2nd Evangelical Free Church

Blogging Through Isaiah: Don’t place your trust in pleasure.

Isaiah 22

The valley of vision refers to Jerusalem and Judah. It was a misnomer, for in reality Judah lacked vision. She was blind to what the Lord was doing. The Lord was angry because the people, as a whole, failed to heed the prophecies Isaiah has just declared against the nations. If mighty Babylon was going to suffer a crushing defeat, how could little Judah survive? The Jews may have been filled with dread at this prospect, but this did not turn them to God for answers, help or comfort. Hezekiah may have repented but not the nation as a whole. They chose to follow other leaders who only led them astray. And, in the light of the doom that would come shortly they decided to seek comfort in sensuality and pleasure rather than in the Lord. 

Many of the people of our world are like this. Many are quite pessimistic about their lives and about the world in general. That feeling of dread and fear causes them to adopt lifestyles of hedonism and sensuality. All they have is the pleasures of the flesh. These delights numb them to the pain of life and block out their feelings of despair and grief but do not eliminate them. They reason that if this life is all there is, then it is vital to enjoy themselves by finding meaning and comfort in indulging fleshly appetites. But they lack vision. They do not see what God is doing; they fail to heed any of His warnings; they reject all of His loving invitations to come to Him and find rest. Non-believers lack vision because they are blind to their sinfulness, their need for repentance and their need for a Divine savior. The hope of the cross shines like a beacon in this dark world. Pray that many would see it and come to faith in Jesus. 

 

The Chronicles of the Kings: Worship as Prophesy.

1 Chronicles 25

This chapter contains the roster of those Levites who served as temple musicians. This indicates that the playing of musical instruments as well were basic parts of the temple liturgy. The Chronicler refers to their service as the ministry of prophesying. Prophesying is not necessarily composed of predictions of future events as is commonly thought. The word does contain warnings and commands which, if ignored and deliberately disobeyed, will result in predictable and dismal consequences for the rebellious. Prophesying is the proclamation of God’s word, will and authority.

It is quite interesting to note that the proclamation of God’s word was almost always accompanied by or in the form of music and singing. To the ancient Hebrews worship music glorified the Lord, as much of it does today. Worship music should always be directed to the Lord because He is the audience. Thus worship music and singing should detail and proclaim the truth of God’s word as well as extol Him for who He is and all that He has done.

 Yet too often modern churches and Christians think that worship is for our benefit, for our blessing, that it is something we experience. Too often people equate worship is repeating “I praise you” “I worship you” “I love you” or other such phrases and words, but that is not worship. God is exalted by us enumerating His specific deeds, acts, and attributes. We may receive a blessing from such worship and indeed it may encourage us up by stirring up our faith, hope and love, but these should never be the goal. God alone is the audience. He alone is the subject and object of worship music and song, not us. 

 

The Chronicles of the Kings: God is everywhere.

1 Chronicles 16

The song of worship which David sings here combines portions of three different Psalms. These can serve us as examples of worship and prayer as they enumerate specific works and attributes of the Lord. We are told not just to worship and praise God but we tell God why we do in concrete terms and images!

The first portion, from Psalm 105, extols the Lord as the One who keeps His covenant with His people Israel. The second portion, from Psalm 96, exalts Him as not just the God of Israel, but the God of all the earth. There is no God but He for all others that are called gods are nothing. The last portion, from Psalm 106, praises the Lord who out of His goodness and mercy brings salvation to those He loves. They are combined here as David renewed the covenant with Yahweh. The Chronicler used this incident to remind the audience that God is God of all the earth. He is One who keeps His word, always. Therefore, He is absolutely trustworthy even in the midst of circumstances that make it seem that He does not care. 

The end of this chapter tells us that David kept the Ark in Jerusalem, but left the tent of Meeting that Moses built in Gibeon. Offerings and sacrifices were made at Gibeon. It appears that the ministry at Jerusalem was primarily that of music. Again this is to show that God is not confined to one place, or to be worshipped in only one place. He is not like the pagan gods who are limited to a local area. God is a spirit who is everywhere. As we worship in our churches on Sundays we must remember that we can worship the Lord any day, at any time and any place. Sunday is just one day when we worship in a special way, corporately, as the Body of Christ. As His Body we are His dwelling place. 

 

Know the truth so you can reject the lies.

1 Timothy 4

Paul emphasizes the importance of sound teachers and sound doctrine for these will counteract the lies and speculations of the false teachers who will arise in the church, indeed had already arisen in the church of Ephesus. Paul refers to them as hypocrites, an indication that such people had arisen and will arise from within the fellowship of believers. These were people who had joined the church, made an outward profession of faith but who had no desire to exalt the name of Christ. Rather they wanted to exalt themselves by proclaiming esoteric doctrines and building up a following of believers under their authority. They then could look spiritual by telling others how to live while neglecting their own need for righteousness.

