Responding to Something that Happened in History...

This week, we are looking at what makes Easter Sunday so special and significant. We discovered that what makes Easter Sunday special and significant is not doctrine or theology but something that happened in history. Jesus died on the cross, was buried in a tomb dead as a door nail, and was brought back to life as a result of God’s transforming activity. You see the core message of the gospel; the essence of Christianity is not about theology. The core message of the gospel and the essence of Christianity revolves around an event that occurred in history. What makes the Bible so compelling and different than other religious literature is that Christianity is rooted in history.

What is so fascinating, however, is how early followers of Jesus responded to Jesus death and resurrection. When we read in the Bible and in other secular historical material about what happened in the city of Jerusalem shortly after that first Easter Sunday, we discover that Jesus followers began to gather in community with one another on Sundays for times of worship. But not only that, we see that the early followers of Jesus began to meet together throughout the week in homes. These early followers of Jesus also began to love and serve those in their communities and minister to real and practical needs.

But the problem was that they just kept talking about Jesus. These early followers of Jesus would come into the temple at Jerusalem and would begin to talk about the very man that the religious leaders of the day had just killed only a few months earlier just outside of town. And as you might imagine, the religious leaders were not too pleased about this. And after one such encounter in the temple, the Jewish religious leaders of the day arrested Peter and John, who were two of the leaders of this early movement of followers of Jesus that we now call the church, and brought them in for questioning.

And in Acts 4:15, as we enter into this story as the religious leaders try to decide what to do about Peter and John, we are given an amazing glimpse of what drove these early followers of Jesus:

But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another, saying, "What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. "But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name." And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

In other words, we cannot deny that these men had miraculously healed someone. But we can’t have them coming into the temple talking about Jesus, who we just killed because He threatened our religious system and power. So let’s just tell them to quit mentioning this name. I mean they could not even bring themselves to say Jesus. So these religious leaders bring Peter and John back in and command them to quit talking about Jesus. Notice Peter and John’s response:

But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;

“For we cannot stop speaking about our theology. We cannot stop speaking about what happened to the dinosaurs. We cannot stop speaking about what will happen in the end times. We cannot stop speaking about whether the earth was created in 6 days or millions of years. We cannot stop speaking and holding signs at military funerals that say that God hates gays”. No that is not what they said. Here is what they said:

for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard."

For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard. Peter, John, and the early followers of Jesus were driven to speak boldly not about their differing theological views; they were driven to speak about something that happened in history. They could not stop talking about Jesus because of something that happened in history; something that opened the door and provided the opportunity for all of humanity to receive forgiveness and enter into the relationship with God that they were created for.

Now maybe you are not a Christian and one of your biggest push backs to the whole Jesus church thing is frankly how obnoxious Christians can be when it comes to talking about the Bible and Christianity. If you are a follower of Jesus, what drives you to talk about Jesus? Are you driven to speak about Jesus to show how smart you are? How you have everything figured out when it comes to your doctrine and theology?

Because here’s the deal: what we believe about God, our theology is inseparably related to an event that occurred in history. And it was this event that occurred in history that makes Easter Sunday so significant and that drove the early followers of Jesus to boldly speak of all that God had done through His Son Jesus. It is what happened in history that first Easter Sunday that makes the gospel good news. So when you talk about Jesus, the church, and the Bible, does it sound like good news?

Now if you are not a Christian, you still may find yourself wondering “what makes any of this good news? Why is Easter Sunday so significant?” What makes Easter Sunday so significant and such good news is that while all of humanity was created for a relationship with God and one another, all of humanity selfishly chose to reject that relationship, instead choosing to love our selves over God and others. And it is out of our selfishness that we do things that hurt God and those around us, which the Bible calls sin. And it the events of that first Easter Sunday that reveals how God responded to our selfish rebellion. On Easter Sunday, we see God provide the means that could rescue rebellious humanity by raising His Son Jesus from the dead, who came to earth and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life.

And what makes the message of the gospel; what makes Easter Sunday such good news is how simple the events of that first Easter Sunday make it to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Receiving the forgiveness for sin and entering into the relationship with God that you were created for can summarized in three simple words: believe, trust, and follow. First, you need to believe that you have done selfish things that have hurt God and others and are in need of forgiveness and that Jesus was who He said He was; that Jesus was God in a bod, who entered into humanity and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived His perfect life. Second, you need to trust that Jesus life, death, and resurrection provides forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God you were created for. And third, you need to follow Jesus as Lord and Leader. It’s as simple as that.

Now you may be here and you may be thinking, “but Dave I have questions. I mean, what happened to the dinosaurs? And how old is the earth? And why does God allow bad things to happen to good people”? And while those are all legitimate questions and tensions that we all have to respond to, they are not the most important questions that we need to respond to. The most important question that we need to respond to is this “do we believe that something happened in history? Something that provides forgiveness and rescue into the relationship with God we were created for?”

So do you believe that something happened in history? Something that provides forgiveness and rescue into the relationship with God we were created for?” Because to restart the relationship with God that you were created for requires responding to something that happened in history. Let’s pray together.

The Responses to Something that Happened in History...

This week, we are looking at what makes Easter Sunday so special and significant. We discovered that what makes Easter Sunday special and significant is not doctrine or theology but something that happened in history. Jesus died on the cross, was buried in a tomb dead as a door nail, and was brought back to life as a result of God’s transforming activity. You see the core message of the gospel; the essence of Christianity is not about theology. The core message of the gospel and the essence of Christianity revolves around an event that occurred in history. What makes the Bible so compelling and different than other religious literature is that Christianity is rooted in history.

Now at about this point, a natural question that arises is “well Dave how do we know that the resurrection is a historical reality and not just mythology or fiction? And how can we trust the truthfulness of what is contained in this letter?” As Paul continues his letter to this early church, we see the answers to these questions revealed for us by the response of those who were witnesses to the resurrection. So let’s look at the response of each of these witnesses, beginning in 1 Corinthians 15:5:

and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Now it is important to understand that when Paul uses the word appeared, he is not referring to seeing Jesus is a dream or vision; this word refers to an actual visual encounter with the Risen from the dead Jesus Christ. Paul then provides a list of people who had an encounter with Jesus after he was raised from the dead. First, in verse 5, Paul lists Peter, who had denied Jesus three times while he stood outside his trial. Paul then lists the remaining eleven disciples. And while one could easily argue or question the truthfulness of the testimony of his closest followers, as Paul continues his list, he expands the scope of who had a visual encounter with the risen Lord, which we see in verse 6:

After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;

Here we see Paul transition to explain that Jesus appeared to more than five hundred people at one time, most of who were still living. Paul is saying to the church “if you do not want to believe me or the disciples, then go ask these five hundred people. Do you think five hundred people would have the same dream or vision at the same time?” Paul’s point here is that there were people who were still alive that could testify as to the truth of the reality of the resurrection.

