Sinning in Any Circumstance (Part Two)

Amos 4:1-13

“I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord (4:6 NIV).

Last time, we saw that the women of Israel had sinned in wayward lust, in oppressing the poor, and in by being enslaved to alcohol. Next, the prophet Amos pointed out other sins of all the people.

They sinned in their acts of worship (4:4-5). Probably there is no wrong indicated by “leaven” (cf. Leviticus 7:13). By the way, beware of simplistic interpretation that assumes that every occurrence of a symbol or figure of speech must mean the same thing in every context, as this example illustrates. The problem of Israel was their religious pride. They were involved in religious rituals and gloried in them. Contrast Galatians 6:14.

Two actions that demonstrated the waywardness of the people. Bethel, which was the place of “Jacob’s ladder”, but which also had become the place of one of Jeroboam’s golden calves, was their favorite place of religious perversity. Gilgal, which was the place of Israel’s first camp in the Promised Land (cf. Ho 9:15), had become another place of rebellion against the Lord. Past experiences in special places cannot provide grace. God deals with us in the present tense. Is he changing you now?

They sinned in spite of corrective judgments (4:6-11). Notice the recurring refrain or chorus: “yet you have not returned to me”. It is used five times. We might expect judgments to change people. We ought to respond positively to correction, but often we do not. Grace changes people, and not harsh experiences.

The judgments recorded here are just what God said he would do if Israel sinned and departed from him. This is in agreement with the principle asserted in 3:7. Let’s look at these judgments in the light of God’s previously announced threat of judgment (Deuteronomy 28:15ff).

  • Empty stomachs – Deuteronomy 28:53; 2 Kings 8:1
  • Withheld rain – Deuteronomy 11:17; 28:23; 2 Chronicles 7:13
  • Blight and mildew – Deuteronomy 28:22
  • Locusts – Deuteronomy 28:38, 42; 2 Chronicles 7:13
  • Plagues – Deuteronomy 28:22,27-28,35,59-61; 2 Chronicles 7:13

Here are important truths to put to our hearts:

  • What God says, God does. Do not put God to the test.
  • We should look for God’s hand in everyday events. In daily events we should seek God and ask, “Is there something I should be learning?”
  • Every believer is a “snatched one” (4:11; cf. Zechariah 3:2). It is important to keep this in mind to prevent spiritual pride. We are not here because we are better than others, but only because of God’s free and sovereign grace (1 Corinthians 4:7; 15:10).

The verdict announced to them because of their sin (4:12-13).

Israel must face God. There would be no escape (4:12). We must listen to God’s warnings while there is hope (Proverbs 29:1; Isaiah 55:6-7). Compare the situation in Exodus 19:15-16, where they were told to prepare to receive God’s law.

Israel must have a proper concept about the God they would face (4:13). They needed to consider God from what he does. The Lord is Creator, Revealer, and Preserver. They must turn immediately to God in repentance and faith. And they must consider God properly from his name. It proclaims his ability to do what he says. He is the Lord God Almighty. We must properly revere God’s name. It reveals all that he is. He is able to speak and to do.

The serious situation of Israel was that they would not return to the Lord, in spite of all that he had done to correct them. They would not stop and think. We should. God gave Israel harsh judgments, but they refused to repent. Has God done anything like that in our days. What about the Covid-19 pandemic? Yet people have refused to repent and to ask the Sovereign God for mercy. This has been a strong warning from God to whom we must give account. Lord God, give us grace to learn from what you are now doing in our world, so that we will turn toward you!

Grace and peace,
David

Sinning in Any Circumstance (Part One)

Amos 4:1-13

“I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord (4:6 NIV).

In the previous section (3:7-15), Amos presented three motives for him to speak boldly for God. We ought to remember 1 Corinthians 10:11: These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come (CSB). Although the old covenant laws and rituals in the Old Testament Scriptures have been fulfilled in Christ’s person, word, and work, the Old Testament Scriptures as a whole continue to function as wisdom-instruction for us. So then, we need to listen to what Amos wrote.

We are now in the second section of the book; it is Amos’ second prophetic proclamation. The first has declared the failings of God’s old covenant people. Next, is a long appeal for repentance.

