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Sunday, November 19, 2006 The Man, Word, and Spirit of God Acts 8:26-40 (Sequencing the Narrative Outline) I. Drunken Man-Part One II. David Brainerd-Part One III. Pocket of Deduction A) The Man of God B) The Word of God C) The Spirit of God IV. David Brainerd-Part Two V. Drunken Man-Part Two VI. Denouement STORY I. Drunken Man-Part One I was heading back to my apartment from Drill in Knoxville one Saturday, heading back from Papermill Drive, and turned onto Alcoa Highway. For some reason I felt like I was supposed to get off and get some gas on the “strip”, next to the UT campus. I hardly ever go over there, especially not for gas because it only takes me a few minutes to get back to my apartment from there, but regardless I turned off and pulled into the first gas station there on the left. I knew I would be sticking out from the regular public because I was still in my uniform, and that always causes people to come up to me and talk, something that does not happen when I am in civilian clothes. But I just got out of the vehicle and went inside to put down cash since most of the places around here will only take prepay or credit cards at the pumps these days. Well I gave the lady inside some money and ended up going back outside and pumped my gas, not really thinking that much of it, perhaps I didn’t really need to go and get gas here, maybe I was just imagining things. The pump clicked and wouldn’t pump any more, telling me that my tank was full, so I went back inside because I had given the woman too much, and had a little over $10 in change coming back to me. On the way back out to my car, a guy approached me, he was probably 40-something, shoddily dressed, unshaven, and looked and smelled like he hadn’t showered in a few day—not to mention the smell of alcohol on his breathe. He walked over to me and asked me how long I had been in the military, and I told him a few years. He asked if I had gone overseas yet to go to Iraq, and I told him I had just recently got back the past December. To this he thanked me for what I had done, and then started to get a very serious look on his face, well as serious as a swaying drunk person can be. He then told me that he had been in the Army a long time ago, that he had served in Vietnam, and that he really appreciated what I was doing for the country. I thanked him, but knew that wasn’t what he was there for. After a couple of minutes of small talk he asked if I had any money that he could have because he needed some food and was down on his luck. Now at this point I realized just how drunk he was, he was slurring badly, and began to stumble around a bit. I honestly did not know what to make of the situation, especially with people already staring at me in my uniform, but now I also had a drunken guy standing in a parking lot to help draw more attention to myself. I went ahead and reached in my wallet and ended up giving him a $10 bill, part of the change I had gotten back, to which he almost started crying over. He reached over, and very unsteadily tried to give me a hug. He kept leaning over and holding his head up, and I realized that I needed to do a lot more than just give him that ten bucks. I offered to give him a ride over to KARM, Knox Area Rescue Ministry, to which he said he had been trying to find all afternoon, but in his state, it was no idea that he wasn’t able to. So I offered to give him a ride, and had to remind him about five time to put on his seatbelt. I drove him down the road a bit, over to Broadway, and went to park across from KARM, and then he started getting a bit fidgety about being there. He kept saying that he didn’t want to be there, that he needed to get somewhere else. I kept reassuring him that everything was going to be alright, but he wouldn’t go inside. So I left him outside and I buzzed the entrance so I could explain the situation to the people running the center that day.# Transition (into second story) Every single time I think about this, I start to see something that was working in me at that moment. That day I didn’t expect anything to happen, didn’t know anything was up. Instead I was just going about my own day, just business as usual. At least until I felt like I should pull over, and saw a need. There is another man that I am reminded of from the past, someone who knew that there was work to be done, this man’s name was David Brainerd, a young missionary who worked with the American Indians. STORY II. David Brainerd-Part One “This young man, who would have been considered a real risk by any present-day mission board, became a missionary to the American Indians and, in the most real sense, "the pioneer of modern missionary work." Brainerd began his ministry with the Indians in April, 1743, at Kannameek, New York, then ministered in Crossweeksung and Cranberry (near Newark), New Jersey. These were the areas of his greatest successes. “Brainerd's first journey to the Forks of the Delaware to reach that ferocious tribe resulted in a miracle of God that preserved his life and revered him among the Indians as a "Prophet of God." Encamped at the outskirts of the Indian settlement, Brainerd planned to enter the Indian community the next morning to preach to them the Gospel of Christ. Unknown to him, his every move was being watched by warriors who had been sent out to kill him. F.W. Boreham recorded the incident: ‘But when the braves drew closer to Brainerd's tent, they saw the paleface on his knees. And as he prayed, suddenly a rattlesnake slipped to his side, lifted up its ugly head to strike, flicked its forked tongue almost in his face, and then without any apparent reason, glided swiftly away into the brushwood. "The Great Spirit is with the paleface!" the Indians said; and thus they accorded him a prophet's welcome.’”