Praying With Paul
Ephesians 1:15-23
Praying With Paul
Ephesians 1:15-23
Main Idea: We should pray for divine illumination to know more of God and Christ’s power at work in his church.
I. Praying in Thanksgiving (1:15-16)
Paul begins his prayer with thanksgiving, recognizing that the Ephesians “bear a telltale cross-shaped birthmark of God’s true children” (Richard Coekin).
Faith in the Lord Jesus (vertical dimension)
Ephesus was a major city of influence in the Roman Empire and it was steeped in idolatry. The city participated in worship of the Roman emperor cult and famously was the headquarters for the worship of the Roman goddess, Diana (Greek: Artemis). When the gospel began to take root in Ephesus, it caused a riot because the silversmiths were losing customers buying idolatrous statues (Acts 19).
Love toward all the saints (horizontal dimension)
The glorious gospel doctrine of Eph. 1:3-14 embraced by their faith in Jesus produced in them a gospel culture held together by the ethic of love.
John 13:35: By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
II. Praying for Illumination (1:17-19)
Paul’s prayer is not for additional blessings from God or a circumstantial change, but rather that the church in Ephesus would know God better. This “knowing” is not merely intellectual knowledge but an experience of increasingly realizing “every spiritual blessing” (1:3) already belongs to them in Christ.
The only way to gain this “knowledge” is by the power of the Holy Spirit “enlightening the eyes of our hearts” (cf. Lk. 24:45, Acts 16:14), illuminating to us what had been “darkened” in our understanding (4:18).
2 Corinthians 4:6: For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
“The Spirit makes the heart of Christ real to us: not just heard, but seen; not just seen, but felt; not just felt, but enjoyed. The Spirit takes what we read in the Bible and believe on paper about Jesus’ heart and moves it from theory to reality, from doctrine to experience.”
~ Dane Ortlund
As Paul prays for the Spirit’s illumination that we might know the Triune God more fully, he prays for specific knowledge of:
The hope of our calling (1:18b). God’s calling is “effective;” all who God has called will be justified and glorified (Rom. 8:29-30), which gives us an unshakeable hope.
The riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints (1:18c). God has claimed us (the church) as his glorious possession and inheritance. “To the degree you understand this phrase, you will receive strength not to sin.” ~ D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
The immeasurable greatness of his power toward us (1:19).
III. Praying for Power (1:20-23)
The church in Ephesus would have likely felt “powerless” in the culture they inhabited. Paul prays they would realize the power (lit. dynamic) that is at “work” (lit. energy) in them, given to the church because of Christ. The work of Christ is the most definitive and dramatic display of true power the world has ever seen.
Paul draws attention to three powerful realities about Jesus:
Christ’s Resurrection (1:20a): It was “not possible” for Christ to be held by death (Acts 2:24), and the same spirit that powerfully raised Jesus now dwells in us (Rom. 8:11)
Christ’s Ascension (1:20b): Christ is now seated at the right hand of the Father, the place of authority and honor as he rules and reigns as King.
Christ’s Exaltation (1:21-23): ‘All things’ have been put under his feet; there is no power, realm, or authority that rivals Jesus. Christ is the head of the cosmos in an ultimate sense, and the head of the church in an intimate sense.
“Jesus is changing the world for the good of the church by means of the church… He who is head over all things and gives the universe its full purpose also fills the church that gathers in his name. The church, the body of Christ, is the present instrument of his filling the universe with his purpose. The eternal, universe-conforming power of God is present in the world through the church, and this power is working in the world for the church.”
~ Bryan Chapell
The Spirit Seals
Ephesians 1:11-14
The Spirit Seals
Ephesians 1:11-14
Main Idea: In Christ, we are given the Spirit of God as the seal and guarantee of our present and future hope.
I. The Problem and the Promise (V13)
A) The Problem
(Ephesians 1:13) - “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him,”
We need set apart hearts. (Deuteronomy 30:6)
We need new hearts. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
We need clean hearts. (Psalm 51:10)
B) The Promise (v13)
(John 3:5–7)- “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”
(Ezekiel 36:25–27) - “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
II. The Seal and the Guarantee
A) The Spirit Seals (V13b)
(Ephesians 1:13) - “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,”
(John 16:6–7) - “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”
1. Ongoing Conviction of Sin
(John 16:8–9) - And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;
(Romans 7:14–15) - For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
2. Greater Worship of Christ
(John 15:26) - “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
3. Dependance on the Father
(Galatians 4:6) “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into are hearts, crying “Abba! Father!””