We need to interpret Scripture by Scripture, using one part to understand another. Here we need to know the foundational revelation (the Torah) to understand Amos’ message. 

Amos started his appeal by presenting the varied situations in which Israel continued in sin (4:1-11). In this post we observe that they sinned in a time of prosperity (4:1-3).

Amos pointed out the sin of the women. God does not worry about being politically correct. In a sexist or racist society, like America, people worry about speaking against the sins of any group. But God is not sexist or racist. He does not play favorites (Acts 10:34-35), and he feels free to address all people in their sins (Titus 1:12f), regardless of the possibility of offending cultural sensitivities. Evil people like to hide their corruption and perversities under the cloak of blaming others for “hate speech”. As we shall see later in Amos, God commands us to hate evil. 

The true and living God is not anti-female. The Lord created the man and the woman in his own image (Genesis 1:27). To be a woman is not to be a second class human. Women should be treated with respect and honor, as men also should. God wants women to enjoy their femininity and to maximize its potential. However, he has also made women responsible and accountable to him, just as men are. With that in mind, look at the language Amos used to stir the women of Israel to repentance.

  • Amos compared them to fattened cows. (Bashan was a lush, green area.) We should be careful not to turn God’s gifts into a means to satisfy our sinful lusts. This is too easily done!
  • Amos exposed their oppression of the poor. Contrast 1 Timothy 5:10. God gives us wealth so that we can help others.
  • Amos pointed out the danger of being enslaved by strong drink. The book of Proverbs contains warnings about drunkenness and alcohol abuse (cf. 20:1; 23:20-21; 23:29-35). This is a great danger to women (and men) in our troubled times. You cannot cure isolation, domestic abuse, and economic loss by drinking your way out of it. Alcohol is not a solution, and it can greatly complicate the serious situation that many find themselves in at this hour. I plead with you, knowing the evil it has brought in my own family’s history. If you are getting caught in the trap of “seeking to drown your sorrows”, get help today!

To strengthen his exposure of the spiritual condition of the women of Israel, Amos presented a contrast with the Holy God (4:2). If you want to know what you really are like, compare yourself to God (Isaiah 6:1-7). Exposure to God’s holy character will bring your glaring deficiencies to light.

A concluding thought about possible interpretations of “with hooks… with fishhooks” (4:2a).Perhaps it was an illustration—people being caught like fish. But the Assyrians really used “hooks” in their campaigns of terror. We have examples from archaeology. They were evil people. Israel experienced their wrath, instead of turning back to the living God. May we listen and return to the Lord!

Grace and peace,

David

God’s Purposes at Christmas

Matthew 1:18-25

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins (1:21 NIV).

Christmas is a time for wish lists, whether others give you theirs or you ask what they would like, or others request them from you, or you happily volunteer yours lists to them. We all have items on our lists that we would like to have. Yes, that includes you! We all have plans and purposes that we would like to see happen. By the way, how did your plans turn out this year? Truthfully, this year was nothing like I had hoped for last December. I praise the Lord for the many gracious blessings that he poured out through Christ. But there were many items that I never put on my yearly planner—but God did.

God is the Greatest Planner. The Sovereign, Holy, and Wise God always plans what is best for his glory and for the good of his chosen people. But we do not always see life the way that the Lord of all views it. The history of the first Christmas is a clear example of this difference in evaluation. While a long acquaintance with the story of the birth of Jesus Christ might produce a kind of sentimental charm, it is not the way we would have written the story. A quick reading of the first seventeen verses of Matthew one might leave us with the impression that we have been set up for a glitzy, exciting dramatic account. For in these verses we read of great men, like Abraham and David, and of great events like the exile to Babylon and how God stuck with his people in the long years after that event, since there was still a long line of people who were heirs of the promises made to Abraham and David. Now certainly, God will send the Messiah in regal splendor to crush the oppressors of his people, in order that they might live happily ever after. But if we listen to the story written in God’s word, we can learn much about God’s purposes.

God’s purpose was to send a Savior to save his people from sin (1:18-21). At first glance the way to God’s goal seems very strange.

