Seasonal music on the radio. Lights on houses (sometimes beautiful, often garish). Long back-ups at the McAdenville exit. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” in this “Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”

What are you looking forward to this season?

You may have grown up with many wonderful Christmas memories: A mysterious present under the tree that you couldn’t wait to open; excitement about what might show up in your stocking; eagerly anticipating your loved one opening the perfect present you wrapped; building a snow fort after a big storm; sipping cider around a fire. The songs and lights stir up such memories, and you can’t wait to see what this year might bring.

Praise God for family traditions and happy childhood memories. Praise God for the opportunity for grandparents and cousins and nieces and nephews to gather together. Praise God for thoughtful gifts and joyous reunions.

But I ask you: What are you looking forward to most of all? What should you look forward to most of all?

The birth of Jesus?

No. Biblically, the answer is not the birth of Jesus.

Consider Simeon and Anna, those two elderly saints who encounter the infant Jesus in Luke 2. What were they looking forward to? Simeon was “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25); Anna similarly was among those “waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). The birth of their long-promised Messiah – “the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26) – was a necessary and important step to bringing about this consolation and redemption. But they were looking forward to much more than a baby! They were looking forward to the fulfillment of passages such as Isaiah 52:7-10 and Isaiah 40:1-2, 5:

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”  8 The voice of your watchmen–they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the LORD to Zion.  9 Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.  10 The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.  2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. . . .  5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Simeon and Anna were looking forward to seeing the payment of every sin of God’s people, to seeing then the end of sinning among those people, and to seeing the glory of the Lord. God mercifully revealed to them that through the baby Jesus, He would fulfill all these prophecies – but not at that time. Not in the first century. As the author of Hebrews puts it, those such as Anna and Simeon “though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:39-40).

So in looking for the consolation of Israel and the redemption of Jerusalem, Simeon and Anna were eagerly anticipating what we now know as the second coming of Jesus – what Paul calls “our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13) when God “will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken” (Isaiah 25:8).

Jesus was born in Bethlehem to Mary while she was still a virgin. The angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest!” Shepherds bowed before Him; wise men brought Him gifts. May we remember these truths with joy.

But may we also remember that this baby was born to die, in order to redeem His people from their sins; God raised Him from the dead and He sits at the Father’s right hand until He makes His enemies His footstool (Psalm 110:1; see also Luke 20:43, Acts 2:35, Hebrews 1:13, and Hebrews 10:13). And this Jesus, our Messiah, our Christ, “having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28).

Does that include you? Note what Hebrews 9:28 says: Those who are saved are those who “are eagerly waiting for him”.

So what are you looking forward to this season? Family? Presents? Warm fires and hot cider? Chestnuts roasting?

More than all these, may you eagerly long for, may you lovingly pray for the momentous, magnificent return of our Lord and Savior.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

(These next three Sundays our services will celebrate Christ’s first advent by turning our thoughts to His second advent. Our Christmas Eve service will do the same. Please join us, and thereby deepen your desire for Jesus’ return.)

[Last Sunday’s sermon served as an introduction to the Book of Exodus. The following is an excerpt from the sermon, highlighting the major themes of the book. Audio of the sermon is available here. – Coty]

When you think of Book of Exodus, what comes to your mind?

• Maybe: Baby Moses hidden along the banks of the Nile, found by Pharaoh’s daughter;
• Maybe: Moses encountering a burning bush, which is not consumed by the fire;
• Maybe: A series of plagues falling on the Egyptians;
• Maybe: Charlton Heston confronting Yul Brynner in the 1956 film, The Ten Commandments;
• Maybe: Moses leading the Israelites on dry land through the sea;
• Maybe: The giving of the Ten Commandments;
• Maybe: The Israelites worshiping an idol, a golden calf.

What is the book of Exodus about?

• Evil oppressors who must be overthrown?
• The story of a great man who leads his people out of slavery
• The story of the founding of a nation?

For the next many months, we’ll be studying the second book in the Bible. This book contains some of the most dramatics events recorded in Scripture, and thus has been the basis for a number of films over the years. But the exciting narrative sections sometimes have obscured its primary biblical message.

• What is this book about?
• Why is it in the Bible?
• What are its major themes?