You see, this letter to this early church was not written hundreds of years after the claim that Jesus was raised from the dead. This letter was written within 25 years of the events that took place that first Easter Sunday outside of the city of Jerusalem. And while some had fallen asleep, in other words died, the vast majority of those who had this encounter with Jesus were still alive and could be questioned by any skeptic who did not necessarily buy the claim that Jesus rose from the dead. And as Paul continues his list of people who had this encounter in history with the resurrected Jesus, we find a most convincing name mentioned next in verse 7:

then He appeared to James,

Paul then explains that James, the step brother of Jesus, the same James who had mocked Jesus claims during His life on earth, he saw the resurrected Lord, so go ask him. The same James who became the Senior Pastor at the church that was located in Jerusalem. Now here is a question that would help provide us some perspective on how significant James is to this claim that Jesus rose from the dead: What would your sibling have to do in order to convince you that He was God? What would a step brother have to do in order to bring you to the place that you would believe that He was God? What would cause someone to worship His brother and serve as a leader in His new movement called Christianity? But not only did Jesus appear to James, Jesus also appeared to another group of people:

then to all the apostles;

Paul then explains that Jesus also appeared to all of the Apostles, which we read about in another letter in our Bibles, called the Book of Acts, in Acts 1:1-11. It is important to understand that these appearances did not occur decades or years after Jesus crucifixion, they occurred within 40 days of His crucifixion. In addition, these appearances occurred in Jerusalem, within sight of the very place where Jesus was killed and buried. Paul then concludes his history lesson with an autobiography, which we see in 1 Corinthians 15:8-11:

and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Here we see Paul refer to his own encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road, which we read about in Acts 9. Apparently, the members of the church at Corinth viewed Paul as a freak and insignificant as compared with the other Apostles. Paul responds to this criticism by explaining the while he should have the lowest status among the Apostles as a result of his persecution of the early church, the exceptional effect of God’s gracious activity in his life resulted in Paul leveraging all that he had to serve the Lord and proclaim the gospel.

I mean what else do you think would cause someone like Paul who persecuted the church to become the greatest missionary of the early church? What else would cause someone who was zealously opposed to the movement known as Christianity to become the very person who wrote the majority of what we now have as the New Testament in our Bibles? Paul’s point here is that the resurrection of Jesus is a historical reality that was witnessed by hundreds of people over forty days time. I mean, all that was needed to stop the fledgling movement that was Christianity was to produce Jesus dead and rotting corpse for all to see. They did not have to travel far. And they did not need to search for where Jesus was buried, as Jesus tomb was just outside the city of Jerusalem and had been previously guarded by Roman soldiers.

And for 2,000 years people have been trying to find Jesus corpse, with absolutely no success, because the reality is that Jesus has been raised from the dead by God’s supernatural activity. And it was the reality of God’s activity through an event that occurred in history in real time and in a real place that you can go visit today that resulted in the transformation of lives and the spread of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel throughout history.

And just as it was some 2,000 years ago, when it comes to restarting you life when it comes to a relationship with God, we are able to receive the forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God not simply because of what we believe about doctrine or theology. The timeless reality is that to restart a relationship with God requires responding to something that happened in history. To restart a relationship with God that you were created for requires responding to what happened that first Easter Sunday.

What is so fascinating, however, is how early followers of Jesus responded to Jesus death and resurrection. We will look at the impact that Jesus resurrection had on His early followers tomorrow.

What Makes Easter Special and Significant?

This past Sunday marked Easter Sunday. And what I find so interesting is that regardless of where you are in terms of what you believe about Jesus, the Bible or Christianity, our culture tends to view Easter Sunday as a special and significant day of the year? But why do so many of us, regardless of where we are in terms of a relationship with God, view Easter Sunday as so significant?

For some Easter Sunday was the first time that they had attended church. For others, they may come to church like clockwork two times every year; Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday. They come to church on Christmas and Easter because it is something that they are just supposed to do, isn’t it? There is something significant and special about Christmas and Easter that provokes something within us that we otherwise ignore or dismiss the remaining 51 weeks a year to come to church. And for others, while Easter is seen as a special and significant day, attending church is also a part of their regular routine. Sure, someone may try to convince them to dress up because it is Easter; but at the end of the day it is another Sunday that people spend time together at church.

But what makes Easter Sunday significant? What makes Easter Sunday so significant that we feel the desire to dress differently? What makes Easter Sunday so significant that many of us will change our normal Sunday morning routines to attend church? What makes Easter Sunday so significant that many people will relentlessly pursue and ask those who do not normally go to church to attend church?

You see, regardless of what you believe about the claims of Christ and the teachings and message of the Bible, we can all tend to misunderstand the significance of Easter Sunday. Maybe you do not buy the whole Bible, Jesus, or church thing. Or maybe you would describe your spiritual journey in terms of all the bad experiences that you have had with Christians and churches. Or maybe you would say that you feel like you do not know and do not feel that you can ever know about whether or not the Bible or church is real or relevant.

If you fit in one of those categories, I want to let you know that I have some good news for you that is often missed or misunderstood when it comes to the significance of Easter. And that good news is this: What makes Easter significant and special has absolutely nothing to do with what we believe in terms of theology. In other words, what separates Easter and makes it so significant in the lives of Christians is not about what we believe about God. What separates Easter and makes it so significant in the lives of Christians has everything to do with something that happened in history.

You see, for those of us who are Christians, what often makes those who are far from God or skeptical about God so hesitant to engage Christians is that Christians seem to want to spend their time arguing about what we should believe about God. And while what we believe about God is important as Christians, the reason why Christianity exploded in the first century and has had such an impact throughout history is because Christianity, at its core, is all about something that happened in history.

We see this reality revealed for us in a letter in our Bibles called 1 Corinthians. And it is in a section of this letter that was written by a man named Paul to an early church that we see that the core message of the gospel, which literally means “good news’ is not about theology; it is all about something that happened in history. So let’s look at this section of this letter beginning in 1 Corinthians 15:1:

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

Paul begins this section of his letter to a first century church that was located in Corinth Greece by reminding them of the message of the gospel that he had previously proclaimed to them. Paul explains that the members of this church had responded to the message of the gospel by agreeing and accepting the message in a way that resulted in them entering into the relationship with God that they were created for. Their acceptance of the message of the gospel by faith in what God had done to rescue them from their selfishness and sin was based on their firm adherence to the message that Paul had proclaimed to them. When Paul uses the phrase unless you believed in vain, he is explaining to this early church and to us today that the only way that the message of the gospel does not result in salvation from our selfishness and sin is if we respond to the message without careful thought.

Paul’s point is that believing, trusting, and following Jesus is more than an emotional response. Salvation revolves around a person recognizing and responding to their selfishness and sin by embracing the facts that surround the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by placing their complete confidence in those facts by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader. Paul here is explaining that the message of the gospel that results in salvation is rational in nature and is rooted in history. Paul then reminds this church, and us here today, what the core message of the gospel revolves around. And it is in this good news which we call the gospel that we discover what makes Easter Sunday so significant. So let’s look at this core message together, beginning in 1 Corinthians 15:3:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

In these verses we see Paul remind this first century church, and us here this morning of the essence of the Christian faith. What is of first importance; what is the closed handed and non-negotiable center of the Christian faith is that Jesus Christ, who is God in an bod, entered into humanity and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. Jesus Christ died after being crucified.

Now crucifixion was the most humiliating form of punishment ever devised. Death on the cross was usually reserved for condemned slaves, who were considered the lowest form of humanity. This was a death that was reserved for the worst criminals and for enemies of the Roman Empire. Crucifixion was designed for maximum humiliation and maximum suffering. As a matter of fact, crucifixion was so abhorred by society that it was not even depicted in early Christian art. Historians have discovered that the first depictions of crucifixion only occurred after all those who had ever seen a live crucifixion had died. Early Christians did not need a picture of a cross because the image of a cross and what it meant was an all too present reality in their lives.

Paul then states that not only that Christ died for our sins; Paul also states that He was buried. Now the reason that Christ was buried was because He was dead. Jesus did not pass out; He was not in a coma; He was buried because He was dead. Jesus was crucified by professional executioners and these men knew a dead person when they saw one. When Paul uses the phrase according to the Scriptures, he is reminding us that Jesus life and death was predicted and proclaimed throughout the Old Testament. Throughout the Old Testament, we read of God promising a rescuer, a deliverer to save us from our selfishness and sin and to bring us into the relationship with God we were created for.

