Yahweh calls to all under the crushing burden of their idols: “Declare and present your case; indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this long ago? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me.”  His call is one of mercy and grace that is motivated by love, but He will not share your heart with any of your idols!
 
God Provided a Way to Know and Enjoy Him (vv. 22-25)
There is a way to be free of your idols, there is a way that leads to life, there is a way to experience the kind of joy for which you were born, but it cannot be in and through any idol of your making!  This is why the Bible says, “There is a way which seems right to a person, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 16:25).  Any way that you seek, that excludes God, to find and experience life, joy, your best life now... can only and will only lead to death because the kind of life and purpose you were born for can only be found in the One to Whom there is no comparison.  The God who made you, calls to you: “Turn to Me and be saved...” (v. 22).  Who can turn to Yahweh to be saved?  God tells us: “...all the ends of the earth.” On every continent and in every nation, God invites all to turn to Him for their salvation, and it must be on His terms alone!
 
You cannot come to Yahweh for salvation with your idols, for the only way to come to Him is by first laying your idols down before Him. We learn from Isaiah 45:19, that He is not far off and He is not hidden.  He is within reach because He alone is God and there is no other like Him!  In Isaiah 45 alone, it is repeated not twice, not three times, not even seven times, but ten times that there is no God like Yahweh.  Why is this repeated ten times?  There are 10 commandments that were given to Israel; the number ten symbolizes the divine law and the God who created mankind to know Him.  It is this God who not only has made Himself available to you and has invited you into a relationship with Him, but it is He who has pursued sinners who do not run to Him but from Him.  It is this God and no other who declares with the same power and glory that spoke creation into existence with just the word of His mouth: “I have sworn by Myself; the word had gone out from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow, and every tongue will swear allegiance” (v. 23). 
 
What does it mean to bow one knee and what does it mean for one to swear allegiance to Yahweh?  It means to come to Him in humility, contrite in spirit, and trembling at His word. 
To tremble at God’s word is to recognize that He is God and you are not, and that you have nothing to give Him but your broken self; to tremble at God’s word is also to come to Him as one who is poor in spirit.
 
To be contrite in spirit is to not only recognize and see your sin for what it is, but to grieve over your sin; to be contrite in spirit is also to be one who mourns over your sin.
 
To be humble before God is to recognize that to Him alone belongs all glory, honor and power (see Rev. 4:11); to be humble is to be meek.
 
We are all born into sin, and because of our sin nature... our hearts are idol factories from the moment we come out of the womb and take our first breath.  The verdict according to the Word of God is this: “There is no righteous person, not even one; there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks out God...” (Rom. 3:10-11; Ps. 14:1-3).  However, God offers peace, and His offer of peace is not to be confused with an offer of truce.  A truce is an agreement between enemies to stop fighting or arguing for a season and it usually requires a compromise on both sides; this is NOT what Yahweh offers to anyone. What he offers is the unconditional surrender of sinners so that we can be saved from His wrath and experience a redemption only He can make possible: “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; the word had gone out from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow, and every tongue will swear allegiance” (Isa. 45:22-23).  Why? Because “only in Yahweh are righteousness and strength” (v. 24).
 
What Adam failed to do while the serpent tempted his wife, was to lead her away from the danger of the serpent to the safety of their Creator who alone is all powerful and to Whom belongs all glory.  Adam was called to tend and cultivate the heart and soul of his wife by leading her to Yahweh, but instead he led her to an enemy and to idols that can only, “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). 
 
After Adam and Eve sinned, God promised a deliverer who would crush the serpent’s head, but also would ultimately rid the world of idols.  Eight chapters later, in Isaiah 53, we discover that God’s terms of peace is a Person who would take upon Himself the sins we are all guilty of for the purpose of saving and redeeming sinners.  This Person would be afflicted, struck down, and humiliated (Isa. 53:4).  This Person would be pierced for our offenses, He would be crushed for our sins, He would be punished for good, and it would be through His wounded body, that sinners like us would find our healing (v. 5).  This Person would bear the sins of Adam’s race by being oppressed, afflicted, and ultimately crushed for the forgiveness of sins we committed for the purpose of our redemption (vv. 6-10). 
 
It would be through this Person that salvation would be made available to all people from every tribe, nation, and tongue.  The Person Isaiah prophesied about would not be any ordinary person, for over 100 years after Isaiah wrote those words, the prophet Jeremiah declared: “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, ‘When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land.  In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will live securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The Lord Our Righteousness.’” (Jer. 23:5-6).  The person Jeremiah spoke of is Jesus. He is the righteous Branch of David and He is “The Lord our Righteousness” who was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our wrongdoings, and died for our sins.  He not only died, but after He was buried, He rose on the third day!  What motivates Yahweh to offer salvation to sinners everywhere?  Love! 
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Rom. 5:8-10)
 
Of this Jesus, the apostle Paul wrote the following:
And being found in appearance as a man, He [Jesus] humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:8-11)
 
Do you see and understand what the apostle is saying here?  The One through Whom salvation will be made available to the nations and deliver us from our sins and rescue us from the crushing and weary weight of our idols is Jesus! It is to Him that every knee will bow, and every tongue will swear allegiance by confessing, “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” 
 
Husbands, fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and every person in this room today... hear me: We are not called to chase after idols, for they will only lead to burdens that crush and ultimately steal, kill, and destroy.  Every part of you was made for a purpose to know and be known by the living God whose image you bear!  God’s terms of peace is Jesus, so if you have not done so already, run to Him before your time runs out. 
 
Husbands, fathers, and grandfathers, do not fall for the tempter’s lies like a fool; do not follow in the way of Adam!  The most loving thing you can do for your wife, your children, and your grandchildren is NOT to lead them to their idols, but to lead them to the idol crusher, Whom is Jesus Christ.  There is coming a day when the time God has allotted will run out, and every idol worshiper will one day stand before the King of kings and Lord of lords.  If you are leading your wife, your children, or your grandchildren to their idols... you are ultimately leading them to God as a Judge instead of a Father they could have known had you led them to Jesus instead of the idols of their hearts.  For it is only in and through Jesus we can sing these words: 
No fate I dread, I know I am forgiven
The future sure, the price, it has been paid
For Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon
And he was raised to over - throw the grave
To this I hold: my sin has been defeated
Jesus now and ever is my plea
Oh the chains are released, I can sing: I am free!
Yet not I but through Christ in me
 
Amen.

A God Like No Other

Last Sunday, I mentioned Solomon as an example of a life of faith that began so wonderfully but ended very tragically.  Solomon knew the scriptures well, we know this because of what he wrote in the book of Proverbs, and one such verse that he wrote was Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.”  In fact, according to Proverbs, real wisdom is the Old Testament Law applied to all of life.  Yet, at some point, Solomon’s heart was turned away from God and foolishly pursued what God warned would lead to heartbreak, shame, and disaster. 
 
The thing that Solomon’s father, David, was known for was that he was a man of war (1 Chron. 28:3), which Solomon was not. Solomon was known as a man of peace.  The problem was that he pursued peace even if it meant that he ignored the very Law of God that influenced his writing of Proverbs.  One of the ways the kings of other nations would enter into a peace agreement or an alliance (i.e. covenant) was by marrying the daughter(s) of the king of that nation.  We are told that Solomon, “loved many foreign women” (1 Ki. 1-2).  The problem with this is multifaceted, but here is what God commanded in His word that Solomon ignored:
Be careful that you do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their memorial stones, and cut down their Asherim —for you shall not worship any other god, because the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they would prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might prostitute themselves with their gods and cause your sons also to prostitute themselves with their gods. You shall not make for yourself any gods cast in metal.” (Exod. 34:12–17)
 
Solomon, who had been known for his godly wisdom and the building of the Temple, “loved many foreign women” (1 Ki. 11:1-2).  So what happened?  Listen to what the Bible says about Solomon’s ending legacy:
So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as his father David had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abhorrent idol of Moab, on the mountain that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abhorrent idol of the sons of Ammon. He also did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.” (1 Ki. 11:6–8)
 
 
 
What Solomon thought would bring peace, contentment, and success... created a crushing burden the wrecked his life and led to the dividing of the nation of Israel into the North and the South. 
 
