Disciple-Making Disciples (2 Timothy 2:1-13)

1You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,

Have you noticed a theme yet?

• (1:8) share in suffering for the gospel BY THE PWR OF GOD
• (1:14) 14 BY THE Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 
• (2:1) Be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus

(Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace) “We are brought into God’s kingdom by grace; we are sanctified by grace; we receive both temporal and spiritual blessings by grace; we are motivated to obedience by grace; we are called to serve and enabled to serve by grace; we receive strength to endure trials by grace; and finally, we are glorified by grace. The entire Christian life is lived under the reign of God’s grace.”

2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

(Mt. 28:18-20) 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

What if I'm too busy? What if I don't know how?  What if nobody has ever discipled me before? 
Resource: sojournchurch.net/discipleship 
 
3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

(Rom 12:11) 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

(1 Cor. 15:58) … be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 

10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 

11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

Courageous & Unashamed (2 Timothy 1:7-18)

7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 

Throughout Bible, fear keeps people of God from experiencing the blessing of God.

• (Numbers 13) Spies came back with fearful report
• (1 Samuel 17) David & Goliath
• (Matthew 14) Peter walking on water then sinking

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel  by the power of God, …

(1 Cor 1:18) For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
 
(2 Tim. 3:12) ... all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

Strength Through Weakness:
(2 Cor. 12:9-10) 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace,

Spine-strengthening Truth #1: God saved you & God called you.

which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,  

(Rom. 8:31) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

Spine-strengthening Truth #2: Jesus abolished death .

(D.L. Moody | 365 Days of Devotion) SOME day you will read in the papers that D. L. Moody, of East Northfield, is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now.”

(1 Cor. 15:54-55) 
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
 55 “O death, where is your victory?
 O death, where is your sting?”

(John 11:25-26) “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. 

But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed,

 and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 

Spine-strengthening Truth #3: The Holy Spirit of God dwells within you.

15 You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me— 18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.

Paul's & Timothy's Discipleship Relationship (2 Timothy 1:1-7)

4 Themes of 2 Timothy:

• Discipleship
• Church leadership
• Finishing well
• Being unashamed of Christ and willing to suffer for Him

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

(Ac 16:3) Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

... the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, ... 
(1 Jn 5:11-12) 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

2 To Timothy, my beloved child:

(1 Cor. 4:17) “my beloved and faithful child in the Lord”

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 

4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 

5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

(Eph 6:4) Fathers, … bring [ur children] up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

(Pr. 22:6) 6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.  

Who is missing here? Timothy's father

(Acts 16:1) Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.

6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

(1 Tim 4:14) 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.


What is your next step in being a disciple or making disciples?

Leading People Away From God's Mercy & Grace (Mathew 23:13-15; Luke 18:9-14)

You might be a pharisee if...

• Your evangelism & influence leads people away from the kingdom of heaven rather than to it. 
• Your evangelism & influence leads people away from God’s mercy and grace rather than to it.

(Mt 23:13–15) 13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

(Platt) It is possible for you and me to believe genuinely that we are doing God’s work, obeying God’s Word, and accomplishing God’s will, yet to be deceived and to experience eternal damnation.

(Lk 18:9) 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:

2 Very Different People: 
(10) “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

2 Very Different Prayers:
(11-13) 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

2 Very Different Types of Righteousness:
(14) I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Self Righteousness (Works Righteousness) & Gift Righteousness (Imputed Righteousness)

• Self-righteousness
  • (9 )9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, …
  • (11-12) "God, I thank you that I am not like... I fast... I give thithes..."
  • 3 Tendencies of Self-righteousness
    • Contempt
      • (9) ... trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:
    • Comparison
    • Pride/Despair
• Gift-righteousness
  • (Rom 3:23-25) 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
  • (Gal 2:20-21 NIV) 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. / 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” 
  • (Eph 2:8-9 NIV) 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
  • Those 3 Tendencies
    • No contempt
      • (Brennan Manning) Jesus comes not for the super-spiritual but for the wobbly and the weak-kneed who know they don’t have it all together, and who are not too proud to accept the handout of amazing grace.
    • No comparison
      • (A. W. Tozer) The only sin Jesus ever had was ours. The only righteousness we can ever have is his. 