We believe Scripture is recorded not to tell us history, but, as Paul tells us, to profit us by teaching us, reproving us, correcting us, and training us in righteousness – and so equipping us to love God and love neighbor, to glorify God in our lives. And Exodus is profoundly helpful in this regard.

• This is not a story of evil masters who oppress good, virtuous people, who then overthrow the masters.
• This is not a story of a great human leader who saves his people. Instead, this book depicts Moses as a failure when he tries to take matters into his own hands, and then as a reluctant and often frustrated leader – except when he relies fully on God.
• While this is certainly the story of the founding of a nation, that’s not at all the main point of the book.

Instead, Exodus is a story that tells us profound truths

• about the character of God
• about the character of man
• and about the only way men can approach God.

It thus sheds light on the most important points in human existence. Furthermore, though recording events that took place more than a thousand years before Jesus, it contains some of the clearest pictures of Jesus in the Old Testament.
Let’s look at the main points this book makes about God, man, and the relationship between God and man:
What Does Exodus Tell Us About God?
God’s passion is to magnify His glory

God is the central actor throughout this book. And how does He explain the motivation behind His actions? Thirteen times in chapters 6 to 16 God explains His actions by saying, “That you (or the Egyptians, or all the peoples of the earth) might know that I am Yahweh your God” or something similar. The clearest example of this is in Exodus 9, prior to the seventh plague. God says to Pharaoh,
By now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. (Exodus 9:15-16)
This Pharaoh was king for one reason: God put him in power in order to display His own power, in order to show His greatness.
God is passionate for His glory.
God is almighty in power

Egypt was the most powerful nation in the world at this time. They believed they had the most powerful gods. In the plagues, God shows that He is more powerful than the Egyptian gods.
This is particularly clear in the ninth plague: Darkness falls over all of Egypt. And who did the Egyptians consider as the greatest of their gods? The sun god, Ra, the god of light.
Thus, Moses’ father-in-law exclaims after hearing about all the plagues, “Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all gods” (Exodus 18:11).
God is Holy

Exodus portrays God as holy. That is, as other. Pure. Different. Unapproachable. Unless He takes the initiative, we cannot have any relationship with Him.
The word “holy” appears only one time in the book of Genesis; it appears 55 times in Exodus. And the word is first used in God’s first appearance in the book: At the burning bush. Moses begins to draw near, but God warns him, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). Here and at Sinai (Exodus 24:17), God chooses to portray Himself as fire: hot, burning, purifying, and dangerous.
When God reveals to Moses His plans for a tabernacle – a portable temple, picturing His dwelling with His people – He describes virtually every aspect of the structure as holy. And the inmost section of the tabernacle is called “The Most Holy Place” or “The Holy of Holies.” No Israelite could enter that section, save the High Priest, and he could do so only once a year.
God is Faithful to His Promises

The entire book of Exodus is the story of God fulfilling in part the promises He makes in Genesis – particularly Genesis 15:5-16. And God explicitly tells Moses that He is “abounding in faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6).

What Does Exodus Tell Us About Man?
Exodus portrays mankind as stiff-necked, rebellious, and ungrateful, hardening their hearts against God and His revelation.
It is not surprising that this is true of Pharaoh. But it is also true of the people of Israel. They are the ones God calls stiff-necked three times. They grumble about their lack of food just a few days after God rescues them miraculously at the sea. They rebel at Sinai, worshiping a golden calf, just few days after God spoke to them verbally, saying, “You shall not make for yourself . . . any likeness of anything . . . that is in the earth” (Exodus 20:4). Thus, apart from God’s mercy, the Israelites deserve the same fate as the Egyptians.
Man is thus without hope apart from God.