# Transition into Pocket of Deduction Both my story and the story of David Brainerd are examples of being led by the Spirit. Both he and I knew that there was something that had to be done, and the Spirit led the both of us because He had something important that He had us to do. III. Pocket of Deduction These stories remind me of another story, the Biblical story of Philip in the book of Acts, chapter 8. If you would then please turn there now. “From Which” The book of Acts was written by Dr. Luke, a contemporary of Paul and the other Apostles, who was dedicated to getting an ‘eye witness’ account of what really transpired both in his Gospel of Luke, and also this account of the Apostles struggle to build the new Church. Both the Gospel of Luke and Acts was written to Theophilus, whom is considered to be a Roman official, possibly even a cousin of Domitian, the emperor at the time. Yet, even if this is not accurate, the name itself, when translated from the Greek means ‘lover of God’, which in aspects of all those who believe in God definitely describes all of us. Biblical/Contemporary Problem Basically the major problem that the Church faced at the time was simply that the Gospel had not yet spread throughout the world, in was simply in that small area of Jerusalem and Judea. Let’s go ahead and dive into 8:26-40 and try to find out what the Spirit is trying to show us through the word of God today. Main Biblical Text Acts 8:26-40 (NIV) Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: ‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. I. The Man of God Most of you probably remember this story about Philip and the Ethiopian, I know I remember learning about it when I was a kid. But I don’t think that I truly grasped the meaning behind it until recently. You see this was a critical time in the age of the Church. Earlier on, in Acts 2, the Spirit was given to the faithful on the day of Pentecost. The very beginnings of the Church as we know it happened on that day, but it was limited to a very small area of the world. Pentecost happened in Jerusalem, the central place of Jewish faith and thought, and was most definitely had a majority of Jewish descendents there. But the Gospel that Jesus put out for us to preach was to go to the ends of the earth. Here though, we have a picture of the man named Philip, who was a man that was very important in the rising Church at the time. Before Philip was led by the Spirit to go to Gaza, he was chosen by the Apostles to help in the ministry in Jerusalem, the hot-spot of God’s activity during that time. Acts 6 talks about how there was a conflict between the Jewish and Gentile believers because the Gentile widows were being overlooked when it came to the amount of food they were receiving. The Apostles, instead of focusing on the logistical needs of the people felt they should instead be devoting themselves to preaching and prayer. To be able to do this they appointed six men in charge of distributing the food to those who needed it. Philip was one of those men, he is mentioned by name in Acts 6:5, and began helping a very needed ministry there in Jerusalem. But Philip was not simply a helper, instead he began to preach as well. He is mentioned in Acts 8:4-8 that Philip, after there was a great day of persecution against those in the Church he began to preach in Samaria. Spider Webbing Text Acts 8:6-8 (NIV) When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city. Philip was a man of God, and he was being used by God in a great way. He was preaching the Gospel to those whom the Spirit had led him to, and he knew that it was the Spirit of God alive and working in him that was allowing him to have an impact on those he preached to. Spider Webbing Text Nothing is different with Philip and the Ethiopian. Acts 8:26 says, Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road--the desert road---that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” The angel was a messenger of God, which probably told Philip in a dream or in person that God wanted him to go to Gaza, this was the leading of the Spirit. Philip understood that the Spirit was essential for his work and followed what the Spirit was telling him immediately. Philip left the ministry that he was involved with in Jerusalem, something that was impacting and meaningful to those he was serving, but