THERE IS HOPE FOR MODERN DAY PHARISEES!

(Php 3:3–11) 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.  

Majoring On Minors & Neglecting Majors (Matthew 23:23-24)

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, 

Tithing in Law of Moses:

• (Dt. 14:22-23)  “You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.
• (Lev. 27:30) “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.

and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.

Seems like an allusion to:

• (Micah 6:8) 8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
  and what does the Lord require of you
  but to do justice, and to love kindness,
  and to walk humbly with your God? 
• (Zech. 7:8-10) 8 And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”

The Pharisees were devoted & meticulous, but lacked love.

• (Mt. 9:9-13) 9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
  10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
• (Mt. 12:7-8) 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
• (Hosea 6:6) For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. 

Q: How do you measure spiritual maturity?
A: An ultimate measure of spiritual maturity is one’s ability & willingness to love

• (1 Cor. 13:1-3) If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
• (Mt. 22:34-40) 34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! 

(William Hendrickson) “Rigid insistence on trivial matters is very often a cover for inner sin.”

Application:
Is our Christianity basically following convenient laws or pouring ourselves  out expressing costly love?

Believing the gospel does not simply cause us to do religious things. We are to be formed/transformed into the most loving people the world knows.

(1 Jn 4:19-21) 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Elevating Personal Convictions To Level Of Scripture (Matthew 15:1-20; Matthew 23:16-22)

You might be a Pharisee if you treat your personal convictions, applications, or religious traditions as equal to Scripture.

(Mt 23:16-22) 16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

(Pr. 12:22) 22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.
(Mt. 5:37) (J) 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

(Mt. 15:1-20) Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.”

3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 

7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8 “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ” 

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

(Pr. 4:23 | NIV) 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

3 Applications

1. Be careful not to impose your personal convictions on others or judge them by your personal convictions/applications.
   • How might we elevate personal convictions/traditions to the level of doctrine?
     • We can build extra fences just like the Pharisees did.
     • We can take personal applications of scriptures & apply them to others.
     • We can look for every possible implication of a text & impose it on others even if it’s not the point of the scripture in context
       • (1 Cor. 6:19-20) 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
         • (1 Cor. 6:18a) 18 Flee from sexual immorality.
2. Embrace justification by grace through faith.
   • (Rom. 3:23-24) 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ... 
   • (John 14:15) “If u love me, u will keep my commandments.”
3. Be amazed that God wants a relationship with individual people.
   • (Php 2:12-13) 12 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, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 

Reputation or Real Thing? (Matthew 23:5-12, 25-28)

Pharisees were well respected around the time of Jesus.
(Acts 26:4-5) 4 “My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee.

Big Idea: YOU MIGHT BE A PHARISEE IF you care about the reputation of righteousness more than you care about true transformation.

5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others.

For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,

6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. 

8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 

11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. 

(Mt. 6) 1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. (big deal)
2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
…
16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

So should we not care about our reputation at all?

• (Pr 22:1) A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. 
• (Ecc. 7:1) A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. 
• (Mt 5:16) 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 

(Mt 23:25–28) 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Possible Applications: 

• The power of awareness
• Confess
• Pray
• Do good without others having to know
• Believe the real thing is better than appearances

(Phil 3:4-11) If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.  

Ruth & Boaz Meet (Ruth 2:1-23)

(Ruth 1:22b) and they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

1 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 

3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 

God is sovereign & works his will through miracles & the ordinary events that seem to “just so happen” to happen.

4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.”  

5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”

Emphasis on Ruth being an outsider...

• (V2) 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi,
• (V6) “She is the young Moabite woman, …

8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.”

10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 

11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”

13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” 

14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 

15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” 

17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 

18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 

19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. 

• Could it be that… 
  • …in the middle of your sorrow, God may be working for your satisfaction? 
  • …when God seems farthest from you, he could be setting the stage to show you his faithfulness? 

2 examples to follow

• 1. Show the love of God like Boaz.
  • He seeks the outcast and brings her in (to his family).
  • He protects the vulnerable “under his wing.”
    • …the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”
  • He serves the hungry at his table.