After the death of Solomon, the divisive spirit Solomon was responsible for creating through his many compromises led to the splitting of the nation he loved.  The king of the northern kingdom (Jeroboam) established two alternative places to worship to keep those in the North from traveling to the Southern kingdom to worship Yahweh in the Temple that Solomon built.  King Jeroboam set up golden calves not unlike the one made by the Hebrews after Moses was up on the mountain receiving the commandments of God; Jeroboam then said to the people: “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt” (1 Ki. 12:28).  The Northen Kingdom in Israel was known for its rampant and evil idolatry that included child sacrifice and gross perversions of marriage and sex, all while promoting a worldview contrary to the one of their forefathers.  After many years of God warning the Northern Kingdom through His Word and His prophets to repent from their sins, and after many years of ignoring those warnings, God used the Asyrian Kingdom to judge, destroy, and exile many of the people.
 
The Southern Kingdom was initially led by Solomon’s son, Rehoboam.  In many respects, the Sothern Kingdom remained somewhat loyal to the faith and vision of their forefathers such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David.  There were no doubt periods of idolatry, but there were also seasons of religious reform with an emphasis to return and maintain the worship of Yahweh at the Temple in Jerusalem.  Many in the Southern Kingdom believed that because they had Solomon’s Temple, that they had the presence of God.  Eventually the Southern Kingdom grew increasingly nominal in their faith to the point that God also sent them prophets to warn them of a similar fate that the Northern Kingdom suffered if they did not repent.  Because they had Solomon’s Temple, were more conservative, and were ‘not as bad’ as those in the Northern Kingdom, that they were safe.  Eventually the Southern Kingdom became known for their worship of the idols of the nation’s, instead of their worship of the God of Abraham, Moses, and David.
 
Both the Southern and Northern Kingdoms eventually experienced the crushing burden that their idols created.  But it was after the Northen Kingdom’s demise and God’s repeated warnings to the Sothern Kingdom to turn from their sins that Isaiah wrote what we read in 46:1-13.    
 
Creaturely Idols Create Crushing Burdens for those who Bow Before Them
Idols come in all shapes and sizes; they are not only physical creations made with human hands.  Idols include established gods worshiped by people groups and cultures, but they also come in the form of ideologies, things, or people that are made ultimate in the heart of their devotees.  Some of the ancient idols of long ago have taken different shapes or even cloaked in a different dress... but they are not new. 
 
In Isaiah 46, the prophet calls out the worship of the Babylonian gods known as Bel and Nebo about a century before we are introduced to Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel.  Bel was the chief god worshiped by the Babylonians who was also known as Marduk and believed to be responsible for creation and worshiped as the supreme god.  Nebo, the son of Bel (Marduk), was worshiped as the the Babylonian god of wisdom, writing, and scribes. 
In Isaiah 46, Bel and Nebo are depicted as burdens pulled by cattle; the irony of the way they are depicted is that in the days of Isaiah, when a nation was conquered, because it was believed that their gods were unable to save, the victorious army would put on display in a parade the idols of the defeated people. At least the defeated worshipers of Bel and Nebo can move, but the gods the Babylonians attribute power and knowledge to are stooped over because they are powerless, motionless, and without life.  Like every other idol in the world, Bel and Nebo have no power to save or produce what they promise. 
 
The weight of Bel and Nebo is crushing even to the cattle forced to transport them.  Why?  Because according to verses 6-7, “Those who lavish gold from the bag and weigh silver on the scale, hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; they bow down, indeed they worship it. They lift it on the shoulder, carry it, and set it in its place, and it stands there. It does not move from its place. Though one may shout to it, it cannot answer; it cannot save him from his distress” (Isa 46:6–7). 
 
Those who worshiped Bel and Nebo, essentially worship a god of their own creation.  All that the gods add to the lives of those who worship them is a “burden.”  The word for burden that is used (mǎś-śā) can be translated “weight.”  There is a universal fact about what people chose to worship: Anything we create to worship... will require its creator to carry it.  Idols always promise what they cannot give, and rob those who worship them the life, joy, and salvation that those idols offer.  The only thing that created idols offer is the crushing weight of their burden.
 
Unlike the idols of the world, there is only one God who created all things!  Because He is the Creator, all of His creation is dependent upon Him.  Because He is the Creator, He is the One who carries those who worship Him: “Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will carry you! I have done it, and I will bear you; and I will carry you and I will save you. ‘To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal, and compare Me, that we would be alike?’” (vv. 4–5).
 
The Uncreated God Powerfully and Purposefully Saves (vv. 8-13)
Just as He did with the gods of Egypt, the God of Abraham, Moses, and David promised to do the same with the gods of Babylon.  The reality and existence of Yahweh puts everything and anyone who would set themselves up to be more than what they are... to shame.  Lucifer attempted to usurp the God who made him, God cast Him out and Jesus said of that day: “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning” (Luke 10:18).  In Isaiah 14, we are given a glimpse into the heart and motives of Lucifer:
How you have fallen from heaven, you star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who defeated the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” (Isa. 14:12–14)
 
Because God is God, He declares the end from the beginning.  What does that mean?  It means what He wills, He not only does but accomplishes!  What else could verse 10 mean? It is God who is responsible for, “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My plan will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.’”  There is no room for luck, chance, or karma in a universe with a God who “declares the end from the beginning.” 
 
Because Yahweh is God, he does not need anything from us.  There is no deficiency in Him because He is complete; but not complete in the way we think of completion... no, He is infinitely and eternally complete.  Only six chapters earlier, we are reminded of how big and great our God really is:
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.... To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith plates it with gold, and a silversmith fashions chains of silver. He who is too impoverished for such an offering selects a tree that does not rot; he seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman to prepare an idol that will not totter. (Isa. 40:15, 18-20)
 
Think about the foolishness of worshiping something you create with your own hands.  Is it not just as foolish to bow down to idols of other shapes and sizes?  As great as Solomon’s Temple was, it ultimately became an idol to the people in that they became more concerned about the performance of worship than who they were worshiping.  In Isaiah 66, God reminded Judah why it was that He did not need anything they created: “This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is My throne and the earth is the footstool for My feet. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? ‘For My hand made all these things, So all these things came into being,” declares the Lord. But I will look to this one, at one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at My word’” (Isa. 66:1–2). 
 
God does not dwell in temples, and He does not need anything from us.  Because there is not a God like Him, He does not need us to carry Him and His promises are not dependent upon our strength.  However, what He desires from us is our hearts and our devotion. 
 
Now here is the crazy thing about what we learn of God in Isaiah 46, and we see it in verses 12-13, “Listen to Me, you stubborn-minded, who are far from righteousness. ‘I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off; and My salvation will not delay. And I will grant salvation in Zion, And My glory for Israel’” (Isa. 46:12–13).  The God who has no equal and cannot be added to, is He who brings His righteousness to those who are far off!  If you are a Christian, you were once far off, but now you have brought near!  If you are not a Christian, you are still far off, but it doesn’t have stay that way!  Oh dear Christian, this is great news for you!  We have seen Isaiah 46:12-13 in another passage in the New Testament, and that place is in Ephesians: “But now in Christ Jesus you who previously were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13). 
 
Listen, there is only One who spoke all that exists by the word of His mouth in six days and rested on the seventh day (Exod. 20:11).  There is only One who reduced Pharoah and his gods to nothing with the Ten Plagues (Exod. 7:14-11:10).  There is only One who was able to part the Red Sea (Exod. 14).  There is only One who is able to make time stand still (Josh 10:13).  There is only One who is able to move kingdoms and empires to bring about the birth of His promised Son!  There is only One God and there is no other, and it is He who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – He is Yahweh!  Christian, it is He who brought you near through the blood of His Son!  It is He who made you “His Priesthood,” “His People,” and “His Treasured Possession.”  You who were once far off, have become the objects of His love, His mercy, His grace, and are now the apple of His eye! 
 
You who ran from Him, have been found by the One who said: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:28–30). You who were weary and burdened, have found rest in Jesus. 
 
Conclusion
So here is the rub regarding what we read in Isaiah 46: If it is true that the God of the Bible is God and there is no other; if it is true that the God of Isaiah 46 is God and there is no one like Him, and because of God, that which He wills will come to pass, then don’t you think that it is foolish to make or treat anything in your life as equal or greater than He? 
 
Yet, there are all kinds of things, dreams, and people in your life competing for the greatest and most valuable place in your life.  This is nothing new, for it has always been the tension since the garden of Eden. Just because God found you, does not mean that you will not struggle with and fight against the pull and temptation to substitute God with something else.  Adam and Eve faced this struggle in the Garden, and they lost.  Abraham wrestled throughout his life with this same struggle.  King David struggled and lost on several occasions, the most notable was his desire for Bathsheba.  Judas struggled and lost, Ananias and Saphira struggled and lost, and you may be struggling and now you find yourself losing.  Anytime we place a thing, person, dream, or ideology above the God whose rightful place in your life in preeminence... you will find the burden to be crushing.
 