Joseph, who was a descendant of Abraham and David, is overwhelmed by circumstances that seem to be contrary to God’s law. Joseph was pledged to be married to Mary, whom he esteemed as a good and godly woman. But unexpectedly, she tells him that she is with child, by the creative power of the Holy Spirit. Now Joseph, like any man would be, is rather suspicious and incredulous. After all, all humans are born through the union of a man with a woman, aren’t we? Therefore, he decides to break their engagement, which in that culture required him to divorce her, since an engagement to marry was binding. All Joseph’s dreams for a happy life seem to be crushed.

But the Lord gives Joseph a new dream. It is a dream that involves his heartache. That is often the way the Sovereign Lord of all chooses to work in us and through us. He uses our tragedies to mold his triumphs. This displays his glory and honor in a greater way. He takes what is bitter and makes it sweet. The Lord’s angel verifies the story that Mary has told him. She is expecting because of the Holy Spirit’s power working in her. The Lord tells him to replace his fears with confident action.

God’s message about Mary’s child will be the foundation of a better hope for Joseph and for all God’s people. The Lord makes Joseph a participant in the story. In faith, he is to take Mary as his wife. He must rely on the Lord’s word to do this, for he has no other way of knowing if her account of her pregnancy is true. And in faith Joseph is to name her child Jesus, which means “the Lord saves”. Joseph must replace his fears with a faith that works.

The important point lies in the significance of the name “Jesus”. The son born of the Virgin will be the Savior of his people. But this salvation is not a physical deliverance. Instead, Jesus will rescue his people from their sins—from guilt and condemnation and from the power and finally the presence of sin, which is ruinous and damning.

Here is what Jesus does: When he saves people, he meets their true and basic needs. He saves us from our past, in our present, and for a glorious and joyful future with God forever. The question is, “Has Jesus saved you?” Right now, you may have the best Christmas present that you will ever receive—salvation by Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

God’s purpose was also to be with his people (1:22-25). This purpose had been declared seven hundred years earlier through Isaiah the prophet (Isaiah 7:14).

Matthew clearly teaches us that Isaiah’s words were significant far beyond the time and setting to which he originally spoke. The wicked King Ahaz had rejected the sign that the Lord offered through Isaiah. So the Lord gave a sign to all Israel. Now the time had come for its fulfillment. Here is an important idea in Matthew and the New Testament Scriptures: promise and fulfillment. 

Matthew by the direction of the Holy Spirit applies the words of Isaiah to what happened to Mary. A virgin gave birth to a son. How could this be? It took the power of God. Every hope we have rests on the power of God. Can God do what is otherwise impossible? Yes, God can! 

Through the virgin birth, God the Son came to be with his people. Here we encounter what is beyond human comprehension. We can know the fact that the Messiah or Anointed One is both God and man. But how can this be? The Bible never presents a full explanation, but instead presents many facts of Christ’s true deity and true humanity. The Son of Mary is also God over all. This is a mystery (1 Timothy 3:16), and the best response is to worship.

What we must notice and lay hold of is that God did this to be present with his people. This is a great idea of Christmas: God with us. God has a purpose to be with his people forever (Revelation 21:3). God is not far away; he has come near through Jesus the Messiah. The Lord the Son took the form of a servant to save his people and in the process to have an earned lordship over all humanity, because of his obedience to the Father’s will (Philippians 2:5-11). In doing this he makes us citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, where we will be with him forever (Philippians 3:20-21).

As we look forward to being with the Lord forever, free from sin and rejoicing in the glory of God Almighty, we can know that the Lord is still with us, as Jesus the Messiah promised (Matthew 28:18-20). Here is something for you and me as we journey through this world. Life might not work out according to our plans. But all will work out according to God’s plan, because he has planned to be with you and me forever. Believer in Christ, remember this in the days ahead. Everything is all right when the Lord of Glory is with you!

Grace and peace,
David

A Miraculous Catch of Fish (Part One)

Luke 5:4-11

When they did this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets began to tear. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink (5:6-7 CSB).