the Spirit had different plans. Imagine what Philip was giving up. If Philip was a modern day minister it would have been like a staff member at Willows Creeks being led to go and work in Nowheresville, USA and ministering there. Jerusalem was the hot-spot of God’s activity at the time, but Philip understood that the Spirit was all that allowed him to work, and followed after what the Spirit led him to do. In this story, Philip was the MAN OF GOD. Transition Seeing that Philip in this story is the Man of God, we must remember that it wasn’t Philip that changed the Ethiopian’s heart. Instead it was the Word of God. II. The Word of God Along the way, Philip met an Ethiopian eunuch, the one which the Spirit had placed at that specific time and that specific place because he was supposed to hear the Gospel message and be changed by it. This Ethiopian was an important man, he was in charge of all the finances of Ethiopia, directly underneath Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians at the time. Something interesting about this eunuch is that he had just come from Jerusalem where he had been worshipping God. This high ranking official was Jewish, one of the Gentile worshipers of God, and was seeking after God. Now Philip overheard this eunuch reading from the book of Isaiah, and knew that he was searching for an answer to what he was reading. Think about this, the area around where Philip met the Ethiopian was quite a good distance to the south of Jerusalem, especially when considering that he was traveling by chariot. There would have been numerous hours of travel between Jerusalem and where the man met Philip, definitely enough time to actually read all the way through from the beginning of the book of Isaiah to where he was. So I believe that it would be appropriate to believe that the whole section leading up to that in the text was read. Let’s go over that section shall we. If you would like, follow along in Isaiah 53, verses 1-8. Spider Webbing Text Isaiah 53:1-8 (NIV) Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Sure he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. Here we have the section from Isaiah called the ‘Suffering Servant’. It is an Old Testament description of Christ, a prophecy of whom the Messiah would be, and what would be necessary for the forgiveness of our sins once and for all. This is what the eunuch was reading over, and I am sure he would have been confused as to what all of this meant, especially from a completely Jewish understanding of it all. Upon hearing this section, Philip moved over to the Ethiopian and asked the man if he understood what he was reading, and simply put the Ethiopian had no clue. So Philip offered to help by giving up his understanding so the Ethiopian might come to grasp what the Word of God meant. The main text says that Philip explained from that verse on how Jesus was the ‘Suffering Servant’ and showed the Gospel to the man. This is something that is very important for us to understand and to remember. Many times people think about evangelism or witnessing as simply handing out tracts, or talking with a friend, which is good, don’t get me wrong, but how often are you sharing the Word of God with those you speak with about God? What better way to share the message of God than with the Word of God? There is no better way. This is exactly what Philip did, he shared the Gospel message through the Word of God, the ultimate expression of who God is for us. If you look carefully you are able to see the Gospel message all throughout the Bible, and it is perfect for sharing that message to those who need to hear it. So here we have THE MAN OF GOD, using THE WORD OF GOD. But what came of the message that what shared? What impact did it have on the Ethiopian? Well it says in the text that the Ethiopian believed and desired to be baptized into Christ, the ultimate expression of bowing down before Christ, and symbolically dying to oneself. So apparently it worked well. Perhaps when you minister to other people you should remember that to be effective, yes you need to be friendly and caring, but also you need to use the Word of God--it is much more powerful than most people realize today. SO HERE WE SEE THE MAN OF GOD USED THE WORD OF GOD TO PRODUCE A CHILD OF GOD. But that is not all there is to this story, far from it. Instead we must understand what caused everything to happen--THE SPIRIT. III. The Spirit of God Philip did not work for God by himself, which is evident earlier on in the sermon about how Philip was led by the Spirit. The angel of God told Philip to go down to the ‘desert road’, the Spirit of God told Philip to keep up with the chariot. Do you think that is all that the Spirit did here? Absolutely not. Spider Webbing Text Listen to John 14:26 (NIV): But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. The Spirit helped Philip in this situation to recall the meaning and understanding of what the Scriptures were saying in light of Jesus. Through the Spirit we are to come to a better understanding about the meaning of the Scriptures and