What Does Exodus Tell Us About the Relationship between God and Man

God is the Righteous Judge of Those who Oppose Him

God raised Pharaoh up as king in order to display His power, so that His Name might be proclaimed in all the earth. Pharaoh mocks God, resists Him, and hardens his heart against Him. He deserves the judgment he receives.
When Moses comes down from the mountain while the Israelites are worshiping the golden calf, he gathers many of his kinsmen. They then go through the camp and put to death three thousand men (Exodus 32:25-29). And Moses promises them that they will receive a blessing. They are inflicting God’s judgment on His disobedient people.
The book of Exodus portrays mankind as sinners deserving of His judgment.
God is the Redeemer of His Covenant People

The Israelites are slaves. A slave could be free by being redeemed, by being purchased and then granted freedom. This is what Exodus pictures God doing (Exodus 15:16).
In addition, the book shows God as the One who redeems His people from their sinfulness and sanctifying them, making them holy, purifying those who are unfit to enter His presence. He says, “I, the LORD, sanctify you” (Exodus 31:13).
Furthermore, in God’s revelation of Himself to Moses, He emphasizes both His mercy and His justice:
“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:6)
How is God both merciful and just? His people are guilty of gross sin; how does He show them mercy and at the same time not clear the guilty?
The book of Exodus gives some hints in this direction; Leviticus, in introducing the sacrificial system and the need for blood to be shed for sin to be forgiven, takes us further. But it is not until we see Jesus portrayed as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of all those who believe in Him that the question is fully answered.
God Blesses His Covenant People with His Presence

Exodus shows God to be intimately related to His people:
Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son (Exodus 4:22)
If you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (Exodus 19:5-6)
And yet, there are limits to God’s approachability, even for His people. God’s holiness continues to be on display. Moses can’t see His face; the people can’t approach Mt Sinai; the fearful people ask Moses to approach on their behalf.
So the picture in Exodus 19:6 is not fulfilled in this book. Only after Jesus’ work on the cross are these promises fulfilled, so that Peter can echo these words:
You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
God’s Requirements for His Covenant People

Exodus highlights the right response of the people to God several times in the book: They believe (Exodus 4:31), they fear (Exodus 14:31), they give generously (Exodus 36:5-7).
In the Law, God details how His people are to live. Note that the Ten Commandments begin by God stating that He is already their God, He is already in relationship with them: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 20:2). In effect He tells them, “You are my family. I have rescued you. Now – you must live like you are in my family. This is how family members behave.”
So the Law is not a means by which the people enter into relationship with God. Instead, the Law constitutes God’s “family rules.”

So I encourage you to join us as we make our way through this great book of the Bible. In the three millennia since these events took place, God has not changed. Man has not changed. We are still sinful, deserving His judgment. He is still holy, never tolerating sin. He will not let the guilty go unpunished. And He is merciful beyond measure, offering all of us rebellious sinners grace and forgiveness through the penalty paid on our behalf at the cross.
So ponder the God of the book of Exodus – and approach Him, on His terms.

[Last Sunday’s sermon looked in part at Hebrews 12:3-11, which compares the discipline and training that God brings in to our lives to a father disciplining his children. I see in those verses an implicit dialogue with a reader who keeps raising objections to the idea. Here is an expanded paraphrase of those verses, trying to bring out the key points – Coty]

Reader:
I am really tired. I’ve been fighting this battle with sin so long! I can’t keep fighting any longer. I’m worn out! God can’t possibly expect me to bear up under all this!

Author:
In your contest with sin, are you growing weary? Does the contest seem too tough? Then, hey, listen: I have two things to say to you:
First: Have you died yet? Jesus struggled all the way to death. He toughed it out to a much greater extent than you. Remember that.
Second: Have you forgotten the scriptural encouragement that calls you sons? God calls you His little children! Listen to what Proverbs 3:11-12 says:
My son! Don’t shrug off the Lord’s discipline, or get all depressed about it. It’s a sign of His love! A sign of your adoption!
Furthermore, the rest of Proverbs 3 makes clear that there are tremendous benefits to staying on God’s path, even when it seems challenging and the alternative path seems so easy.
So with all that in mind, here is my main exhortation: Endure hardship as instruction and training. That is: See every pain, every sorrow in your life as God’s way of molding you into what He wants you to be.
And I do mean every pain. Pain that is the result of your sin. Pain that is the result of someone else’s sin. Pain that results from natural disasters.
God is in control. He is sovereign. You are His child. He is making you into His likeness. He is getting rid of your natural ignorance, your natural selfishness, the way you are easily deceived and distracted. He is training you, like Jesus, to be patient in suffering. You are a little child. Your Daddy is training you, strengthening you, stretching you, maturing you.
So when you suffer, trust Him! He is bringing His work in you to completion! Always remember that!

Reader:
You tell me I’m God’s child. But I sure don’t feel loved like a child when God sends pain! Instead, I feel abandoned by Him!

