The Weaver

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In Acts 6 as the church was new, and growing, we read about the first complaint. In this case there were a group of widows overlooked along racial lines. Jesus’ disciples, who now led the church called the rest and recognized something that has been important to the church of Jesus ever since.

They couldn’t do everything. The need was real, urgent, and yet, the calling of this new church was to preach the word, to pray, to reach the lost and they knew if they put their hands and heads to even these essential things, the mission would suffer.

So they called on the church to identify a group of people who could take on this task. But not just anyone.

They were people who were a part of the Hellenistic Jewish community that was suffering, so they were equipped with keen understanding of the issues.

They were men of good reputation, full of the Spirit, and wisdom.

They then took this task that in this moment was so essential.

Churches have now for centuries appointed deacons, the word means “one who serves” to help move the mission forward by committing to handling the essential tasks that would take the eyes of the leadership off the ultimate mission.

Every church does this differently, as the tasks and needs are different. We do not have Hellenistic Jewish widows being neglected…instead we have facilities, we have finances, we have people with needs and challenges that need to be met.

This morning we are pleased to be commissioning Donavon Mattern into this role at HCC. He was nominated, proved to be of good reputation, and known to be filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom.

And so like the disciples I want to ask our elders and deacons who are present to come lay hands on Donavon and pray.

Pray

In Acts 6:7, following the commissioning of these first deacons, we read, “So the word of God spread, the disciples increased greatly in number and large groups of priests became obedient to the faith.”

May it be so here.

Sermon

Series Intro:

Earlier this summer the elders asked you to pray for us as we spent a week in prayer and fasting. Our time was committed specifically to leaning in to God’s vision for our church for 2023 and beyond.

Who were we to be?

Where should our eyes be set?

What actions ought to follow as a result?

At the end of that prayer time, we came together and each shared the things God had laid upon us.

The items were varied, and each in some degree illuminated one of those questions.

For myself, God had given me a single word. I held off until each of the others had shared, and as they finished I realized how wonderfully God had answered your prayers.

The one word God had given me connected the rest.

Woven.

That we were to be a church:

WOVEN INTO GOD’S STORY

That our lives would be more and more connected with the fullness of God’s story. That it would become more and more impossible for each member to tell their own story apart from His.

WOVEN INTO A COMMUNITY

That our lives inside the body of Christ would be connected. That in this place every person would know and be known by others. That each one could find purpose and connection.

WOVEN INTO THE MISSION

That the weaving would stretch beyond us and into our community. Here in Hockinson, into the varied places we live and beyond. That the threads of this weaving would weave in to the lives of others, sharing the reason for our hope, drawing them into the community of Jesus, and that the weaving would be a covering for those most vulnerable…here, throughout our county, and to the ends of the earth.

How that vision will be realized is still being shaped, developed, and dreamt. This one word is the compass and the mission is the map. As we make plans, as opportunities come our way, we will reference back to this. Is it taking us here.

Today we will begin a sermon series designed to understand more deeply what it means to be Woven, we will dig deep and ask hard questions, Allowing God’s word to challenge us.

This morning we begin where we must in this series. You see if we are to be woven, that implies that there is a weaver. And I nor the elders make any claim on that role. We are threads in the weaving with our roles to play as well.

How can we lean into this vision if we don’t lean in to an understanding and even more essential an absolute trust in the one doing the weaving?

As we open God’s word, let’s pray.

Oops: We hated because i told you so as kids…use it as parents…why? Because we recognize NOW that adults do know things kids don’t.

There were 4 words I hated as a kid. Swore I would never use them as a parent. Totally did. I may have tried to finesse them, reframe them, or add explanations.

My kids can tell you how I love explanations…then again…you know.

Because I said so.

That…is not an answer. At least as a kid I thought so. And it certainly can be a cop out to avoid difficult conversations and topics with your kids. But the truth we learn as we grow is that sometimes our kids are:

Not ready to process the topic

Lack the experience or knowledge for the explanation to have meaning

A full explanation would take away innocence before its time

We don’t have one beyond our gut feeling that this is the right decision for this moment.

We learn these things with experience. We learn these things as we grow. What we come to recognize is that adults know things kids don’t or can’t know.

if this was a series on parenting, we would dive deeper into this…not a totally cut and dry policy, I go this far to pose this question when it comes to God:

Ugh: We treat God like we treated our parents (quietly or out loud) when we expect or demand that his reasons are: 1-the same as ours and 2-explained to us. The assumption of this sermon series is that God is doing something in and through you individually and us as a body in our community and around the world. And the conclusion is that we ought to lean in to that plan…but we can’t do that when we are also fighting against him. (he will still accomplish it all…but our greatest joy will be found in surrender)…the world is out of control so we try...