4. Fruit of the Spirit
(Galatians 5:22–23) - “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law.”
“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long.”
B. The Spirit Guarantees (V14)
(Ephesians 1:14) - “who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
The Son Saves
Ephesians 1:7-10
The Son Saves
Ephesians 1:7-10
Main Idea: Christ reveals to us the mystery of God’s plan to redeem sinners and reconcile all things.
I. The Son Redeems (1:7-8)
Paul continues his list of “every spiritual blessing” we have by focusing on the work of the Son. In Christ, we have “redemption,” which is the idea of liberating those enslaved or in bondage. Biblically, the backdrop for “redemption” comes in the Israelite’s exodus from Egypt where they were “redeemed” by the mighty hand of God.
John 8:31–34: So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.
This redemption has three realities:
Redemption is through the blood of Christ. The blood of the lamb in the Exodus story that saves guilty sinners foreshadows the blood of the cross shed by the “Lamb of God” (Jn. 1:29)
1 Peter 1:18–19: “… you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”Redemption is for the forgiveness of our sins.
Redemption is according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us.“In matters of God’s grace, hyperboles are understatements.” ~ Eugene Peterson
In Christ, we have true freedom from guilt, bondage, and condemnation. He has “paid our bill” in full, we owe him nothing, and we have been welcomed in. John 8:35-36: The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
II. The Son Reveals (1:9)
Through Christ, God has made known the ‘mystery’ of God’s will. ‘Mystery’ is not the idea of intrigue or secretive information but rather something previously hidden but now revealed. Christ’s coming, person, and work are the “hinge” point of history & redemption.
Luke 24:25–27: And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
The way the mystery is revealed to us is not through cryptic religious practices (like many religious cults of Paul’s day) or to the religious elite, but to “us” in the church who have humbly placed our faith in Jesus Christ. He opens our eyes to see what has been there all along, but we were blinded to because of our sin.
III. The Son Reconciles (1:10)
The cosmic plan of God the Father centered on Jesus Christ does not just involve the salvation of individual sinners; one day “all things” will be “united in him” (lit. ‘under one head’). Jesus will “sum up” all things (spiritual & physical) in himself, reconciling what had been fractured under his rule & reign.
“In the fullness of time, God’s two creations, his whole universe, and his whole church, will be unified under the cosmic Christ who is the supreme head of both.”
~ John Stott
Though this world is marked by death, sin, suffering, sickness, and the mundane, we can live with hope because of the plan and the promise that one day Jesus will set right all that has gone wrong. We can live with an infectious hope that Jesus is ruling right now as King and history itself will culminate with his rightful exaltation.
Acts 17:6b–7: “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also… saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
The Father Blesses
Ephesians 1:1-6
The Father Blesses
Ephesians 1:1-6
Main Idea: In Christ, we have been blessed, chosen, and adopted by the Father to the praise of his glory.
I. Blessed by The Father (1:3)
Paul begins Ephesians with an explosion of blessing directed toward “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Before we think of God as a Creator, Ruler, or Law-Giver, we must begin with the Trinitarian reality of God as Father.
“Since God is, before all things, a Father, and not primarily a Creator or Ruler, all his ways are beautifully fatherly. It is not that this God ‘does’ being Father as his day job, only to kick back in the evenings as plain old ‘God.’ It is not that he has a nice blob of fatherly icing on top. He is Father. All the way down. Thus, all that he does, he does as Father. That is who he is.” ~ Michael Reeves
As an eternal Father, God’s love for the Son overflows into all of creation and to his children. For those of us “in Christ” (used 40x in Ephesians), we have received “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” As we live simultaneously “in Ephesus” and “in Christ” (1:1), God the Father is not holding back anything from us, which is an invitation to bless him.
II. Chosen by the Father (1:4)
Though the doctrine of ‘election’ is the source of many debates and questions, it is presented as a praiseworthy reality by Paul. Election is not cold and impersonal; it shows us the glorious reality of God’s divine initiative from before the foundation of the world to save through Jesus Christ.