 

Leaving Bethlehem & Returning (Ruth 1:1-22)


(Mt. 1:5-6) 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,

Scene 1: The Setting of the Crisis (v1-2)

1 In the days when the judges ruled...

Last verse of Judges:
(Jd 21:25) 25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

... there was a famine in the land, ...

... and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 

Scene 2: The Nature of the Crisis (2-5)

2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

Scene 3: The Response to the Crisis (6-18)  

6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 

11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 

15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

Learn about your conversion in Ruth's:
(1 Thess. 1:9) you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God
(Ruth 2:12) “the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount:
(Mt. 7:13)  13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Scene 4: Naomi’s Interpretation of the Crisis (19-21)

19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”

(1 Jn 1:5) 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

(Acts 4:27-28) 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

Scene 5: A Ray of Hope (22)

22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.


 

"For, "But", & "Good Works" (Titus 3:1-15) 

1Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy,

by the washing of regeneration

(Jn 3:3) Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,  

7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 

8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

9 But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.

(1 Tim. 1:3-5) 3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

(Heb. 10:24-25) 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

10 As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. 

14 And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful. 

15 All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. 

Grace be with you all. 

• 1. “For…” (v. 3)
  • Imperatives in the Bible flow out of indicatives.
• 2. “But…” (v4)
  • (Eph. 2:4-5) But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 
• 3. “good works”
  • (Titus 1:16) 16 They (false teachers) profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. 
  • (Titus 2:7-8) 7 Show yourself (Titus) in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.
  • (Titus 2:14) (Talking about J)  14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. 
  • (Titus 3:1) Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
  • (Tt 3:8) 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. 
  • (Tt 3:14) 14 And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful. 
    • Good works are (at least) practical acts of love that meet people’s needs
  • (Titus 3:5) 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, …
    • We are not saved by faith plus works; We are saved by faith that works
    • Good works are the result, not the cause, of God’s saving grace in our lives
    • Don’t put the cart (good works) b4 the horse (slvtn by grace)
  • (Mt. 25:31-46) 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
    41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

The Entire Christian Life by Grace (Titus 2:11-15)

(Lexham Theological Wordbook) Grace refers to the condition of being given or shown favor, especially by someone in a position to exercise goodwill by meeting a particular need. Grace can also refer to the manifestation of such a disposition of kindness in the form of material benefaction (gift), including the giving of gifts, the approval of one’s request, the granting of freedom or mercy, and the deliverance or salvation from evil or harm.

(Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace) We are brought into God’s kingdom by grace; we are sanctified by grace; we receive both temporal and spiritual blessings by grace; we are motivated to obedience by grace; we are called to serve and enabled to serve by grace; we receive strength to endure trials by grace; and finally, we are glorified by grace. The entire Christian life is lived under the reign of God’s grace.

• 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
  • For
  • the grace of God has appeared
    • (Jn 1:14) 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
    • (Jn 1:16-17) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 
  • bringing salvation for all people
    • salvation
      • Past - I have been saved from the penalty of sin (justification) 
      • Present - I am being saved from the power of sin (sanctification) 
      • Future - I will be saved from the presence of sin (glorification) 
    • for all people
      • (Jn 14:6) 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 
      • (Acts 4:11-12) 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
      • (1 Tim 2:5-6)  5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
      • (Jn 3:16) 16 “For God so loved the world (inclusive), that he gave his only Son, that whoever (inclusive) believes in him (exclusive) should not perish but have eternal life.
• 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
  • Grace is not permission to sin, but power to overcome sin. 
  • (Keller) God sees us as we are, loves us as we are, and accepts us as we are. But by His grace, He does not leave us as we are.
  • (1 Jn 2:15-16) 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
  • Does this mean sanctification doesn't require effort from us? 
    • (Dallas Willard) “Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action. Grace, you know, does not just have to do with forgiveness of sins alone.”
    • (1 Cor. 15:10) 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
    • (Philippians 2:12-13) 12 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, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 
• 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
  • (Heb. 9:27-28) 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 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.
  • Phrase: our great God and Savior Jesus Christ 
    • Jn 20:28 - Thomas calls Jesus “My Lord and my God!”
• 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
• 15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. 