Do we treat God do we think of him like we did our parents when we were kids?

When we expect or maybe even demand that:

His reasons for everything he does are explained to us in detail and

That they agree with our sense of right

The assumption of this whole series is that God is doing something in and through you individually and us as the body of Christ in our community and beyond.

The vision the elders believe we are called to fix our eyes on and lean our efforts into requires us to lean into that plan…but if we don’t trust the planner…if we don’t trust the weaver, both his wisdom and his ability to do the weaving,

at best we will miss out on the great joy of willingly being a part of God’s plan

at worst cause others to do the same.

It means leaning in, knowing that you and I and the leaders of HCC, will do our part imperfectly (it’s how we roll), but knowing and trusting God to work it all out in the end as HE does the careful and loving work of a master craftsman.

Aha: What changes things in a child’s relationship with their parents? Knowing and trusting who they are and what their intentions are. Our God is not only sovereign, but also good. In fact, one of the great words used in scripture and by the church fathers to describe this character trait is provide...

I struggled with the “Because I said so” at home growing up. Partly because I didn’t have a great deal of trust in my parents.

I have shared before how God used my best friends parents to give me a different vision for life, adulthood, and following him.

I still remember moments where I could recognize that my response to their moments of “because i said so” was so much better than my response to my own parents because I saw in them the life I wanted…it created trust.

That right there is what changes it all. It’s what allows us to lean into mystery and giving someone else any level of control in our lives. TRUST.

There are two essential things we need to know about God if we are going to trust the weaver and lean in.

Is he good?

Is he capable?

Scripture uses the word soveriegnty to describe God’s right and capacity to command in his created world. Boy…those last three words kinda get to the point quick. His created world.Let’s put a pin in that for a moment though.

To be clear, I’m not going to get into the theology of Calvinism vs Armenianism, free will vs predestination, etc today. Interesting areas of study, but there are common threads that cut right to the heart of scripture that is a better place to spend our limited time.

Scripture uses another word for sovereignty. Providence.

The great provision of God

Providence comes from root words that mean Provide. I know deep. But go further and that word means…see.

Ok…hold on. What does seeing have to do with being sovereign? I can see that the garbage needs to go out tomorrow morning at my house…that doesn’t do anything.

But there is another way we use “see”, that still involves vision. If I see the garbage needs to go to the curb that means I recognize the need. But if I “see to” the need. That means I’m doing something about it.

On RNM John Piper has an excellent study on the providence of God that I highly recommend.

But you see the difference between one who has the responsibility of rulership, of sovereignty, has to see and see to the needs of their people.

Go through the prophets and you will find God’s judgment of Israel’s leaders had everything to do with the plight of people and the ignoring of needs. Jesus lights the same candle.

Even for the pharisees who weren’t called to lead politically, but had the task of helping people connect with God he said:

Matthew 23:4 “They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them.”

So our investigation today is this: How does God’s provision give us the confidence to trust him as the weaver of our story? I want to start with the most essential point:

His Identity (Job, Exodus 33)

Who is he? Is he Good?

Let me share two stories from scripture where God gets to the point of who he is in a moment of need.

One of the strangest stories that connects to God’s rule is the book of Job.

Job was a good person who worshipped God and put him first.

God has this heavenly counsel, all the angels reporting in. Including one called the one opposed, or the Satan.

God points out Job as proof of righteousness in humanity. The satan insists that Job only does good because God rewards him. So God allows the Satan to put the idea to the test.

Job goes through undeserved hell. Then argues with his friends about why it happened. They insist he must have done something wrong, he insists that he never did. He demands an answer from God and in the end, God comes to speak to Job.

starting in Job 38 God answers…and asks questions of Job.

Where were you when I established the earth?

What supports the foundations?

Who put boundaries on the sea?

Where does light come from?

Do you know how to set the constellations in their place?

What about the place where Mountain goats give birth?

The joyful wings of the ostrich?

And he goes on…and never gives Job an answer. The book doesn’t give us an answer about why God would allow this to happen.

What this moment does is show us, like Jacob’s message a few week’s back, that we are going to have questions. And God’s best answer for us…is him. His identity.

And Job got it. This is Job’s response to the questions:

Job 42:1-6 “Then Job replied to the Lord: I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, “Who is this who conceals my counsel with ignorance?” Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wondrous for me to know. You said, “Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform me.” I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore, I reject my words and am sorry for them; I am dust and ashes.”