Author:
Have you ever heard of a son who was never disciplined? All sons are disciplined! If you don’t experience discipline: Guess what? You’re not sons! Now, there is a bit of a benefit from not being a son: You then don’t have to endure discipline! But, there’s a big trade-off: Neither do you have the rights and privileges of being a son. So realize this: Being disciplined is sign of sonship! It’s a privilege! It shows you are in the family! Jesus was a son – and He suffered. Therefore, feeling abandoned because of discipline gets the truth completely backwards.

Reader:
Well . . . I’m not sure how to answer that. But, listen: I don’t like this picture of God you’re painting. A God who sends pain! This God doesn’t match my conception of what He should be! If He loved me, He would guard me from pain; He wouldn’t make me go through it. How can I worship a God like that?

Author:
My friend, slow down, listen, and think clearly. You’re really not making any sense.
We routinely put up with pain in our earthly lives – and love and respect those who bring that pain upon us. We could go back to the athletic imagery I’ve used before – every coach brings pain upon his runners, and the best coaches make their runners go through considerable pain! – but instead, let’s stick to the image of a little child with his father:
When your fallible earthly fathers disciplined you as they thought best – in order to make you a better person in this life – didn’t you respect them for it? Even though they often erred, and punished you wrongly? How much more should you respect your spiritual, heavenly Father! How much more should you listen to His instruction and submit to His discipline! He is guiding you to the path of life! (Proverbs 4:13) All His discipline is unquestionably for our good! He is training us to become like Him – that is, holy.
So, you see, to say, “I’m not going to worship a God who sends pain,” is like a two-year-old saying, “I’m not going to love a Daddy who gives spankings.” That’s pure foolishness. Indeed, to say that proves that you need discipline and training.

Reader:
OK. I can agree intellectually that God must discipline us to train us to become like Him, and that I should respect Him for doing that. But, did you hear me? This is painful! This is horrible! This really hurts!

Author:
That’s true of all discipline, my friend. Think back to when you were a little child. When you received a spanking, it hurt, didn’t it? That’s the whole idea! It was supposed to hurt. All discipline at the moment seems to increase our sorrow. It does not seem to increase our joy. But in the end it produces a harvest of righteousness. God is so wise that in the end His discipline molds us into Christ’s likeness – so we become what God intends us to be.
So I exhort you: Endure hardship as discipline. Don’t feel abandoned when you’re in pain – for discipline is a sign of God’s love. Don’t put yourself above God, judging what He should and shouldn’t do – for a child respects his father, even when he doesn’t understand his father, even when the father’s discipline hurts. And don’t focus on your present pain – instead, like Jesus, focus on the joy set before you. Like Him, run the race! Power down that straightaway towards the finish line, towards your Savior, towards Jesus! Don’t be diverted from the race! Right now, you’re weak – indeed, virtually lame. Heal that weakness by God’s grace and by His training! And run!

[This devotion is taken from last Sunday’s sermon. The audio for the entire sermon is available here.]

How do you react when God answers “No” to your prayers?
We are tempted to think of ourselves as potential worshipers of different religions, and thus of different gods. These different gods, are almost like presidential candidates vying for our vote, for our affections, for our commitment. If a god promises us enough, and exhibits enough power and love toward us to show he is sincere and able to keep his promises, then we will cast out vote for him. He’ll be our candidate, our god.

How do we cast our vote? By:

coming to church,
giving money,
reading the Bible,
offering prayers.
We say (rather like the immature Jacob in Genesis 28), “If you, god, do your part, I’ll come to worship services, you’ll be my candidate (oops, I mean you’ll be my god).”

God just needs to live up to His campaign promises, and then we’ll live up to our commitment to stand by Him, to worship Him in this quid pro quo sense.

Is that the way you’ve approached God? Is that what your relationship to God looks like?

If your relationship to God is based on such an arrangement, what happens when God says, “No”? What happens is that you switch parties. He’s no longer your candidate, your god. Effectively, you end up saying:

“If God doesn’t save the life of this child,
if He doesn’t bring my husband back to me,
if he doesn’t stop this war,
if he doesn’t take away this temptation I face,
then I’m out of here. That negative answer will show that Christianity doesn’t work. I won’t offer that god any more worship: No more coming to church, no more giving money, no more reading the Bible, no more offering of prayers.”

