Category: Sermon Supplements

Hebrews 2:10-18 & A Loss for Words

No cute analogies, no geeky illustrations, and no powerful quotes; I am at a loss for words. It’s been a draining week. Part of the writer’s block is I’m sure due to the fact that I just want to go home right now. I just want some rest. I don’t want to put out the mental exertion to write. I am tired. I am weak. I am inadequate. I am insufficient. I am sinful. Perhaps I have been looking at the text only to see how I can use it to feed you. I need this text. I stand with you under the text while I preach it.

His suffering brings me to glory. He sanctifies me. He has one origin with me. He is not ashamed to call me brother. He defeated death. He delivers me from the fear of death. He helps me. He is a merciful and faithful high priest. He made propitiation for my sins.

I’m going to go home now, reflect on these truths, and rest in the perfect work and sacrifice of my Great High Priest.

Before I do, here is another Hymn I am angry I didn’t learn:

Before the Throne of God Above
By Charitie L. Bancroft

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

Hebrews 2:5-10 & Oprah, Ferraris, and the Earth

I think the highest pitches achievable by female vocal cords are struck at the loudest volume when the estrogen dominated live audience of a certain TV show (a TV show humbly self-titled by the host) announces that this specific episode will be dubbed her “favorite things”.  Who else upon announcing some of their favorite things causes such hysteria?  Oprah , she’s got nothing.  I’m sure most of the companies give her the goods, its great advertising.  I’m sure she forks out some of her own dough as well, still its small cookies.

I once heard that Mr. Braum gives away an orange or an apple every year for a Christmas bonus to his employees.  Lucky employees, they get to choose between two sweet bonuses.  Can you imagine the deliberation that must be theirs every year as that grand moment approaches?  “Oh which one will I choose!  The orange was so great last year but…”  Clearly Oprah has Mr. Braum beat.  I watched this bit one monring of the place Fortune magazine named the greatest place to work… Google.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6h-gm01Fb0]

The wealth of a person or company is flaunted by what they give away.  The giving away of stuff when it fails to dent the wealth of the owner does not diminish his glory it adds to it.  If I give away iPods I must be doing quite well, but if Cameron comes along and is giving away flat screens as easily as I do iPods, He has a greater glory concerning materialistic wealth.   Both our gifts would be dwarfed by Mr. X (Graham contended for this position, ultimatly I considered this too unrealistic) who is giving away Ferraris.  The greater the gift and the less the diminishing effect upon the wealth of the giver the greater their glory.

God gives away and suffers no lack.  It is not as if he is so wealthy that hundreds become tens and dollars pennies; no, He gives and no deduction is made from his account at all. He gives without suffering any loss.  He does not acquire, He is the fountain.  He does not give away trite little trinkets, others may give electronics and cars – God gives the earth.  Better yet, He gives His Son to redeem the earth and bring many sons to glory.  In bringing many sons to glory and giving them dominion over the earth He does not diminish His own glory, rather He flaunts it.

Hebrews 2:1-4 & My Favorite Author

There are some authors that I love and appreciate so much that I try to read nearly everything they write.  I rarely hesitate to buy a book by Piper, Carson, Mahaney, Driscoll, or Lewis.  It’s like walking by an appetizer tray, you just gotta.

Commenting on this passage Calvin wrote, “The import of the whole is this, that the higher the dignity of Christ is than that of angels, the more reverence is due the gospel than to the law.  Thus he commends the doctrine by mentioning the author.”  The law is precious, it is the word of God, it is holy and too often neglected.  We should not demean or make little of the law in any way.  Seek to put it upon the highest shelf of your heart.  It reveals Christ to us in shadows and shows us our deep need for Him.  So place it high as the Holy Word of God and then realize that the gospel is its fulfillment and climax, thereby placing it on top.  If the word of God delivered through angels (Psalm 68:15-17; Acts 7:38, 53; Galatians 3:19) is so precious, what of His supreme Word Jesus?