There is divine mystery in election (Deut. 29:29), but it is meant to warm our hearts toward our Heavenly Father, who is not improvising, but planned from eternity past to save us in Christ by his grace. “Election sets the soul on fire with enthusiastic delight in God.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
The doctrine of election ought to produce in us:
Humility (Deut. 7:6-8, 1 Cor. 1:27-29)
Holiness (1:4b, Rom. 8:29)
Security
“Nothing about the biblical doctrine of election is meant to cast doubt on whether you’re welcome in God’s household. God is not some metaphorical airport security screener, waving through the secretly preapproved and sending the rest into a holding tank for questioning. God isn’t treating us like puppets made of meat, forcing us along by his capricious whim. Instead, the doctrine of election tells us that all of us who have come to know Christ are here on purpose.” ~ Russell Moore
III. Adopted by the Father (1:5-6)
Adoption is the primary picture of our salvation throughout the NT. This passage points us to 4 realities of our adoption:
Planned
Personal
Permanent
Praiseworthy
“What is a Christian? The question can be answered in many ways, but the richest answer I know is that a Christian is one who has God as Father… If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all” ~ J.I. Packer
A Greater Worship
Psalm 103
A Greater Worship
Psalm 103
“In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships... And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive.” David Foster Wallace
Main Idea: We are all called to worship God for who he is and what he has done in Christ.
I. What is Worship? (103:1-2)
The Psalmist (David) begins by talking to himself, urging his soul and “all that is within me” to bless the Lord. This posture gets to the very heart of worship. “Worship is ascribing ultimate value to an object and engaging your mind, your heart, and your will - your whole being, as you do it.” ~ Tim Keller
In response to the worship “drift” that we all experience, Psalm 103 is instructive for us. David is fighting for proper worship by remembering the “benefits” of the Lord. “Worship is the strategy by which we interrupt our preoccupation with ourselves and attend to the presence of God.” ~ Eugene Peterson
David is preaching the gospel to himself and urging his entire being to re-center on God as the object of his worship. Worship is an act of proactively remembering what is true about God so that our mind, heart, and will are re-engaged with the Lord, especially when we are being drawn elsewhere.
II. Why Should We Worship? (103:3-18)
We “forget not” the benefits of God by meditating on two categories:
We remember the works of the Lord (103:3-5)
The Lord forgives, heals, redeems, crowns, satisfies, and renews us. He has dealt with the barrier of our sin and given us meaning in our suffering, inviting us to see his glorious work toward the undeserving. “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” ~ Augustine
We remember the character of the Lord (103:6-18)
David here quotes from Exodus 34, when Moses asks to see the glory of God on Mt. Sinai. The Lord responds not by showing his greatness but his goodness (Ex. 33:19), which we are constantly tempted to doubt. When he passes in front of Moses (Ex. 34:6-7) he emphasizes that his glory is seen through his mercy and his grace.
“God does not reveal his glory as ‘The Lord, the Lord, exacting and precise,’ or, ‘the Lord, the Lord, disappointed and frustrated.’ His highest priority and deepest delight and first reaction – his heart – is merciful and gracious. He gently accommodates himself to our terms rather than overwhelming us with his.” ~ Dane Ortlund
As an extension of this, God “does not deal with us according to our sins” but removes them from us an infinite distance (‘as far as the east is from the west’). As a gracious Father, he shows compassion on us in our weakness, patience with our besetting sins, and invites us to humbly fear him.
We have even more reason to worship God than David because we know the substance of Jesus Christ, which he could only see from afar as a shadow. When we remember the benefits of the Lord, we are specifically remembering Christ, who “from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace” (Jn. 1:16)
III. Who Should Worship? (103:19-22)
The Psalmist now realizes that the worship in his own soul has joined a greater song; he is joining with the chorus of the angels, mighty ones, the heavenly hosts, ministers, and all of creation in worship of God. Jesus declared that even the “stones would cry out” (Lk. 19:40) in worship, and Isaiah (55:12) envisions a day where the hills, mountains, and trees sing & clap to the Lord.
Since the Lord has established his throne and his kingdom rules over all, nothing short of the worship of all of creation and all that is within us will suffice. Everytime we worship Jesus through declaring and displaying the gospel, we are turning up the music for others to join in.