At Ephesus, these false teachers were legalists who attacked the good things God had given as evil, specifically sex and diet. They felt that the body was evil so that it must not be indulged or appeased in any. They forbade some to enter into marriages and forbade sex within marriage. They asserted the holiness of keeping the Jewish dietary laws and of exercising the physical body. While it is true that abuse in the areas of sex and diet can lead to sin, Paul rebukes such teaching by pointing out that all that the Lord God Almighty has created is good and should be taken with thankfulness and gratitude and used in the way He intended for it. Thus sex is good and holy only within the covenant of marriage. All food is good if used to feed and nourish the body. This same principle can apply to physical activity or almost anything in life. We should not become so focused on anything so that it becomes an idol. All our passion and energy should be devoted to the Lord and doing the work of His kingdom.

Meditate & Apply: What consumes your passion and energy most?

How did Jesus’ disciples fall?

MATTHEW 26

 

Back when I was a teenager, the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar” was quite popular. It was one of the milestones on my road to Jesus, even though the theology was fuzzy and inaccurate. For example, Judas was depicted as some sort of idealist instead of the thief and coward he was. Yet I think its portrayal of the other disciples as confused, scared, dense and unthinking was quite accurate. From the gospels we can see that they had no idea what Jesus was talking about when He mentioned His impending death.

 

They really could not understand the symbolism and theological implications of His actions at the Passover supper in the Upper Room. They all proclaimed they would die with Jesus if need be. Yet in the Garden of Gethsemane, they were too sleepy to stay awake and pray with Him at the critical moment, perhaps, as the rock opera suggests, because their minds were too dulled by the wine they had drunk. Thus they were spiritually unprepared for Jesus’ arrest and trial and lacked the courage to stand with Jesus. They all deserted Him and ran, except Peter who was a little stronger than the others. He cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant, and then followed the crowd to the courtyard of Caiaphas. But a few hours later, he too finally lacked the spiritual courage to stand with Jesus. But the Lord did not need them then. They could not help Him nor could they change what had to happen. Years later they did stand with Jesus because they then had the anointing of His Holy Spirit. They were able to proclaim His Name and suffer and died for His cause. 

Meditate & Apply: Looking at how the disciples fell, what do you need to do to keep from falling away? What is stopping you from taking a stand for Jesus?

Love is the only true mark of the Christian.

 
1 Corinthians 13
The Corinthians were proud of their wisdom, gifts and right knowledge. They disdained the flesh and so were able to tolerate or approve sexual immorality, greed, selfishness, idolatry and rudeness. After all, they had the great gifts of prophetic utterances and speaking in tongues to prove how spiritual they were. Thus Paul’s words on love would have been quite shocking to them. Love, not speaking in tongues or prophetic utterances or any other gift is the true mark of the Christian. These gifts can be legitimate manifestations of the Spirit yet without love working in and through them, they are nothing more than a sham that insults and misrepresents the Lord. That can be said of any gift or talent. If the believer is not living with love toward God expressed by love towards his fellow believers and all people, his gifts are useless. And the Corinthians were guilty!
 
This chapter is read most often at weddings because it is not only so beautiful and poetic, but it also succinctly captures the essence of love. But, to Paul, love is not a mere abstract quality or an emotional feeling marked by good will, kindness or passion. Love is not sex. Love is behavior. True love is expressed in actions that are totally centered on giving to the other person. Love never seeks its own. Contrary to what the world thinks, the one who loves love does not believe that finding himself or achieving personal growth is the highest good. The one who loves is not interested in self-gain, self-justification, self-promotion or even self-worth. The one who loves seeks to build up and edify others by tangible actions. The one who loves does not seek thanks or appreciation. Love is so much more important than any quality or gift: it is eternal. It is the quintessential attribute of God, the reason why He came to earth as a man to die for our sins, the reason why He does all He does. So we ought to love Him by loving others.
Meditate & Apply: Now seriously, how loving are you really? At best our motives are mixed. This is why we need the Lord living in us! This is why we need a savior! Thinking of love’s perfection will help us remain humble.

Do not flirt with idolatry.

1 Corinthians 10
After asserting his authority as a true apostle, Paul resumes his argument against eating meat  sacrificed to idols with a strong warning against selfishness and pride. Paul here is responding to an attitude of the prideful and haughty Corinthians that viewed the Lord’s table and baptism in a somewhat superstitious manner. They assumed these rites gave them blessings and protected them from harm, from succumbing to temptation, from falling into sin. Nothing they did was sinful they assumed anyway so they had nothing to fear from flirting with idolatry through the exercise of their glorified spiritual
freedom and status. Paul reminded them that the Israelites also shared this attitude of security because of their status as the chosen people. They engaged in sexual immorality and idolatry and were severely disciplined by the Lord.