We will look at Isaiah 45:22-24, but for now, I want you to consider what it is saying:
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. “I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. “They will say of Me, ‘Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’ People will come to Him, and all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.”
 
There is only one to whom all will bow, and there is no God like Him... and His name is Jesus:
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:8–11)
 
What you need and what this country needs most is not for anything other than Jesus Christ to be great in your life.  He is the hope of the nations.

Be Watchful, Be Wise, Be Aware!

From the Pulpit of Keith Miller
Last fall, I preached a series of sermons on the armor of God as part of a series in the epistle to the Ephesians.  Today, I am not preaching any of those sermons.  I am preaching this sermon on a familiar passage out of a sense of urgency for all of us (me included). It might be because we are honoring six of our own from Meadowbrooke Church who have graduated from High School.  It may also be because of multiple examples we are given in the Bible of individuals who started well, but whose lives ended poorly; people like Solomon, Uzziah, Judas, and the two men Paul lists in 1 Timothy (Hymenaeus and Alexander) who did not do the things Paul urged Timothy to do, which was to, “...fight the good fight, keep the faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith” (1 Tim. 1:18–19).
 
Then there are the repeated admonitions throughout the New Testament; permit me to share some of those with you this morning:
“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.” (Matt. 24:42)
“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” (1 Cor. 16:13)
“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.” (Heb. 2:1)
“So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” (Eph. 5:15-16)
“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 So resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brothers and sisters who are in the world.” (1 Pet. 5:8-9)
 
Aside from the multiple examples of the moral failure of key individuals in the Bible who started off strong spiritually and then ended badly, and the many appeals throughout the New Testament to “be careful,” to “pay attention,” to “be alert,” and to be “sober minded.” Over the past 18 years and nearly 180 hours I have spent in the book of Revelation, the thing I have seen and keep seeing is the repeated appeal throughout the book to persevere until the end:
“Be faithful until death...” (Rev. 2:10)
 
“The one who overcomes, and keeps My deeds until the end...” (2:26)
 
“Hold firmly to what you have...” (3:11)
 
“The one who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.” (Rev. 21:7)  
 
The question is how do you finish well, stay alert, and endure until the end?  I believe Ephesians 6:10-18 provides us with that answer. 
 
The Enemy is Demonic and Real (v. 12)
We are specifically told that the struggle we face is both demonic and real.  We are told in Ephesians 6:10, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” The reason we are told to be strong in the Lord is because our struggle is with powerful forces that are demonic in nature: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).  
 
The rulers, powers, world forces of darkness, and spiritual forces of wickedness are those angels who sided with Satan in his war against God.  Although Satan is only one demon who cannot be in more than one place at a time, he has authority over millions of demons who obey his every command. The rulers, authorities, powers, and spiritual forces of wickedness are different demons with various ranks and responsibilities; some influence governments and kings, others have a more global influence, and many focus their attacks on individual Christians. 
 
Now to be clear, we are told that when Jesus saved you and redeemed you through the life He lived, the sin-atoning death He died, and His victory over the grave... that He, “disarmed the rulers, powers, world forces, and spiritual forces of wickedness” and, “made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him [Jesus]” (Col. 2:13-15).  In his [1]book, The Warrior Savior, Owen Strachan wrote, “The crucifixion represented a real death, but not a real defeat.” 
 
Listen, the demonic powers have no claim or authority over you Christian except what you give to them.  Paul does not mince words here and leaves no room for confusion: “For our struggle...” our fight is not just a fight, but it is a wrestling match in the way that it is not off in the distance but in your face, around you, on you, and is only interested in choking you out!  And “our struggle” is not only with our flesh, but also with, “...the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Our enemy’s attacks come from afar and they come to us up close! The enemy brings his fight against us in all different way and techniques!  It comes in the form of slander, false teaching, and the temptation to sin.  Our fight can come in the form of doubt, depression, and deception.  The battle can come in the form of persecution from friends, family, or state authorities. Believe me when I say this: the enemy knows you better than you know you, and he is strategic, deceptive, and is set on silencing or sidling you in any way possible.  It is possible that you have already given the enemy ground, and you are trapped and not sure out to break free. There is One who is mightily greater than they!  
 
The Strength of the Lord is Necessary (vv. 10, 13-17)
There is no persevering, no conquering, and no victory apart from Jesus!  There is only one remedy against Satan, against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places... and that remedy is the One who disarmed them, “...having triumphed over them” (Col. 2:15).  There was only One capable of doing such a thing: “And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col. 2:13–14).
 
Listen, when it comes to the Christian life, when it comes to standing firm, when it comes to persevering, when it comes to being a Christian, you CANNOT do it apart from Jesus!  He alone is “the first and the last, and the living One; He was dead, and behold, He is alive forevermore, and it is He who holds the keys of death and Hades” (Rev. 1:17-18).  The One who died is the Lamb of God, and because He is the Lion of Judah, He conquered death when He got up on Sunday morning and because He is both the Lamb and the Lion, He alone is worthy, “to receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing” (Rev. 5:1-14). 
 
When it comes to living the Christian life, you cannot do it with Jesus at a distance, you cannot do it with Him being second, and you cannot do it out of your own strength!  You can only do it if He is your strength.  The biblical definition for the word “salvation” is not confined to a date when you believed and said some prayer.  No! The biblical definition for salvation includes the day you were saved but is only complete when you receive a resurrection and all things in creation are made new.  It is of this salvation that the great multitude in heaven that includes every nation, all the tribes, peoples, and languages who cry out at the top of their lungs: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Rev. 7:10).  The completion of your salvation in the biblical sense, cannot be done on your own, but ONLY in the strength and might of King Jesus (Eph. 6:10)! 
 
Okay, so how can you be strong in the strength and might of Jesus?  We are told that we do that by putting on the full armor of God (v. 11). What is the armor of God?  Let me first tell you what it includes:
The belt of truth, which is God’s truth.
The breastplate of righteousness, which is Christ’s righteousness.
The shoes of the gospel of peace, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ that that we stand firmly in.
The shield of faith is our hope in God that is saturated by the truth of God’s word.
The helmet of salvation, which is the security that we have in the assurance of our salvation.
The sword of the Spirit is the word of God as our offensive weapon in all the armor we are to put on.
 
For those of you who were here for the armor of God part of the Ephesian series, what I am about to say probably will not surprise you.  Each piece of the armor of God belongs to Jesus. Jesus is our belt of truth, Jesus is our breastplate of righteousness, Jesus is our peace, Jesus is our shield of faith, Jesus is our helmet of salvation, and Jesus is the Word of God.  I am convinced that the way one puts on the armor of God is by abiding in Jesus.  This is why the phrase “in Christ” or “in Him” or any other phrase related to “in Christ” is repeated about 36 times in the short six chapters that make up Ephesians.  The only way to put on the armor is by abiding in Jesus. 
 
What does it mean to abide in Jesus?  There are scores of passages we can turn to answer that question, but I will show you two: The first is in 1 John 3:24, and this is what the apostle John wrote: “The one who keeps His commandments remains in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He remains in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us” (1 John 3:24).  Listen, the only way you can know how to keep His commandments is if you know what His word says; His commandments are His words.  The second passage that unpacks what we just read in 1 John is found in the Gospel of John through the words of Jesus:
“Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.... If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.... If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.” (John 15:4, 7, 10)
 
The word “remain” can also be translated “stand.” In John the Greek word that is used is abide, menō, which is a different word than the one used in Ephesians 6:10-11, (histēmi).  The point is the same though, there is no standing firmly against the devil’s schemes unless you are abiding in Jesus by keeping His Word and making it apart of you.  There is no taking up the armor of God if you are not remaining, abiding, or standing in fellowship with Jesus.  
 
The Power of Persistent Prayer is Needed (vv. 18ff.)
There are six pieces of the armor of God that are typically emphasized in sermons and in books, and I listed all six that are mentioned in the Bible, but there is one more that does not get the kind of attention that it deserves. 
In the Bible, certain numbers are important.  The number 3 signifies divine wholeness and perfection, the number 4 symbolizes completeness in relation to creation, the number 1,000 symbolizes an extended period of time or an indefinite but great amount of time, and the number 7 symbolizes completion, wholeness, and perfection.  The number 7 appears throughout the Bible over 700 times.  In six days, God created everything and on the seventh day, He rested, which marked the completion of creation. 
 