The Church
Romans 12:1-16
The Church
Romans 12:1-16
“We are often eager to see extraordinary events – growth in numbers or financial abundance or credibility in the larger community – that we fail to delight in the ordinary breath and heartbeat of the body. When people in the church encourage one another, teach one another, serve one another, and pray for one another in dozens of small and large ways, we ought to rejoice.” ~ Megan Hill
Main Idea: The church is a worshipping people, a serving body, and a welcoming family because of God’s mercies.
I. A Worshipping People (12:1-2)
Because of the mercies (plural) of God, we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, which is our ‘spiritual worship.’ In every age, season, and location, the church is a worshipping people. We have no greater incentive or power to worship than the mercies of God toward us in Jesus Christ.
This worship is not just inward or abstract; it is an offering of our entire being. This includes:
Head: ‘spiritual’ worship = rational or logical. We are invited to fill our minds with the pure, lovely, commendable, and excellent things of God (Phil. 4:8)
Heart: ‘All that is within us’ (Ps. 103:1) is summoned to worship God
Hands: we are to offer our very bodies as a “living sacrifice”
As we engage in worship, we are resisting being “conformed” (lit. molded) by the world, and are rather transformed into the image of Christ. This occurs both individually (2 Cor. 3:18) and corporately (Eph. 4:15-16) in the church.
II. A Serving Body (12:3-8)
The imagery of the “body” of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 12, Eph. 4:12-16) signifies:
Unity: Just as the members of our physical body must be unified and work together, so too must the members of the body of Christ. We operate from unity, not toward unity (Eph. 4:3).
Diversity: The members do not all have the same function; there is unity but not uniformity in the body of Christ. There are no unimportant parts and we are dependent upon one another for the health of the body.
This imagery primarily implies in the Scriptures a humble service (12:3) that builds up the body of Christ. Whatever gifts we have been given by the Spirit, we are to employ them in the body of Christ as servants and contributors, not spectators or consumers.
“This truth should give you confidence: your particular gifts have a valuable, God-appointed place. It should also humble you: your particular gifts are simply one part of the body, and you desperately need other people with their particular gifts… this truth should increase your love for the local church: the gifts in the body are exactly what God knows your congregation needs. Because of God’s sovereign choosing, no part is missing, and every part is valuable.” ~ Megan Hill
The various “lists” of spiritual gifts in the NT can be categorized broadly into Speaking Gifts, Leading Gifts, and Serving Gifts. Regardless of gifts or categories, the exhortation is “having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them” (12:6). We are called to joyfully & sacrificially invest our time, treasure, and talents as an act of worship out of love for God and love for one another.
III. A Welcoming Family (12:9-16)
The church is primarily described in the NT as the family of God or the “household of faith” (Gal. 6:10; 1 Tim. 3:15); the early church was subversive to the Greco-Roman world around because they related to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, united not by the blood of biology but the blood of the cross.
The church as a family ought to be marked by hospitality. Hospitality is not “entertaining” but instead a powerful picture of the invitation of the gospel itself. Romans 15:7: Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. As we love one another in this way, we are to welcome the outsider and the stranger in the very same way each of us have been welcomed into God’s family.
“Churches are not Victorian parlors where everything is always picked up and ready for guests. They are messy family rooms… Things are out of order, to be sure, but that is what happens to churches that are lived in. They are not show rooms. They are living rooms, and if the persons living in them are sinners, they are going to be clothes scattered about, handprints on the woodwork, and mud on the carpet. For as long as Jesus insists on calling sinners and not the righteous to repentance – and there is no indication as yet that he has changed his policy in this regard – churches are going to be an embarrassment to the fastidious and an affront to the upright.” ~ Eugene Peterson
Our experience & the world’s view of the church is often unremarkable, but God has willed that “through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers & authorities in the heavenly places” (Eph. 3:10). The church is God’s “Plan A” to make known the glories of Jesus Christ to the cosmos.
Rage & Refuge
Psalm 2
Rage & Refuge
Psalm 2
Main Idea: The gospel invites us to turn from our rage against God and take refuge in Him.
