Sermon Tone Analysis

In chapters four through six we are introduced to one of Israel’s most prominent antagonists: the Philistines.

Not much is known about the Philistines throughout history.

Some people think that they were the great sea people’s that we see in history as an early opponent to the Roman republic and Grecian peoples during this early period.

Nobody really knows where they came from.

Some suspect the north western region of Europe but who can say for sure.

What we do know about the Philistines is that they were a idolatrous and pagan people group that heavily opposed Israel.

We see this first conflict between the two nations when Israel very proudly marches the Ark of the Covenant into battle.

This Ark was not a boat but was a very important aspect for Israel’s worship.

It resided within the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and contained some very important Jewish artifacts including the ten commandments.

So Israel brings this out to battle which wasn’t uncommon.

But rather than humbly looking to the Lord for victory in battle the Israelites looked to the Ark as if it were their mascot.

Because of their pride in battle the Israelites were whooped and the ark was taken back to the camp of the Philistines.

Key Theme: God opposes the proud but He exalts the humble

The Philistines take the Ark to their camp and put it with the engraven images of their gods that they worship.

When Eli heard that the Ark was stolen but also that his two sons Hophni and Phinehas were killed in battle he fell out of his chair and died leaving Samuel the sole judge of Israel.

So the Philistines have the Ark of the Covenant in their place of worship.

The statue of Dagon, that the people worshiped, his head fell off and fell face first before the Ark.

The Philistines stacked him back up and the next day his hands and head fell off towards the Ark.

More than that the Lord caused a plague to break out among the Philistines.

After seven months the Philistines gathered their religious leaders together and in a desperate attempt to help their people they put the Ark of God on a cart slapped the cows on the rears to get them to steppin’ and sent the Ark back to Israel out of fear of what God would do to their people.

Twenty years passed and the Philistines continued to war against Israel.

Idolatry had become common place among the people but they came together and appealed to Samuel to pray on their behalf that God might intervene with the Philistines.

Samuel charged the people to destroy their idols and come together so that Samuel could pray on their behalf.

Then as Israel went to battle against the Philistines the Lord thundered loudly against them and caused the Philistines to become confused allowing the Israelites to have victory over them.

This story really sets the tone for what we are going to be talking about tonight.

Our God is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

He is holy and sovereign over every nation.

He has called us to humbly follow Him and trust in Him as our defender and protector.

Can we trust God?

This question is the most important question we could ever answer.

It means the difference between eternity with Him in heaven and eternity separated from Him in hell.

Can we trust that the His story is true?

Historical evidence to the death and resurrection

When we approach the question, “Is Jesus the Son of God?” we have to realize that Jesus is one of three things.

He is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.

If Jesus is not the Son of God he is a liar and a con man.

Jesus claimed several times to be God.

He also performed several miracles to prove He is God.

If He is not then He has deceived billions of people.

It would mean that none of our sins are paid for.

It would mean we have no hope for eternity.

It would be the biggest con in the history of the world.

If Jesus is not the Son of God He is a lunatic.

What kind of person walks around claiming to be God if Hes not.

If you met a guy walking down the street and started telling you he was God and that he can raise people from the dead and existed in the beginning and created everything, you’d say, “Hey, that guy is crazy.”

When we look at the evidence we are left with only one conclusion.

Jesus is who He said He was.

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [that is, Christ]: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’

That is the one thing we must not say.

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.

He would either be a lunatic–on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg–or else he would be the Devil of Hell.

You must make your choice.

Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse….

You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.

But let us not come up with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher.

He has not left that open to us.

He did not intend to.” -C.S. Lewis

Eye witness testimony of the disciples

Were they really there?

Yes.

The men that wrote the Gospels either walked personally with Jesus or were closely associated with someone who did.

Matthew and John walked with Jesus

Mark was a close friend of Peter and likely used Peter as the source for his Gospel

Luke gathered information from a variety of sources for his account that he sent to Theophilus and was closely associated to the Apostle Paul, who although he did not walk with Jesus, was witness to the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus.

Can they be verified?

Yes.

After the resurrection there were over 500 eye witnesses to the resurrected Christ.

More than that there were people who knew Jesus and walked with Jesus.

If Luke or John had made something up about Jesus there would have been hundreds of people who would have known that to be untrue and would have called the writer out on it.

The time between the last book of the new testament written and the events of Jesus are only 60 years max.

Some think it was even less due to the fact that none of the New Testament authors mention the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, an event that Jesus predicted in the Gospels.

We know that John wrote the last book of the Bible and that he died during the reign of Domitian which would have put his death with in the first century around 90 AD.

Jesus died and was resurrected around 30 AD, which means that every book of the New Testament was written within 60 years and would have been corroborated by eye witness testimony.

Have they changed their story?

Did the Gospels change the historical events depicted within them?

It would be as if someone today wrote a book about 9/11 or the first Star Wars movie.

How do we know its true?

Well because they saw it.

How do we know that the story of Star Wars hasn’t changed since its initial release?

Because there are people who were there who saw it in theaters.

Sure the graphics may have been updated but that doesn’t change what Star Wars is.

It is still the same movie.

After the Gospels were written their is something called a chain of evidence we can follow from the time they were written to the major church councils where they formally established the New Testament Cannon.

Through those couple hundred years we know that the contents of the New Testament books were not changed or altered.

Things like the miracles were not added in later but were descriptions of the historical event that actually took place.

Do they possess a bias?

These men gained nothing from their testimony and have no reason to lie about what they saw.

Not power

Not status

Not wealth

What did they gain from their testimony?

poverty

persecution

death

Even the way the men depict themselves in the Gospels lends itself to the accuracy of their accounts.

These men didn’t make themselves look intelligent by any means.

Time after time the disciples are seen as confused, misunderstanding Jesus mission, and as cowards.

Can we trust that His sacrifice is sufficient?

Did Jesus’ death really pay for sin?

I would like to preface that if Jesus’ death and resurrection did not pay for every sin we are without hope.