The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit are only six pieces and do not complete the set!  Yet we are specifically told in Ephesians 6:11, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” There is a seventh piece that completes the set and that seventh piece that belongs to the “whole armor of God” is how you know you have put on the armor of God and how you know that you are abiding in Jesus!  The seventh piece of the armor of God that completes the set is found in our dependance upon Jesus through prayer; look carefully at verse 18: “With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be alert with all perseverance and every request for all the saints...” 
   
How does one stay alert?  How can the Christian persevere?  By putting on the full armor of God?  How do I put on the full armor of God?  By standing in the One to whom six pieces of the armor belongs and by dependently going to Him, “With every prayer and request...”  How often ought we to pray?  We are to pray, “at all times in the Spirit...”
 
So important is prayer as a part of the full armor of God, that the apostle Paul asked that these Ephesian Christians also pray on his behalf that God would do the following four things in his life:
That God give Paul the words to say.
That God open Paul’s mouth.
That God embolden Paul in the opening of his mouth.
That God use Paul to clearly make known the mystery of the gospel.
 
What is the point?  The point is this: There is no persevering, no conquering, and no victory apart from Jesus! The only way to stay awake and watchful, the only way to keep yourself from falling into the foolishness of sin, the only way to be aware of the schemes of the devil is if you are, “strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might” (v. 10).  The only way you are going to do that is if you are abiding in the Lord by keeping His word, and the evidence you are abiding in Him is if you recognize that your only recourse against His schemes is to run to God in prayer.  
 
[1] Own Strachan, The Warrior Savior (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing; 2024), p. 21.

Becoming the Servant of the Lord

The year was 1933. The United States, indeed, the entire world, was in the throes of the Great Depression. Often, it is difficult to pinpoint a date when something like an economic recession begins, but this time it was not. 
 
In October of 1929, Black Thursday witnessed one of the largest stock market declines at the opening bell ever seen, with an 11% drop. Everyone was hopeful the market might stabilize after stocks closed at a much more palatable 6% decline that day. The nightmare, however, was just beginning. The following Monday, Black Monday, the market fell another 12%. The next day, another 12% was lost. Now, my academic background is in economics and finance, and I’ve realized that economists are not the most creative bunch. So, naturally, that next day was called Black Tuesday. In the 1980s, there was another Monday when the market crashed. Want to guess what it was called? That’s right. Black Monday. The moral of the story is: don’t ask an economist to do your creative writing assignment. 
By the time it was all said and done, the market had shed 85% of its value. Global GDP had fallen by 15%, but in the U.S., it fell by over 30%. At the peak of the Depression, unemployment soared to 25%. Recovery would not happen until 1939 - that’s 10 years later! 
 
This was the state of the world when Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in 1933. In the years to come, Hitler would begin his invasion of other European nations and start the systematic, and I would argue, demonic, murder of those he and his followers did not deem worthy of living. Further, Japan would begin its imperial expansion and, on December 7, 1941, attack Pearl Harbor. This event brought The U.S. into the largest conflict the world has ever seen. 
FDR would become the only President to serve more than two terms. For over 12 years, he held the nation’s highest office through some of its most challenging yet formative events. However, this pales in comparison to the time that Moses led the Israelites. 
 
For forty years, Moses led his people through the desert. If you were an Israelite child living in Egypt, you would have heard how Moses confronted Pharoah. You would have witnessed the plagues and known it was Moses who stood in front of this tyrannical king. You would have seen the Passover lamb slaughtered and blood painted on the doorposts of your house because Moses told your family they must do it to save the oldest son in your household. Maybe that firstborn son was you. You would have left quickly in the middle of the night after Pharoah finally relented. Moses was at the forefront. You would have seen Moses wade into the sea and split the waters. Moses was the man who talked with God in the tent and met Him on the mountain, coming back glowing with radiance. You would have gotten married and had children. Moses was leading the people. Your children would have grown up and gotten married themselves. Moses was still leading the people. In all likelihood, you had grandchildren, and Moses was still there, leading the people!
As with all leaders, FDR had his supporters and his detractors. Yet, when he died, the nation and the world were shocked to their core. And that is the point to be made here; when a country loses an extremely influential leader, especially during a time of significant change and tribulation, the people are going to feel that loss. Winston Churchill later recalled hearing of the President’s death being like getting struck by a physical blow. His impact was so significant that even today, when asked to rank presidents' influence on the nation, FDR consistently ranks in the top three. The other two are Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.
As much as this nation went through under FDR, the nation of Israel went through much more under Moses. He was the one who led them out of slavery. He was the one who gave them the commandments of God. The loss of this man would have rocked the Israelites’ world in a way that you and I likely cannot understand. We read in Deuteronomy:
 
10 And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 12 and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.(Deut 34:10-12)
To this day, Moses is preeminent among all the prophets for the people of Israel. He is considered greater than Elijah or Isaiah and more elevated than Jeremiah or Ezekiel.
 
And it is at this moment in history that we pick up the book of Joshua following the death of this great man. But notice how Moses is identified. He is not the leader of Israel. He is not the worker of miracles. He is not the prophet. He is simply called the servant of the LORD. In Hebrew, the term is עבד יהוה (ebed Yahweh). This is only the second time this phrase has been used in the Bible up to this point. The first is in the chapter preceding this one, the last chapter of Deuteronomy, when Moses dies. The Hebrew term rendered here as “servant” actually means something a bit more intense than this English word suggests. This word is often translated as slave. In fact, this is the exact same word used to refer to the Israelites in Egyptian captivity. 
 
3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery (עבדים), for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. (Ex 13:3)
But the interesting thing here is that while slavery or servitude to Pharoah is obviously seen as a negative situation, when Moses is called the servant, or the slave, of the LORD, it is a title of honor. Nobody wants to be the servant of a despotic tyrant. But to be the servant of the most High God is the utmost honor. We see this repeatedly throughout scripture. Let me list some for you.
 
·       Paul called himself a slave (Rom 1:1. Gal 1:10, Phil 1:1, Tit 1:1)
·       James, the brother of Jesus, called himself a slave (Jas 1:1)
·       Peter identified as a slave (2 Pet 1:1)
·       Jude, another brother of Jesus, likewise called himself a slave (Jud 1:1)
We see consistently through scripture that “servant of the LORD” is the most incredible thing that someone can be called. However, because of our nation’s history, the words servitude and slavery can have very loaded meanings. The idea of repression and oppressive suffering is not what the Bible has in mind when calling somebody God’s servant. Keith said something compelling last week that is directly applicable here. The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible itself. So, let’s put that into practice. Turn with me to Philippians 2:5-11
 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)
Here, we see who Jesus really is; he is, by his very nature, one with God. He is the glorious one, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. At His name, every knee will bow. His name is above every other name. And one day, every tongue will confess that He is Lord! He is the uncreated and eternal one. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the Word made flesh. He is the first and the last. And yet, what did he become? He became a servant! And we’re called to be the same. Check this out. Turn to Matthew 20:25 with me.
 
25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)
            Now, here’s the rub. Our culture rejects the idea that being a servant of any kind can be a good thing. It is a part of our cultural reality that we seek after possessions, experiences, and our own pleasure. Who is most important? I am. Our success is often measured in how big our house is, how many toys we have, the vacations we get to take, the schools our kids go to, or any number of things. The idea that the most fulfilling thing, the best thing, that we can possibly be is a servant is foreign to us. In fact, our culture is so much a part of who we are that we often don’t realize we actually have made ourselves slaves. Not to God, but to our own pleasures.
            Remember our series in Ephesians? Many of you are thinking, “We spent almost 40 weeks in it, how could I possibly forget?!” But look back on what Paul says.
 
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Eph 2:1-3)
            Brothers and sisters, this is the language of slavery and servitude. And not the kind of servitude that Moses participated in. This is oppressive. This is the language of chains. 
And it may be easy here to think, “But our culture isn’t really all that bad.” But look back at the passage again! 
·       We were following the course of this world. What is the course of this world? Is it not to buy as much stuff as you can? Get the newest car, engross ourselves in entertainment, and obtain the most pleasure we can? All of this to make ourselves feel like we are fulfilled. But, let’s be honest. Does it really? All the evidence says no. 
·       We were living in the passions of our flesh. Watch TV for an hour and tell me that seeking out the passions of the flesh is not the defining feature of our time.
·       We were carrying out the desires of our body.
·       We were carrying out the desires of our mind. Isn’t this what the world tells us to do? Be true to who? God? No, seek your own desires. 
·       What was our nature? Our nature was being a child of wrath. 
And listen, I’m not casting stones here. This was my story. This is my story. I’m preaching to myself as well as to you. Do you remember what happened with the Israelites after they went through the sea? They wanted to go back to slavery! They wanted to run back into the arms of Pharoah! Their true King was going before them in a pillar of fire and cloud, and they wanted to run back to the tyrant! 
 