Job had said some pretty inflamatory things about God in his anger. God doesn’t punish him for it. He reveals himself and Job repents. Job and his friends needed to be reminded that God is more.

more than we can understand

more than we can handle

Even in our age of science and data and all the things we know…none of that gives us a why. I don’t even get into debates about evolution, because arguments don’t really change minds, and it’s a secondary matter. I can’t prove how it happened, but no science can tell us WHY it happened.

That question has been at the root of nearly every atheist scientist who has converted to at least some form of deism. The what and how can’t and never will answer the why. And there needs to be a why.

ok, second story. Story 1 is God revealing identity in power, story 2 is God revealing identity in tenderness.

After God freed the Israelites from Egypt in Exodus, they traveled to the place God told Moses to come where he would meet with them. Moses went up on the mountain to receive the convenant from the Lord. God’s promise and call.

The people got worried. They struggled with a God they couldn’t see, and so while Moses was gone they made a golden calf and worshipped God through it.

God had been super clear that they were not to do this…because they don’t have the right to define him. Oh, the lessons on worship here…another day

God and Moses deal with the people and then God calls Moses away again and Moses shares his concerns about leading this people. He needs more from God, He needs to understand him, and he asks him to see his glory.

God responds by passing by and he says he will declare his name and give Moses a glimpse of all the glory he can handle.

It’s far more than flying by and going, I’m God. He declares who he is. This is the verse most often quoted by other verses when the writer needs to remember or remind others who this God is.

Listen.

Exodus 34:6-8 “The Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed: The Lord—the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But he will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation. Moses immediately knelt low on the ground and worshiped.”

Here is another whole sermon series. The bible project podcast did hours of content on this passage.

The Lord - I AM. God is. He is who he is and no less. Ever present, ever consistent.

Compassionate. The word is maternal. His heart is for people…always

and gracious. The bend in his heart is always to give grace.

Slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth. God does not react the way we can. He is not quick to strike out in anger. In Hebrew the word anger is the same as heat in the nose. And the phrase slow to anger is literally long nostrilled.

God more than any human has the right to be angry. Yet his faithful love leads him to be slow in venting it.

Note the word truth. He doesn’t pretend something wrong is right so he can just get over it. but being totally true and loving, he holds his anger in check.

Faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving…but not leaving the guilty unpunished. the consequences still apply even to three and four generations.

Do the ratio here before you see God has unjust in allowing conseqences to the third and fourth generations.

Faithful love to a thousand generations…consequences to 3 or 4.

And that word consequences…If you consider for a moment…what consequences do you live with from your parent’s sin? That’s real.

Before we all go beat up our parents in a therapy session, what consequences will our children live with for ours?

That’s real. But so is God’s faithful love. God’s faithful love has brought our family far. we still wrestle with the sins we learned growing up, the things done to us, around us, and then things we do, those our kids will reckon with. And God’s love covers and redeems when we trust in him.

The greatest thing God can show us for us to trust him is who he is. Soak in that verse, write it down and memorize it. Think on it.

Secondly, we can learn to trust God by understanding:

His Power (Matt 20:13, 1 Cor 12:11

Job already gave us a crash course here on his power to do. The important thing for us to consider in that power is does he have the right to use it.

Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 20 that gets to this.

He is giving his disciples key understanding of the kingdom of heaven and he tells them of a landowner who needed workers.

He came through town early and hired several with an agreement of pay at one denarius.

Then he went out at 9 and hired more promising to pay them what was right.

Again at noon, again at 3, again at 5 and then evening came.

The ones who came last, came first for pay and received a denarius. This made the earlier hires excited since they must get more. But when they got to the front they got one denarius and they began to complain.

Matthew 20:13-15 “He replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me on a denarius? Take what’s yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? Are you jealous because I’m generous?’”

That is a hurdle we struggle to overcome. They saw God’s generosity to others as unjust stingyness toward themselves.

God’s response is essential to us today: Don’t i have the right?

Like in Job, the issue isn’t fairness, it’s God’s right to do what he will, why he will, and how he will...

We can be angry about the seeming unfairness, or…we can learn to be grateful for the things given instead of bitter for what is witheld. The real question, is having considered God’s identity we just discussed: Is He GOOD?

If our answer is yes, then we can trust him in the unfairness.

If no, then we will grow bitter

Life isn’t fair…from our eyes. Never will be.

God’s provision, his see to it ness is on his terms.

And the real story, one we will spend a thousand sermons on from here until the end of days is that the greatest injustice comes in what God provision gave at our greatest need.

