Josh Benner

Category: Theology

  • Sermon: Cubed – Revelation 21:9-27

    9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 

    15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement. 18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. 

    22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. 

    We’re finishing up our summer series “the Forensics of Faith” this morning. 

    We’ve spent the last several weeks talking about the work that God does in us. 

    He gives us new life, he justifies, sanctifies. He adopts us as his sons and daughters. He changes lives. 

    There are lots of other things we could have talked about. 

    As Paul says in the beginning of Ephesians, God blesses us with every Spiritual blessing. 

    We talked last week, about how God completes the work which he does in a believer. 

    And today, as we wind this series down, we talk about where this all leads. 

    Heaven. 

         Introduction 

    In Randy Alcorn’s wonderful book, Heaven, he tells a story of an English minister who was asked by a colleague what he expected after death. The man replied: “Well, if it comes to that, I suppose I shall enter into eternal bliss, but I really wish you wouldn’t bring up such depressing subjects.”

    Our views of heaven are too lowly. 

    In life, things often times leave us disappointed. 

    A movie looks hilarious in the previews….and then you see the movie and realize every funny scene was basically shown in the preview. 

    People rave about a restaurant, and you think it’s just ok. 

    We vote for a politician who we think will fix things, and they disappoint. 

    And there are other examples. 

    Perhaps that’s part of the reason why our views of heaven are too low. Because of earth. We live in a fallen world where there is sin and hurt and where things are never quite right. 

    And maybe because of that, and because of sin, because of what we hear about and see in the world, because of the experiences we have. Maybe because of something in our own life where we still question where God was at, we have a view of heaven like HEAVEN could be just one more place to disappoint. 

    Like heaven could be overrated. Like we could find it underwhelming. 

    With all of the confusion about heaven, there should be no confusion about this: heaven is going to be perfectly awesome! 

    It is not going to disappoint. You’ll never be there and feel like it didn’t live up to all of the hype.

    Heaven will never be boring. Your worst day on heaven will be better than the greatest day of your life. How do I know that? Because we have a good God who made heaven. 

    It is my prayer today that the hope of heaven can stir our love for God. 

    Ultimately our home is the New Heaven and the New Earth, and within those, God has his holy city, the New Jerusalem, which is the subject of our passage this morning. 

    The main point of this text today is that heaven is going to be perfectly awesome. 

    And in this passage, we see that through the appearance of heaven and the perfection of heaven. 

    First thing I want to talk about, the look of heaven. 

    John is given a vision. 

    Now he is not actually in the New Jerusalem: 

    Verses 10-11: 

    And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

    He carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem. 

    In verse 11, John says that this city had “the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal.” 

    So this vision of the city coming down is a spectacular site to behold. 

    The Glory of God. 

    Think of glory almost like weight, or mass, the heaviness of God’s awe-inspiring glory. 

    Something else to consider. In the Book of Revelation, in the previous chapter, it talks about the presence of God in heaven and it says that from his presence, earth and sky fled away. God is massively glorious. 

    And John begins to describe the city more specifically

    In verses 12-14, ghe city is described as having a great wall with 12 gates. There are 12 gates inscribed with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. In verse 14, John mentions twelve foundations with the names of the 12 apostles. This is showing completion in God’s divine plan. There are three gates on each side of the city. This shows the openness through which the people of God are permitted to enter the city. Later in the chapter, it talks of how the gates never close.

    The reason why they never close is because the enemies of God have been vanquished and defeated. There is no danger in this city.

    As the vision continues, John sees the angel who is showing him this vision, measuring the New Jerusalem  

    Verses 16-17: 

    The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement.

    The angel measuring the city alludes back to Zechariah 2:2. The measuring of the city is showing the exactness of God’s plans and his completion. The city is 12,000 stadia. A stadia is roughly 600-640 feet. 

    So 12,000 stadia would be about 1,500 miles. 

    So this city is massive. 

    1,500 miles could take you to any place in the eastern United States. 1,500 to the south, you’d be in Mexico. 1,500 miles to the west, you could make it as far as Las Vegas. 

    So it’s a very large place. 

    Verse 16 says “Its length and width and height are equal.” 

    So the city is shaped like a big cube. 

    Then the angel measures the wall of the city. 144 cubits, which would mean that the wall is over 200 feet high. 

    Now 200 feet for a wall is pretty small for a city that’s 1,500 miles high! 

    But again, we must remember that the purpose of the wall is not protection. It’s for boundaries. 

    The New Jerusalem is within the New Heaven and the New Earth. 

    Also the wall serves to radiate and reflect back the glory of God. 

     19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. 

    It is undoubtedly a spectacular site to behold. Standing at this great, high wall, and looking from side to side and as far as you can see, you could drive for hours and hours and hours and not come to the end of it, a wall and the foundations of it are these spectacular stones. 

    We have a lot of stereotypes about heaven. 

    We do tend to have the cartoon view with harps on clouds in white robes.

    We aren’t going to be standing on clouds. It’s a new earth. And we are going to live there eternally. We will be resurrected bodily, which is talked about in chapter 20. So we aren’t going to be spirits or ghosts. 

    Now just think about this earth….

    There’s a lot to it. 

    Imagine if money were no object, you had the time, you could travel everywhere on earth you wanted to go to? 