2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Exodus 16:2-3)
Brothers and sisters, we suffer from the same spiritual amnesia! Remember the fire we got to sit by? Remember how good the meat was? Oh, and that bread! Never mind that we were in slavery, that food was so pleasurable to eat. This sounds stupid until we take a moment to contemplate how this is like us. We feel the constant pull back to slavery. Why? Because of the instant gratification. It feels good. It may not be meat in a pot for us. It probably is something more like what we view on the internet, whittling away our time on YouTube, or trying to make our own name great through any means we can. And again, this was me. I still feel the pull to define myself by my accomplishments rather than the King I am supposed to serve. I still find myself thinking about how happy I would be if only I had that bigger house or that car that is more fun to drive. But none of these things mean anything; none of them can possibly bring true happiness. 
            Now, the Bible does not teach that money is inherently bad or that having affluence is bad. However, it clearly and consistently teaches that when we prioritize our stuff and our money over God, there is a big problem. When our bank account or our stuff becomes our god, we are at risk of becoming like slaves in Egypt again. Look at what Jesus says to us in Matthew 6.
 
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)
And then he says.
 
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24)
There is that pesky term again: serve. Here is the core of this. We need to, I need to, you need to stop and analyze our own lives. What are we serving? What do we put as primary in our lives? Are we laying up treasures that won’t follow us into eternity and will rot away? If someone you didn’t know looked at your bank account and where your money goes, would they know you are a Christ follower? If your conversations were transcribed, would a reader know you serve God Most High? If your activities were put on a calendar, would someone be able to tell that you are a servant of the LORD? Or would we rather be found to be a servant of something or someone else? 
And this is why it is so important to read the Bible for what it is. It is not a collection of stories that have been cobbled together. It is a book that contains the entire narrative arc of salvation. This story is my story. And it is yours too. I recently came across this quote in a book called The Epic of Eden and it speaks right to the heart of this truth.
 
We forget that this book [the Bible] was cast upon the waters of history with one very specific, completely essential and desperately necessary objective – to tell the epic tale of God’s ongoing quest to ransom his creation. And to, thereby, give each generation the opportunity to know his amazing grace. The Bible is the saga of Yahweh and Adam, the prodigal son and his ever gracious heavenly father; humanity in their rebellion and God in his grace. This narrative begins with Eden and does not conclude until the New Jerusalem is firmly in place. It is all one story. And if you are a believer, it is your story. (Epic of Eden, 15)
In this part of the story, we find Moses, the servant of the LORD, has died. Joshua, his assistant, is now being addressed by God. 
 
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. (Jos 1:1-2)
Despite all he had done and how fervently he followed God, Moses was not without fault. He disobeyed a direct order from God and was, therefore, not allowed to enter the land of promise. Being a servant of God does not mean that we will not stumble sometimes. When we do, we run to God and ask for forgiveness. He is faithful to forgive; there may still be consequences to our actions as there were for Moses, but He is faithful to forgive. But we don’t stop there; we pray that His grace would strengthen us. We seek the help of others. We meditate on God’s word; more on that in a moment. However, we do not boast or exaggerate ourselves; this was the sin of the Pharisees. If you come across somebody teaching that they do not sin, that they never have an occasional lustful thought, that they are perfect… run. That is nowhere to be found in the Bible. We pursue holiness and sanctification, but it is a process. We should not be afraid to confess sin and continue, as the people of God, to pursue holiness. But we cannot do that if we deceive ourselves. Look at what the apostle John wrote in 1 John.
 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)
Moses was not perfect, Joshua was not perfect, David was not perfect, and Paul and John were not perfect. But praise be to God, Jesus is. He was enough for our forefathers, and He is enough for me. I am not sufficient, but His grace is more than sufficient.
This is the reality of the leadership position that Joshua was stepping into. He was to fill the shoes of the greatest prophet Israel would ever know. He was not a perfect man, but he was a man who would, for all of history following, be known as the first to be called the servant of the LORD. He led his people faithfully for 40 years. Since their rescue from Egypt, Moses was all they ever knew. But the work of God was not done. It was time for the next generation to take their place. And we see this throughout the history of the Church. Paul, John, and the other apostles died, but the work of God goes on. Aquilla and his wife Priscilla were faithful servants, leading people to Jesus in the early church. Church fathers like Justin Martyr and Augustine have been buried, but still, the work continues. John Calvin and Martin Luther have passed, yet the Church works on. Men like Tim Keller and Billy Graham finally met their Savior face to face, yet we toil on. 
The people of Israel mourned for 30 days after Moses died. But after that time of mourning, there was work to be done. Fortunately, God had been preparing Joshua, and Joshua had been preparing himself for this moment. 
 
Joshua was the military commander who led the Israelites into their first battle. While others would have seen this as a position of authority, Joshua would have learned from that experience to trust in the might of God. You see, while Joshua was leading the army, Moses went up on a hill. While Moses’ hands were raised, Israel would do well in the battle, but when his arms were down, Israel would start losing the ground they gained. So, Aaron and Hur actually had to sit Moses down and hold up his arms. The lesson? It was not Joshua’s military prowess that made him successful; it was the God who went before him.
 
It was Joshua who would follow Moses up the mountain when he met with God and received the commandments. On their way back down, when Israel was worshiping the golden calf they made, Joshua heard the commotion and thought a battle was raging. Moses gently corrected his young assistant and said it was rather singing as the people had turned from God to worship something they had created. Joshua learned how easy it is to turn away from God. Another time, Moses corrected Joshua more harshly when Joshua heard two other people who were not Moses prophesying. Joshua wanted them to stop, but Moses said he wished all the people would have the Spirit of God rest on them. Joshua learned that God’s promises and His Spirit are for everyone, not just the elite few. 
But it wasn’t just mentorship and taking on new responsibilities that shaped Joshua. Spending time with God had the most impact on him. Turn with me to Exodus 33.
7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. 8Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. 9 When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. 10And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. 11 Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.(Ex 33:7-11)
Joshua went with Moses to the tent, where he met with God. He would have seen the pillar of cloud come down after Moses entered the tent. He would have heard God speak to Moses, his servant, as a friend. But after Moses departed, Joshua would remain. Notice how the people would stand at the doors of their tents, but Joshua would be at the tent? It must have been a fearful thing to see, a pillar of cloud descending and knowing it was the presence of God. Yet, Joshua seemed drawn to the tent when all the others stood back. 
It is worth pointing out that Joshua’s name is significant to this story. His name, in Hebrew, is pronounced Yeh-ho-shu-ah. And if you’re thinking, “That name sounds familiar.” It’s because Joshua and Jesus shared a name. Jesus, Yeh-shu-ah, is a shortened form of Yeh-ho-shu-ah. But this wasn’t always Joshua’s name. Moses gave him this name before he was sent with the other 11 spies to explore the Promised Land and give a report on it. Before this, Joshua’s name was Hoshea. 
 
This name, Hoshea, means “salvation.” The name Yeh-ho-shu-ah adds just one syllable to that name. But oh, what a syllable it is. This new name means “God is salvation.” Yah is a shortened form of Yahweh, the covenantal name of God. As another example, the word hallelujah is actually two words, hallelu, which is a command that means “you all praise.” But who are we praising? We are praising Yah, Yahweh, our LORD.  I think Moses gave Hoshea a new name that day before he left to spy out the land because he wanted his assistant to remember that it wasn’t by his own power and might that he would gain the salvation he was looking for. Salvation belongs to God. And Joshua seems to have taken this new name to heart. He and Caleb were the only two spies who said, “Yes! Let’s go! God has given this land over to us.” The other spies, of course, said that the people were too mighty, the walls were too high, and the cities were too large. They weren’t looking to God for their salvation but were viewing things in human terms. 
The people believed and followed the ten instead of the two, which led Israel to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. Two years after departing from Egypt, the spies went into Canaan. That should have been the end of it. But that generation's disobedience meant they would not be allowed to enter the land; only Joshua and Caleb would, for their faith and trust in God. That is why it says “now, therefore.” That entire generation had passed away without entering the land, and Moses had also because of his disobedience. 
 