 

Being A Christian at Work (Titus 2:9-10)

(2 Cor. 5:18-21) 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Ambassador: an accredited diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country

9 Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

Differences between Greco-Roman Slavery and the African Slave Trade to America

• (Eph. 6:9) 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. 
• (Col 4:1) Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. 
• (Ex 21:16 - 16) “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death. 
• (1 Ti 1:8–11) 8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, / for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers (kidnappersNASB; slave tradersNIV) liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. 

When someone says, “Bible is pro-slavery…”

• 1. Different type of slavery
• 2. Bible boldly condemns man-stealing/kidnapping to enslave 
• 3. It wasn’t pro slavery; Never affirms or endorses slavery
  • did teach Christian slaves & masters how to treat each other
• 4. Still undercut any type of slavery through teaching… 
  • that all humans are created in the imago dei
  • to love neighbor as yourself & treat others as you'd want to be treated
  • the gospel makes master & servant brothers/sisters

9 Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, ...

Well-pleasing

• (Eph 6:5-8) 5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.

Not argumentative

• (Pr. 12:18) 18 There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
• (Pr. 18:21) 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. 
• (Pr. 26:20-21) 20 For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. 21 As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. 

..., so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

(Tt 2:9-10 | The Message-Eugene Peterson) Guide slaves into being loyal workers, a bonus to their masters—no back talk, no petty thievery. Then their good character will shine through their actions, adding luster to the teaching of our Savior God.

2 Big Picture Principles: 
1. The mundane matters
2. These behaviors & ways of life impact our witness (and are our witness)

Women Are to Work At Home?!?! (Titus 2:1-8)

(Rom. 12:2) 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

(RC Sproul) "Renewing our minds is an active pursuit of truth, which does not come naturally. If we are to think rightly, we must labor to know God's thoughts after Him."

• 1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.
• 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 
  • (Heb. 12:1-2) Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
• 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. 
• (3b) They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
  • What does it not mean for younger women to be "working at home"?
    • (1 Tim. 5:13) 13 Besides that, they [young widows] learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not.
  • What does it mean for younger women to be "working at home"? 
    • (1 Tim. 5:13-14) 13 Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not. 14 So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander.
    • (Pr. 31:27-28) 27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: … 
  • What about submission?
    • (Tim Chester | Titus for Everyone):“People may not like it when we talk about self-control and submission. But they find it attractive when we live it. Unbelievers who are repelled by the Christian teaching on headship within marriage are attracted by the Christian marriages they see. Unbelievers who find Christian morality restrictive are attracted by the good lives of the Christians they know.”
• 6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.  
  • (Pr. 25:28) 28 A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.
• 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.  

The Big Principle: All these behaviors flow directly out of believing the gospel.

(Titus 2:1) But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

(Titus 2:11-12) 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, ... 

Qualifications for Pastors (Titus1:5-9)

5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—

6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. 

4 Principles about Elders in the Church

• 1. The terms elder, overseer/bishop, and pastor/shepherd are used interchangeably in the New Testament.
  • (v5) appoint elders…
    • Elder - [πρεσβύτερος] 
  • (v7) For an overseer, as God’s steward, …
    • Overseer/Bishop - [ἐπίσκοπος] 
  • Acts 20
    • (v17) calls them elders
    • (v28) says the Holy Spirit has made them overseers
  • 1 Peter 5:1-4
    • (v1) elders
    • (v2) Shepherding/pastoring & overseeing
    • (v4) Shepherd
• 2. A plurality of elders is the New Testament norm.
  • 5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders (pl) in every town as I directed you—
  • (Acts 14:23) 23 And when they had appointed elders (pl) for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
  • (James 5:14) 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
• 3. The qualifications for elders are primarily about godly character.
  • 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.
    • (1 Tim. 3:4-5) 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?
  • 7 For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.
    • (1 Ti 3:6) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
    • (Heb. 13:2) 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 
• 4. A primary role of elders is to care for the church through faithful teaching.
  • 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.  

4 Applications

• 1. Join a church where you can obey & submit to your elders.
  • (Heb. 13:17) 17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
• 2. Make faithful & generous financial giving to your local church a normal part of your worship. 
  • (1 Ti 5:17–18) 17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” 
• 3. Pray for your spiritual leaders.
  • (Rom. 15:30) 30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, ...
    