I. Our sin is great (v.1-3)
All nations and people are naturally bent away from God (v. 1)
Our own actions follow and we disobey and actively work against the Lord (v. 2)
We foolishly think this is good (v. 3)
James 1:13-15 tells us “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”
“It is not just the political powers of this world which have no desire to be ruled by him. There is scarcely a commercial or intellectual or cultural interest anywhere on earth which would not resent his claims on it.” ~ Michael Wilcock
II. The Lord is greater (v. 4-6)
The Lord is infinitely more powerful than us (v. 4)
He has authority (v. 5)
He has ability (v. 6)
He is both YAHWEH which we see with all capitals in the translated word for LORD and Adonai which we see with only a capital L (Lord). These names point to his reality. He is the Creator or all powerful One and personal Master or King.
III. He has a plan (v. 7-9)
His plan was Jesus (v. 6-7)
His plan is at work (v. 8)
His plan is just (v. 9)
Hebrews 5:5 “So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”;”
Acts 13:33 “this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’”
Romans 1:4 “concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,”
Romans 9:21-24 “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?”
IV. He is inviting us in (v. 10-12)
Through our actions (v. 10)
Through our understanding (v. 11)
Through our identity (v. 12)
Distinct Christian Identity
Distinct Christian Community
Distinct Christian Lifestyle
Phil 2:12-13 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Phil 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
John 14:6, he says “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
“God's response to human pride and power is to install his "son” on Zion. This points beyond Israel's king to Jesus, God's true Son. One day he will put everything right; but he will do this by going first to Zion - to Jerusalem - to die for our sins. To "kiss his son"is to rest in and live for him. If we do this, we have assurance that no matter what happens to us, ultimately everything will be all right. If we don't live for him, we end up fighting God himself. So "there is no refuge from him only in him."” ~ Tim Keller
Our Sin is great. Our Lord is greater. He has a plan. And he is inviting us in.
The First Christmas Song (Christmas Eve 2021)
Luke 1:46-56
The First Christmas Song
Luke 1:46-56
Main Idea: Christmas is an invitation to humbly sing about the good news of Christ’s coming.
I. Why Mary Sings
Mary responds to the visit of the Angel Gabriel in stages:
Searching (1:29): she takes an “accounting” of this disruptive news
Surrender (1:38): she offers a simple surrender in faith
Singing (1:46-47): she is moved in her “spirit” and her “soul” to magnify the Lord, “my Savior”
II. What Mary Sings
Mary sings about:
God’s Character (1:49-50). He is mighty, holy, and merciful.
God’s Purposes (1:51-53). His strong ‘arm’ brings salvation; he humbles the exalted and exalts the humble.
God’s Promises (1:54-55). Though Mary had every earthly circumstantial reason to doubt God’s promises, he is faithful to his people and his word.
“There has never been a gift offered that makes you swallow your pride to the depths that the gift of Jesus Christ requires us to do. Christmas means that we are so lost, so unable to save ourselves, that nothing less than the death of the Son of God himself could save us. That means you are not somebody who can pull yourself together and live a moral and good life. To accept the true Christmas gift, you have to admit you’re a sinner. You need to be saved by grace. You need to give up control of your life.” ~ Tim Keller
III. How We Can Sing
We can join the song of Mary by:
Humbly receiving the mercy of God through Jesus Christ
“Christ is always born in Bethlehem among the little ones. Big hearts never get Christ inside of them; Christ lives not in great hearts, but in little ones. Mighty and proud spirits never have Jesus Christ, for he comes in at low doors, but he will not come in at high ones. He who has a broken heart, and a low spirit, shall have the Savior, but none else.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
Filling our minds with the holy wonder of Christmas
“The crucial significance of the cradle at Bethlehem lies in its place in the sequence of steps that led the Son of God to the cross of Calvary… the Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity – hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory – because at the Father’s will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on a cross. It is the most wonderful message that the world has ever heard or will hear.” ~ J.I. Packer
The Great Feast
Isaiah 25:6-9
The Great Feast
Isaiah 25:6-9
Main Idea: We are to eagerly wait for the great banquet feast of God when he swallows up death forever.
I. The Future Feast (25:6)
Isaiah is given a vision of a day where “on this mountain” (Mt. Zion; cf. Isa 2:2), a great feast will be held. In ancient times, kings would hold feasts in order to show off their power, glory, and wealth. As the host of this feast, the Lord has prepared everything in an act of sacred hospitality.