    Think about how much there is to explore? 

    Who here likes earth? Who here has things that you like? Or maybe it’s not even places you’ve been to personally but that you’ve heard of or that you’d like to see? I think of some of the great artworks in Europe. Amazing beaches, different architectural achievements. Spectacular rainforests. 

    I think about when I lived in Minnesota. Beautiful state. When I first moved there, before I met Kari, on my days off, I’d just drive around, sometimes to different parts of the state and take 

    pictures. 

    And that’s just one part of one state in one country. 

    There are lots of spectacularly beautiful places in our world. 

    So heaven isn’t going to be standing on clouds: it’s a new heaven and a new earth. 

    The image of heaven in cartoons and movies is that we’ll all be playing harps. 

    First of all, they are other instruments mentioned in Revelation in visions of heaven! 

    I think the harp has become the stereotype because it does have a heavenly sound. 

    But yes, there will be music. Music is a good thing. 

    And there will be food. We won’t eat because we need food to sustain us but for the sake of enjoying a meal. 

    Heaven is going to be awesome. 

    You might secretly fear the idea of heaven because you find yourself thinking “is it just going to be like a worship service for the rest of eternity?” Your sermons only last like a half hour and even THOSE push me to the brink. How am I going to deal with this forever?! 

    I think part of the answer to that question relates to what you consider worship…

    For you, is worship just something you push through on a Sunday morning? Something that you just put up with? 

    Or do you have an entire life that is worshipful? Does your devotion to God influence your daily routine? How you raise your kids? How you love your spouse? Turning to God in prayer? When you enjoy a good meal or see a beautiful sunset, is that to the glory of God? 

    In short, do you live a lifestyle that revolves around a love for God? 

    Or do you compartmentalize? “I’ll go to church for an hour, for the church box…but for other things I do, those are for me?”

    Yes there is worship in heaven! 

    It’s the presence of God. 

    In heaven, it’ll be a better and truer form of worship. 

    Have you ever been praying or studying the Bible….and then you think “I forgot to get milk….

    Then you get back to praying….

    I need to check what the weather is going to be like today…

    Then you get back to praying….

    How is it already almost September?! 

    And just one distraction after another? Or you feel like you’re battling just to keep focused? 

    In heaven, you won’t be dealing with the stresses of life: missed appointments, issues with finances, family stresses, health concerns. 

    Heaven. Will. Be. Awesome. 

    Because God is awesome. God is good and heaven is the place that he has made for his people. 

    And there are things about heaven we can’t even imagine. 

    How are you living right now? Are you someone who’s basically a moralist? You’re a good person. Good things should happen to you because you’re a good person. And yeah, God’s ok. And if there’s something good for following him, I’ll have that? But in reality, you’re pretty lukewarm to loving God? 

    Or do you love God? Do you have a desire to know him?

    Ultimately we can have a taste of that now. But to just know that it doesn’t compare with the reality that it will be to actually be in heaven in the presence of a holy God.  

    In the Great Divorce, CS Lewis says: 

    the Blessed will say ‘We have never lived anywhere except in Heaven,’: and the Lost, ‘We were always in Hell.’ And both will speak truly.”

    I’m not saying this to be cynical or snarky. But if you dread the idea of worshipping God in heaven, I think you might need to develop a greater love for worshipping him on earth. 

    But no. Heaven will not be a church service for all eternity. It’s a new heaven and a new earth. 

    Other images that the Bible uses: it’s a great feast! 

    Who doesn’t love a great feast?! 

    Great conversations and laughter. Music, not just from harps! 

    The Bible compares heaven to a wedding. 

    Now in America, we go pretty over the top with weddings. But there are other cultures that take it further than we do. 

    And in the first century world in which this book was written, wedding celebrations could last for a week. 

    Wonderful times of joy and laughter. 

    Heaven. Will be perfectly awesome. 

    A wedding, a feast. 

    It’s not “come, join us at the jury duty selection pool of the Lord..”

    There will be wonderful company in heaven. You’ll be able to see Jesus. The Lord who took the penalty for our sins. You’ll be able to see him face to face. 

    And you’ll be you. And you’ll know who these people are. 

    Now in the movie Men and Black, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are federal agents who deal with people who have seen aliens. And when they question a person who has seen an alien, they pull out a device that looks like a pen, and it erases their memory. 

    Heaven isn’t like that. We aren’t going to become robots in heaven. We will still be ourselves. There are heavenly visions of different Biblical figures. They’re themselves. The point of making unique humans was not so that we could all become exactly the same. 

    There will be work in heaven. Work is something which exists in the Bible before the fall. Work is good. It won’t be drudgery. It won’t be “I have to do that shift in heaven today.” 

    But heaven is not an eternal stay at a retirement community. 

    For Biblical reasons, I believe there will be animals in heaven. 

    Isaiah 65:25 points to the future time of restoration and the peace that will exist with animals. 

    The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.

    You’ll be able to walk through vast fields, and hear the mighty roar of a lion, but there will be nothing to fear. 

    Perhaps even pets….at least dogs. 

    No cats.

    Animals existed before the fall and were part of God’s good and perfect creation. 