also a better and closer relationship with God. Through this we are able to see first that the Spirit led Philip to where he was to minister to the Ethiopian, and secondly how he was to minister through the Word. SO HERE WE SEE THE SPIRIT OF GOD USING THE MAN OF GOD WHO PREACHES THE WORD OF GOD TO PRODUCE CHILDREN OF GOD. We see that all the aspects of this story, the man of God, the Word of God, are used by the Spirit of God in order to work in the lives of people that need to hear the Gospel. None of this could have been possible without the Spirit. But the Spirit didn’t stop with this account of the Ethiopian, instead when Philip had finished baptizing the eunuch the Spirit ‘took’ him away to Azotus, which is around 19 miles away from Gaza. In doing this the Spirit proved that there was more for Philip to accomplish, more for him to do, more for him to follow the Spirit, more to preach from the Word of God, and more to impact the lives of those who needed the Gospel of Christ. It says that Philip preached in all the towns until he came to Caesarea, around 60 miles from where the Spirit had taken him. Biblical/Contemporary Solution The next time that we hear of Philip is in Acts 21:8 where it speaks of Philip as an Evangelist in Caesarea, where he had apparently ‘set up shop’ and continued in his preaching. Philip continued to follow the leading of the Spirit and was faithful to that calling and leading in his life. SO WE NEED TO REMEMBER THIS: THAT THE SPIRIT USES THE MAN OF GOD WHO PREACHES THE WORD OF GOD TO PRODUCE CHILDREN OF GOD. IV. David Brainerd-Part 2 Transition into David Brainerd-Part 2 Let’s take a look at the outcome of David Brainerd’s work among the Indians by reading from his journal from the time: “Thursday, November 3. Spent this day in secret fasting, and prayer, from morning till night... Suffice it to say, it is not surprising to read then of the miraculous interventions of God on Brainerd's behalf, and of the mighty ministry and the unbelievable revivals he experienced among the iniquitous, idolatrous Indians in those short years. A volume such as this prohibits more than only mere mention of some of those supernal, supernatural scenes: "I have now baptized, in all, forty-seven persons of the Indians. Twenty-three adults and twenty-four children...Through rich grace, none of them as yet have been left to disgrace their profession of Christianity by any scandalous or unbelieving behavior" (Nov.. 20, 1743). What pastor or evangelist reading this can say the same? “Lord's Day, December 29 ...After public worship was over, I went to my house, proposing to preach again after a short season of intermission. But they soon came in one after another; with tears in their eyes, to know, "what they should do to be saved..." It was an amazing season of power among them, and seemed as if God had "bowed the heavens and come down..." and that God was about to convert the whole world. His Diary and Journal are a brim with ministries and miracles that were akin to the acts of the Apostles. The Life and Diary of David Brainerd ought to be read — and read often — by God's people. It will do something for you spiritually. You will be convicted, challenged, changed, charged. It has had life-transforming effect upon many, motivating them to become missionaries, evangelists, preachers, people of prayer and power with God. Brainerd died in 1747 in the home of Jonathan Edwards. His ministry to the Indians was contemporary with Wesley, Whitefield and Edwards as they ministered to the English-speaking people during the period called in English and American history, the "Great Awakening." Brainerd's centuries-spanning influence for revival is positive proof God can and will use any vessel, no matter how fragile and frail, if it is only sold out to souls and the Saviour!”# Transition to Drunken Man-Part 2 Just as Brainerd exemplifies the work of the Holy Spirit and showed his dedication to the work of the Gospel, my small example of following the Spirit really helped me to understand the workings of the Spirit. V. Drunken Man-Part 2 The people were a bit shocked to see me in my uniform, but I tried to explain the situation about how the man seemed a bit drunk, and that I really wanted him to be taken care of. The people inside asked why I was helping and I told them, well how could I just let him stay there and possibly get in trouble, even more than he already is. They said they would be able to take care of him but that he would have to wait outside like the rest of the people that night. I said that was alright, and a lady that was there asked if I was alright, because I was starting to get a little emotional about the whole thing. She said, “He touched your heart, didn’t he?” I said, “Yep.” I decided that I would head back outside and talk to the man, but before I could go outside, emotions swept over me. There I was, a soldier in uniform, standing face-first next to the wall in a homeless shelter, crying because I wanted to help the man more, but had nothing to offer. I stood there for a good five minutes just trying to get