His Life (Abraham and Isaac…Jesus)

We’re going to start in Genesis. One of the first passages to use the word Provide in relationship to God.

Full story in Genesis 22. The key ancestor of the nation of Israel, Abraham had been called by God and promised a son. The son, Isaac, came in his very old age. A son promised to become a nation. Then God does the unthinkable. He asks Abraham to sacrifice his son. To give him up.

Abraham’s trust in God was so complete that he took his son, wood, and fire up a mountain. He has the servants stop and wait, telling them that he and the boy are going to go on and worship. Then they will come back.

Isaac notices an issue

Genesis 22:7 “Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.” And he replied, “Here I am, my son.” Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?””

I imagine there was a deep breath here. How deep was the trust?

Genesis 22:8 “Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together.”

The language here is as I said: God himself will “see to” the lamb.

God interrupts the sacrifice of Isaac and shows him a ram caught in a thorn bush.

God promises Abraham that because he was willing to give up his only son, all people would be blessed by his offspring.

Church, it is so important that we understand something about the bible. It is a story leading us to an essential point, not a text book.

If it were a textbook, the moral of the story is be ready to sacrifice anything for God.

But the story has an entirely different point. The story tells us GOD will “see to” the need for sacrifice himself.

in Galatians 4 Paul explains:

Galatians 4:4-7 “When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.”

We will come to communion in a moment, a time when we remember the death of Jesus. Jesus whom John the baptist told us was:

John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Who following his arrest would be trapped in the thorns of a thorn bush

John 19:2 “The soldiers also twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and clothed him in a purple robe.”

And would take the place of mankind, those like Abraham who deserved the separation from God we asked for…The ram in one story becoming the lamb in the fullness of time.

Why do I trust God with my life? Because he gave us his.

One last item before we get to communion.

We can trust his provision, his sovereignty because we are given

His identity,

His power,

and his life.

But we can also trust his provision to lead us because we are told he has purposes:

Whee: (Rom 8:28) “If God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called to His purposes, we can relax. If He doesn’t, we’d better start worrying” (Mark Buchanan)

For His Called

Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

Pastor Mark Buchanan summed this verse up like this:

“If God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called to His purposes, we can relax. If He doesn’t, we’d better start worrying”

If God is who he said he is: Then He is good and loving.

If God has the power he claims: Then he is able

If God gives his own life to redeem ours: Then he is for us

That is a combination that leads me to my knees in praise. (worship team) That is a combination that tells me I can surrender my everything into his hands. That i can follow him down hard and dark roads, take risks, be bold, be filled with gracious kindness, Grateful in heart, generous with every resource given, passionate about his story, unafraid the future, and ready to put one foot in front of the other and follow him wherever he goes.

Because we have been called. But before we go too far…why were we called?

(read 8:28 again)

God is seeing to bringing his kingdom to life in this world. And he’s seeing to it through his people. We are both the recipients of the kingdom and it’s ambassadors. We are the threads. That will be our theme next week. but...

DO: Read Romans 9-10:13

Here’s homework. Before Wednesday, read Romans 9 and the first part of 10, through verse 13. I’ll share the verses on our facebook.

This is Paul’s great summary on God’s plan and right to act like God. Read it, soak it in. Look up studies on it or reach out to me if there are parts that don’t make sense.

I’ll share from this passage in the Wednesday email as a follow up to today’s message.

For now, we come to the table.

As the music plays, will you come and get the elements and then take them back to your seat and we will partake together.

This table set out by the Lord Jesus himself on the night he was betrayed.

Communion

And we say betrayed…because he was. But unlike your average betrayal…it wasn’t a surprise.

Ephesians tells us:

Ephesians 1:3-4 “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.”

Before the world was made, this was the plan.

When God created us in his love, a self-determining creation with free will, that we would betray him again and again, and that there would be a need for a sacrifice.

Judas’ betrayal was just one more for the pile, and one more that God knew and used for his purposes to bring life to restore heaven to earth.

And so Jesus hold this dinner to tell his disciples and us to remember Him. To remember what is about to happen to him. To recall his death, his sacrifice, and his resurrection. To remember that this moment is THE pinnacle in the narrative. The key moment in history. That everything before was leading to, and everything after would be shaped by all leading to a day unknown before us when the restoration of this world is complete.

When heaven and earth are again as they were meant to be and we live in eternal joy going ever on and ever up into the great love of our father in Jesus Christ.

That is worth remembering.

So we partake:

Luke 22:14-20

“When the hour came, he reclined at the table, and the apostles with him. Then he said to them, “I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

Pray - We can trust the weaver.