But not only was Jesus life and death proclaimed throughout the Old Testament, Paul also explains that Jesus burial and resurrection was predicted and proclaimed in the Old Testament. When Paul talks about resurrection here, he is referring to a literal, physical, bodily resurrection. Jesus died on the cross, was buried in a tomb dead as a door nail, and was brought back to life as a result of God’s transforming activity.

You see the core message of the gospel; the essence of Christianity is not about theology. The core message of the gospel and the essence of Christianity revolves around an event that occurred in history. What makes the Bible so compelling and different than other religious literature is that Christianity is rooted in history. These are real events that occurred in real time and at real places that you can visit today. What we believe about God, or our theology, flows from events that occurred in history.

Now at about this point, a natural question that arises is “well Dave how do we know that the resurrection is a historical reality and not just mythology or fiction? And how can we trust the truthfulness of what is contained in this letter?” If those questions are running through your mind, I just want to let you know that those are great questions to be asking. And as Paul continues his letter to this early church, we see the answers to these questions revealed for us by the response of those who were witnesses to the resurrection. Tomorrow, we will look at the response of those who were witnesses to the resurrection.

So how do you view Christianity? As a philosophical worldview? Mythology? Fiction? Or history?

Easter Sunday Sermon...

Did you miss being able to attend Easter Sunday services? If so, you can listen to one here:



http://citybiblechurchbhc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=7

The Justice and Love of Good Friday...

One of the many questions that those who are skeptical of the Bible and Christianity ask is "How can God be both just and loving at the same time?" It would seem that love and justice are incompatible attributes. If God is just, He must punish sin. But if He is loving, He would forgive sin. How then can He be both?

The attributes of God’s justice and love are not contradictory. He is both absolutely just and unconditionally loving. Actually each attribute compliments the other. In other words, God's justice is administered in love and His love is distributed justly.

And there is no more perfect example of this reality then what followers of Jesus remember as Good Friday, where Jesus was killed by being crucified on a cross. In His love, God sent His Son Jesus into humanity in order to allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. This is most clearly expressed in Romans 5:8:

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus death on the cross was not only an expression of His love; it also satisfied God’s justice, which demands eternal death for our selfish rebellion. We see this in the first part of Habakkuk 1:13:

Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor.

God’s justice demands that sin be punished, but God’s love compels Him to save sinners. So Christ’s death on the cross releases His love and satisfies His justice. Thus there is no contradiction between absolute justice and unconditional love.

So how does this reality impact your view of God? How does this impact how you view Good Friday and Easter? How does this reality impact your response to the Bible and Christianity?

To Restart a Relationship with God Requires Our Total Devotion...

This week we have been looking at a man named Joshua's final conversation with those closest to him and with the nation that he led. After affirming, challenging, and reminding his leadership team of their responsibilities, Joshua then turns to have his final conversation with the Jewish people that he had led over the years. So let’s look at this final conversation together, beginning in Joshua 24:1:

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

In this verse, we see the context for where this final conversation was to take place. Joshua called for the entire Jewish nation to meet at a place called Shechem for this final conversation. In our culture today, this would have the feel of a state of the union address. The reason why Joshua chose Shechem to have his final conversation with the Jewish people was because Shechem was the place where Abraham, who was the father of the Jewish people, first received the promise from God that the Jewish people would be given the Promised Land, which is recorded for us in the very first letter in our Bibles, called Genesis 12:6-7.

And it is here, where God first made His promise with the Jewish people, that God would remind the Jewish people of all that He had done for them. In Joshua 24:2-13, we see the Jewish people reminded of God’s activity throughout their history as a people. After recounting all that God had done for the Jewish people, Joshua then makes a statement that is perhaps one of the most memorable statements in the entire Bible. Let’s look at this statement together, beginning in Joshua 24:14:

"Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Now whether you were raised in church and regularly attend church or if this is the first time you have attended church; whether or not you have read much of the Bible, most people have heard the last part of this statement or seen the last part of this statement on a coffee cup or a plaque in someone’s office- “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. But notice the context for which this memorable verse occurs in the Bible. Joshua, after reminding the Jewish people of God’s activity throughout their history commands them to fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth.

Now when the Bible uses the word fear, it is not referring to the fear that we may experience while watching a horror movie. The word fear here is referring to a reverence for God that involves two specific concepts that inform this words meaning. And those two concepts are the concepts of submission and obedience. To fear the Lord involves recognizing that God is God by coming under His leadership. In addition, to fear the Lord involves faithfully following God’s word as it informs our life. And we see both of these concepts in verse 14.

In light of who God is and what God has done in their lives, Joshua calls the Jewish people to serve the Lord in sincerity and truth. The word sincerity here, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means completeness. The word truth here is the same word that is also translated as faithfulness. Joshua is commanded the Jewish people to respond to God’s activity in their lives by serving and following Him completely and faithfully. The reason for this statement is seen in his next command “put away the gods which your father’s served in the past”.

Apparently many of the Jewish people wanted to be a “Jesus plus” people. There were some Jewish people whose faith was like a buffet line where they were choosing what they liked from various faith systems and chose to ignore the parts of the faith systems that they did not like. It wasn’t as though they didn’t like the blessings God was providing them. They just were not serving the Lord with a total and complete faithfulness. They were either “on the fence” when it came to the Lord, or they wanted to be a Jesus plus people.

And because of this reality, Joshua calls for the Jewish people to get off the fence. Either be fully and completely committed to striving to live a life in a relationship with the Lord, or be fully and completely committed to live a life worshipping a false god. And it is in this context that Joshua makes His decision known: “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord”. And it is in this final conversation that we see revealed for us a timeless principle that is necessary when it comes to restarting our lives. And that timeless principle is that to restart a relationship with God requires our total devotion.

Just like the Jewish people in Joshua’s day, it is impossible to be a fence sitter when it comes to a relationship with God. Just like the Jewish people in Joshua’s day, it is impossible to have the relationship with God that you were created for when your faith system can be described as “Jesus plus”. A relationship with God is not a spiritual buffet line where you can pick and choose from various religious systems.

Now you might be thinking “why not? Why Can’t I sit on the fence? There might be many paths that lead to God. I’m not sure I buy this whole, Jesus, Bible thing. I want to hedge my bets. Why can’t I believe in Jesus plus?” If I have described you, I just want to let you know that these are great questions to be asking. And fortunately for us, we find the answers to these questions in what happens next in this story:

The people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. "The LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God." Then Joshua said to the people, "You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. "If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you."

What is so interesting here is that while the Jewish people respond by acknowledging that it was the Lord who was their creator, provider and deliverer, Joshua did not seem to be satisfied with their answer, did he? As a matter of fact, Joshua goes so far as to say that they would not be able to serve the Lord in their current state. So what did Joshua see that would make him respond with such a strong statement? I believe that Joshua saw some Jewish people who were on the fence and believed in Jesus plus or in a spiritual buffet when it came to a relationship with God.

And here we see Joshua reveal the reason why we cannot be a Jesus plus people; here we see why a relationship with God is not a spiritual buffet. We cannot approach a relationship with God like a spiritual buffet with Jesus as one of many options that we can add or modify to make us feel better because the Lord is holy and jealous. When the Bible refers to God as holy, this word conveys a sense of something being incomparable, sacred, or set apart. In other words, there is nothing that can compare to God; He is set apart and sacred as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.