2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. (Joshua 1:2-3)
As Joshua and the people are about to embark, God reminds Joshua that He is the one giving them the land. They did not earn it; it is a gift. But to get that gift, they have to take possession of it. Joshua and the people must get up and cross the river. But, notice how it says “this Jordan.” Why not just “the Jordan?” Jump with me really quickly to Joshua 3:15:
3:15b Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest.
 
This wasn’t just the Jordan. This was the Jordan during the spring harvest; we know this also because the Israelites celebrated Passover right after crossing. This was the time of the spring runoff. The river was high and dangerous. This was the Jordan they were crossing. The one filled with danger. 
 
Does anybody here remember playing the game Oregon Trail? What was the most likely way you met your demise in that game besides randomly dying of dysentery? Exactly! The most dangerous part was crossing a river. 
And remember, this is the river that runs through the lowest valley in the world. The Dead Sea is the lowest place on Earth and the Jordan is the river that feeds it. Remember our series we just heard on Psalm 23? Well, Joshua and the people are just about to enter into a deep and dark valley. This was not an easy task. A steep valley that descends lower than any other was before Israel. A raging river that is ready to swallow a person followed after that. And, on the opposite side of the river were walled cities with trained warriors waiting for you. These are not what one would call small obstacles. But it is God who goes before them, and Joshua and the people have seen God working miracles for 40 years. And God promises that He will be with Joshua, just as He was with Moses.
 
5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. (Joshua 1:5-6)
Now, this is interesting, isn’t it? God just told Joshua that He was giving the land to the Israelites, yet here, it clearly says that Joshua will cause the people to inherit the land. This is not a mistranslation. This is a very specific type of Hebrew verb. We see it as two verbs in English. Joshua “will cause” is the first verb, and the people “will inherit” is the second verb we see in our language. However, in Hebrew, it is all one verb, and it is unmistakable. And this is where it is important to not oversimplify the Bible. Remember when I said that the people must take possession of their gift? They had to rise up and cross the Jordan. There is work to be done. The story of the Bible is God operating and His people cooperating with Him under His leadership and His divine guidance. 
Now, this is where this all gets extremely interesting and very, very deep. When I was first introduced to it, it blew my mind. Remember when I said that the Bible's story is our story? That is because the Bible uses what are called types to point to significant theological concepts. These types can be people, groups of people, nations, places, or even entire stories to point to a much bigger part of the story of salvation that the Bible is about. 
 
·       Moses is a type of Messiah – He delivers God’s people out of slavery
·       Pharoah is a type of oppressor – He is a human who is like the prince of the power of the air, that’s Satan, that we see in Ephesians
·       Egypt is a type representing a spiritual state – When we were in bondage and held captive by sin. Remember, the Bible clearly says that we were slaves of sin before we were saved through the atonement of Jesus.
·       The promised land is also a spiritual state – It is a representation of God's rest
To see how this idea of types can play out in the biblical narrative, turn with me to Hebrews 3:16.
 
 3:16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. 4:1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. (Hebrews 3:16-4:2)
Do you see how the writer of Hebrews in the New Testament uses the historical story of Joshua to show a much higher spiritual reality? If you want better proof of God’s sovereignty and evidence of His eternal plan than this, I am at a bit of a loss. God orchestrated the history of Israel to point directly to our desperate need for Jesus. 
What, then, does Joshua represent? You’ve probably already guessed it. Joshua is another type pointing to the promised Messiah. How was Israel going to enter the promised land? Joshua was going to lead them over; he was going to cause them to inherit the land. This land had been promised to their ancestors since Abraham. How are we to enter into the eternal rest we so desperately seek? We enter through Jesus. Let’s jump a bit in that Hebrews passage to see this play out until its end.
 
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:8-12)
Just as Joshua caused the people to obtain their inheritance, Jesus has created a way that we could be saved. Yeh-ho-shu-ah points us directly to Yeh-shu-ah, Jesus, the only way, the only truth, the only life. Just as God foretold that He would bring Abraham’s family into the promised land, He also foretold of a Savior through whom God’s people would be brought back to Him. Jesus is the suffering servant. Moses was a servant of the Lord but Jesus is the servant of the LORD. 
This passage in Hebrews and the passage in Joshua share one other common trait. They both point to God’s word as central. In Hebrews the word of God is said to be living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. In Joshua, we read.
 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 
Joshua and the people are about to enter into battle. Does God command them to go and practice their military formations or train with their swords? No. He commands Joshua not to take up a sword and practice but to take up the sword, the word of God, and meditate on it. Military training will not lead to success in this war. Spending time in God’s word will. To meditate in Hebrew literally means to mutter something. The words of God should be on our lips. And how often does the text say we should do this? That’s right, day and night. What in the word of God should we be careful to do? Exactly. All of it. 
It is not in Joshua’s own might that he derives strength and courage. It is through God’s promises, God’s word, and God’s strength. 
God’s final words to Joshua in this passage are:
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)
If God is with you, who can be against you? Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed. Be strong and courageous.
Abraham was a nomad, wandering far from home and serving a God his ancestors did not worship. Yet God promised that his ancestors would inherit the land he walked. Be strong and do not be frightened. 
Joseph was sold into slavery, forcefully taken to Egypt, and then wrongly imprisoned. Yet he became second only to Pharoah and saved that nation, the surrounding area, and his own family from starvation. Brothers and sisters, be strong and very courageous. 
Moses was placed in a basket in the Nile. He should have died. Yet he grew into the man who would bring his people, who were in Egypt for over 400 years and had been forced into slavery, out into freedom. Men and women of God, do not be dismayed and do not be frightened. 
Joshua, though he was born a slave in Egypt, ultimately led God’s people into the land of promise. Only be strong and very courageous. 
This is the story of the Bible. This is the story of God’s salvation. At the beginning of this book, Joshua is known as the assistant of Moses. However, by the end of his life, he, like his mentor, was called עבד יהוה, the servant of the Lord. We see it in the last chapter in Joshua. 
29 After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 years old.
I don’t know where you are in your walk with the LORD. Maybe you are stuck in Egypt, awaiting your release from captivity. All I can say to you is call on Jesus, He will answer. If you have questions, we have a room full of disciples who want to help you. You are not alone.
Maybe you are wandering through the desert, God is with you but you haven’t entered His rest. You’re still trying to earn your own salvation and prove your worth. You can’t. The grace of Jesus is enough. He has already accomplished everything. Follow Him down the dark valley and across the raging river that has been stopped. He is enough for you. 
Maybe you are Joshua under the mentorship of Moses. Spend your time wisely and learn well, the time for you to lead will come and you should be prepared. Too often in our world people want to become influencers before they have anything to teach. Learn from those who have gone before and hang back, like Joshua did, and bask in the radiance of God.
Maybe you are the Joshua at the beginning of this passage we studied, taking over the reigns of leadership. Your work is not done. Strive on until you go home or Jesus returns. The highest calling we have is to be known as God’s servant and what we learn from Moses and Joshua is that title isn’t bestowed on a saint until they go home.
Maybe you are Moses, the mentor of the next generation. Don’t just finish your race. Help others walk the path you have. Others look up to you and will follow. Paul once told others to follow him as he followed Jesus. Help guide us along the path.
And no matter where you are in this journey. Dive into the word of God. Meditate on it. Don’t turn either to the right or to the left. Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed. If you belong to the LORD, He is with you wherever you go.

The Delighting Shepherd

The Bible begins with a garden, and it ends with a garden.  In the first garden, Adam and Eve sinned and what they received and what we inherited was a curse. To Eve and all her daughters, God said: “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you shall deliver children; yet your desire will be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” (Gen. 3:16).  To Adam and all his sons, God said: “Cursed is the ground because of you; with hard labor you shall eat from it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; yet you shall eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:17–19).  Essentially, what the curse would produce for them was the kind of suffering that sticks.
 
What do I mean by characterizing the curse with the kind of pain that sticks with you?  If you have ever suffered from nerve pain, you know from experience the kind of pain I am talking about.  There are some prescription medications that can help numb you to the pain, but nerve pain is very difficult to treat.  If you have had sciatica, any form of back pain, a pinched nerve, or anything of that nature, you have experienced the kind of pain that sticks. 
 