    This is because the restoration is not just of humanity. God is restoring the physical world: it’s a new Heaven, a new Earth, a New Jerusalem. He’s restoring people, and he’s restoring animals. The book of Romans says that the whole creation is groaning. Sin effects everything. 

    But there will be no sin in the New Jerusalem. A perfect place. 

    Heaven should be a source of joy. 

    And the point of the new earth is not for God to make a place that’s WORSE than where we currently live. 

    But even for Christians, there’s this constant temptation to think that this life is the pinnacle of our existence. 

    It isn’t. 

    We’ll have greater perspective in heaven. We’ll continue to learn and marvel at the eternal glory and goodness of God in heaven. 

    In the presence of the Lord. 

    I remember at my former church in Minnesota. Someone had passed away and I remember the pastor saying on Sunday “I can promise you that she’s a much better theologian than I am right now.” 

    Marveling at the face of God. 

    You’ll still be you in heaven. There are places in the New Testament where people like Peter see Old Testament figures. They’re still them. You’re still you in heaven. 

    You don’t become an angel. That’s not a Biblical idea. 

    You don’t become a divine figure. 

    You’ll be you, but in the presence of God, you will be so sanctified that you’ll be you without sin. 

    It is a perfect place. 

    Revelation 21:4

    It will be a place where God will 

    wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

    For the things that have been struggles. For the things where we’ve suffered, in heaven, somehow, some way, they will be made right. Perhaps heaven will be so glorious that we just won’t care. 

    Or perhaps we’ll have a different perspective and see how all things really did work together for our good. 

    I think we get glimpses of that right now. 

    Some of us have experienced things that we wouldn’t wish on anyone. 

    But we know that without them, we wouldn’t be who we are today. 

    Verses 22-23, John says he saw no temple in the city. 

    That fact is immensely important and I’m going to unpack that in a moment. 

    He does give the reason why in the second half of verse 22: the reason why he saw no temple in the city was because the city’s “temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” 

    Not only that, but the city has no need for sun or moon to shine, for the glory of God gives it light and its lamp is the lamb. 

    So God’s glory illuminates the New Jerusalem. Keep in mind, we’re not talking about a crawl space that God is lighting. Maybe 1500 miles doesn’t sound like much to you….I mean you could drive that in a couple days….but we’re talking 1500 miles by 1500 miles by 1500 miles…that 1500 cubed…that’s over 3.3 BILLION cubic miles.

    It’s a perfect cube. 

    Again, this last part of the chapter talks about how the New Jerusalem doesn’t need a temple. 

    The significance of that can get lost on us if we aren’t thoughtful. 

    I talk a lot about temple themes in the Bible. 

    And that theme comes to its Biblical culmination in this passage. 

    What’s a temple? 

    In its most basic form, the temple is the place where God meets with his people. 

    Just like how I think we oftentimes have a wrong view of heaven, especially if we picture it to be boring, I think we can have a low view of the Temple. 

    Again, the presence of the Lord with his people. 

    All throughout the Bible, including to the present day, there is this theme of temple. 

    I want to list a few things: 

    The Garden

    The Tabernacle

    The Temple

    Jesus

    The Church

    The New Jerusalem  

    Maybe the connection between these six places isn’t obvious, but they all represent the presence of God. 

    In the Garden, Adam and Eve live in the presence of God in a perfect place. 

    Because of sin, they were cast out. 

    But God remained faithful. 

    He chose a man, Abraham to be the father of many nations, and the patriarch of God’s chosen people. 

    From Abraham, came Isaac who fathered Jacob who fathered 12 sons who represent the 12 tribes of Israel. 

    The Israelites were originally held in captivity in Egypt. After God had miraculously freed them, and while the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God gave them instructions for the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a tent structure that the Israelites were to travel with and it was a symbol for God’s presence with his people. 

    Exodus 40:34-35

    Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 

    Once the Israelites entered the Promised Land, the plan was for them to build a permeant temple which would be a place to represent God dwelling with his people. 

    This happened during the reign of Solomon 

    And we see the presence of the Lord filling his temple in 1 Kings 8:10-11:

    And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. 

    In both places, when the presence of the Lord comes into the temple, people can’t even stand in it because the presence is so glorious. 

    And in the Old Testament, the Temple is hugely important. Building the temple, the people corrupting the temple. God allowing the Israelites to be conquered and the destruction of the temple. The Israelis being released by the Persians for the purpose of rebuilding the temple. 

    But ultimately, God points forward to an even greater Temple, an even greater example of his presence with his people. 

    Jesus. 

    At the beginning of John 1, where it’s talking about Jesus, it says “the word became flesh and dwelled among us.” 

    And if you remember from last fall, that word for dwelled, it literally means “he tabernacled” among us. He “pitched a tent” among us. The presence of God on earth. 

    In John 2, Jesus says to the Pharisees: 

    “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

    They mock Jesus because that seems so absurd but they miss the point that he’s referring to himself as the temple. 

    He is the temple. 

    After Jesus died and rose and ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit is poured out on all believers 

    In Acts 2, this is dramatically described: 

    When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 

    By the way, the pouring out of the Spirit of God is also pointed to in the Old Testament.

    The church is the body of Christ. The believers in the gospel are given the Holy Spirit and we are the temple. 