And it is God’s holiness that leads to the fact that God is jealous. Now by jealous, this means that God is zealous to maintain His glory and honor. This morning, the timeless reality is that God desires, deserves and demands to be worshipped. God will not tolerate any other created being receiving the glory, honor, and devotion that rightfully belongs to Him.

Now you may be here and you may be thinking “well then God seems like an arrogant narcissist”. Here’s the thing; if I stood up here this morning and stated that I desired, demanded and deserved your devotion now that would be arrogant. That would also be heresy. But if you are God, who else are you going to be into? Certainly not me and certainly not you. You see God is into God. God is all about Himself; He is full of Himself. You see, God desires our total devotion not because He is arrogant but because of His incredible love for us.

The most unloving thing that God could do is lead us to be devoted to something less than the best, the most powerful, loving, intelligent, just, and eternal being. For God to desire and demand less that our total devotion would reveal that He does not want or know what’s best, which would mean that He would not be the best, and thus would not be God. It is because God is who He is that leads Him to desire our best, which is our total devotion and worship of Him. And as Joshua concludes his final conversation with the Jewish people, we see his call for their devotion to the Lord repeated, beginning in Joshua 24:21:

The people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD." Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses." "Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel." The people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God and we will obey His voice." So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God." Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.

The Jewish people respond to Joshua’s warning by reaffirming their desire to follow God faithfully and completely. Joshua then explains to the Jewish people that God will judge them based on the very words that they had spoken. Their words would be a witness; they would testify as to their desire to lean into God and to turn away from the nations and cultures that had previously lived in the Promised Land. And to remind them of their covenant commitment that they had just made, Joshua wrote their covenant commitment down to be recorded throughout history; we are reading that commitment this morning. In addition, Joshua set up a large stone that would serve as a witness that would remind and testify against the Jewish people if they ever tried to deny the covenant commitment they had made that day.

And shortly after this conversation, Joshua died and went to be with the Lord that he so faithfully served. However, the story of the Jewish people does not end here with “and they lived happily ever after” does it? Just one generation after this letter was written, the Jewish people began to eat at the spiritual buffet of syncretism and idolatry. For the next 1400 years the Jewish people suffered the consequences for failing to be completely and faithfully devoted to the Lord. The consequences of hurt, pain, disappointment and failure.

Instead of wandering in a desert, the Jewish people found themselves living in captivity as a result of their selfish rebellion and sin. And even after being released from captivity, the Jewish people failed to be faithfully and completely devoted to God. And some 1400 years after this letter was written, the Jewish people found themselves as a conquered people under the rule of the Roman Empire. A people who found themselves once again on the fence; a people who found themselves eating at the spiritual buffet of syncretism and arguing about theology and doctrine while failing to be devoted to the Lord.

And it was into this context; it was into this environment that God entered into humanity. It was into this context and environment that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday on a donkey and called people to get off the fence. It was into this environment that Jesus called people to get away from the spiritual buffet table so that they could experience life in the relationship with God and one another that they were created and called to live. And the Jewish people responded to His call to get off the fence and restart their lives by receiving the forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God that they were created for by killing Him.

Yet it was Jesus willingness to enter into humanity and allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life that provides us the opportunity to receive the forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God that we were created for. Because, just as it was in Joshua’s day; just as it was on that Palm Sunday 2000 years ago; just as it is today; to restart a relationship with God requires our total devotion.

So who or what are you devoted to? Are you a Jesus plus person? Do you worship at the spiritual buffet line of syncretism?

Passing on the Lessons of Leadership...

Today, I would like to begin by having us consider two questions. First, if you could only have one more conversation with those who were closest to you, what would you tell them? If you could have only one more conversation with your family, your closest friends, with those whom you have shared life together during your life, what would be the content of that conversation?

Now that you have thought about that first question, here is a second question to consider. If, on your final day on earth, you were given the opportunity to speak to the next generation for fifteen minutes about your life and share what you believed to be the single piece of advice that would lead them to have the very best for their life, what would you say? What would you tell them about your story? Where would direct them to invest their life as a result of what you have learned in your story? You have one opportunity. What would you say in that one conversation?

This week, I would like for us to look at one such conversation. And it is in this man’s final conversation with those closest to him; and it is in this one man’s final conversation with the nation that he led, that we discover a timeless and powerful principle that is necessary in order to restart our lives so that we would be living in the relationship with God and one another that we were created and called to live. Let’s look at this one final conversation together, beginning in Joshua 23:1:

Now it came about after many days, when the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers,

As we enter into the final chapters of the Jewish nation’s attempt at restarting their lives as individuals and as a nation, we read that their leader, Joshua, was old and advanced in years. At the end of this story we discover that Joshua was 110 years old. After ten years of dividing, occupying, and settling that land that God had led the Jewish people to occupy and conquer, the Jewish people were experiencing the blessings that come from faithfully living in the relationship with God and one another that they were created and called to live. The Jewish people were free from conflict from without and conflict from within. And as Joshua looked in the rear view mirror of his life and recognized that his time on earth was coming to an end, he called for his leadership team to come to his side for one final conversation. We see the content of this conversation revealed for us, beginning in the second half of Joshua 23:2:

and said to them, "I am old, advanced in years. "And you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who has been fighting for you. "See, I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun. "The LORD your God, He will thrust them out from before you and drive them from before you; and you will possess their land, just as the LORD your God promised you.

Joshua begins his final conversation with those on his leadership team by reminding them about all that they had experienced together during their journey to restart their lives. Joshua affirms his leadership team for their faithful focus on following God’s commands and plans. And as a result of their faithfulness and persistence, they experienced the opportunity to be a part of God’s activity that led the Jewish people to restart their lives in the Promised Land.

After affirming their faithfulness and persistence, Joshua reminds them of his role and of God’s promise to continue to guide and lead the Jewish people. At Joshua’s leadership the land had been conquered, controlled, divided and distributed. And even after he is gone, Joshua explains that God’s presence and power will continue to accompany the Jewish people in future battles from those who would try to oppose the Jewish people as the continued to occupy and settle the land. Joshua, in telling his story, reminds the Jewish people of the reality that God is a promise maker and a promise keeper. Joshua then continues his final conversation by challenging his leadership team when it came to their responsibilities once he was gone. We see this challenge in Joshua 23:6:

"Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you will not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them. "But you are to cling to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day. "For the LORD has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day. "One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you. "So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the LORD your God. "For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you.

Here we see Joshua charge his leadership with the responsibility to be strong, steadfast, and singularly focused in their leadership on following God’s word that is recorded for us in the first five books of the Bible, which the Jewish people referred to as the Law or the Torah. The reason that they were to remain strong, steadfast, and singularly focused was so that they may not turn aside to the right hand or the left. In other words, the leadership was charged with the responsibility of keeping God’s word so the Jewish people would not get off track when it came to living in the relationship with God and one another that they were created and called to live. And just like the Jewish people, God’s word is divinely designed to keep us on track and moving forward in our lives when it comes to our relationship with God and one another.

Joshua then explains to his leadership team the specific dangers that the Jewish people still faced that would cause them to get off track. When Joshua states that the Jewish people were not to associate with these nations, this phrase refers to the Jewish people assimilating into the culture of the nations and societies that were once inhabited the Promised Land. Joshua explains that the Jewish people were to remove from their memory and not even speak of the false, wicked, and evil religious systems of those nations and societies. When Joshua states that the Jewish people were not to make anyone swear by them, he is revealing for us the reality that the Jewish people were not to involve themselves in any act of worship and allegiance to false religious systems.