The fishermen had heard Jesus teach (5:1-3). Next, it was time to see him act. As you compare the other Gospels, you see that this was not the first time these men were acquainted with Jesus. Neither was it the first time they had heard him teach and seen him do miraculous signs. They had had personal conversations with Jesus. They knew him, but now they were to know him more. Relationships grow gradually. Jesus knew this was the time to call them to the next level.

The Lord has all things under his control. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will (Ephesians 1:11 NIV). Think for a moment. Why did Peter and his friends have a frustrating night of catching no fish (5:5a)? It was because the Lord kept the fish away from their nets. Jesus set up the events for this revelation of his power to them. In order to follow Jesus as his “Sent Ones” (Apostles), these men needed to learn that they could depend fully on the Lord for all their needs. They also needed to learn that they were not in charge of their lives. They had caught many fish on Lake Galilee previously, but not the night before Jesus taught from Peter’s boat. As we continue to live through the current pandemic, we ought to learn these lessons as well. I am not in charge; I can depend on the Lord. 

Peter, after working all night, had heard Jesus teach the word of God. Next, Jesus gave a direct message to Peter. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch” (5:4 CSB). Jesus ordered Peter to act contrary to his own professional wisdom. The longtime fisherman knew that night was the best time to fish. He also knew that he had just experienced a completely unproductive fishing trip. He was tired and had already put his tools (his nets) away (5:2). It would have been easy to refuse. But Peter did not. We need many with his attitude today. Human “wisdom” has ruined the western church during the last fifty years. Entertainment and “attractional” methods have not produced true conversions or godliness. It is time during this pandemic to abandon what human wisdom has prescribed and to return to what the Lord Jesus Christ commands.

What happened next is a miraculous sign. In other words, Jesus continued to teach them, not by words, but by a supernatural act. Let’s focus there for a moment. The Bible records many supernatural acts by God. Here, the Son of God performs one. You can always know that a person has departed from the faith when they deny the reality of miracles. Notice that Peter and his friends did not ask for a miraculous sign, though it is all right for people to pray for God to act directly in our world. But the point is that they did not look for or expect what the Lord Jesus did. It was a sovereign act by the Lord, stepping into their world, speaking to them through an action that they would understand was an act of God himself.

Are we ready for God to come and show his almighty power among us, to us, and through us? Peter and his friends needed to know what God can do. Beware of falling into the “Can God Syndrome”! They spoke against God; they said, “Can God really spread a table in the wilderness? True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out, streams flowed abundantly, but can he also give us bread? Can he supply meat for his people?” (Psalm 78:19-20 NIV)

In these dark days, we must walk by faith in the true and living God! Abandon your doubts. Renew your confidence in the God who can!

Grace and peace,
David

Messiah, the Lord

Luke 2:11

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord (NIV).

Jesus is the Messiah, or what most Christians are used to saying, the Christ. Both Messiah and Christ mean “the Anointed One”. Jesus is the Chosen One of God (Luke 23:35). He is the One sent to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

He is also the Lord.

Much of Christmas thinking is wrapped around the idea that Jesus was born as a very human baby, wrapped in strips of cloth, and laid in a manger by his virgin mother Mary. All that is correct certainly, but it is insufficient, if that is as far as one’ thoughts go. We read our granddaughter the children’s book The Bible in Picture for Little Eyes (the old edition with realistic pictures), and it talks much about how Jesus came as a baby. It also stresses that Jesus is God’s Son. That is good.

It is also good to know that he is the Savior. God the Father sent his one and only Son to save or rescue us from the guilt, pollution, and penalty that we fully deserve. We lived in rebellion against God and were liable for eternal punishment. But thanks be to God, in his amazing mercy he provided an Almighty Deliverer for us.

All that Jesus is able to do for us is possible because he is the Lord. He is the great I Am, the Creator and Controller of all things, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. This is what we have trouble thinking through with our small brains. The Chosen Savior, God’s Prophet, Priest, and King; yes, we know that. But to comprehend that the little baby in the manger, the firstborn son of a young Jewish woman is also the Firstborn over everything (Colossians 1:15), that makes us pause and wonder.