    1 Corinthians 3:16-17

    Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 

    When I talk about the Church, I mean the Universal Church, not just a church. It’s all churches that are faithful to God’s gospel. It’s not that the church is important in itself. It’s not that we’re so great. It’s that God has given his Spirit to his followers and it is through the Holy Spirit that we are made holy and equipped with Spiritual gifts for the sake of building up God’s church. 

    But still his points forward to a greater Temple, the New Jerusalem 

    It’s a return to the original temple, the garden. 

    The temple matters because the Temple is God’s presence with his people. It’s the relationship which was tarnished in the garden. The presence of God, it’s what Jesus came to bring. 

    And while we enjoy fellowship now, and while we should not discount that, it is still merely a shadow of the true fellowship, of being back with God in the new temple that he will build, the new heaven and the new earth. 

    And then here finally in Revelation 21, the New Jerusalem. 

    The Temple, which has been a constant theme throughout the Bible, we see the return to the temple, the presence of the Lord. 

    The text says that there is no need for the sun or the moon in this temple. 

    Because God is the light and Jesus is the lamp of the new temple. Notice the glorious and powerful moment it is when the presence of God fills the tabernacle, when it fills the temple. The rushing wind when God’s Spirit fills the believers. The enormity of the glory of God in the Bible. 

    And to be in that presence. 

    Perhaps you’ve stood by a water fall and you hear the water, and you see it. And if it’s a big water fall, as the countless gallons of water rush down, you feel it in your chest. 

    The presence of God will never disappoint. 

    Pondering his glory and holiness and goodness, is something from which we will never tire of in his presence. Because he is infinitely glorious and wonderful. God’s presence is so holy and so full of life and vibrance that it is overwhelming. 

    Heaven is a perfect place. 

    The final verse of the chapter again drives home the character of heaven 

     27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

    Nothing unclean will ever into it. 

    Sin cast us out of the garden. 

    With the tabernacle and the temple, within those rooms, there was an inner sanctuary where only the high priest could go once a year to make a sacrifice on behalf of the people. One person, one time a year. And there were purification rituals that the person went through before entering because approaching God’s Most Holy Place was so sacred. 

    The dimensions of the Most Holy Place, of the Holy of Holies were equal in terms of height, depth, and width…no coincidence in the New Jerusalem that that Most Holy Place is also a perfect cube. 

    And to enter requires holiness. 

    And that’s a holiness we cannot earn. 

    Because we cannot make ourselves holy. We cannot make ourselves pure. 

    We are enabled to enter because of the blood of the lamb. He accepts us freely but we have to accept him.

    Heaven isn’t where a person should want to go because it’s better than hell. It’s where we want to go because it’s the abode of the Lord God Almighty. 

    It’s a place whose light is the Lord God, the Almighty, and who’s lamp is the land. 

    Thanks for listening!

  • Grumbling: when we forget God’s goodness

    Grumbling: when we forget God’s goodness

    In the Book of Exodus, God had worked in mighty ways for the Israelites. He had brought a series of plagues against the Egyptians. He dramatically parted the waters of the Red Sea. Once the Israelites were in the desert, God continued to lead. But through a series of uncertain events, the Israelites continued to respond by grumbling.

    They ran low on water. Israel grumbled. God provided water. They didn’t have food. Israel grumbled. God provided food. After all that the Lord had done, the people should have trusted that God would provide.

    But their struggle is one that we too can have. In spite of all of the ways how God has provided for us, blessed us, sustained us, in a time of adversity, it can be easy to fall into grumbling and doubt.

    But this isn’t God’s desire for us. He wants us to live in faith.We can be so quick to forget what God has done, how he’s blessed us.Forgetting can lead to unbelief and faithlessness.Let us actively remember the blessings of the Lord in our lives.

    We forget about his past blessings and forget about his future promises.And so we grumble.God is the Lord of our past, present, and future.God has promise all of his children a wonderful and glorious future.And between now and then, he has not abandoned us in the desert.God is God of your life today.If you’ve placed faith in Jesus, you know that you’re a sinner, saved by grace, and know that Jesus saved you, you have that to thank God for.Ad that’s the most important thing of all.He redeemed you.

    He saved you from the penalty of sin. To remember that the Lord is good. The Israelites lose sight of that.To remember that God made everything and that everything belongs to him.You’re here today. Which means that God has provided for you up to this point in your life. For some of us, it might not have always been easy.There might have been times of real hardship.But we’ve made it to this moment.It’s easy to forget.For some of us, when a blessing gets answered, we might celebrate for a moment, but it can be easy to just move on to the next thing to stress about.And we can go through so much of our lives grumbling, complaining to God, feeling like he hasn’t given us enough.

    For the Israelites, they’ve seen God act in mighty ways, but then they go right back to worrying.The Israelites face difficult situations. And they choose to grumble instead of trust.Part of the root of a grumbling heart is one that loses sight of the sovereignty of God.I mentioned earlier that it was God who had led Israel to their circumstance between the Egyptians and the sea. It was no accident.It was God who was leading the Israelites in the desert. It’s so easy to lose sight of the divine hand of God at work in our lives. Israel did. In our passages, they actually don’t even grumble directly to God. They actually grumble to Moses and his brother Aaron.As if it was their fault.Nothing happens outside of the sovereign will of God.And while they might have directed their complaints to Moses and Aaron, the real displeasure of the people was with God.God is God of all circumstances.