When we think this way, we are treating God like an approximate equal, a man – a rich and powerful man, perhaps even a good man, but nevertheless a man with whom we have some bargaining power, one whom we need to hold accountable, and make sure He lives up to His agreement.

We must remember again and again: The difference between us and God is much greater than the difference between a two-year-old child and his parents. And two-year-olds should not treat their parents like approximate equals.

Consider this encounter:

Father to two-year-old: “I love you, my child, and I will always provide for you.”

Child: “OK, Daddy, if you’ll put food on my plate each meal and give me warm blankets, then once a week I’ll join my siblings in saying, “Thank you”, and I’ll acknowledge you as a good Dad, and I’ll share my ice cream with you.”

What would you think of two-year-old who says that?:

God is our Father. He loves us. He loves to meet our requests for our genuine needs. Keep remembering Luke 12:32: “It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

As we can see from Jesus’ model prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 (the “Lord’s Prayer”), true prayer has three steps: Acknowledging that God is our loving Father, and we are like little children before Him; asking that He might be glorified, and acknowledging that this must happen; and asking that we might have all we need in order to play our role in glorifying Him.

And this, indeed, is the basis of true worship. Worship is not a quid pro quo arrangement with God – “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” Worship does not consist of our coming to church, giving money, reading the Bible, and offering prayers. Those acts can be acts of worship. But those acts in and of themselves are not worship.

Instead, worship is loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and expressing that love. Worship is valuing Christ more than all the world has to offer, and acting, thinking, and feeling in accord with that value.

So if we are not to treat God like a presidential candidate, how should we understand God’s negative answers to our requests?

When God says no, He is telling us:

“You don’t need that to glorify Me. Trust Me in this. Your trusting me when I seem to say no magnifies My name. Your valuing Me more than the gift you wanted from Me glorifies Me. Know that I love you. I am with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. My kingdom must come. My will must be done. Believe me.”

Jesus Himself shows us how this is done: The night He was betrayed, He asked that He might not go to the cross, saying:

“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” . . . “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” (Matthew 26:39, 42)

He begins with the first part of prayer, addressing God as Father, and seeing Himself as a beloved child (Mark records that He said, “Abba, Father” – an even more intimate expression). He then moves to the second part of prayer. Recall that the Lord’s Prayer includes these phrases: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus uses exactly the same words at the end of verse 42: “Your will be done.” He wants God’s kingdom to come. He wants God to be glorified in all the earth. And He knows that His death – as terrible as it will be – is part of God’s plan to bring glory to Himself. As He had said earlier that afternoon:

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” (John 12:27-28)

The third, final step of prayer is implicit in both John 12 and Matthew 26: Jesus effectively is asking, “Give me the strength, the courage, the perseverance I need to glorify Your Name in the midst of this horrible, painful death.”

God the Father said no to Jesus’ request to have the cup of death pass from Him. In that sense, His request was denied.

But God glorified His Name. God fulfilled His perfect will. And that always was Jesus’ primary request. God the Father gave Him what He needed to glorify His Name.

That is His promise to us. And that is how we should pray. If we are praying rightly – that is, if we are following the three steps of the Lord’s prayer, all our requests build on the first two steps:

All our requests are based on God being our loving Father, and we being His children through faith in Jesus Christ. Thus all our requests begin with an acknowledgment that He is much, much wiser than we are.
All our requests aim to glorify God, to bring in His kingdom, to accomplish His will. In true prayer, any requests for ourselves are made with that end in mind.
God promises that He always answers yes to such requests. But because we are two-year-olds and He is Father, we often won’t understand how He has answered our prayers. We will need to trust Him. We will not receive all we think we need. But He will always give us what we truly need to glorify Him.

So have you been bargaining with God? Have you effectively put yourself in the role of a voter, and God in the role of a presidential candidate seeking your endorsement?

See Him as Father. Make knowing Him the desire of your life. Seek His honor and His glory above all. And then ask – and you will receive what you need to glorify Him.

[This devotion is taken from last Sunday’s sermon – Coty]
What task has God given you? What is the most important of all tasks?