  • (Eph. 6:19)  ... 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ...
    
  • (Col. 4:3)  3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—
    
  • (1 Thess. 5:25) 25 Brothers, pray for us.
    
  • (2 Thess. 3:1-2) Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.
    
• 4. Look to your elders for spiritual leadership & imitate their faith.
  • (Heb. 13:7) 7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

The Proverbs 31 Woman (Proverbs 31:10-31)

(Pr. 31:1) The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:

10  An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels. 

11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
14 She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
15 She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She dresses herself with strength
and makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
20 She opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness. 

4 Characteristics of the Wise Woman:

• 1. She works hard. 
  • (13) works w/ willing hands
  • (14) brings her food from afar
  • (15) rises while it’s still night to provide for her household
  • (16) considers a field & buys it
  • (16b) plants a vineyard
  • (19) puts her hand to the distaff and holds the spindle 
  • (24) makes, sells, & delivers  linen garments
  • (17) her arms are strong (bc she isn’t lazy) 
  • (27b) (she) does not eat the bread of idleness

Often misunderstood verse - 18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.
*Not because she's staying up all night, but because she makes profit.

• 2. She lives for others. 
  • For her husband
    • (11-12) 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.
    • (23) 23 Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. 
  • For her household
    • (27) 27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
  • For her community
    • (20)20 She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.  
  • Only mention of herself
    • (22) 22 She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. 
• 3. She doesn't fear future troubles. 
  • (21) 21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
  • (25) 25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.
  • (Pr. 14:26) 26 In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.  
• 4. She speaks and teaches with wisdom. 
  • (26) 26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
  • (Pr. 9:10a) 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom

28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
 
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

The fear of the Lord

• (Ps 31:19) 19 Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind! 
• (Ps 147:10–11) 10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, 11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

 
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates. 

(Mt. 25:22) “Well done, good and faithful servant. … Enter into the joy of your master.”

Marriage (selected proverbs)

Outline:
1. Keep your covenant.
2. Treasure your companion.
3. Consider carefully who you choose to marry.

(Pr. 2:16-19) 16 So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, 17 who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; 18 for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed; 19 none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life.

(Malachi 2:14) 14 But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

•  Keep your covenant.
  • (Pr. 2:17) Phrase - forgets the covenant of her God
  • (Mal 2:14) Phrase - your wife by covenant
  • (Gen. 2:24) 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
  • (Lewis Smedes) When I married my wife, I had hardly a smidgen of sense for what I was getting into with her. How could I know how much she would change over 25 years? How could I know how much I would change? My wife has lived with at least five different men since we were wed—and each of the five has been me. The connecting link with my old self has always been the memory of the name I took on back there: “I am he who will be there with you.” When we slough off that name, lose that identity, we can hardly find ourselves again. And the bonds that connect us to others will be frayed to breaking.
  • (Tim Keller | The Meaning of Marriage) “...We must say to ourselves something like this: 'Well, when Jesus looked down from the cross, he didn't think "I am giving myself to you because you are so attractive to me." No, he was in agony, and he looked down at us - denying him, abandoning him, and betraying him - and in the greatest act of love in history, he STAYED. He said, "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing." He loved us, not because we were lovely to him, but to make us lovely. That is why I am going to love my spouse.' Speak to your heart like that, and then fulfill the promises you made on your wedding day.”
• Treasure your companion.
  • (Pr. 2:17) Phrase - who forsakes the companion of her youth
  • (Mal. 2:14) Phrase - she is your companion
  • (Gen. 2:18) 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; …
  • Companion - [ah-loof] אַלּוּף
    • (Pr. 16:28) 28 A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates (אַלּוּף) close friends.  
• Consider carefully who you choose to marry.
  • (Pr. 21:9) 9 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. 
  • (Pr. 21:19) 19 It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman. 
  • (Pr. 27:15-16) 15 A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike; 16 to restrain her is to restrain the wind or to grasp oil in one’s right hand.
  • (Pr. 12:4) 4 An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones. 
  • (Pr. 19:14) 14 House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord. 
  • (Pr. 18:22) 22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.
  • Seek Christ, and seek a Christ-follower
    • (Pr. 31:10) 10 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.
    • (Pr. 31:30) 30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. 
    • (Eph. 5:22-28) 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
      25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
  • Seek (and give) wise counsel
    • (Pr 15:22) 22 Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. 
    • (Pr 12:15) 15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. 
  • Refuse to sin sexually, (to honor Christ and) so you can see clearly.
• Conclusion
  • (Eph. 5:31-32) 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” (Gen. 2:24; core verse…) 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