When it comes to the message of Jesus Christ, you just gotta.

Hebrews 1:4-14 & Beyond Comparison

Some things don’t compare.  A lot of friends and family are getting nice flat screens, our little ol’ TV – it doesn’t compare.  I pulled up to a Porsche yesterday, yep, I was in the Taurus – didn’t compare.  We spent the weekend at my brother and sister in law’s house in McKinney, TX; as we drove through down town many of the houses… well let’s just say our house can’t begin to compare with them.

When is contentment with lesser things not a virtue?  It would be foolish of me to buy a Porsche, it would strain our finances and cause my wife to throw incredibly large heavy objects at my face (if you know Bethany this is a ridiculous for two reasons:  1. she uses silence not violence, 2. if she were to throw something it could not be large and heavy.  The muscles in those skinny little arms though defines are alas attached to skinny little arms, skinny little arms that I love and adore mind you.  I will now cease this impertinent deviation).  But say both, the Taurus and the Porsche, are available at the same price while retaining their respective quality level, then I would be a fool to keep the Taurus.  Sorry Birnies, we love the car but…

What a fool I must look as I am enamored with things so much lesser than Christ.  Spiritually I am often caught driving a lemon, living in a shack, and watching black and white.

Hebrews 1:1-3 & PPB

I receive my last issue of Relevant today.  I won’t be renewing because:  

1. I enjoy Tabletalk more.  I would rather have theology than culture.  I need to study both, but culture bores me.

2.  I would rather read an outdated book than a fresh magazine.  I really don’t care to be hip anymore.

So here is my last issue and it tempted me to renew; there was a great article on the 10 weirdest things within the Christian subculture.  Of course Bibleman was there along with Testamints.  But the topper for me was the PPB, Personal Promise Bible, a bible you can customize perfectly for you.  Now if by customizing you are thinking cool colors and designs you will be let down.  You can get a few colors in bonded leather, gender and age sensitive versions in paperback, but this is no big deal, Zondervan has been doing this for years and from what I can tell does it better from a aesthetic and marketing standpoint.  No with PPB you actually customize the Bible, not the cover, not study notes… the Bible!  For example if your name is John, Ephesians 2:5-6 will read:

Even when John was dead in trespasses, God made John alive together with Christ (by grace John has been saved), and raised John up with Him and made John to sit with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

There is a free samples tab where you can enter your name and catch a preview. 

Some things should not be customized:

1)      Dogs.  Foolish haircuts and doggy clothes should be banished.  They will be banished to hell and thus the curse dogs suffer for man’s sin will be no more.

2)      Old trucks.  Restore them.

3)      Your body.  Plastic surgery has its place; does our society keep it there?

On the PPB website I found a series of verses telling me I am valuable, loved victorious, complete, chosen, and forgiven.  Why don’t they offer the flip side?  What about Josh outside of Christ?  I couldn’t find  Deuteronomy 28:15 on the website; would it read, “But if Josh will not obey the voice of the Lord his God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command Josh today, then all these curses shall come upon Josh and overtake Josh”?  I’m just betting the personalizations are all blessing and no curse or chastisement.

If the penalty to customize, twist, and contort God’s word is so harsh, what of those who customize His ultimate, supreme, final and perfect Word, the name above all names, Jesus Christ?

Hebrews & the Final Portrait

As we begin our studies in Hebrews we look as it were at the final portrait. Imagine there is a world of grey, colors are dulled and life is drear. Your fathers were promised a life of color and light by the Divine Artist. He gave the fathers small paintings, snippets of His masterpiece yet to come; these have been handed down for generations, and though you prize them, they are faded and only replicas. After years of bondage to the grey you cry out for fresh color, big color, vibrant color. You yearn to see such an image of color not simply to stand in awe of it, but for it to fill your soul.The Divine Artist comes! He paints as never before! There has been color in the past, but this is so much more. Hues, stripes, and effects are used as never before, the texture is rich, the emotions powerful. All the color that you knew before now seems dull in comparison.