The Jewish people were not to be a Jesus plus people, where faith is viewed like a buffet line where we can pick and choose from what we like from various faith systems in the world and choose to ignore the parts of the faith systems of the world that we do not like. This attitude toward religion, which is called syncretism, is idolatry as you are worshipping something other than god as God. Instead, the Jewish people were to remain faithfully devoted to God and find their identity in God and God alone. They were to cling closely to God. They were to remain in an intimate and personal relationship with the Lord. You see, the Jewish people were experiencing the blessings that come from faithfully living in the relationship with God and one another that they were created and called to live as a result of God’s activity in their lives.

And because of that reality, Joshua challenges the leadership team in verse 11 to take diligent heed to love the Lord your God. If this letter was being written in the language and culture we use today this phrase would sound something like this: take care, for you very soul’s sake, to love the Lord your God. Joshua then proceeds to explain why they were to be so very diligent to take care of their souls by painting three word pictures for us as to the consequences that would occur if the Jewish people turned to worship the religious systems that previously were a part of the Promised Land. First, Joshua paints the picture of a bird trap filled with bait that was used to lure a bird to explain that, in the same way, these false religious systems would attempt to lure the Jewish people.

Second, Joshua paints a picture of a person enduring the pain that comes from a whipping to describe the pain that the Jewish people would experience if the turned to such idolatry. Third, Joshua paints a picture of a thorn in your eyes to describe the reality that becoming involved in a Jesus plus worship system would blind the Jewish people from following God. Joshua then reminds his leadership team of the consequences that awaited the Jewish people as a result of the choices that were before them:

"Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed. "It shall come about that just as all the good words which the LORD your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you. "When you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you."

Here we see Joshua remind his leadership team that God had repeatedly demonstrated to the Jewish people that He says what He means and He means what He says. And because of that reality, just as God meant what He said by bringing the Jewish people into the Promised Land as a result of their faithful obedience, God also meant what He said about what His response would be toward rebellion and disobedience.

Any future disobedience that flowed from a failure to love and serve the Lord and only the Lord would result in damaging and devastating consequences for the Jewish people. Joshua wanted his leadership team to be mindful of God’s activity and their responsibility when it came to leading the Jewish people into the future. After affirming, challenging, and reminding his leadership team of their responsibilities, Joshua then turns to have his final conversation with the Jewish people that he had led over the years. We will look at that conversation tomorrow.

So this week, what would you say if you could have only one conversation with those closest to you?

To Restart Recognizes the Necessity of Unity...

Yesterday, we continued to look at a story in our Bibles from the book of Joshua. In this story, we looked at the tribes that lived west of the Jordan River make a decision to send a delegation across the Jordan River to meet with the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the ½ tribe of Manasseh. This delegation was sent across the Jordan River to meet with and confront the tribes who had built this altar on their rebellious actions. Instead of rushing to judgment based on hearsay, the Jewish people decided to send ambassadors on a fact finding mission as to the true motives behind their seemingly selfish and sinful behavior. You see, when we rush to judgment based on a conclusion formed on partial information, we risk the danger of coming to a wrong conclusion, don’t we?

After being confronted by these tribes for their seemingly rebellious behavior, we see the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and ½ tribe of Manasseh’s response recorded for us in Joshua 22:21-29. And it is in their response that we see another timeless principle that is necessary when it comes to restarting our lives:

Then the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke to the heads of the families of Israel. "The Mighty One, God, the LORD, the Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows, and may Israel itself know. If it was in rebellion, or if in an unfaithful act against the LORD do not save us this day! "If we have built us an altar to turn away from following the LORD, or if to offer a burnt offering or grain offering on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offerings on it, may the LORD Himself require it. "But truly we have done this out of concern, for a reason, saying, 'In time to come your sons may say to our sons, "What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? "For the LORD has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you sons of Reuben and sons of Gad; you have no portion in the LORD." So your sons may make our sons stop fearing the LORD.' "Therefore we said, 'Let us build an altar, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather it shall be a witness between us and you and between our generations after us, that we are to perform the service of the LORD before Him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices and with our peace offerings, so that your sons will not say to our sons in time to come, "You have no portion in the LORD."' "Therefore we said, 'It shall also come about if they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, then we shall say, "See the copy of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather it is a witness between us and you."' "Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD and turn away from following the LORD this day, by building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering or for sacrifice, besides the altar of the LORD our God which is before His tabernacle."

The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and ½ tribe of Manasseh’s respond to the questioning with a proclamation of their theology and their innocence: “The Mighty One, God, the LORD, the Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows.” What is so interesting here is that these three phrases, in the language that this letter was originally written in, represent the three Hebrew words that were used for God. These three words refer to God’s might and power, God as the Creator of the universe, and the Lord, which was the personal and the covenant relational name for God used by the Jewish people.

These tribes were saying “the only true God, the Creator of the Heavens and the earth, He is our Lord who we both worship as a people, He knows our heart and our motives behind the altar. If we are rebelling and rejecting Him by building this altar, He will not save us from you or deliver us from you. If our motive in building this altar is rebellion and idolatry, then God can strike us dead right here right now”.

The tribes then reveal the motivation behind their building of the altar. You see, the tribes that lived east of the Jordan River were afraid that the unity that they had experienced over the past seven years would be severed as a result of the Jordan River, which naturally divided them from the rest of the Jewish people. And, at the same time, the tribes that lived west of the Jordan River viewed the building of this altar as an act of rebellion against God that would destroy the unity that they had as a nation. Both groups were motivated by the same fears and the same desires: the fear of division and the desire for unity.

And it is in this story that we see God reveal for us a timeless principle when it comes to restarting our lives in relationship with one another. And that timeless principle is that to restart recognizes the necessity of unity. To restart our lives in a way that enables us to experience the relationships with one another in the community that we were created for recognizes the absolute necessity of unity. And because the tribes that were to occupy and settle in the land that was east of the Jordan River recognized this reality, they desired to build an altar. This altar, however, was not to be used for worship; this altar was to be used as a witness. This altar was built to testify to the entire nation that it was their unity was based on their relationship with the one true God.

You see, the Jewish people who lived on both sides of the Jordan River recognized that is was their worship of the Lord that united them. The tribes that were to live east of the Jordan River feared that while God had commanded all Jewish people to appear at the altar three times a year at the sanctuary in Exodus 23:17, future generations of Jewish people who lived west of the Jordan may refuse to recognize those that lived east of the Jordan as being God’s people. Thus, this altar was the result not of rebellion, but the desire for unity. And as this story concludes, we see the delegation’s response to the tribe’s proclamation of innocence:

So when Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the congregation, even the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the words which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Manasseh, "Today we know that the LORD is in our midst, because you have not committed this unfaithful act against the LORD; now you have delivered the sons of Israel from the hand of the LORD."

The delegation responded to theses tribes’ proclamation of innocence by recognizing two things. First, the delegation recognized that the motives behind the building of this altar were well intentioned and focused on pleasing God. Second, the delegation recognized that God had actively entered into the situation in a powerful way in order to deliver the tribes that lived west of the Jordan River from sinning as a result of causing division by going to war for the wrong reasons. The delegation then returned to Shiloh to report back to the Jewish people, whose response is revealed for us in the final verses of this story:

Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel, and brought back word to them. The word pleased the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel blessed God; and they did not speak of going up against them in war to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living. The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar Witness; "For," they said, "it is a witness between us that the LORD is God."

The Jewish people west of the Jordan responded to their relatives to the east’s heart for God by giving God praise and glory. God’s activity in the midst of this potentially divisive situation resulted in the Jewish people expressing praise and thanksgiving for God’s enabling and uniting power. They responded in praise and thanksgiving because the Jewish people recognized the necessity of unity. The tribes east of the Jordan River so recognized the necessity of unity that they built an altar to testify to the entire nation that it was their unity was based on their relationship with the one true God. The tribes west of the Jordan River so recognized the necessity of unity that they were willing to confront any potential threat that would destroy that unity.