Wise Parenting - Part 2 (selected proverbs) 

THE CALL:
(Pr. 22:6) 6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

HOW?  

1. Words of Instruction (last week)
2. Example (last week)
3. Corrective Discipline
   
   • (Pr. 22:15) 15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
     • (Pr. 17:12) 12 Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly. 
     • (Pr. 19:3) 3 When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord.
     • (Bernard Howard) The Bible arguably stops short of mandating physical punishment because “the rod” can be viewed as a symbol. But if “the rod” is a symbol, it’s surely a symbol of painful punishment—the kind of punishment that a child will register as punishment. Loving parents are biblically required to make use of that rod, and physical punishment is one way to fulfill that requirement.
     • (Pr. 29:19) 19 By mere words a servant is not disciplined, for though he understands, he will not respond.  
       
   • (Pr. 29:15) 15 The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. 
   • (Pr. 23:13-14) 13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. 14 If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol. 
   • (Pr. 13:24) 24 Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. 
   • (Pr. 29:17) 17 Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart. 
   • Parents, require obedience of your children. 
     • (Eph. 6:1) Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
     • (Jn 14:15) 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
     • (Mt. 28:20)  20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
   • Clarifications/Disclaimers
     • There’s a difference between requiring obedience & perfection.
     • Don’t discipline because you are angry & need to let out some wrath to feel better.
       • Motives for discipline in Pr.?
         • (Pr. 22:15) … , but the rod of discipline drives it (folly) far from him. 
         • (Pr. 23:14) … , you will save his soul from Sheol. ‘
         • (Pr. 29:15) 15 The rod and reproof give wisdom, … 
         • (Pr. 13:24) …, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. 
       • (Heb. 12:8-9) 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them.
     • What about children with special needs? adopted children? children with a history of abuse? parents tempted toward physical abuse?
4. Affection
   • (Pr. 3:11-12) 11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof,
     12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
   • (Ps. 103:13-14) 13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

Questions for Reflection:

• (Authority) Who is in charge in your home? Do you as the parent provide loving authority for your child? 
• (Authority) Parent, is your authority harsh rather than loving? 
• (Authority) Do you need to have a meeting with your spouse to discuss a plan for consistently & lovingly using “the rod” (painful consequences)? 
• (Authority) Do your children see a good example of you submitting to authority? 
• (Affection) Do your children know (deep down) that you love them & delight in them?
• (Affection) What changes can you make to create more margin for enjoying and delighting in your children?
• (Affection) Do you consistently & frequently tell your children that you love them and are so glad you get to be their mom/dad? 

Proverbs for Children:

• (Pr. 10:1b) A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
• (Pr. 20:20) 20 If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness. 
• (Pr. 23:24-25) 24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. 25 Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice.

God the Father as our father:

• (Rom. 8:15-16) 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, …

Wise Parenting - Part 1 (selected proverbs)

THE CALL
(Pr. 22:6) 6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

What does it not mean?

This is not an absolute promise.

(Pr. 22:29) 29 Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

(Pr 26:9) 9 Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

What does it mean?
"Train up a child... "

"... in the way he should go; ..."

(Eph 6:4) 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.  

"; even when he is old he will not depart from it."

THE HOW

1. Words of Instruction

(Pr. 1:8-9) 8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, 9 for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.

(Pr. 4:1-4) Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, 2 for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching. 3 When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, 4 he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.

(Pr. 6:20-22) 20 My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. 21 Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. 22 When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. 