Sadly, the grey remains in your soul after such a sight. Just as the master artists is about to add the most splendid part of the painting, a burst of light; not light that drowns or dims the other colors, but rather makes them brighter, just as he turns the canvas from painting to self portrait, He turns His head towards you ready to smile only to see that now you are attributing His masterpiece to Moo. The grey seeks to rob glory; it turns us into glory thieves.

We too are people of the Exodus, and we have seen a redemption greater than they, a deliverance of which there’s was only a shadow. The cross is infinitely more glorious than the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and Mount Sinai. We should not look for a greater stroke from the brush of God’s revelation than Jesus Christ. The ultimate message that God wanted to communicate, is communicating, and will communicate for all of eternity is the supreme prophet, priest, and king, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Do not leave Him for Moo, cling to Him, cherish Him, stand in awe of Him, love Him, know Him, chase after Him, meditate on Him, pray through Him…

[www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O9Sf4P38oE]

Isaiah 66:1-6 & A Tale of Two Kings

Some words cause us to tremble; like when you are cheerfully carrying on at school as if it were any other day until your friend asks you if you are ready for that killer test or if you have finished that massive project. Originally you did not tremble when the test was announced but now you do. You cram, you sweat, you ask questions, you think of every possible excuse not to take it. You start to fake symptoms of a serious stomach virus that you say has been plaguing your family for decades and alas you also must be doomed for chronic diarrhea. But then again there are the kids who when asked about the test say no and just don’t care.

* * * * *

It’s funny how some people can be so closely related and so different. Bethany loves to watch John and Kate (and secretly to you [prior to this] I enjoy watching it with her). It is amazing how different the sextuplets are.

* * * * *

When Josiah was 18 years he made plans for the temple to be refurbished. While the repairs were going on Hilkiah the Priest found ‘the book of the law”, most likely the scroll of Deuteronomy, if not all the Pentateuch. Upon hearing the curse sanction invoked by God upon those who do not heed the words of the law and thereby breaking the covenant stipulations He tore his garments and wept; his heart was tender and penitent. His heart trembled at the word of God. He sent for prophets to inquire of the Lord, and though the curse would surely come upon the people, yet for Josiah’s reign there would be peace. This is the heart that draws the glorious light of the radiance of God’s gracious smile.

Jehoikim was his son. When he was 29 when Jeremiah sent Baruch to the temple to read all of his prophecies against Jerusalem. Again the word of the Lord against Judah came from the temple to the King, but the reaction was very different. The king burned the scroll, having cut off each column after having been read. The text says he was not afraid and that he did not tear his clothes. His lineage was cut off from the throne and He was carried off into Babylonian captivity by Nebuchadnezzar.

So how does one after initially responding in trembling repentance and faith upon hearing the gospel continue to tremble before God’s word. The thought of hearing some words causes me to tremble. I don’t ever want to hear Bethany say, “I hate you”, “I’m leaving you”, or “You don’t love me”, so I behave differently. I don’t ever want to disappoint God, although I daily do. When the work reveals to me both how grotesque sin is and how great my sins are it cause me to tremble.

And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. …But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. – Deuteronomy 28:1,2,15

Isaiah 63:15-64:12 & Repenting of Bad Prayer

Isaiah is teaching us how to pray. We don’t learn to pray by listening to one another. We learn to pray by reading the Bible. God wants us to pray with boldness and passion for the growth of his kingdom. – Ray Ortlund Sr.

Ho do you talk in the presence of greatness? If that someone that you admire crossed your path today what are the chances that if you happened to be bold enough to say hello that an awkward silence would soon ensue? I wouldn’t know how to speak to a king, much less the King of Kings. Too often my prayers are repetitious, insincere, lazy, and without the proper degree of reverence. What if we talked to an earthly king in such a way? For how many of my prayers do I need to ask repentance? My heart comes full of greed, selfishness, and pride and I ask God to bless me? I ‘repent’ only so I can feel safe in between sins.

