2nd Evangelical Free Church

The Kingdom Values.

Ezra 2

Here we find a record of all the people who responded to Cyrus' decree and returned to Israel. The list is of families and the towns in Babylon they came from. Almost all of these people could demonstrate their Jewish ancestry. As such, this list records those who belonged to the faith community divided into several subgroups: lay people, the regular citizens; priests; Levites who assisted in the Temple function rites; singers; gatekeepers; the Nethinim, which literally means those given, those dedicated to God, servants who assisted the Levites; and finally those who could not demonstrate their ancestry. This last group had to wait until the priests could later identify them properly.

Although the listing may seem dull and pointless because it is just a list of names, there seems to be a very good reason for its inclusion in the scripture. It reminds us of the importance of the purity of the community of faith. Those who say they belong to Jesus become members of His royal household. They must be able, however, to verify that relationship with evidence. What is required is not a genealogy of course, but the evidence of a changed life, one that has renounced the world completely and is marked by tangible acts of love and self-sacrifice.  

We Christians are often called on to provide the required proof, usually in the form of a testimony that gives evidence of a changed life. Once we were sinners. Now we are not. Once we valued all the world deems important. Now everything in the world, no matter how grand or glorious, no matter how heroic or noble, lofty or exalted, popular and fashionable, beautiful and talented, pales into insignificance before the love, mercy and righteousness of the Kingdom of God.

 

 

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.

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?

Pity the fool!

Proverbs 24

Proverbs teaches us of the sweetness of wisdom which contrasts with the bitterness of the ways of the fool, the ways of the world. They promise much but deliver nothing of lasting value while wisdom gives us fullness of life. In order to do this we must avoid looking at the world and envying its values and its success stories. Wisdom calls us to have personal integrity as displayed in our speech and our actions. This means that we are not to waste our time, energy and resources on pursuits fueled by envy and lust on desiring the riches of the world. As we have already learned in Proverbs, a point which must be emphasized over and over because of our weaknesses and lack of discipline, we are to earn our way honestly and with diligence.

One of the other antidotes is something which seems foolish: we are to tend to the needs of others. We may think this hard for when we look at the world we envy what we don’t have, not realizing that if we look at the oppressed and the lowly we will see we are the ones who are blessed and rich. God has given us such blessings so that we will take up the case of the oppressed and the needy and stand against the wickedness of the foolish every where it exists. This we do primarily with our words and speech but also with our actions and resources. It does not, however, give us license for violence, slander, insults or revenge, nor should we gloat over anyone’s misfortune. Fools are to be pitied because they are bound by lust and sin and they refuse to listen to sound teaching and instruction. The Lord will take care of them. He desires that we focus on those who are oppressed and needy.

Meditate & Apply: Have you looked at what you have in comparison to what most of the people in the world lack? What are some of those things? Can you thank God for them? How?

How does wisdom teach us to discern the veracity of the words we hear from others?

 

Proverbs 1:8-33

Although these instructions are addressed to a young man, the words of wisdom offered by his parents are instructions for discerning good from evil, truth from error. Ideally our Christian parents are the ones who are the source of such discernment and godly wisdom as they have the primary role in forming our character and training us in righteousness. They are supported by the church, the community of believers who should be intimately involved in our spiritual growth. The basic teaching of God’s community His word, His wisdom, inoculates us against the seductions, wickedness, lies and false promises of those who do not know God. They are fools because they reject God and His wisdom in favor of self.

 

Here we see wisdom personified as a woman. This has given rise to the false belief that wisdom is some sort of deity, labeled as “Sophia”, the Greek word for wisdom. This concept is foolish for it leads us away from God. The personification of wisdom is merely a literary tool that teaches us that God offers wisdom to all human beings as the way to bring them into right relationship with Him. Wisdom is centered on God, not on self. It is not meant to teach us how to achieve personal success, prosperity and self-fulfillment, but how to obey the Lord and serve Him in every area of life. Wisdom sets us on the right career path that allows us to honor Him above all else and not to seek rewards or praise from the world.

Meditate & Apply: What do you think of the idea that wisdom points us to God? If this is true, where does the wisdom of the world lead?

The Lord wants you to get rid of those idols.

Zechariah 5

From the center, Zechariah moves back out into Judah in the 6th vision of a flying scroll. This represents and reaffirms the Mosaic covenant, for it symbolizes the Torah, the law of Yahweh with its curses and blessings. This scroll shows that the Lord's presence is not limited to His temple, but pervades every aspect of the life of His people. The Law of God, the Law of love and grace should fill us deeply so that we hate evil and wickedness and so separate ourselves from idolatry, from worshipping and valuing what the world maintains is important.

This then leads to the 7th vision which moves us out again to the nations. Their wickedness and idolatry, symbolized by the woman in the basket, is transported from Jerusalem, the place where Yahweh dwells, to Babylon, representative of the world and sin. This vision conveys the religious autonomy of Judah. Foreign powers usually installed their own gods in territories which they had conquered as a means of enforcing their dominion. Here, the foreign goddess is removed. This indicates that, in spite of the political conditions, it is Yahweh, not Persia that rules Judah. This vision also relates to vision 2 though here Yahweh's agents are two women with stork's wings, also agents of the pagan goddess. The fact that agents of evil act at Yahweh's direction indicates that He has total control over evil itself, and uses it to accomplish His purposes.

Meditate & Apply: Do you see that the Lord has total control over all events, good, bad, and neutral? How does this awareness help us to cope with our trials, fears, and doubts?