And in the same way today to restart recognizes the necessity of unity. To restart our lives recognizes that unity is not uniformity. The Jewish people were descendants of twelve very diverse sons of Jacob who were united as a result of their confident trust in God and His word. And in the same way the church today is a diverse group of individuals economically, socially, and culturally that are united together as a result of their relationship with Christ. As followers of Jesus, we are united by the truth of who God is, what He has done, and what He has called us to do. And while we are to zealously protect against compromise when it comes to what we believe about the core truths of our faith, we are to reflect a unity in the midst of the diversity of God’s people.

So do you recognize the necessity of unity amongst God’s people? Are you as zealous to protect the unity that is supposed to be reflected amongst God’s people as the Jewish people were in Joshua’s day?

A Caution Against Rushing to a Conclusion...

Yesterday we looked at a story in the book of Joshua where three tribes of the Jewish people were praised for keeping a commitment that that had made to their fellow countrymen. Joshua then dismissed these three tribes with a prayer asking for God’s enabling power and blessing to be upon them as they began this new chapter in their lives.However, before crossing the Jordan, these three tribes made a decision that had the potential for devastating and destructive consequences, which we read about in the verses that follow:

When they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, a large altar in appearance. And the sons of Israel heard it said, "Behold, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side belonging to the sons of Israel." When the sons of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered themselves at Shiloh to go up against them in war.

Here we see these three tribes, before crossing the Jordan River into the land that they had been given to occupy and settle in, decide to build an altar at the edge of the Jordan River. Now when we read that this altar was large in appearance, this altar was large enough that it could be seen from a great distance from both sides of the Jordan River. This altar was something that could not be missed by anyone who traveled in that region.

Now a natural question that arises here is “why even build an altar? And why build an altar that was that big?” To understand why these tribes would have built such an altar, we first need to understand the Jordan River and its surrounding terrain. The Jordan River runs through a deep gorge which may be called the earth’s deepest valley that contained step and sudden slopes. This natural boundary, then, could easily serve to separate these tribes and divide these tribes from the rest of the Jewish nation. These tribes were afraid that the phrase “out of sight, out of mind” would end up applying to them.

We quickly discover, however, that these tribes were not out of sight out of mind because word quickly reached the rest of the Jewish people that this altar had been erected. And as the Jewish people began to hear the stories about this altar, they responded by gathering together at Shiloh, which functioned like their capital city, and voted to go to war. But, this morning, why would the rest of the Jewish people respond to the building of an altar in such a way? I mean why go to war against your countrymen because of an altar?

There were two reasons why the Jewish people west of the Jordan River responded the way that they did to the building of this altar. First, this altar would violate God’s command that is recorded for us in Deuteronomy 12:10-11. This command required that all sacrificial worship was to be conducted at Shiloh, where the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was located. Second, the Jewish people had already learned the hard way that compromise is extremely costly when it came to the truth about God and the worship of God. The Jewish people did not want to repeat the pain of past mistakes and zealously wanted to protect against compromise when it came to following God’s word. And as the Jewish people prepared to go to war against this act of compromise and rebellion against God’s word, they made a very wise decision, which we see in verses 13-14:

Then the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and with him ten chiefs, one chief for each father's household from each of the tribes of Israel; and each one of them was the head of his father's household among the thousands of Israel.

The tribes that lived west of the Jordan River made a decision to send a delegation across the Jordan River to meet with the tribes of Rueben, Gad, and the ½ tribe of Manasseh. This delegation was led by Phinehas, who represented the religious leadership of the Jewish people. In addition, ten representatives were chosen from each of the tribes that lived west of the Jordan River in the Promised Land to represent the political leadership of the Jewish people. This delegation was sent across the Jordan River to meet with and confront the tribes who had built this altar on their rebellious actions.

Instead of rushing to judgment based on hearsay, the Jewish people decided to send ambassadors on a fact finding mission as to the true motives behind their seemingly selfish and sinful behavior. You see, when we rush to judgment based on a conclusion formed on partial information, we risk the danger of coming to a wrong conclusion, don’t we? How many of us have learned this lesson the hard way. And here we see that this danger is not a new danger, but a human nature danger. We then see this delegation confront the tribes that lived east of the Jordan River, beginning in Joshua 22:15:

They came to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them saying, "Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD, 'What is this unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from following the LORD this day, by building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the LORD this day? 'Is not the iniquity of Peor enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although a plague came on the congregation of the LORD, that you must turn away this day from following the LORD? If you rebel against the LORD today, He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow.

After arriving across the Jordan River, the delegation begins to question the actions of these tribes in a very clear and direct manner in an attempt to understand the motives behind their actions. The delegation then reminded these tribes of a devastating story from the history of the Jewish people, which is found in another letter in our Bibles called the book of Numbers. In Numbers 25:1-9, we read a story of how the Jewish people were invited by another culture and society, called the Moabites, to worship their false God, who was named Baal, their way instead or worshipping the true God His way. The Jewish people not only accepting the invitation to worship their false god; the Jewish people committed sexual sin by sleeping with the Moabites, which was also against God’s commands.

And this generation of Jewish people was very familiar with this story because it was their parents who participated in this false worship. And Phinehas, the leader of this delegation, was very familiar with this story because he was there. Phinehas was a young associate pastor at the time who was so offended and the selfish rebellion of the Jewish people that he stepped into action in order to stop the selfish rebellion and sin of the Jewish people.

Now when the delegation asks “is not the iniquity of Peor enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day”, they are referring to guilt or punishment that comes from selfish sin and rebellion. You see, the delegations point was that the root cause of that selfish rebellion had not been eradicated from the people; there was still the temptation to follow the example of the previous and rebellious generation into idolatry and immorality that resulted in the Jewish people wandering in the desert for 40 years.

And as the Jewish people had become all too aware of, there is no such sin as personal and private sin; our selfish rebellion and sin impacts all who are in our sphere of influence. And because of that reality, the delegation reminds these tribes that their rebellion today would result in consequences for the whole nation tomorrow. The delegation then provides these tribes with an incredible offer in verses 19-20:

'If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then cross into the land of the possession of the LORD, where the LORD'S tabernacle stands, and take possession among us. Only do not rebel against the LORD, or rebel against us by building an altar for yourselves, besides the altar of the LORD our God. 'Did not Achan the son of Zerah act unfaithfully in the things under the ban, and wrath fall on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.'"

When the delegation asks if the land is unclean, this phrase refers to something or someone being not right in God’s sight and therefore not appropriate to either worship or reside. Here we see the 9 ½ tribes generously offered to share their land if the issue was that the land east of the Jordan was not right with God and not appropriate for them to worship or reside. These tribes were willing to sacrifice and share what God had given them in order to ensure that the entire Jewish people would be in right relationship with God and one another.

The delegation then reminds these tribes of some recent history with the story of Achan. As we discovered earlier in this series, after the battle of Jericho, Achan decided to pass by God’s commands to do what he desired to do instead of what God commanded him to do. And Achan’s selfish rebellion and sin resulted in his entire family, who assisted in hiding the banned items under his tent, along with all of His possessions were destroyed. Here we see the delegation pointing to a recent example to reinforce the timeless reality that our selfish rebellion and sin causes damage and destruction to all of those who are in our sphere of influence. After questioning the actions of these tribes in a very clear and direct manner, it was now time to hear their response. How would they respond?