    Job 12:10 refers to God and says: in his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.

    Grumbling is a lack of trust in God. Grumbling is feeling like God hasn’t give us enough. It’s a sense that perhaps God isn’t good.Grumbling is turning away from God. It’s complaining to others, it’s ignoring the goodness of God, and is not rooted in the truth of the character of the Lord.We don’t like the unknown.

    Thanks for reading! Make sure to like, comment, and subscribe.

  • Sermon: Name Changer – Romans 8:14-17

    14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 

    Lord God,

    You are our God. You are our creator. But you are also our Heavenly Father. And let us not take it lightly that we can to approach you as Father and that because of your Son, our Lord Jesus, who took on the penalty of our sins, that we are enabled to be adopted as your Sons and daughters. 

    3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight

    Lord, we once again thank you for the opportunity to meet here today and to praise your great name and to remember your wondrous gospel. 

    Our Father, we pray for our time of fellowship. We pray for the city of Beirut who endured a catastrophic explosion this past week which has caused so much destruction in a city and nation that are already reeling. Lord, we also pray for missionaries and Christians in that struggling nation that they can be light in spite of this horrible event. 

    Lord, we pray that you would bless our time in your Word. May we be pointed to grace and truth. In Jesus’ name, amen.  

     This morning, we’re continuing in our series the Forensics of Faith. 

     We’ve discussed regeneration: the new Spiritual life that God works in a believer. 

    Justification: the right legal standing before God. 

    Sanctification: the process through which God makes us holy. 

    All three of those things are glorious works of grace in the lives of a believer. 

    Today we focus on our relationship to God because of the salvation of the gospel. When we come to faith in Christ, we are adopted as God’s sons and daughters and become members of the family of God. 

    It isn’t deserved or merited. It is entirely because of the grace of God through the gospel and the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross. He did that so we could be forgiven of our sins but also so that we could have a relationship with God. 

    Bridge 

    Main idea: God’s son died so we could be God’s sons. 

    And certainly for ladies, you’re no less adopted, no less part of God’s family, you’re adopted as a daughter of God. I say “Son” because that’s what the text says, which is what the Greek had said, which is part of an overarching thee of sonship that is in the Bible. 

    Body 

    I. Adoption 

    14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

    Everyone who is led by the Spirit is a Son of God. 

    Sonship is an important theme in the Bible. We talked about this a few weeks ago in one of our recorded sermons we did this spring. 

    In the Old Testament, we see Israel referred to as God’s son. And during the Davidic Monarchy of Israel, the earthly king of Israel was also referred to as a Son of God.

    But we don’t see individuals referring to themselves as God’s sons in the Old Testament. Nor do we see people referring to God as their “father.” 

    (pause)

    Where the text says “sons,” of course this includes women as well. But when it talks about being sons of God, the term has this rich Old Testament background.

    Especially when we consider that the ultimate reason why this is even possible is because Jesus Christ, the son of God, has enabled us to be adopted by God. The son of God died so we could be sons of God. 

    This passage also talks about the role of the Holy Spirit in our relationship with God.

    We are regenerated by the Spirit. We are sanctified by the Spirit. We are baptized by the Holy Spirit. And here, we are led by the Spirit as an indication of our adoption into God’s family. 

    And if you look at this verse in context, when it’s talking about being led by the Spirit, it’s referring to being led by the Spirit away from sin. 

    Because we have been given God’s Spirit, it is the Spirit which leads a person in holiness and leads a person from sin. 

    Adherence to the Spirit of God shows a person who really is in the family of God. Someone who really has received this Spiritual adoption.

    15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

    We haven’t received a Spirit of fear. A spirit of doubt. But we have received the Spirit of adoption. It is only when a person has faith and the Spirit that comes through faith that a person is adopted as God’s child. 

    And because the Spirit is God, the Spirit internally witnesses to God, and it is through the Spirit that we cry “Abba! Father!” 

    Abba is the Aramaic word for Father. It’s the word Jesus himself would have used when referring to God. 

    Abba almost sounds like a word a child would use. As little ones are trying to first speak, not even putting words together, but just syllables and sounds. 

    Because we have been adopted as God’s children, due to the witness of the Spirit in our hearts, we are able to approach the infinite God of the universe in the same intimate terms in which His own son, Jesus Christ referred to him. “Abba.” 

    That when we are in the difficulties of life. When we are in the dark nights of the soul. When we are in the stormy seasons. When we are dealing with brokenness and shattered relationships. That we have a personal God to whom we can address as “Abba, Father.” 

    I very lightly touched on this point last Sunday. 

    This idea, as Americans is one that is so basic, that it is easy to lose appreciation for the magnitude of what this means. It’s just so entrenched in our vocabulary with how we talk about God that it’s good to step back and think about that. God is our Father. 

    Even nominal Christians know the Lord’s prayer, “Our father who art in heaven.” Again, that’s part of the way how we talk about God.  

    In many parts of the world, and in many other faiths, such a thing would be radical, if not outright blasphemous. 

    But God’s son died so we could be God’s sons. And because of the gospel, we can approach the King of the Universe as our Father. 

    Again, do we think about how remarkable that is? 