The Lord blessed my wife and I with three children. How I remember holding each of the three infants on my forearm with their heads safely cradled in the palm of my hand. They were so tiny, yet very real people! Now think of Joseph holding Mary’s newborn son in the same way. Yes, that is easy to imagine. But that newly arrived infant is also the Lord. Listen to what the prophet Isaiah said of the Lord. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? (Isaiah 40:12 ESV) The Lord is so immense that he has measured the universe with the span of his hand! Yet he was at the same time a very small baby! The fragile human frame that Joseph supported with his forearm and hand at the same exact moment was holding the universe together. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word (Hebrews 1:3a CSB; cf. Colossians 1:17).

Jesus, Messiah and Savior, is also the Lord of glory! Meditate on this awe-inspiring reality as you walk through the tattered remnants of the year 2020. Focus on him as you long for hope for your future. Jesus Messiah is the Lord of all!

By the way, he is also the Lord of your life. 

Grace and peace,
David

Israel in the Lion’s Mouth (Part Two)

Amos 3:7-15

The second motive to speak boldly for the Lord is the theme of God’s message.

The Lord pointed out through Amos two ways that his people were engaging in evil. First, the sin of materialism (3:10, 15). It had so captivated them that they did not understand anything else. This is an example of being hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (Hebrews 3:13). We must guard our hearts. Since we have a material aspect to our being and live in a culture that is openly and overly materialistic, we can be tempted to seek satisfaction in material things.

Second, the sin of false religion (3:14). Notice the reference to Bethel. We should immediately think of how Jeroboam I led the northern kingdom into deep sin there (cf. 1 Kings 12:25-13:6). God calls his people Israel to account for their religious error. It was their glaring sin because it was against their covenant relationship with God. This was a root sin of many other sins in Israel.

We must find “root sins”; for example, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (1 Timothy 6:10 CSB) and strike at these root sins. (Another root sin is old unbelief.) This also requires us to make sure that we have correct beliefs from the Scriptures and seek to practice them. Notice God’s complete seriousness at this point. Amos uses the longest form for God’s name (3:13) in any place in the Scriptures!

We must learn from Israel’s errors. Time goes on, but the human heart remains in the same swamp of evil. “Progress” in humanity is merely “further declines” in the way we sin, either in the manner of our sinning or in the objects of our lusts. Hardness of heart is shown in the refusal to hear God’s warning.

The third motive is the judgment in God’s message. 

Other nations are summoned to see Israel’s punishment (3:9). We should learn from the sins of others and not repeat them. But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning (1 Timothy 5:20 NIV). Notice how low the people had sunk. Others are called to witness their oppression of their own people. All knowledge of how to please the Lord had left them.

The judgment would come through the agency of a conquering power (3:11). Amos didn’t name this power, but it was Assyria. It was fulfilled within fifty years from the time of Amos’ ministry. God may use one group of godless people to punish another group (Isaiah 10:10-19). We must “get into” the Bible as a life situation. How would you react if God suddenly announced that our country was to be destroyed?

There was mixed news: Only a remnant would escape, but thank God for the remnant, not only for mercy for those people, but for the whole world (3:12; cf. Rm 9:27; 11:1-6). For from that remnant came the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. God works mercifully even in the most difficult times. Put your hope in God today!

Grace and peace,
David

Israel in the Lion’s Mouth

Amos 3:7-15

In the book of Amos, we have the written record of his prophetic ministry in which he proclaimed God’s judgment on the northern kingdom of Israel. Have you thought about how difficult a task this was? People want to hear good news, especially about their future! But Amos was charged with delivering a very unpopular message.

We, too, have an unpopular message to deliver. People in our culture don’t want anyone with religious views telling them what to do, especially if they speak for the true God. (But they will allow anyone in the media to tell them how to think!) Yet we must speak. How can we speak up in the face of determined resistance? Obviously we need some motives that spur us on. Let us learn from Amos at this point.

Let us think first of the power of God’s message (3:7-8).