Is your most important task to do something great for God? Is your most important task, specifically, to fulfill the Great Commission: To go, make disciples of all nations, of every people group?

No. That is indeed an important task. But it’s not your most important task. And you can’t fulfill your role in completing the Great Commission unless you first fulfill this most important task.

What is it?

Jesus says the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with al your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength (Mark 12:30). And He says we must turn and become like little children – resting on our Daddy, rejoicing in our Daddy – if we are to enter His kingdom (Matthew 18:3). Paul commands us to rejoice in the Lord – always (Philippians 4:4)!

This is your number one task: To delight in your Daddy. To know that you are nothing and He is everything. To know that He has given you every good gift you have. To acknowledge that you don’t deserve anything, that you can’t earn anything – you are just the recipient of His love again and again. To delight in Him, so that you show through your attitudes and affections that He is most important, that He is supreme.

That is your number one task: To have joy in Christ – and to express that joy.

George Mueller, who in 19th century organized and ran orphanages in Britain that served thousands, wrote this:

According to my judgment the most important point to be attended to is this: above all things see to it that your souls are happy in the Lord. Other things may press upon you, the Lord’s work may even have urgent claims upon your attention, but I deliberately repeat, it is of supreme and paramount importance that you should seek above all things to have your souls truly happy in God Himself! Day by day seek to make this the most important business of your life. . . . The secret of all true effectual service is joy in God, having experimental acquaintance and fellowship with God Himself

So the first question for you to ask yourself is not: What are you doing to serve mankind?

Nor is the first question: What are you doing to serve God?

But the first question is: Are you happy in God?

There is, however, a second task. A second question. Indeed, Jesus says the second greatest commandment is like unto the first. Furthermore, fulfilling this second task is a means toward achieving the first task.

What is the second task?

We can state it many ways: Love your neighbor as yourself. Make disciples of all nations. Fill the earth with the knowledge of His glory as the waters cover the seas.

But we can more clearly see the link with the first task if we define it this way:

Your number two task is to deepen joy in Christ among those who know Him, and to spread joy in Christ to those who do not.

We are to say, “I rejoice in Christ! He is all to me! And because He is all to me, I can love you and serve you and pour myself out for you – even if you reject me, for I have all I need in Him. But I want Him to be all to you – for your joy!”

This is a holy ambition – an ambition that only flows out of our living up to the number one task of rejoicing in Christ.

We, like Paul, should have a deep passion for this second task, combined with a humble willingness to play any role in fulfilling that task, while we keep our eyes fixed on the number 1 task of rejoicing in God.

If you have that attitude, you are not wasting your life – whatever specific ways you end up working to fulfill the second task.

Now, think about that word, “Whatever.” It means being able to say something like this:

“I am willing to lead a movement that brings millions to faith in Christ” (to say “I could never do that)” is false humility, a denial of God’s transforming, enabling power.)
“I am willing to labor unnoticed feeding, clothing, and changing diapers for disabled orphans for rest of my life”
“I am willing to lie flat on my back, paralyzed, unable to do anything other than to accept the service of others, to be gracious and kind to those who serve me, and to pray for the advance of God’s kingdom.”
“I place myself in Jesus’ hands to use me in any way He sovereignly chooses.”
“My status before God does not depend on my accomplishments. And my status before Him is the only status that counts.”
Can you say that?

The 19th century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon once wrote this when he was flat on his back, unable to minister:

It is of the utmost importance to us to be kept humble. Consciousness of self-importance is a hateful delusion, but one into which we fall as naturally as weeds grow on a dunghill. We cannot be used of the Lord but what we also dream of personal greatness, we think ourselves almost indispensable to the church, pillars of the cause, and foundations of the temple of God. We are nothings and nobodies, but that we do not think so is very evident, for as soon as we are put on the shelf we begin anxiously to enquire, “How will the work go on without me?” As well might the fly on the coach wheel enquire, “How will the mails be carried without me?”

Or, to update the image: As well might the fly clinging to the windshield wiper of a UPS truck ask, “How will the packages be delivered without me?”

God doesn’t need you. He doesn’t need me. He doesn’t need my education, my skills, my talents, my experience.

But as long as God keeps me here on this earth, He has a purpose for me – and I must not waste my life; I must not be diverted from that purpose.