The feast is marked by:
Inclusivity: ‘all’ peoples are invited; any and all who come to Jesus in faith are freely welcomed to his banquet table of grace
Generosity: the meal consists of ‘rich food’ and ‘well-aged wine,’ symbolizing the abundance of salvation. God is generously inviting all to “taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Ps. 34:8)
John 6:35: Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Our “feasting” in the Christian life right now is an invitation to pause, remember, and prepare our hearts for the great feast that awaits us on this promised day (cf. Rev. 19:6-9).
“The eucharistic meal uses everyday elements of the common life to connect me with the extraordinary and unique crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Eucharist is at one and the same time ordinary and extraordinary, the repetition of the commonplace and the celebration of the unique. Meals, in all cultures, seem to have this capability of stretching from the ordinary to the extraordinary.” ~ Eugene Peterson
II. The Destruction of Death (25:7-8)
Our secular culture today has a very difficult time with death. In the Scriptures, death is:
The Great Interruption
The Great Schism
The Great Insult
The Great Enemy (1 Cor. 15:26)
Three realities mark the occasion of this great celebratory feast:
God will remove the “covering” (burial shroud) & “veil” over all people, which is the fear and shadow of death
Hebrews 2:15: … and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
God will “swallow up death forever”
God will wipe away every tear & remove the reproach (disgrace) of his people
This great victory will be accomplished “on this mountain,” precisely where Jesus completes his mission. In his death, the “veil” is torn in two (Mt. 27:51), and in his resurrection the “burial shroud” is folded up in defeat (John 20:7).
Though Christ has defeated death and robbed the grave of its power, we still feel the “sting” of death right now as we await this promised day. Rather than despairing death or avoiding it, we are invited to take up the posture of Ps. 90:12-13:
So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Return, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
III. The End of our Exile (25:9)
The Advent season is a call to long with patience for the promised ‘day’ of verse 9, when we will see God face to face and our waiting, restlessness, and angst will be over forever.
“You cannot judge God by your calendar. God may appear to be slow, but he never forgets his promises. He may seem to be working slowly or even to be forgetting his promises, but when his promises come true (and they will come true), they always burst the banks of what you imagined… God’s grace virtually never operates on our time frame, on a schedule we consider reasonable. He does not follow our agendas or schedules. God seems to forget his promises, but he comes through in ways we can’t imagine before it happens.” ~ Tim Keller
Hebrews 9:28: So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
“Those who serve God still stand in a dark place, but we strain forward with expectation and an unconquerable hope toward the horizon where the Sun of Righteousness will appear someday with healing in his wings.” ~ Fleming Rutledge
A New King, A New Kingdom
Isaiah 11:1-10
A New King, A New Kingdom
Isaiah 11:1-10
Main Idea: Isaiah gives us a vision of A New King, and A New Kingdom.
I. A New King
Isaiah 10:33-34: “the Lord GOD of hosts will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the great in height will be hewn down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe, and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One.”
2 Samuel 7:16: “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure (or endure) forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'"
“Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the incarnate deity! Pleased with us in flesh to dwell: Jesus, our Emmanuel; Hark the herald angels sing; Glory to the newborn king.”
Romans 8:27-28: “And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
“When a king “enjoys, delights in” his close relationship with God,…This will cause him to make decisions as God judges, not based on the outward appearance of the person (that one can see) or on false claims (that one may hear). Decisions will be based on the true nature of the heart. Status, money, or political influence will not derail this new Davidic ruler’s perspective on justice, for idle boasts, excuses, deceptive lies, and false information by the guilty will not prevent the truth from being known. This is the kind of justice and righteousness … attributed to the eternal reign of the one who will sit on the throne of David. This justice will be available to all, especially for the needy and poor, who frequently were cheated by the upper class. This would contrast greatly with the oppression of the poor and robbing of the fatherless that existed in the reign of Ahaz.”
– Gary Smith
II. A New Kingdom
“Your Kingdom come: your will be done; on earth as it is in Heaven!”
We know that there is yet to come a regeneration of all things, and it only comes with Jesus. This New Kingdom is one in which, as it says in verse 9, They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
Would your prayer be that the earth, even now, would be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea? So even now we can begin to see the defeat of sin that comes as violence, and economic systems that tolerate and promote poverty and homelessness and despair, and sexual perversion that promotes the exploitation of the most weak and vulnerable in our societies, and hatred, and suspicion, and racism, and tribalism?
Revelation 21:1-5: 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new."