The source of the message is the Lord and not the prophet (3:7; cf. 2 Peter 1:16ff). This is a recurring theme in this section (3:11, 12, 13, 15). God’s authority is the bedrock on which every ministry for the Lord rests. Unless you know that you are telling people God’s message, you will not speak up in the face of opposition.

The judgment that would come on Israel would arrive because the Lord planned that judgment. He let people know this by telling it to his prophets. The actions that God is doing in our age are a fulfillment of prophecy. The Lord told us what the last days would be like, so we should not be surprised when history looks like prophecy. But know this: Hard times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people (2 Timothy 3:1-5 CSB; cf. 2 Peter 3:3; 1 John 2:18-23). 

By the way, we do not have to be confused about what God’s will is. It has been revealed for us in the Bible. The question is “do we search the Scriptures intently to find out what God’s will is?”

The imperative behind the message—it must be delivered (3:8). Compare 1 Corinthians 9:16; Ezekiel 2:5-7.

We must deliver God’s message because we are his servants. A servant does what his master desires (cf. Luke 6:46). I think that this is the first time that this idea (of the prophet as God’s servant) was used in redemptive history. When we come to the New Testament Scriptures, it is an important concept. Think of Paul, James, and Peter; they called themselves servants or slaves of God and Jesus Christ.

We must deliver the message because of the nature of the message.  It is like the roar of a lion in the preacher’s ears! Listen to what Jeremiah also said about being a prophet. I say, “I won’t mention him or speak any longer in his name.” But his message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones. I become tired of holding it in, and I cannot prevail (Jeremiah 20:9 CSB).

The clarity of the servant’s perception of the message will show itself in the urgency of his presentation. Casual, light-hearted words free from a zeal to persuade people to turn from their own ways and follow the Lord will make all that the speaker says to be trite and “take it or leave it, it’s up to you.”

“I find, and this is somewhat of a confession as well as an exhortation, that my own words mock me too often when I preach – when I can say the word ‘hell’ and not feel the horror of it; when I can speak of heaven and not be warmed with a holy glow in the light of the fact that this is the place my Lord is preparing for me.” (Martin, “What’s Wrong with Preaching Today?” p. 10)

Let us be motivated by the power of God’s word (Romans 1:16-17)!

Grace and peace,
David

Teaching by the Lake

Luke 5:1-3

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat (5:1-3 CSB).

Years ago when we were young and our children were younger, two very good friends paid for our way to a Christian camp located on Kelly’s Island on Lake Erie. The camp was next to a beautiful bay on a narrow peninsula, and it was a great place to see tremendous sunsets. It would be very easy to talk a lot about the wonderful times and the fellowship we enjoyed there. But to keep our blog post to a readable length, I’ll only mention one thing. The chapel of the camp was located a stone’s throw from the shoreline, and as you listened to the message with your ears, your eyes could survey the beauty of the lake.

When I read these verses, I can easily picture what it was like to listen to Jesus as he stood by Lake Galilee (Gennesaret is usually called Galilee.) Yet, this scene was different from our blissful days at camp. Jesus was near Capernaum, where he had been doing good works (Acts 10:38) of miracles. The people of the area were very excited about the miracles and his teaching. So, they looked for Jesus and when they found him, they crowded around him. Think of the excitement of that day! People crowded around Jesus and wanted to listen to him! They longed to hear Jesus tell them words of life!

During my sophomore year of college, I was a new follower of Jesus Christ. It was quite a remarkable time in the early 1970s. Many other people became believers in the Lord in those years. I attended a church on Sunday evenings in the next town from where the college was located. We had to get to the evening service forty-five minutes before it began to get a seat. Thirty minutes early merely to get into the building. And we sang for joy while we waited for the meeting to begin, and then we sang some more. We all were eager to hear more about the Lord Jesus, the gospel, and his saving grace. I doubt that few of you have seen that week after week after week. 

About five years later, I taught a Bible study on a secular college campus near where I lived. We met in a room in a college building at eight o’clock on Friday nights for two hours. Yes, you read that correctly. Eight o’clock on Friday nights for two hours with college students, who preferred to gather to hear God’s word rather to go out partying. I worked for a general contractor during those days and would start work early on Friday, work hard on the job, get cleaned up, and go to the Bible study. I was tired out by ten at night, even as a young man. The students kept asking questions about the Scriptures well after ten. At times, I would be walking down the steps from the third floor to go to my car, and they would still be asking me questions on the way. Thank you, Lord, for such hunger for your Word.