composure, while the people at the desk there looked over at me, as I motioned to them that I was fine. Finally I headed back out to see the man, who agreed to go see the people inside, which they let both of us in so they could see what was wrong. To my surprise one of the people recognized him and said that he had received some medicine a few days before which he had been going without. If he hadn’t gotten the medicine soon he would probably have gone into seizures, which told me that this was definitely not an accident, it wasn’t something I was making up, instead it was the Spirit of God which had led me to that gas station so that I could help that man. I still do not know what his name is, and I am probably sure that he doesn’t know what mine is, but I know I was supposed to be there for him when he needed help. Although I did not do that much, I know that God was able to use it to help shape that person—and hopefully in some small measure of helping, I will have helped him to know the love of Jesus—and that is definitely worth having pulled over for some gas.# VI. Denouement While I don’t know what the outcome of that man’s life is from helping him, we do have an idea as to what happened to the Ethiopian eunuch after Philip was called to Azotus. It says the Ethiopian went along his way, back to his home, rejoicing in the Lord. Here’s a small question for you--where do you think the first great Church was? Do you think it was in Jerusalem, Asia Minor where Paul preached, in Europe, America? No. “The first great church was not in the United States, nor was it in Europe, nor was it in Jerusalem, nor was it in Asia Minor. The first great church was in Northern Africa. The Ethiopian evidently went back and, through his witness and his influence, a church was begun there.”# Recapitulation of Points So again, through this understanding of what happened between Philip and the Ethiopian we are able to see that: Thesis THE SPIRIT OF GOD USES THE MAN OF GOD TO PREACH THE WORD OF GOD TO PRODUCE CHILDREN OF GOD Point of Appeal Are you allowing the Spirit of God to use you? Are you a man or woman of God? Are you preaching the Word of God? Are you changing the lives of those who need the Gospel? If the answer is no, then perhaps you should see how you can become more like Philip.  Tuesday, October 17, 2006 Hook David Yarborough tells the story from one of Max Lucado’s books of a lady who had a small house on the seashore of Ireland at the turn of the century was quite wealthy but also quite frugal. The people were surprised, then, when she decided to be among the first to have electricity in her home. Several weeks after the installation, a meter reader appeared at her door. He asked if her electricity was working well, and she assured him it was. "I’m wondering if you can explain something to me," he said. "Your meter shows scarcely any usage. Are you using your power?" "Certainly," she answered. "Each evening when the sun sets, I turn on my lights just long enough to light my candles; then I turn them off.” Transition That story makes almost no sense does it? Why would anyone get something as essential, especially to us today, as electricity and then not use it, except for the occasional few moments in order to use the obsolete system which it replaced? The only time I use a candle is when I have a cute girl coming over or the power goes out…which in my apartment complex happens more often then it should in this day and age. Well even if we don’t realize it, this is exactly what is happening in the lives of many who believe in Christ. Many do not know this God they claim to love, or they claim to believe in simply because they are not focusing in on how they might have a greater relationship and understanding with Him. We are reading from Ephesians 1 this morning, so if you would like please turn with me there. This letter was written by the Apostle Paul, somewhere around A.D. 61-63 when Paul was imprisoned in Rome. He wrote a few of the NT letters at this point, including Philippians, Philemon, Colossians, and this letter. Yet this letter was considered to be a ‘circular letter’, it was a letter which was copied a number of times for different congregations all throughout the province of Asia Minor. Because Ephesians is a ‘circular letter’ it is also to be taken as a ‘universal letter’. It, in other words deals with principles which directly affect the lives of a Christian in all places and all times, and therefore is essential for us today in our understanding of what Paul was telling those early first-century believers. Ephesus, which was the largest city in the Roman world, second only to Rome itself, would have been a major center for Christian ministry during those days. It was the cross-section of the world, the trade routes went directly through it, and of course there was the Temple of Diana--the largest pagan temple ever built in the Greco-Roman world. It was a world bustling with what would resemble the buzz of modern life, the somewhat disconnected approach many of us take towards life in general, yet many more of us take it