    You can approach God as “Father.” If you called your boss your father, he’d think you were crazy! You don’t address the president as “father.” And those are just people. But with Almighty God, we can approach him as “Father.” And I think we treat it like, “well yeah, so what?” 

    We are enabled to approach God in such a way. 

    Not because we deserve it. We don’t. God is holy and mighty and perfect and righteous. 

    And we are not.

     But the God of the universe invites you into close relationship with Him. That’s not something that is meant to be taken lightly. 

    In Jewish literature from ancient times, individuals did not refer to God as their “father.”

    I’ve already alluded to this, but in the Bible, the giants of the Old Testament didn’t address the Lord as their Father. Abraham. Who believed in God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Who God promised his offspring would be as innumerable as the stars, through whom all the nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3, 15:5, 22:18), don’t address God as his “Father.”

    Moses, the leader of Israel who led them from slavery in Egypt, through wanderings in the desert. The man to whom God gave the Ten Commandments. The man who was in the presence of the Lord and whose face shined so spectacularly that he had to wear a veil when talking to the people didn’t address God as His Father (Exodus 20, 34). David. The King of Israel. The man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) the author of 76 Psalms, some of the most loving words in scripture written about God did not address God as his father. 

    But 39 times in the gospels, Jesus personally refers to God as His Father.

    And he talked about our relationship to God as being our father. I’ve mentioned the Lord’s prayer. It begins “Our father, in heaven (Matthew 6:9).” Before the prayer, he says:

    when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:6)

    These great figures in the Old Testament. Didn’t refer to God as their father, but Jesus instructs us to do so.

    Because of what Christ has done for us so that we can be forgiven of our sins, he has invited into a relationship, and because God has given those whom he has forgiven his Spirit, we can approach God as “Abba, Father.” It’s not just that we get to use a new term to refer to God. It’s that the Spirit of God witnessing and convicting us internally affirms in our heart that God is our “Abba, Father” and that we are His children. We have a good God.

    Some people envision this abstract creator God who’s not personal or relational. But the Spirit testifies in us in these intimate terms in referring to God. Abba, father.

    Application 

    Is that something you’ve done recently? Or done ever? And I’m not so much talking about the words. 

    But do you ever rest in the grace of your loving heavenly Father? Do you ever find peace and patience in knowing God is on the throne?

    I think it’s so tempting for us to want to control everything. To want to control situations. I know it’s something I fight against. 

    But we are adopted as Sons and Daughters of the Father of all creation. We are heirs of grace because of what Christ has done. 

    We get to approach God as our Father, just like how Jesus could. Because we are adopted. We aren’t partially adopted as God’s children. We are fully adopted into the family of God. Since the adoption is a work of God, it’s not something we can lose. You can’t get disowned in this family. You are God’s child when you place faith in Christ. 

    In times of uncertainty and stress, is the first reaction to panic about it? Is it to worry and be fearful? Or do you think “My Father in heaven knows me and knows.”

    When you’re in a situation and you don’t know what to do, do you think “Father, lead me.” When you’re dealing with someone who’s difficult, do you think “Father, soften me.” When you’re facing loneliness and desire, do you say “Father, be with me.”

    God adopts us. You cannot be God’s child without having been adopted by God. 

    Being able to approach God as your Father is something only his adopted children can do. 

    While all people are created by God, not all people are his sons and daughters. 

    John 1:12 says that for all who believed in him, he gave the right to become children of God.  In our own passage, in verse 16, it is the Spirit that testifies that we are children of God. But without that means that a person is not. And the Spirit comes through faith.

    It’s not because he needs us, or because he’s lonely without us. God has always existed in a relationship with Himself, in the three persons of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Spirit. And yet he invites us as well into relationship with Him. Purely because of his goodness and love.  

        Validation 

    We see other references from Paul to adoption. 

    Ephesians 1:5 

    In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will

     Again, the forgiveness that comes through the gospel is reserved exclusively for the person who has placed faith in Christ. 

    We see similar language used in Galatians as we do in Romans. Galatians 4:4-6

     But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 

    The son of God died so we can be God’s sons.

        Meditation 

    None of this is to say we should just be totally casual in our relationship with  God. In the Ten Commandments, we are told to honor our Father and Mother (Exodus 20:12). And we should. And we must also honor our Heavenly Father. 

    Jesus honored and revered his Heavenly Father. And keep in mind, Jesus is God. We aren’t. But nevertheless, we see from Jesus humility before God. We see him living in fidelity to God’s will. 

    God is our Father in heaven. We can experience closeness and intimacy with God. But it’s a relationship that also demands reverence and honor.

    He is perfect.    

    II.

    16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.  

    There is so much that could be said about these verses. 

    The Holy Spirit bears witness in your heart the you are a child of God. 

    The Spirit witnessing to God is also touching on the doctrine of assurance.

    This again speaks to the impact of the gospel in a person’s life.

    The Spirit bears witness that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs. Being adopted as a child of God comes with an inheritance. 

    In the first century Roman world, their concept of adoption had many similarities to how adoption works here today. Again, adoption doesn’t mean someone just has a new set of roommates. It is becoming part of a family. It is having a new name. 

    In Rome, for people in the upper classes, if they did not have a male heir, sometimes they would adopt a child from another family. Perhaps the most famous example of this from the Ancient Roman world was Augustus Ceasar. 