Tomorrow, We will look at the tribes of Rueben, Gad, and ½ tribe of Manasseh’s response. And it is in their response that we see another timeless principle that is necessary when it comes to restarting our lives. Do you have a tendency to rush to a conclusion based on partial information? And what consequences have you experienced as a result?

Clinging to a Commitment...

As a church we are nearing the end of a sermon series that is looking at a letter in our Bible, called the book of Joshua that records the frustration, tension and trouble that the Jewish people experienced as they attempted to restart their lives as individuals and as a nation. This past week we came to a story that reveals a powerful principle that is necessary in order to restart our lives so that we would be living in the relationship with God and one another that we were created and called to live. This story begins in Joshua 22:1:

Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and said to them, "You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you. "You have not forsaken your brothers these many days to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God. "And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brothers, as He spoke to them; therefore turn now and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan.

We see Joshua here proclaiming the faithfulness of the tribes of Rueben, Gad, and the ½ tribe of Manasseh for keeping the commitment that they had made that is recorded for us in another letter of our Bibles, called the book of Numbers. In Numbers 32:20-22, these tribes made an agreement with Moses, who was the previous leader of the Jewish people that would allow them to settle in land that was east of the Promised Land on the other side of the Jordan River on the condition that these tribes would help the remaining Jewish nation take over and possess the Promised Land.

And here we Joshua praise these tribes for keeping their commitment. These tribes left their families behind and laid their lives on the line in order to help their fellow Jewish countryman. As a result of their faithfulness God had given rest to the entire Jewish people. As we talked about last week, the word rest refers to the blessings that come from faithfully living in the relationship with God and one another that we were created and called to live. So, having faithfully fulfilled their commitment, Joshua releases them to go back to their families and their land which was located east of the Jordan River. As Joshua releases them, however, he provides some parting commands and counsel, which is recorded for us in Joshua 22:5-6:

"Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

As these three tribes began the journey back to the land that they were to occupy and settle, Joshua reminds them to carefully keep the commandments that God had given the Jewish people through Moses, their previous leader and are recorded for us in another letter in our Bibles called the Book of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy 10:12-13 and 11:22, Moses commanded the Jewish people to do five things.

First, the Jewish people were to love the Lord with all of their heart and their soul. In the language that we use in our culture today, we would say that we are to love the Lord with our total being. Second, they were to walk in His ways. In other words, they were to live their life in light of how God called them to live; they were to reflect God in their character and conduct.

Third, the Jewish people were to keep His commandments that were recorded in the Torah, which is the first five books in our Bibles. Fourth, they were to serve God with their total being. Fifth, the Jewish people were to hold fast to Him. What is so interesting is that this phrase “hold fast” literally means to cling to someone or something. It is a word picture of a child clinging to their parent. In other words, God desired that the Jewish people live in a relationship with Him that relied upon Him and would not let go of Him.

Joshua then dismissed these three tribes with a prayer asking for God’s enabling power and blessing to be upon them as they began this new chapter in their lives. However, before crossing the Jordan, these three tribes made a decision that had the potential for devastating and destructive consequences, which we will look at tomorrow.

So how faithful are you when it comes to keeping your commitments? To following God? To others around you?

God's Constant Passion for Justice and Pursuit of Love...

Yesterday, we looked at a section of a letter in the Book of Joshua and discovered the timeless principle that to restart recognizes that God desires justice. God is not just righteous and just. God delights in justice. And God desires justice. And because of that reality, God set up a process in the Promised Land that was designed to promote justice for all. And as this story continues, we see God’s desire for justice in the lives of the Jewish people revealed for us through a second specific action, beginning in Joshua 21:1:

Then the heads of households of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of households of the tribes of the sons of Israel. They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, "The LORD commanded through Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasture lands for our cattle." So the sons of Israel gave the Levites from their inheritance these cities with their pasture lands, according to the command of the LORD.

Here we see the Levites, who were descendants of one of the twelve sons of Jacob who formed the Jewish people, approach Joshua and his leadership team. While one of the twelve sons of Jacob, the Levites were not given a portion of the Promised Land to possess. The Levites developed into three divisions based on the three sons of Levi, Kohath, Merari, and Gershom, which formed what was called the levitical priesthood. We see how God gave the Levites cities within the Promised Land in Joshua 21:4:

Then the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And the sons of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, received thirteen cities by lot from the tribe of Judah and from the tribe of the Simeonites and from the tribe of Benjamin. The rest of the sons of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Ephraim and from the tribe of Dan and from the half-tribe of Manasseh.

As we have discovered in this series, casting lots was a process that was similar to picking names out of a hat. This process, however, was not simply a random act of chance. Since the Jewish people were without the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence and the Bibles guidance, casting lots was a way that God used to guide and direct the decisions of the Jewish people. The Kohathites were descendants of one of the three sons of Levi that formed the priests and were given special responsibilities that related to the tabernacle, which is where the Ark of the Covenant resided amongst the Jewish people.

As a result of their special responsibilities, the Kohathites were given thirteen cities from the territory of the tribe of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. The Kohathites who were not a part of the priestly line received ten cities from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the ½ tribe of Manasseh. The descendants of Gershon, who was another of the three sons of Levi, received thirteen cities from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, which were located in the region of Galilee, and the ½ tribe of Manasseh that was located east of the Jordan River. The descendants of Merari, who was another of the three sons of Levi, received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and from the tribe of Zebulun. And the rest of chapter 21 describes in detail all of the cities that the Levites received throughout the Promised Land. But, this morning, why would God scatter the Levites throughout the Promised Land like He did?

We find the answer to that question in another letter in our Bibles called the book of Numbers. In Numbers 35:2-8, Moses commanded the Jewish people to give the Levites cities scattered throughout the Promised Land, in order to enable them to be able to love, serve, and minister to the Jewish people. In addition, the Levites were responsible to teach and proclaim God’s commands that are recorded for us in the Old Testament to the Jewish people. Thus, the Levites had a prominent role in the establishment and reinforcement of justice in Jewish society and culture.

And because of the unique role that the Levites had in Jewish society and culture, God dispersed them throughout the Promised Land to help promulgate and promote a culture and society of faithfulness and justice. God dispersed them throughout the Promised Land because God delights and desires justice. And as chapter 21 ends, we see a summary of God’s activity in the lives of the Jewish people:

So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.

As we have discovered throughout this sermon series, God is a promise maker and God is a promise keeper. And here we see that reality revealed once again. The word swore here literally is a vow or covenant promise that is not to be broken. The question before the Jewish people, was not whether or not God had promised them the land, the only question was whether or not they were going to live their lives in a way that would enable them to receive those promise. And as the Jewish people restarted their lives so that they could live in the relationship with God and one another that they were created and called to live, God fulfilled His promise by giving them three things.

First, God gave them all of the land that He had promised to them. Second, God gave them rest. Now when the Bible uses the word rest, it is referring to the blessings that come from faithfully living in the relationship with God and one another that we were created and called to live. Third, God gave them relief from opposition. None of the enemies of the Jewish people were able to make a stand against them. This story ends with the explanation that not a single word of every word that God promised the Jewish people failed. All of God’s promises came to pass because God is a promise maker and a promise keeper. And God delights and desires justice.

And today, the timeless reality is that to restart recognizes that God desires justice. God so delights and desires justice that some 1400 years after this story, we read another story in the Bible. Another story about God’s desire for justice. This story, however, does not involve a city that provides refuge from retribution that is undeserved. This story involves a man going to a cross to provide rescue from retribution that is deserved.