He gives me a twofold task:

Delighting in Him
Deepening and spreading that joy – in ANY way He chooses.
We need to honestly say before God: “Use me in any way you wish:

“Prominent, or not prominent;
“Seemingly important, or not seeming to have any importance;
“Doing and praying, or only praying
“Just use me for your glory!”
Will you say that? Will you follow our Lord? Will you first delight in God – and then spread and deepen that joy, to the glory of God?

[In last Sunday’s sermon, we looked at Matthew 18:1-4 to see how Jesus speaks of humility, and to learn how we can balance the biblical injunctions to be ambitious for God with that humility. We’ll continue to discuss those issues this Sunday. Here are three key questions about the Matthew 18 text – Coty]

Matthew 18:1-4 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

1) What does Jesus mean by telling us to “turn and become like children”?

The disciples are asking who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven – clearly thinking that one of them is the greatest. They want Jesus to say, “James – I pick you as the greatest because of all you’ve done. You’re number one!”

Instead, Jesus says this: “Your entire conception of greatness is wrong! You think in terms of your qualifications. You desire to get positions of power and privilege. You keep comparing yourselves to each other, with each of you trying to exalt himself over the others. You have to turn! You have to change your mindset completely! Look at this little two-year-old. Become like him! This child is not seen as great by anybody. He is completely dependent on his parents. He has no influence. He is weaker than every adult. He cannot make money. He has no exceptional abilities. He has no authority and no power. He just loves his Daddy; he knows he is dependent on him, and delights in him. He doesn’t even think about himself compared to others. He just thinks about how wonderful his Daddy is. You must change and become like THAT if you are to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

That is Jesus’ point.

2) Why must we turn and become like children to enter the kingdom?

This is the Gospel! God created man to glorify Him by delighting in Him. But each of us has rejected that purpose, choosing to delight in ourselves and in the things of this world rather than in God. Having failed to fulfill the purpose of our creation, we deserve to be rejected by God, thrown out by Him. Yet He sent His Son into the world to become man, to live a life of rejoicing in the Father, delighting to do all that He commanded, fulfilling our purpose. He then willingly died the death we deserved on the cross, taking on Himself our punishment. God raised Him, showing the sacrifice was sufficient, the penalty was paid. The benefits of that death accrue to every person who confesses his sin and believes in Jesus as Savior and Lord. And God then promises that He will create a new heavens and a new earth, the final, complete kingdom of heaven, in which all the redeemed will dwell, together fulfilling the purpose of humanity: Rejoicing in the greatness of God (Philippians 2:9-11; Revelation 7:9-12). Here no one will seek greatness for himself. No one will argue about who is the greatest. Instead, we will all rejoice in the greatness of God, and of His Son. We will all see that greatness comes only from God Himself.

This is the goal of the Gospel: The joy of all people in the greatness of God. If we understand the Gospel, it makes no sense at all to jockey for a position of greatness. Jesus is great! Rejoice in His greatness! And then rightly be humbled. As the 19th century Anglican bishop J.C. Ryle says, “The surest mark of true conversion is humility.”

3) Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

Clearly Jesus is the greatest. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the greatest.

I can imagine the disciples (and myself!) at this point saying, “Sure, of course. But what about among resurrected mankind? Which of them is greatest? Could it be me?”

So Jesus says in Matthew 18:4: “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Note that Jesus says in verse 3 that unless you turn and become like this little child, unless you become humble like a 2-year-old, you will not even enter the kingdom. And then He says in verse 4 that if you humble yourself like this child, you are the greatest in the kingdom.

So do you see the implication? Everyone in the kingdom of heaven is the greatest! For everyone has the righteousness of Christ credited to his account. Everyone has the Spirit of God dwelling in him. Everyone is perfected by God for His glory

So look around you. Across ages. Across ethnicity. Across the ability to speak English. Across levels of theological training. Across length of time as a Christian. Across differences in giftedness, in education, in income. For those who are in Christ, for those who have faith in Him: ALL are made perfect. ALL are great. You are no greater than anyone else. You are not less than anyone else. Because every believer has the righteousness of Christ – and that is what matters.

Note: In eternity, there will still be differences among those who are saved. But there will be no differences in status, in position before God, or in moral perfection. There will be no difference in greatness.