Sometime ago I read a quote from someone who said, “Our first parents’ bit into the forbidden fruit and our teeth have ached ever since.”  That person was not referring to the kind of ache you might experience when you bit into something cold or hard, no... the kind of ache is the one I experienced after having all four impacted wisdom teeth taken out of my jaw in my late 20’s.  The curse has left us with a kind of aching that sticks and is with us until our final breath, and it is this ache that leaves us with tears.  Tears over our broken world, tears over a relationship, tears over wayward children, tears over the hurt and damage caused by parents, tears over the problems sin causes in our world and to our own selves. 
 
The House that Adam and Eve Had
Adam and Eve enjoyed the presence of God in a Garden that was not at all dissimilar to the tabernacle the Israelites set up and tore down as they journeyed in the wilderness, nor was it unlike the temple Solomon built after David’s death.  The tabernacle and temple were designed as a model to reflect Eden as the “house of the Lord.” 
 
What Adam and Eve had in the garden was a gift from God that included the presence of God; In his excellent book, The Warrior Savior, Owen Strachan wrote of Eden, “From the start, God sought faithfulness on the part of his people through testing.  He gave them a forest-garden overflowing with beauty and gladness, trees spilling unblemished fruit, but he also gave them a prohibition—one delivered under the starkest terms: death from disobedience.”[1]
 
The tabernacle and the temple served to remind God’s people not only of the beauty of Eden but the promise that His people would one day be where He is... in His presence.  So, when David wrote the last line in Psalm 23, it was the promise of God to restore what was lost in Eden that he had his heart and eyes set upon.  To be in the house of the Lord is to be with the Lord.  David does not have a building in mind here, but to be in the presence of God.  The house of the Lord is not a structure but wherever it is that He dwells.  What made the loss of Eden so devastating and catastrophic was not Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the garden, but that they were driven away from the presence of God.  In other words, what made Eden home was the presence of God not the other things that were a part of Eden’s beauty. 
 
Before Adam and Eve were driven outside of the garden, God cursed the snake and promised the first couple that things would not stay cursed because He would send a Deliverer to reverse the curse of sin.  The serpent entered God’s house (the Garden) and enticed Eve and her husband to doubt God and question both His goodness and faithfulness! In the garden the crafty and cunning snake spoke: “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?” Eve replied: “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die’” (Gen. 3:2–3).  The serpent then went in for the strike: “You certainly will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:4–5).  Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan’s temptation and bit into the forbidden fruit, but that is not how the story ends!
 
God found the couple and He spoke to the great serpent what is a promise to all mankind: “And I will make enemies of you and the woman, and of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel” (Gen. 3:15). Strachan observes: “In Genesis 3, the snake spoke first. But the snake did not have the last word in Eden, just as the devil will not have the last word in history.” Strachan continues: “When God shows up, the hiding stops, and justice rolls down.... the God who comes to earth is not only pursuing a mission of justice.  This God is, even more, about to unleash a great rolling flood of mercy.”[2] 
 
It is the promise of a better Eden through the promise of a snake-stomping redeemer that David had in mind when he wrote: “Certainly goodness and faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life, and my dwelling will be in the house of the Lord forever” (v. 6).  Who can guide me, who can restore me, who will keep me, who will bless me, and who is it that loves me?  It is the Lord of the 23rd Psalm and He will lead me to the place where I will be able to see Him face-to-face in His house forever. 
 
The House that We are Promised
We have seen over and over again throughout this series that the Lord of the 23rd Psalm is Jesus the Good Shepherd, for He said of Himself: “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15).  The serpent is a thief, and Jesus said of him: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).  The 23rd Psalm is the promise of the abundant life that can only be experienced through the good shepherd.  The abundant life includes the table He has prepared before me in the presence of my enemies (v. 5a).  The abundant life is to have His favor in the form of the oil He has anointed my head with and the cup he has placed in my hand that is overflowing with His blessing!  This is what Paul meant when he wrote Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ...” The cup of God’s favor is Ephesians 1:7, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace.” 
 
Now, think again what it is that the 23rd Psalm is saying to those of us who have been found by the good shepherd. 
The good shepherd leads me: “The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.”
 
The good shepherd restores me: “He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.”
 
The good shepherd keeps me: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
 
The good shepherd blesses me: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows.
 
The good shepherd loves me: Certainly goodness and faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life, and my dwelling will be in the house of the Lord forever.
 
What does this all mean?  There are no green pastures or quiet waters without Jesus leading you.  There is no restoration for your soul or the righteousness you need apart from Jesus as your guide.  There is no walking THROUGH the valley of deep darkness apart from Jesus keeping and guarding you.  There is no blessing and treasuring of God upon you without Jesus. Finally, there is no goodness, faithfulness, and a better Eden apart from the God who loved you so much that He sent His one and only Son! 
 
Why did David long to dwell in the house of the Lord? What is it that makes heaven great? For what reasons does the promise of a better Eden outweigh all the sorrows of this world?  These questions have nothing to do with the place and location of the house of the Lord, heaven, a new and better Eden, but everything to do with the One who is in the House David longed to dwell, heaven, and the new and better Eden.
 
When Jesus prayed hours before His crucifixion, He prayed this: “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24).  This is one of the reasons Jesus assured His disciples: “In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be” (John 14:2–3).  For David, the blessing of being in the house of the Lord forever was that he would be with the Good Shepherd forever. In his commentary on Psalm 23, James Johnston commented on this very point: “Take away the people and a house becomes a sad and empty place. The joy of Heaven is not mansions or streets of gold. Jesus is the joy of Heaven. It will be home because he is there.”[3]
 
The Better House that David Longed For
For starters, what we know from verse six is that it is “certainly” ours, which means that without any doubt, for those of us whose shepherd is Jesus, our dwelling will be with him.  How long will our dwelling be with Him?  The answer is simple: Forever. 
 
What is the House that we will dwell in forever, besides the fact that it is the Lord’s house?  It is the restoration of what was lost in the first Eden, but better!  It is the city that David’s great, great, great grandfather longed to receive, for we are told from the book of Hebrews: “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he left, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as a stranger in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Heb. 11:8–10). 
 
Abraham was looking for a city not made with human hands because he longed for the same thing David longed for in Psalm 23:6.  The house of the Lord is the city that belongs to the Christian: “For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come” (Heb. 13:14).  We will receive the city we are looking and longing for when God makes all things new once and for all.  It is the thing that Paul wrote about in Romans eight,
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Rom. 8:18–21)
 
The “house of the Lord” that David was looking forward to spending forever in is a resurrected and redeemed earth free from the curse of sin.  The Bible is full of images describing what it will be like to live in a resurrected earth free of the curse of sin.  In Revelation 21, we are told that when God does make all things new and we inherit the city He has promised us, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). On that day, we will see God face to face in the same way that Adam and Eve did; here is what we are told in Revelation 21:3, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them...”
God will wipe away our tears because there will be no curse to cause them ever again.  The new earth will be like the Garden of Eden but better; it will also be like heaven today, but better.  We will enjoy physical bodies and a physical planet where the veil that shields our complete interaction of all that is spiritual will be pulled back.  We will walk with angels; enjoy a full and perfect creation that will include trees, mountains, and rivers.  There will be one City… the City of God where we will be able to go in and out.  We will run through the forests, climb mountains, eat amazing food, run barefoot through the prairies, enjoy the light of something more powerful and radiant than the sun.  We will dwell on a new earth that will never again know the cold of night, but the light of a day illuminated by the Glory of God.  But understand this: none of it will be worth it if our Triune God is not there!   
 
Listen, we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever because of the certainty of His goodness and faithfulness that pursues His sheep.
 
[1] Owen Strachan, The Warrior Savior (Phillipsburg, NY: P&R Publishing; 2024), 3.
[2] Ibid., 6-7.
[3] James A. Johnston, Preaching the Word: The Psalms: Rejoice, the Lord Is King—Psalms 1 to 41, ed. R. Kent Hughes, vol. 1, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015), 251.

The Relentless Shepherd

Have you ever been chased by a dog?  I have been chased numerous times, and not once did I ever feel wanted, special, or loved by any of the dogs that pursued me. Of all the times I have been chased by dogs while on a bike, my experiences have mostly been in Cheyenne.  I now arm myself with canine safe spray that will not harm any dog that decides to pursue me but will most definitely stop them from continuing!  So, what does any of this have to do with the 23rd Psalm? 
 