towards our relationship with God. Paul had spent a lot of time in this area of the world throughout his missionary journeys. In fact Paul spent two years alone in Ephesus because he knew that it was key in spreading the Gospel of Christ. There he spent his days making tents and spent his evenings preaching and teaching in the synagogues and philosophical arenas of the day. So Paul, especially in Ephesus, was considered to be a role model, someone that the early believers would have looked up to when it came to their faith. I. Christ is Our Wisdom Primary Text Ephesians 1: 15-17 (NIV) For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. Interpretation of Text Here Paul is revealing to those who are members of the Church in Ephesus, and also all those who received this letter all throughout Asia Minor, that he continually prays for them. Not only prays the way that many of us do today, like a child at night, “God please be with my mommy, please be with my daddy, please be with me tonight, amen.” It is nothing like this. Instead Paul is giving thanks for them, he is giving praise in a way to God because of our belief and our faith. This is not just a description of what Paul is doing, but it is an example for what we are to do. The only thing that separates us from Paul is time. He was a man, just like you and me, and the only thing that caused him to do the great missionary journeys which reached out to the Gentiles effectively was his relationship with God. It was essential to the effective living which Paul had dedicated himself to. So in that aspect Paul is trying to teach us something, and who better to teach these churches than the one who was bold enough to start in the first place. Paul is continually praying that, “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” Application of Text Paul noticed that the people in those days were having the same problem many of us today have…we are seemingly shallow when it comes to our relationship with God. Paul is asking for the ‘spirit of wisdom and revelation’ to affect us into knowing God. But what is this ‘spirit of revelation’? Spider Webbing Text Well luckily Paul, in one of his other letters speaks of this directly. It is found in 1 Corinthians 1:18ff which states, “So where can you find someone truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn’t God exposed it all as pretentious nonsense? Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God is his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb--preaching, of all things!--to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation. While Jews clamor for miraculous demonstrations and Greeks go in for philosophical wisdom, we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified. Jews treat this like an anti-miracle--and Greeks pass it off as absurd. But to us who are personally called by God himself--both Jews and Greeks--Christ is God’s ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. Human wisdom is so tinny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can’t begin to compete with God’s “weakness.” Interpretation of Text/Transition to Next Point Christ is God’s wisdom; He is the one who is the key to our relationship and understanding of God, because without Him there is no connection to God. Think about it, without Christ where would you be? Would you have any understanding into whom God is? Would you have any chance of reconciliation from your sins? NO!!!! JESUS IS OUR WISDOM. Without Him there is no wisdom and no connection with God. Therefore, Paul is praying that we hold on to Christ, God’s ultimate wisdom for our lives, so that we may know this God whom we serve better. We must hold onto Christ is we are to have any communion with God, especially if we are wanting to know more about God directly. II. Christ is Our Hope and Strength Primary Text Ephesians 1: 18-20 (NIV) I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, Interpretation of Text Here Paul continues to pray for us. He prays that we would ‘know the hope to which he has called [us]’. This hope which Paul is speaking of has to do directly with our relationship with God. If Christ is our ‘wisdom’ and leads to our ‘knowledge of God’ then we will find our hope of relationship and communion with God. This is almost like a biblical math equation: Illustration of Text Jesus our Wisdom --> Knowing God Knowing God --> Our Communion with Him (our Hope) Application of Text We are hoping, through our wisdom in Christ, to lead us to the knowledge of God, which causes us to come to know God more and more. This is our hope, because one day we will have ‘eternal communion’ with Him. This is our hope, and it is brought through Christ, because without Him there would be no hope. CHIRST IS OUR WISDOM, AND CHRIST IS OUR HOPE. But Paul doesn’t stop there, instead he states, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, Interpretation of Text Paul speaking of ‘the riches of his glorious inheritance’ is talking most specifically about our salvation. Yet Paul says that we should come to know this more and more because since