Jesus experienced that constantly in his earthly ministry. It got so crowded as he taught, that it made it difficult to teach. For this reason, he got into a boat (Simon Peter’s) and asked him to move out a little bit from shore. There, he could more easily teach and the people listen. He loved to tell them the good news of God and his kingdom, and they loved to listen.

My friends, what has happened to people who claim to love the Lord and Savior? We have lost the excitement to hear about Jesus Christ. I do see this in some people, as I did in my Bible study this morning when we looked at Isaiah 53. However, many church buildings are nearly empty from fear. Please don’t excuse yourself because you’re afraid of Covid-19. Early Christians in Rome hid among the catacombs so that they could meet together and worship. They hungered for the Word at the risk of death! Plus, I seriously doubt that you can catch Covid-19 through an online, remote meeting! Yet far too many claim that they are “Zoomed out”. But they will still watch endless shows on their television or other digital devices, and that requires them to look at a screen.

My dear friends, I think we all need to examine ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5). Our current decline is not because of Covid-19. Nor is it because we are “Zoomed out”. I think there is another reason. Let us listen to the words of Jesus to the church in Ephesus. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place (Revelation 2:4-5 NIV).

Do not fret about persecution closing churches. Christians are doing a more than adequate job of closing churches by their own laziness and indifference.

May God restore us!

Grace and peace,
David

Remarkable Events at Capernaum

Luke 4:38-44

But he said to them, “It is necessary for me to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43 CSB)

At a later time in his ministry, Jesus referenced the many mighty works he did in towns like Capernaum (Matthew 11:20-25; cf. Luke 10:13-15). In our text we view three kinds of those miraculous signs. Here we see what the people of Nazareth wanted (4:23), yet what did the people of Capernaum no spiritual good. What we long for may not help us but only compound our troubles. The classic witticism about this is “There are two happy days in boat owner’s lives; the day they buy it and the day they sell.” You can plug in your own experience.

Sent by God, Jesus did what the Father directed him to do. Luke continues the account of that busy day in Capernaum. After the synagogue service was over, Jesus went with Simon Peter to his house. Jesus and Simon had met months earlier in Judea (John 1:40-42). Back in Galilee, Simon extended hospitality to Jesus, as he seems to have already become one of a growing number of Jesus’ disciples.  On a human level, it was a difficult time to have Jesus as a guest, since Peter’s mother-in-law was ill with a fever. And Peter’s wife probably had her hands full with her mother rather ill. But our difficulties are God’s opportunities.

Jesus bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her (4:39 NIV). Can you picture Dr. Luke telling this story, thinking of his own bedside posture as he tried to help his patients? But Jesus was a physician with almighty power! He could rebuke a fever and make it leave, just as he had the evil spirit in the synagogue. The woman’s healing was immediate. No recovery period was needed when the fever was gone. She was able to get up and work at once. Notice that the Lord did not tell her to sit down and relax. She was healed and quite capable of immediate service. The Lord wants us to serve him and others.

At sunset when the Sabbath was over (the Jewish day ended and began at sunset), the excited people of Capernaum brought their afflicted family members and friends to Jesus to be healed. They had been spreading the news about Jesus everywhere (4:37), and a large crowd gathered at Peter’s house. Jesus healed people in different ways, sometimes just by speaking a word, even from a distance. Here, Jesus chose personal contact. He healed by laying his hands on them. This personal touch is in dramatic contrast with what he refused to do at Nazareth. It was not because they were better people. (See the references in the first paragraph, where Capernaum is unfavorably compared with Sodom in its spiritual receptiveness.) No, this is another example of sovereign mercy, and this one increasing their responsibility. Jesus tenderly healed these people, but they would not humbly bow before him in trust and thankfulness.