Paul lets them know that this same discipline awaited them if they continued in their pride and  selfishness. In the process he delivers a death blow to the whole practice of partaking in the pagan fellowship meals. While it is true that the Lord aids believers to resist and ndure the temptations of everyday life that face everyone, it is wrong to deliberately test God by courting temptation in any form such as attending pagan ritual feasts. Those who attended such fellowships dishonored and insulted the Lord not only by harming weaker brethren, but also by giving honor and glory to demons who were apparently present at such feasts just as the Lord is present at the Lord’s Table. Those who are united with Christ cannot consort or fellowship in any way with demons. They rather should shun idolatry in all its forms so as not to give glory or honor to any being other than the Lord Almighty.
Meditate & Apply: One way we do this is by not attending the rites and celebration of non Christian or even pseudo Christian religion. But are you aware that most of the various forms of media to which we
daily expose ourselves are also ways we fellowship with demons? We ought not to boast in such things or praise them.

Factions and disunity ruin the witness of the church.

 

1 Corinthians 1

Paul wrote this epistle to correct errors and problems which had arisen among the Christians there. Because these brethren were primarily Greeks converted from paganism their cultural backgrounds and upbringing had a perverse influence on them. This resulted in an overemphasis on the showy spiritual gifts of words of utterance or knowledge and speaking in tongues as well as a predilection for wisdom, demonstrated by dynamic and eloquent preaching. These were considered marks of super spirituality, indications that they had already achieved perfection. They were extremely enamored of a preacher named Apollos because he was a good-looking, charismatic, powerful and articulate speaker. They rejected Paul’s authority and his teaching because his preaching was judged to be unspiritual and inferior.

 

But the Corinthian brethren were far from perfect. Factions had arisen which split the church. When Christians take sides against each other they no longer demonstrate the unity of Christ. The witness of the gospel suffers. Paul points out that the work of God in Christ on the cross cannot be understood by human wisdom or high-sounding philosophy. The cross is not based on human power or wisdom, but on a demonstration of God's power in man's weakness. It is the weak people of the world, the lowly, the despised, who are called by God and changed by their encounter with Christ. None of the Corinthians could claim to have attained their salvation or spiritual gifts by self-effort human wisdom and power. And so they could not boast in themselves. They only could boast in the Lord.

Meditate & Apply: In many churches today what is valued are things such as personal charisma, gimmicks, media presentations, elaborate programs and music, and flashy eloquent preaching. What do you think Paul would have had to say about such?

Is wisdom to be found in sensuality?

 

Ecclesiastes 2

In his pursuit of wisdom, Solomon sought meaning through the pleasure of sensual experiences as if they were the key to understanding God and enjoying life. He thought that the answer lay in a variety of such experiences: food, drink, entertainment, sexual excess. When these failed to satisfy he threw himself into his work. As great as his deeds were, they did not satisfy either because he realized that after he died he would not be able to ensure that his legacy would be used properly. Someone else would come along too foolish to know better and all his work and energy would have gone for nothing. So what’s the point?

 

If we are wise we will see that Solomon’s experiences reflect the general trend of our own modern society. The media and advertising all convey the message that the meaning and purpose of life is rooted in sensual experience. Daily we are bombarded by ads and messages that tell us that the greatest pleasure in life is to be found in sexual activity, so we should pursue it and enhance it in order to draw from it as much as we can. People also seek meaning and purpose in various entertainments and experiences that give them a “rush” or else they overindulge in food or drink. Many seek satisfaction in their jobs, in their work, in creating things or else accumulating wealth, possessions or fame. They rarely stop to think about the long term merit or value of any of these, even when faced with their own mortality.

Meditate & Apply: In what ways do people seek to find happiness and purpose in life? What about you? How would you seek them? And what is happiness anyway?

Should we accept and teach the concept of absolute truth?

Proverbs 28

Wisdom teaches us the importance of studying, loving and following Torah, the law of God. In Proverbs,   this is not limited to the Law of Moses, although that is the starting point. The law of God is the absolute standard which teaches us how we are to live. It is a guide, a reference that helps us to distinguish right from wrong, truth from error, and enables us to make good decisions that benefit our neighbors and ourselves. Although our culture teaches the value of the conscience and individual autonomy and disdains the idea of absolute truth or universal law, governments, politicians, and leaders all need God’s absolutes. Without this there is no peace, only discontent and anarchy.

 

Those who follow God’s Law He blesses. They are secure for they have the sure help and guidance of His wisdom that keeps them focused on the right path. They are at peace and need not worry when faced with decisions of any sort. They will also receive honor from others as well as respect from human government. The wicked, those who ignore God’s Law, have worries and fears. They will always be looking over their shoulder concerned they will be caught and punished for their wickedness or that they will lose all their ill-gotten and tenuous prosperity. In addition, those who ignore God’s law will find that He ignores their prayers. These are detestable to Him for they are prayed with an attitude of self-centeredness and a sense of entitlement that ignores the needs of the poor and the oppressed. 

Meditate & Apply: Based on what you hear or read in the various media, how would our culture respond to verse 9? Judging from your own life, how do you respond to that verse?