we hope for our relationship with God, we are also blessed beyond all reason with God’s glorious inheritance. We are given a clean slate because of the work of Christ. Again, without Christ, none of this could take place and we would not be able to understand it. Continuing on though, Paul speaks of God’s power which is, ‘like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms’. This amazing and ‘incomparably great’ power is what God used when He raised Christ from the dead after He paid the debts for all our sins. God raised Him up to life, which we also will be raised with. Spider Webbing Text Colossians 3:3-4 states, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Application of Text/Transition to Next Point This shows that we too will be raised with Christ, and that same power which raised Him will also raise us up. God is exerting His strength into us by raising us up from the dead because of the faith we have in Christ. He becomes our strength and our source of power. Again none of this could have occurred without Christ. CHRIST IS OUR WISDOM, CHRIST IS OUR HOPE AND STRENGTH. III. Christ is Our Head Primary Text Ephesians 1: 21-23 (NIV) far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is the body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. Interpretation of Text Because of His actions, Christ has been given great power and authority, the greatest authority, because he has every title now and forever. All things were placed under His feet, because of the role He plays in our relationship with God, and now even sits at God’s right hand. He is the head of all and even head of the Church, that which we belong to because of our faith in Him. This is fitting because He is the One who allowed us to come into communion with God in the first place, and has proved Himself to be worthy. CHRIST IS OUR HEAD. Restatement of Thesis Yet, we as the body of Christ, add to His fullness. He is filled up because of our faith in Him. We, in essence, are acknowledging what He did for us and adding to His praise. Because He is worthy, it is implied that we should serve Him faithfully and pray these same things upon others who believe so they will come to a greater understanding of Him who has offered up His son for our salvation. Recapulation of Points CHRIST IS OUR WISDOM CHRIST IS OUR HOPE AND STRENGTH CHRIST IS OUR HEAD. Spear In his commentary on Ephesians, Dr. H. A. Ironside talks about a visit with an old man who was dying named Andrew Fraser where he writes: He could barely speak above a whisper, for his lungs were almost gone, but I can recall yet how, after a few words of introduction, he said to me, "Young man, you are trying to preach Christ; are you not?" I replied, "Yes, I am," "Well," he whispered, "sit down a little, and let us talk together about the Word of God." He opened his well-worn Bible, and until his strength was gone, simply, sweetly, and earnestly he opened up truth after truth as he turned from one passage to another, in a way that my own spirit had never entered into them. Before I realized it, tears were running down my face, and I asked, "Where did you get these things? Could you tell me where I could find a book that would open them to me? Did you learn these things in some seminary or college?" I shall never forget his answer. "My dear young man, I learned these things on my knees on the mud floor of a little sod cottage in the north of Ireland. There with my open Bible before me, I used to kneel for hours at a time, and ask the Spirit of God to reveal Christ to my soul and to open the Word to my heart, and He taught me more on my knees on that mud floor that I ever could have learned in all the seminaries or colleges in the world." Point of Appeal Honestly, how well do you know your God? Friday, September 08, 2006 So I know it's been like forever since I posted, but I've been doing the whole myspace thing a lot lately. Hopefully though this semester won't be too bad. I'm back up at Johnson Bible College, and hopefully I will graduate sometime this year--I hope. Anyway, I'll put more on later when I have more time--Rick. Thursday, April 27, 2006 Alright, so guess what everyone, I am not at home right now but instead am in a girl's dorm--uh oh, Mike, what oh what could I be up to? Oh please help I may not make it out of here alive. Monday, February 13, 2006 So I have just found out that my best friend from over in the desert got engaged today, not only engaged but to the girl that I was interested in while we were over in the desert. Oh well, I guess it shows you how much life is not predictable. Congrats goes out to Michael and Amanda, and I hope they are happy together. On this side of it all, it is a bit wierd seeing another couple go on to the next level while I am still in the dating phase that I have never broken. Every couple I have known has either broken up, or ended up married through my friends in high school and college. In fact I am the last remaining room mate from college to not be married. I suppose I will be the last. |
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