    But here’s what’s interesting.  Since it was often times wealthier families who practiced adoption, it was to carry on the family name and it was also for the purpose of having an heir to whom to give an inheritance. 

    And those are all true for us when we are adopted as sons and daughters of God. And you do have privileges through adoption as well. 

    You have the inheritance of a future with God. You have the Spirit of God in you. You have forgiveness for your sins. You have a relationship with God. You are God’s child.  

    But there are also responsibilities with being a child of God. There are greater things we are called to.

    We are supposed to be like our father.

    Like Father, like son.

    After the Lord’s prayer, Jesus says “if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).

    Jesus said to “be merciful, even as your father is merciful (Luke 6:33)” and those who love their enemies will be sons of God” (Luke 6:35).

     And that the peacemakers will be called “sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

    Like Father, like son. We are called upon to do what our Father does too. Obviously it’s not that we become divine now or at any point ever in the future. But in character and holiness, as God’s adopted heirs, we are to live lives as witnesses to God’s holiness and goodness in the world.

    Another part of being an heir with Christ taken directly from the text:

    if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

    Now this might not be what we’d expect. Shouldn’t we be insulated from any sort of suffering or difficulty?

    Christ wasn’t. And part of the union with Christ does involve difficulty and suffering. That cuts against the grain of what our society likes to say Christianity is. That true blessing is always the path of least resistance.

    But that view is not Biblical. 

    The Bible doesn’t hide from the reality of the fallen world in which we live. Sharing in suffering, enduring and persevering in faith through difficulty is a prelude to future glory.

    For a person who truly is adopted and truly is a child of God, even in the difficulties, we still have the Holy Spirit inside us, witnessing “Abba, father” confirming our faith to us. But in being like Christ, we all do have our crosses to bear.

    And knowing that, are you still able to trust God? Or do you want to go into doubt? Do you want to find scriptures that say that isn’t true? What’s your response?

    Some of us have been blessed with incredible dads. Dads who were always there for us. Supportive. Loving.

    But some of us didn’t have great dads.

    Sociologists say that a person’s view of their father can impact their views of God.

    But even in spite of challenges, what do you believe about God? Do you believe he is a good and loving Father?

    Conclusion 

    I talked earlier about Roman adoption. 

    It’s striking to me that something that was sometimes practiced in Roman adoptions was the adopting family giving money to the birth family for their child. The adopted Roman could often times still maintain connections with the birth family and was promised an inheritance in the new family. 

    But it’s striking that it came at a cost. 

    It makes me wonder how passages like this would have been viewed in the first century. Because our adoption into God’s family also came at a cost. The cost of God’s son dying so that we could be God’s sons. 

    Even today. In doing a domestic adoption through an adoption agency, it’s many thousands of dollars. It comes at a cost. 

    God adopting us as his sons and daughters came at a cost. 

    In the book Hidden in Plain Sight, author Mark Buchanan tells the story of a woman named Regine from Rwanda. She had become a Christian and moved to Canada. She met a man named Gordon. They got married and eventually decided to return to her homeland to spread the gospel. 

    Tragedy would strike when her only son was murdered in Rwanda. 

    Regina prayed for clarity on who had done this. She was filled with bitterness and hatred. 

    Her only son. Gone. 

    One day, she had a knock at the door and there stood a young man.

    He hesitated. Then he said, “I am the one who killed your son. Since that day, I have had no life. No peace. So here I am. I am placing my life in your hands. Kill me. I am dead already. Throw me in jail. I am in prison already. Torture me. I am in torment already. Do with me as you wish.” 

    The woman had prayed for this day. Now it had arrived, and she didn’t know what to do. She found, to her own surprise, that she did not want to kill him. Or throw him in jail. Or torture him. In that moment of reckoning, she found she only wanted one thing: a son.

    God has a son too. 

    And that son gave his life for you so you could be called God’s own son or daughter. 

    Regina took that boy in that day. She made him her own. 

    He had killed her son and deserved wrath and punishment. But what he instead found was unimaginable grace. Her son’s killer found a home. 

    We were outside the family of God. Our inheritance wasn’t joy in heaven. It was wrath in Hell. It wasn’t the Holy Spirit, it was worldliness.

    It wasn’t God as our Father. We couldn’t make him adopt us. God chose to adopt us because of his love. But the cost of that was his own son. Who died for us so we could be with God. That was the cost of forgiveness from our sins. 

  • Falwell Jr. on leave after inappropriate Instagram photo

    Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

    The largest Christian university in the world should not be led by a person who’s controversial because of his antics. It’s one thing to be controversial due to conviction or controversial due to moral stances which cut against the grain of society.

    But Jerry Falwell, Jr’s controversies largely stem from his antics. This week, Falwell posted a photo on his Instagram of him and a woman (who he later said is his wife’s assistant) at a yacht party. In the photo – which was later deleted – Falwell has his arm around the woman, both have their shirts lifted above their stomachs, and show their pants unzipped. Along with the photo, Falwell included the caption:  “Lots of good friends visited us on the yacht. I promise that’s just black water in my glass. It was a prop only.”