The Easter story reveals God's desire for justice. And the Easter story reveals God's loving pursuit of His creation through His Son, who lived the life we refused to live and suffered the death we deserved to live to provide the opportunity for forgiveness and rescue. It is the cross the reveals God's justice and love.

To Restart Recognizes that God Desires Justice...

Yesterday, we looked at one of the most controversial issues in society, which is capital punishment. We discovered that the Bible makes a clear distinction between killing and murder. So because of the distinction that exists between killing and murder, there needed to be these cities of refuge that would provide the opportunity to be able to determine the motivation behind the actions of the accused in the death of another human being. And in Joshua 20:4, we see how the Jewish people were to make the distinction between killing and murder and the role that Cities of Refuge played in determining that distinction:

'He shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and state his case in the hearing of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may dwell among them. 'Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor without premeditation and did not hate him beforehand. 'He shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the manslayer shall return to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.'"

Here we see the process by which the Jewish people were to maintain justice and differentiate between murder and an accidental killing. A person who caused the death of another was responsible to flee as fast as possible to one of the cities of refuge. Upon arriving at the gates of the city of refuge, the person who caused the death of another was to take ones stand and make their defense as to why their actions were accidental and without previous thought or knowledge. Upon hearing the evidence, the Elders, who were the leaders of the city, could make an initial determination that could result in the accused being brought into the city where they would be allowed to dwell and live until they faced a trial.

If the avenger of blood pursued the accused to the city of refuge, the residents were not allowed to hand them over to be killed, because enough evidence was found to warrant their asylum in the city until they stood trial. The accused would remain in the city of refuge until their trial, which would occur in the city nearest to where the crime took place. The accused would then receive a trial, where they would be able to take the stand and make a defense before their fellow Jewish citizens.

If the accused was found to have committed actions that accidentally caused the death of another, their sentence would be to remain in asylum as a resident of the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Upon the death of the high priest, the person would then be able to return to the city in which they had previously lived. If the accused was found to have committed actions that involved plotting and planning to take the life of another human being, or murder, they were to be put to death by the avenger of blood. So with all this background information in mind, we see how Joshua responded to God’s command in verses 7-9:

So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. Beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. These were the appointed cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation.

Joshua and his leadership team responded to God’s command by setting apart six cities that were located throughout the Promised Land as cities of refuge. On the west side of the Jordan River, the cities of Kedesh, Shechem, and Kiriath-arba, were established as cities of refuge. On the east side of the Jordan River, the cities of Bezer, Ramoth-gilead, and Golan, were established as cities of refuge.

Now at this point, a natural question that arises here is “well that seems fine Dave, but what if they lived far away from a city of refuge? What were they supposed to do then?” What is so interesting is that each of these cities was positioned to be a one days trip from any part of the Promised Land. In other words, regardless of where you lived within the Promised Land, you were only one day away from a city of refuge. In addition, according to Jewish tradition, the roads leading to these cities were kept in excellent condition and the crossroads were well marked with signposts reading “Refuge! Refuge!” Runners were also stationed along the way to guide those fleeing to a city of refuge.

And it is in the establishment of these cities of refuge that we see God reveal to us another timeless principle that is necessary to recognize when it comes to restarting our lives. And that timeless principle is that to restart recognizes that God desires justice. You see, God is not just righteous and just. God delights in justice. And God desires justice. God desires justice for the victims of crime. God desires justice for those accused of a crime. God does not delight in the innocent receiving unfair punishment. And God does not delight in the guilty receiving no punishment. God delights in justice for all. And because of that reality, God set up a process in the Promised Land that was designed to promote justice for all.

And as this story continues, we see God’s desire for justice in the lives of the Jewish people revealed for us through a second specific action. Will will look at that action tomorrow. In the meantime how does God's desire for justice impact your view of God? Your view of the world?

Capital Punishment and an Important Distinction...

One of the most controversial issues in society revolves around whether or not capital punishment should be allowed and enforced. And many different religious systems either promote or prohibit capital punishment. Those who follow the teaching of the Bible, however, seem to be able to make arguments, from the Bible, on both sides of this issue. Now a natural question that arises here is "how can that be?" In a section of a letter in our Bible called the book of Joshua, we see the issue of capital punishment come to the forefront. And it is in this story that we see an important distinction that needs to be made when talking about this issue from a Biblical perspective. So let's look at this story, beginning in Joshua 20:1:

Then the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'Designate the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, that the manslayer who kills any person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood.

Upon finishing the task of dividing the Promised Land amongst the twelve tribes that formed the Jewish people, which we looked at last week, God commands Joshua to designate cities of refuge. Now, in order to fully understand what God is commanding Joshua to do in these verses, we first need to understand what cities of refuge were and their significance to the Jewish people.

In another letter that is recorded for us in our Bibles, called the Book of Numbers, God commanded Moses, who was the previous leader of the Jewish people, that upon entering into and settling the Promised Land, the Jewish people were to set aside six cities that were to be called cities of refuge. These cities of refuge were designed to be a place where a person could seek asylum while awaiting trial for their actions that resulted in the death of another person.

You see, the Bible makes a clear distinction between killing and murder. From a Biblical perspective, there is a significant difference between a person whose actions accidentally cause the death of another, which is defined as killing, and a person who plots and plans to take the life of another, which is defined as murder. The words unintentionally and without premeditation here literally mean something that occurs accidentally or without previous thought or knowledge. And just like today, there were tragic times when death occurs as a result of the accidental and unplanned actions of others. Unfortunately and tragically, there are occasions that people are killed as a result of the accidental and unplanned behavior of others. And just like today, there were occasions where people act by taking the life of another human being as a result of a plot and plan that flowed from selfish rebellion and sin. The Bible refers to that act as murder.

In addition, the Bible is also very clear about the consequences that should occur when one human being acts on a thought out plan to murder another human being. In the first book of the Bible, called the book of Genesis, we see God provide clear instructions as to the consequences that the person who had committed murder was to face. We see these consequences revealed for us in Genesis 9:6:

"Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.

God’s consequence for willingly and thoughtfully taking another’s life was death. Murder was to receive a punishment that matched the crime. Today, we call this capital punishment. And as you might imagine, the subject of capital punishment provokes strong and heated debate from those on both side of the issue. And while a full discussion on capital punishment would easily involve several posts, I want to take a minute to address the most common objection that I hear from those who oppose capital punishment, which is that capital punishment is inhumane and devalues life. If you would identify with that statement, I would like to lovingly challenge that objection.

And my loving challenge to that objection comes from this verse. Notice the reason why God calls for the death of the person who committed murder: "for in the image of God He made man". God established capital punishment to demonstrate how much He values life. God cares and values life so much that He demands the life of those who would take another’s life. Let me say that again. Because mankind is created in the image of God; because mankind was designed to represent and reflect the nature and character of God on earth; and because God values all human life; God demands the life of those who would take another’s life by the act of murder.

How God demanded the life of those who took the life of another through the act of murder in the Old Testament was through the avenger of blood. The avenger of blood usually was the closest male relative of the one who had been slain. The avenger of blood was responsible to seek retribution, or justice, and not vengeance, for the death of a member of the Jewish people. The avenger, however, was not expected to make the distinction between murder and an accidental killing; he was simply the instrument to execute justice and punishment upon the murderer by killing the murderer.

So because of the distinction that exists between killing and murder, there needed to be these cities of refuge that would provide the opportunity to be able to determine the motivation behind the actions of the accused in the death of another human being. Tomorrow, we will look at how the Jewish people were to make the distinction between killing and murder and the role that Cities of Refuge played in determining that distinction.

So, where do you stand on capital punishment? Does this clear up, or cloud up, the issue for you?