In the 23rd Psalm, we have discovered that in pursuing the Lord as our shepherd, we find in Him all that we need.  In following Him, He causes me to lie down in green pastures.  When I pursue Him, He leads me to refreshing and lifegiving waters.  He is the one who restores my soul when I look to Him to satisfy my hunger and thirst for righteousness. Because the Good shepherd atoned for my sins on a cross I deserved, and then defeated death by rising from it, I fear no evil as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  Why do I fear NO evil?  As He leads Me, He is the one who carries a rod to protect me from my enemies and a staff to protect me from myself.  He is the one who sets a feast before me in the presence of my enemies, He is the one who anoints my head with oil, and He is the one who gives me the cup of His favor that is overflowing! 
 
From the first verse to the fifth, the 23rd Psalm compels me to follow the Good Shepherd for my good and the sake of His name until we come to verse six: “Certainly goodness and faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life...”  I hope to show you why David shifts from our need to follow the shepherd to the degree, nature, and length “goodness” and “faithfulness” follows His sheep.  I hope to do this by answering the following three questions:
 
What is the nature of the “goodness” and “faithfulness” that is following the Jesus’ sheep?
To what degree is “goodness” and “faithfulness” following me?
For how long can I expect “goodness” and “faithfulness” to follow me?
 
What is the Nature of the “Goodness” and “Faithfulness” that is Following Me?
So, where is the “goodness” and “faithfulness” coming from and to what degree is it “following” the Lord’s sheep... and what if anything does this have to do with dogs?  To answer that question, we need figure out how in the world “goodness” and “faithfulness” follows anyone or anything? 
 
To answer this question, you need to see the verse that precedes it; look at verse 5, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies...”  The “You” in verse 5 is Jesus, and it is He who prepares a table in the presence of my enemies.  Now, if He prepares a feast on a table before those who belong to Him in the presence of their enemies, what was it that the enemies were doing before the table was prepared?  Well... to answer that question, you need to consider verse 4, which states: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”  Now, follow the logic and flow of these verses.  If all that the enemies of those who sit at Jesus’ table can do is to angrily watch you feast on the banquet He has prepared for you with the oil of His favor upon your head and the overflowing cup of His blessing in your hand, then what do you think the nature of the “goodness” and “faithfulness” is that is following you? 
 
To get a clearer understanding of the nature of what it is that is “following” Jesus’ sheep, you should understand the manner in which goodness and faithfulness is following them.  The Hebrew word for “follow” can be translated “follow after” but it is most commonly translated “chase” or “pursue.”  The NASB, the NJKV, and the NIV all chose to use the English word “follow” while the CSB and the NLT have chosen to use the word “pursue.”  Listen to how the NLT translates this verse: “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever” (Ps. 23:6, NLT).  The image that should come to mind from Psalm 23:6 is not that of a shepherd who passively follows His sheep with the hope to bless them, but a shepherd who pursues His sheep to lavish goodness and faithfulness upon them! 
 
Okay, but what of the goodness and faithfulness that is pursuing Jesus’ sheep?  What does that mean for you Christian?  The Hebrew word for good that is used here is used in Nahum 1:7, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him.” It is the same Hebrew word used for “good” in Psalm 196:1, “Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His mercy is everlasting.”  Do you know why it is that “goodness” follows God’s people?  It is because He is good! 
 
There is another word we need to consider together to understand why Psalm 23:6 is good news, and that word is “faithfulness” and it comes from the Hebrew word, khesed, and it literally means, “mercy,” “loving-kindness,” God’s “steadfast love,” and His “enduring faithfulness.”  It is a word that describes God’s covenantal faithfulness towards His people, and it is a word God used to encourage and embolden Moses after he asked if He could see God’s glory; this is how God answered Moses: “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion to whom I will show compassion” (Exod. 33:19).  So God hid Moses in the cleft of a rock and passed by Moses, and as God passed by Moses, this is what the Lord declared:
“The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness [chesed] and truth; who keeps faithfulness for thousands, who forgives wrongdoing, violation of His Law, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, inflicting the punishment of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” (Exod. 34:6–7)
 
So, for God to make all His goodness to pass before Moses, He declared His covenantal love and faithfulness.  These are the two Hebrew words David uses to describe what it is that pursues and chases after those who belong to the Good Shepherd!  The oil on your head and the overflowing cup in your hand is because of the “goodness” and “faithfulness” that chases after you.  And oh, dear Christian, there is more to consider, and we will do it by answering the second question.
 
To What Degree is “Goodness” and “Faithfulness” Following Me?
The goodness of God and the covenantal faithfulness of God is who He is!  He is infinitely good, and He is infinitely faithful!  Do not misunderstand what it means to have the “goodness” and the “faithfulness” of verse 6 pursue you!  The “goodness” is God’s goodness, and the “faithfulness” is God’s faithfulness, and both chase after you because He chases after you!  He found you dear Christian!  He pursued you when and while you were still in your sins!  What does it look like to have “goodness” and “faithfulness” pursue you?  It looks like Ephesians 2:1-5,
“And you were dead in your offenses and sins, in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ...” (Eph. 2:1–5)
 
What does the “goodness” and “faithfulness” of God look like?  It looks like Romans 8:28-30,
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” (Rom. 8:28–30)
 
What does it look like to have the “goodness” and “faithfulness” of God chase after you? It looks like Jesus and His promise to His sheep:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.... My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10:10-11, 27–29)
 
The “goodness” of God and His covenantal “loving-kindness/faithfulness” is pursuing me because Jesus is not interested in tagging along, hanging back, and no... Jesus is not waiting to see what I will do!  Jesus is the good shepherd who pursues His sheep!  Listen, it is because of the goodness of God and His khesed (mercy, loving-kindness, steadfast love, and faithfulness):
That while you were dead in your sins, He made you alive together with Christ. It had nothing to do with your performance and what you could offer God and everything to do with His rich mercy, great love, and all-sufficient grace.
 
He pursued you not because He had to, but because He wanted to cause all things to work together for your good and His glory for His glorious purposes. He called you Christian to, “become conformed to the image of His Son” and that is why He predestined, called, justified, and one day will glorify you.
 
It is not because God needed you that His goodness and faithfulness pursued you; no, it is because the infinitely good and faithful shepherd laid down His life for you so that you would have life and have it abundantly in Him.
 
To what degree is “goodness” and “faithfulness” following you?  Oh dear Christian, the “goodness” and “faithfulness” of verse 6 are not two sheepdogs that the Lord sends from the rear to keep you close to the Good Shepherd. NO! The “goodness” and “faithfulness” that pursues you is the Good Shepherd Himself!
 
For How Long Will His “Goodness” and “Faithfulness” Pursue Me?
So, how long should I expect the goodness and faithfulness of God to pursue me in and through the person of the Good Shepherd?  All the days of my life!  “All” means while I am sleeping and while I am awake... God’s goodness and His faithfulness pursues me!  “All” means that in my failures and my successes... God’s goodness and His faithfulness pursues me!  “All” means, in the words of Abraham Kuper: “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”
 
So we know what “All” means, but for how long will the “goodness” and “faithfulness” of God pursue me? Here is the answer we are given: “All the days of my life.” What does this mean?  I will tell you what it does not mean.  It does not mean some days His “goodness” and “faithfulness” will pursue me. It does not mean that only when I am faithful that His “goodness” and “faithfulness” will pursue me.  It does not mean that only on my best days that His “goodness” and “faithfulness” will pursue me.  It means that in my waking and in my sleeping, in my living and even in my dying, on my good days and throughout my bad days, God’s “goodness” and “faithfulness” is pursuing me because I am held, secured, and loved by the Good Shepherd who has promised His sheep: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28). 
 
What this means is that every person whose Shepherd is the Lord of the 23rd Psalm is that He is the One who pursues us and keeps us, which is also the kind of reality we sing about:
From life's first cry to final breathJesus commands my destinyNo power of hell, no scheme of manCan ever pluck me from His hand  
 
God’s goodness and faithfulness pursues His sheep, so instead of running from the pursuing Shepherd, the safest place is to run into His goodness and faithfulness.  Don’t run away in shame because of your sin(s) but run to the One who is faithful even when we are faithless (2 Tim. 2:13).  Run to the One who promises to satisfy what you really need.  Run to Him who will fill your hungry and thirsty soul.  Run to Him who promises to restore your soul. Run to Him who carries a rod to drive away your enemies and a staff to protect you from yourself. Run to Him who prepares a table for you in the presence of your enemies who have no claim over you. Run to Him who has already blessed you with everything you need in Him.  Run to Him whose goodness and faithfulness is more than you will ever need.  Run to Him who promises to never leave you nor forsake you (Deut. 31:6-8; Heb. 13:5).  Run to Jesus who is infinitely good and faithful; run to the One whose goodness and faithfulness is running after you.  Amen.