The Lord Jesus also cast out demons from several people. Evidently, the opposition by the spiritual forces of evil against Jesus was strong in this area. He did not avoid such encounters but faithfully carried out the work his Father gave him to do. Let us be strong in the Lord and his mighty power (Ephesians 6:10) and do the same. This is the hour for the church to arise out of her slumber and do what God has commissioned us to do, regardless of the hardened opposition we encounter. Jesus did not allow these evicted demons to talk; he did not their words to lead to wrong ideas about the meaning of his Messiahship. 

Jesus continued faithful on the mission the Father had given him (4:42-44). After a glorious day of ministry, one that most preachers only dream of, Jesus went out alone to pray to his Father in heaven. He longed for solitary time with God. Do we? People were searching for Jesus; however, he had more on his agenda than to minister in one place. He had many places to go, and he had more to do than heal people. (Many of the prayers of the contemporary church are filled with urgent requests for healing; little is asked for spiritual concerns.)  He knew that his primary mission at this time was to tell the good news of the kingdom of God, that God had arrived in his coming to bring salvation. For this reason, he moved on and kept on preaching.

We, Christ’s people, must get involved again in telling people the good news. We’re distracted by far too many temporary matters of this world and neglect the spiritual and the eternal. Can we say with integrity that we are his followers, if we fail to follow him?Grace and peace,
David

Authority and Power

Luke 4:31-37

Amazement came over them all, and they were saying to one another, “What is this message? For he commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!”  (Luke 4:36).

Luke next records events from one day in Jesus’ life and ministry. By the leading of the Holy Spirit, he borrows from what Mark wrote in Mark 1:21-39. In his typical manner, Luke has placed this material after something that happened later. This section (Luke 4:31-44) explains the kind of mighty works that Jesus did in Capernaum that he referred to in Luke 4:23. What did Jesus do in his new hometown of Capernaum?

First, he taught with authority (4:31-32). Capernaum was a prosperous fishing and farming community on the north side of Lake Galilee. In addition, it was also located on a trade route, and as such, tax collectors operated from there. This situation would provide a springboard for Jesus to call the men who would become the apostles. Look for opportunities to serve the Lord in the places where you live.

The foundation of Christ’s ministry was his teaching, his words. He taught about God and his kingdom (God’s saving reign that had arrived), cf. 4:43. This is quite different from how most churches in the west have done their business for many years. Jesus did not start with programs and people pleasing messages to gather hearers. The Lord Jesus declared the truth to people. He required inward change, a change that required people to think about God in their lives with an eternal perspective. At the same time, he offered hope from the one true God. People in our time desperately need to hear the words of truth and hope.

Second, he acted with authority (4:33-35). As the people remarked about Christ’s teaching, an unclean spirit, a demon, disrupted the meeting with loud shrieks. “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (Luke 4:34 NIV). Can you imagine what this felt like? During a time of worship of God, an evil spirit made his presence known. Everyone in attendance, except for Jesus, must have been shocked and disturbed. But Jesus knows the hearts of all in every worship service. He knew the demon was lurking, though others did not.

Jesus also knew the authority given to him by God the Father to set the oppressed free (4:18). He did not hesitate to use it, unlike many political leaders in our country who refuse to act against rioters and looters, because they fear political backlash. (They will answer to God on Judgment Day for their heinous failure to do their duty.) Jesus acted immediately to deliver the oppressed man and to cast out the demon. He had supreme power along with his authority. He ordered the demon out, and also prevented it from harming the man.

Third, the people recognized his authority (4:36-37). People in the west might dismiss demonic oppression and possession as myths of primitive people. People in Bible times did not. Neither do people in other parts of the world who have encountered demonic activity. Neither should people in the west who sadly try to sweep every abnormality under the human made carpet of “mental illness”. Some people sadly do have medical, emotional, and psychological issues that do require skilled treatment and medicine. But that does not rule out the existence of the demonic, unless you are closed-minded and in denial of the supernatural. 

That day in Capernaum, the people confessed the authority and power of Jesus Christ. They also spread this news about Jesus to other areas. What news about the authority and power of Christ have you experienced? Do you spread that news? Restore the supernatural in your world and life view. In the process, may you again find hope in these desperate times!

Grace and peace,
David