    The following day, Falwell explained the photo in a slurred radio interview where he said:  “She’s pregnant so she couldn’t get her — she couldn’t get her pants up,” he said. “And I was like, trying to like — my — I had on pair of jeans that I hadn’t worn in a long time so I couldn’t get mine zipped either. And so — and so — I just put my belly — I just put my belly out like hers.” Falwell said that he was “gonna try to be a good boy.”

    Everything about that situation looks bad. And his explanation didn’t do him any favors. “I’m gonna try to be a good boy?” You’re the president of the largest Christian University on earth and a 58 year old man. Also, in the photo when he says “I promise it’s just black water?” That sounds like an excuse an underage drinker would make when getting caught.

    Appearances matter. Being above reproach matters. Falwell failed on both fronts with that photo. Video from the yacht party also emerged showing people in a themed party based off of the Canadian television series “Trailer Park Boys.”

    Today, Liberty announced that Falwell will be taking an indefinite leave of absence, effective immediately. It’s a decision which is long overdo. It’s a microcosm of a larger problem in evangelical Christianity where organizations and churches fail to hold influential leaders accountable.

    If a student at Liberty had done what Falwell did, they would face disciplinary action. For Falwell, the standard for his conduct should be higher, not lower, than for his students.

    And again, it’s not an isolated incident. In May, Falwell Tweeted a picture of a custom surgical face mask which displayed the image of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam in a racially insensitive photo from his medical school yearbook. Falwell said that it was in protest to budget cuts for higher education made by Northam. Thousands called for Falwell to apologize and resign.

    He eventually did apologize. Kind of. Although his Instagram account still features a link in the bio section to a Breitbart story which paints Falwell as the victim in that story.

    Last year, there were photos which emerged of photo and his family at a Miami nightclub. Not the worst thing in the world (although not a great look for the president of a major Christian University, either). But Falwell vehemently denied the photos and said they were photoshopped, which prompted a response from the photographer who had taken the photos.

    Last October, there was a bizarre settlement involving a business deal gone awry.

    On social media, there are numerous occasions where Falwell has called people “stupid” and “idiot.”

    I appreciate Liberty University. But they deserve better. Standards and accountability matter. I’ve written about numerous influential pastors who have been fired or resigned due to misconduct. And so often, I feel like those situations could have been averted had their respective boards held leaders accountable in the beginning. And we see it here with Falwell. His board has allowed him to run wild time and again. And each time, it further diminishes the institution.

  • The danger of bad Biblical teaching

    The danger of bad Biblical teaching

    NOT MANY OF YOU SHOULD BECOME TEACHERS, MY BROTHERS, FOR YOU KNOW THAT WE WHO TEACH WILL BE JUDGED WITH GREATER STRICTNESS.
    -JAMES 3:1

    Words matter.

    We can use words to bless, words to harm, words to boast, words to give instruction, and words to deceive. Through words we can tell a person that we love them, or that we hate them. Through words we can compliment or tear a person down.

    When the Prophet Isaiah had a heavenly vision of the throne room of God, and beheld the holiness of God, he said in Isaiah 6:5: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

    Words were part of the original sin. In the garden, the serpent, twisting God’s words: “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

    God had never said that. He said they could eat of any tree except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

    “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die” (Genesis 3:2-3).

    Eve also gets it wrong. God had never said they couldn’t touch the tree. Twisting God’s words. Further provoked into sin by the devil In Genesis 3:4-5, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

    When Adam and Eve are confronted with their sin, they use words to blame in Genesis 3:12, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

    Words matter.

    In the first part of James 3, James zeroes in on teachers. He gives a warning to teachers that they will be judged with greater strictness. The reason why carries into verse 2 that we all sin in many ways, but one of the ways common to us all is that we stumble and sin in what we say.

    There is danger in bad Biblical teaching. It can lead people astray. It can teach people falsities, because the God who is revealed in scripture is the eternal, immortal, wise God. He’s the King of the universe, the creator of all things, he spoke the universe into being.

    There’s not a canvas where we are painting and where we can make something look however we want it to look.

    God is God. He has revealed himself in his scripture, his nature, his holiness. And so sound teaching about God matters. Teaching truth about God matters. Understanding God -in terms of how he has revealed himself in the Bible – matters.

    And not all churches do that. And not all teachers do that.

    Not many should be teachers because teaching necessarily involves words. Teaching about God’s word, teaching about God’s gospel necessarily involves words and language, and in talking, it makes it easy to say things that are untrue.

    We can’t be fast and loose with God’s gospel. We can’t make God who we want God to be if that’s not true about how God reveals himself in scripture.

    Unbiblical teachings that resort more to our feelings than to truth.

    Doesn’t God just want me to be happy? Not at the expense of sin!

    Words matter. How we approach the word of God matters. Like the serpent in the garden, twisting the very words of God.

    So it is true that there is a warning given to those who teach. And anyone who does teach from the word of God should question his motives, should be humble before God, and prayerful about the text. It should be taken seriously.

    We should be careful in our approach to God’s word.

    But regardless of if someone is a teacher or not, all of us should still use discernment in listening to what our teachers say. In listening to that which is in accordance with scripture. Of being fed by sound Biblical preaching. And that’s true here, and thats’ true if you ever move to a new community. And that’s true of any teacher who you might watch on tv or who you might podcast. We should be discerning with the Bible teachers we listen to.

    Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to comment, share, and subscribe!