For greatness consists in humble dependence on Jesus Christ. And no one is saved apart from that very greatness.

Does God want you to prosper? How can you go about answering that question?

Jeremiah 29:11 reads:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (NIV)
After reading that, you might be tempted to conclude: “OK! God wants me to be prosperous!”

Numerous churches teach such a doctrine. One website puts it this way:

The Bible is the greatest book ever written on motivation, success and prosperity. It is the original source book for discovering the keys to successful living through the power of kingdom principles.
By studying the Scriptures, you will come to understand that the prosperity of God is multi-dimensional. It is God’s will for us to prosper financially, to be in health, and for our souls to prosper (3 John 2). This is the three-part blessing of being obedient to His will and commands. God’s success plan for man encompasses the prospering of the spirit, soul and body with both spiritual and material blessings.
Is there anything wrong with this? Doesn’t God want to bless His people financially as well as spiritually? In particular, doesn’t Jeremiah 29:11 say explicitly that God plans to prosper us?

Over the course of the next three weekly devotions, we will look at this precious verse. While we won’t try to address the entire topic, the exposition of this verse will show clearly the direction we should take in understanding all such promises. Our goal as always is to learn what God is telling us through His Word, and thus to take to heart His very precious promises – promises that, as we shall see, are quite different from what they might appear to be after a casual reading.

We want to “rightly divide the Word of Truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), rather than to misinterpret that Word. How can you tell if someone is misinterpreting a verse? How can you be careful not to misinterpret verses yourself?

Consider these three helpful (but not exhaustive!) rules:

• Read the context!
• Check the translation!
• Check the interpretation against the thrust of Scriptural teaching!

Let’s do that for this verse.

Read the Context
Nebuchadnezzer, King of Babylon, attacked Jerusalem for the first time in 605 BC. The king of Judah paid tribute and promised future payments to entice him to withdraw. The Babylonian did so, but took some exiles away to Babylon. Shortly before Nebuchadnezzer attacked, Jeremiah prophesied that it would happen, and that the exiles would remain in Babylon for 70 years (Jeremiah 25).

Seven years later, in 598-7 BC, Nebuchadnezzer returns, after the Judean king foolishly stops paying tribute. This time he deposes the king, sets up his own puppet from the Judean royal family, and takes thousands more into exile. Jeremiah remains in Jerusalem.

Today’s text is part of a letter Jeremiah wrote to the exiles in Babylon three years later. False prophets in Babylon and Jerusalem were claiming that the captivity was going to be very short – that God would break the power of Nebuchadnezzer and send the captives back to Jerusalem soon. In effect, they were saying, “God will prosper both you exiles and Jerusalem.”

In chapter 29, Jeremiah clearly says, “No! God is not going to prosper Jerusalem during the next several years. Don’t think you’re coming back soon – live out a normal life in Babylon!”

That’s a little bit of context – which alone calls into question the “God wants to prosper us” interpretation.

Check the Translation
But what about translation? Obviously knowing the original language helps, but everyone can look at different English translations. Consider these three translations:

• NIV: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
• ESV: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
• NAS: ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”

“Prosper you” in the NIV becomes “welfare” and “wholeness” in the other two translations. According to Webster’s, “prosperity” means “the condition of being successful or thriving; especially economic well-being.” That is certainly not what “wholeness” means, and even “welfare” has quite different connotations. In general, an interpretation that is based solely on one translation is likely to be suspect.

This indicates that learning the specific Hebrew word might be helpful. As it turns out, in this case the Hebrew word is one you may already know: Shalom. Normally this word is translated “peace”, but it has a much wider range of meaning than the English word “peace”. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament describes shalomthis way: : “Completeness, wholeness, harmony, fulfillment. . . . Unimpaired relationships with others and with God.”

So our English word “prosperity” is not a good match for shalom in this context. For in English, the primary meaning of “prosperity” is economic well-being, with some overtones of happiness, fulfillment, and satisfaction. But for shalom the primary meaning is being in good relationships with others and with God, with some overtones of other sorts of welfare: absence of war, economic success.

So the biblical context and the historical context as well as the meaning of the Hebrew word all serve to undermine the interpretation that God wants all of His people to have economic prosperity.

Next week we’ll ask the question: To whom is God promising shalom?