A Clear View on a Cloudy Day
Notes
Transcript
1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Humility
Corrie ten Boom was once asked if it was difficult for her to remain humble. Her reply was simple. “When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a donkey, and everyone was waving palm branches and throwing garments on the road, and singing praises, do you think that for one moment it ever entered the head of that donkey that any of that was for him?”
She continued, “If I can be the donkey on which Jesus Christ rides in His glory, I give him all the praise and all the honor.”
Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Matt 11:25-27
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
In this age, faith is viewed as foolishness because we live in an age where we are being pressured to believe that nothing is trustworthy except for your own feelings.
And, crucially, this is a culture informed by an ethic of authenticity. I have to discover my route to wholeness and spiritual depth. The focus is on the individual, and on his/her experience. Spirituality must speak to this experience. The basic mode of spiritual life is thus the quest, as Roof argues.7 It is a quest which can’t start with a priori exclusions or inescapable starting points, which could pre-empt this experience. - Charles Taylor, A Secular Age, p. 507.
We live in a fragmented world, not only externally, between nations, states, and even communities, but even internally, within our families and within ourselves. Sin has separated us from God, we who, in Adam, were made in God’s own image and likeness. Rom 7:14-15
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
Even the Law itself cannot make us whole when we view it apart from the Lawgiver who gave it to us. With St. Paul, we confess, according to Romans 7:12 - “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” But that is only because we know, concerning God that, in the words of Psalm 119:68 “You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.” Otherwise, the effect of the Law is declared in Rom 7:10-11
The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.
Thus, those who only know God as the Lawgiver and the Judge have nothing for which to look forward but judgment. This is why the world either rebels against the knowledge of God, or seeks to appease His wrath that they understand is coming upon them for their disobedience. Islam isn’t a threat because it offers seven virgins to every man who dies for the cause of Islam. Islam is a threat because it offers a path to avoiding God’s wrath through systematic obedience; its very name, Islam, means “submission.” Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism are not threats because they offer peace in the midst of the storm, but because they claim that the storm is an illusion, and when you learn to release your trust in what you see, you will be free. Let go of the Wheel of Life, or Samsara, and enter Nirvana. Finally, Atheism is not a threat because the physical sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Astronomy, and Physics, have proven that there is no reality beyond the material universe, but because it allows you to stop up your ears to what Creation declares in Ps 19:1-2
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
So we need more! The Natural Law does not comfort us, our consciences give us no peace, and our thoughts do not answer the questions that remain after all of our searching. Instead, God, who gave us each of those things as 1st Order gifts, showed His love for us with an even greater Gift: Hebrews 1:1-2
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
“In these last days” means that, in Christ, we have everything that we need. 2 Peter 1:3–4 declares “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”
God has made known His will, not to be the One who leaves you in bondage to sin and death, but the One who sets you free through the knowledge of His Son Jesus Christ. Not Jesus as the great teacher, or Jesus as the miracle worker, but Jesus the Messiah, the Savior, the God Who is With Us, Who shepherds us, who covers us, who redeems us and reconciles us to God, our Father, having purchased us with His own blood.
This weekend, we celebrated the 4th of July, Independence Day. 250 years ago, the 13 Colonies declared themselves to be separated from the British Crown. From 1776 to 1783, those Colonies fought with the Crown’s soldiers and others, with much blood being shed on both sides, so that the United States could declare itself to be free. That bloodshed did not guarantee our freedom, but it persuaded King George III and Parliament that the cost of holding onto the colonies was more than it was willing to pay, because there were other actors demanding its attention.
By contrast, Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the Law, by offering His blood as the purchase price. Jesus died so that we would be free. God offered the life of the Creator to save the creation and it was enough. God the Father gave all authority to His Son, who had been faithful as a Son over His house. Thus Christ’s offer to us is one upon which we can find rest. Matt 11:28-30
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
As the Apostles and believers looked at our Lord’s words, they found the reason why they had joy, even when the world did not join them in celebrating that Christ is risen from the dead, and He is Lord. They had experienced the power of God’s Word to bring forgiveness, healing, and peace, and they shared it, knowing that to whom the Son revealed the Father, that person would come to know both the Father and the Son and have peace.
Even today, we bear witness that those who know Christ know peace, while those who “have not Christ, have not peace.” They may have moments where the cares of this life have become muted, moments where death’s sting is not being felt, but those are momentary illusions that their warfare is ended. Those moments come and go, only to return. While the peace that God gives is to those who have come to know His will and love it in Christ is great peace. Rom 8:18-21
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
The world cannot offer what the Gospel brings because the world is also subject to the bondage of corruption. The things of the world can only provide temporary relief, but the things of God bring eternal peace. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation because it is the will of God that, through the preaching of the Gospel, all who put their trust in His Son would be saved, as it is written in Mark 16:16 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Today is a day of celebration, but while America celebrates a freedom that is only partial and subject to corruption, we celebrate Jesus Christ, for He lives, and because He lives, we shall live also, with the Father and the Son , and the Holy Spirit, to the praise of His glorious grace.
And the peace of God, that passes understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