Isaiah teaches me how to pray, and oh how very unpopular is this kind of prayer. It is a lament. Lamenting is a lost art. This is why if we only take our cues from the prayers we hear we may never pray this type of prayer. Churches rarely have extended times of prayer in their services, less have regular meeting devoted to nothing but prayer, and fewer if any say lets get together to lament before our God.

Lament is the lover’s song of loss. People may lament the loss of health, wealth, or position, but the greatest lament occurs at the loss of a parent, a child, a spouse. If there is no lament, was there love?

Do we really want God in our lives, our churches, our communities? Sadly I think I would often be satisfied with really good music, and entertaining sermon, good media, nice lighting, friendly people, and lunch together after services. Would we be sad if God wasn’t there?

Is He?

What do you leave church impressed with?

All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down,
Brethren pray and Holy Manna will be showered all around.

Being biblical is not enough; we must be a people after God’s own heart, a people who do not merely want to know about God, but a people who know God, a people who desire a knowledge of the Holy.

God teach me to pray. Teach me to lament.

Isaiah 62:1-12 & At the Tree

I had a tree house. My dad helped me build it. Actually he mostly built it and I watched and suggested. Although after he built it I properly accessorized it such that it was no longer just a tree house; it became a fort, a command center, a hideout, a bunker, and an armory all in one. It was there I was no longer known as Josh King; I took on several aliases: Dutch (Stolen that from the Schwarzenegger hit “Predator”. If ever he should have won an Oscar…), Snake Eyes, and Rambo (not the new-old version, but the old-young version). I became a ninja / commando / superhero / assassin in that tree… um… I mean fort / secret base / armory thingy.

We long for another identity as a child, is it because we know something is wrong with the one we have? Though made in the image of God we are seriously marred by sin.

But in Christ we are made new.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. – 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

At the tree house I imagined a new identity.

At the tree Jesus bore the sins of my real identity.

In Christ I have a new identity, it is real, and it is better than anything I ever imagined. Here I am known by names such as: Holy, Saint, Child, Redeemed, Loved, Chosen, and Righteous.

Isaiah 61 & 2nd & 3rd Generation Christians

One of my favorite chapters in Minority Report warns how forgetting history disempowers us. Today we fail to recognize false teaching because we are unaware of the heresies that the church condemned in the past. The Shack would not have been tolerated by Athanasius or the rest of the council of Nicaea.

*****

Do you remember David Platt speaking about his mission trip to China a couple of years ago at student life? These Chinese Christian would stealthily travel for miles to a remote location, sitting on small uncomfortable chairs in a room lit by one bulb chairs to hear the word of God taught for hours a day, weeks at a time. There would always be someone on guard, as they were risking their lives to hear the Word of God, evidently to these Chinese Christian the rewards of studying the Bible outweighed the risk.

Let’s say a few migrate to the United States. Every time they now gather an atmosphere of joy and thanksgiving abounds. They are deeply thankful to God for the freedoms they now enjoy. But a shift slowly takes place. The second generation vaguely remembers the past, it has become a shadow, and as the shadow grows, the light of yesterday shines less brightly. With the third generation the shadow of the past is all that remains, and their joy is less for it.

You cannot survive of the faith of your fathers, it must be your own. Their history must become your reality. Do you see yourself as the captive Jew in this text? The Hebrew who has sinned greatly against God, who has been driven out from the His presence, outside the place of His blessing? Do you see how sin has devastated you, placed you in bondage, abused you, and left you in tattered slave garments? Or have you always assumed His saving love and mercy?

A beautiful headdress only comes to those who have covered their heads with the ashes of repentance. A bright, healthy face shining with joy belongs to those who have mourned and wept over sin. Those who are clothed with praise are those who first wore the clothes of a desperate beggar.

Is the history of the saints your history? Is the faith once delivered to the saints your faith?  If this text does not come as the most joyful of news, if you do not leap at the concepts of liberation and freedom – then perhaps liberation and freedom are not yours.