(Dt. 6:6-9) And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 

Some ideas…

• Utilize the car ride
  • After church/youth/club ⅘
  • To school - scripture memory
  • Wherever u go… 
• Utilize dinnertime
  • Ask ppl wht they learning? Share w/ ur kids wht u studying
  • Ask wht questions they have abt God, Bible, growing up
• Utilize Family Worship Service
  • Nightly, 2x, 1x?
  • Pray, sing, read 
• Utilize 1-on-1 time
• Utilize Children’s Min., Club ⅘, Youth
  • Make that the focus for the next week for family worship
  • Be prepared to re-teach the story on the way home… 
• Utilize age-appropriate resources…
• Utilize sermon series

Resource - Family Discipleship: Leading Your Home through Time, Moments, and Milestones by Matt Chandler & Adam Griffin

2. Modeling

(Pr 23:26) 26 My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways. 

(Charles Spurgeon) “Train up a child in the way he should go - but be sure you go that way yourself.”

Discipleship through example...

• (1 Cor. 11:1) Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. 
• (1 Pt. 5:2-3) 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
• (1 Tim 4:11-12) 11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

Application questions:

• What is your plan for "words of instruction"? How do you plan to teach the way of wisdom, which is the way of Christ, to your children?
• Imagine that your children are asked, "What is important in your home? What is most important?" How would they answer if they were being honest?

The Poor & Vulnerable (selected proverbs)

"Shoeshine Boy" 
I’m just an ol’ shoe-shine boy from the village of Quiche.
Never chose this life, this menial pay.
Every day the same routine, washin’ shoes just to eat.
I didn’t choose this life, it chose me.

Carlos, sweet Carlos, the dirt on your face,
The hope in your eyes, the dimples when you smile.
Carlos, sweet Carlos, for you I write this song.
Workin’ 12-hour days at 6 years old, your story ought not go untold.
Carlos, I cry, I pray, I sing – That you’d dine with the King!

Alex, tough Alex, I’m sorry about your dad.
He’s the love that you never had.
Alex, tough Alex, he drunk himself to death
When you were only nine, and you were doin’ fine.
Alex, I cry, I pray, I sing - That you’d dine with the King!

Juan Carlos, Juan Carlos, Would you put down your smokes.
You’re living high. You say you’d rather die.
Juan Carlos, Juan Carlos, someone tell me why.
You’re 15 livin’ on the streets,
Begging me for food to eat.
Juan Carlos, I cry. I pray. I sing - That you’d dine with the King!

I’m just another shoe-shine boy from the village of Quiche.
I didn’t choose this life, this menial pay.
Every day the same routine washing shoes just to eat.
I’ll shine your shoes, with no shoes on my feet. 

GOD'S LOVE & CONCERN FOR THE POOR & VULNERABLE

• (Pr. 14:31) 31 Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him. 
• (Pr. 17:5) 5 Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
  • (Gen 1:26-27) 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
    27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  
  • (James 3:9-10) 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
• (Pr 22:22–23) 22 Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, 23 for the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them. 
• (Pr. 23:10-11) 10 Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless,
  11 for their Redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you.
• (Is. 41:17) 17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. 
• (Ps. 140:12) 12 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy. 
• (Ps. 146:7-9) 7 who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;
  8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
  9 The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.  

OUR LOVE & CONCERN FOR THE POOR & VULNERABLE

• Gospel-Motivated
  • (Eph 2:1–9) And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. / 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
  • (2 Cor. 8:9) 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 
  • (Pr. 29:7) 7 A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.
    • (Pr. 29:7 | NIV) 7 The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.  
  • (Pr 14:21) 21 Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.
  • (1 Jn 3:17-18)  17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.  
• Sharing
  • (Pr. 22:9) 9 Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor. 
  • (Pr 28:27) 27 Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse. 
  • (Pr 19:17) 17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.  
• Speaking/Advocating
  • (Pr. 31:1-9) The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
    2 What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows?
    3 Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings.
    4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, / (explain)
    5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
    6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress;
    7 let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.
    8 Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.
    9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. 
• Acting/Intervening
  • (Pr 24:11-12) 11 Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
    12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?
    • (Pr. 21:13) 13 Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered. 
• Honoring / Dignity Affirming
  • (Pr 14:20)20 The poor is disliked even by his neighbor, but the rich has many friends. 
  • (Pr 19:4) 4 Wealth brings many new friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend. 
  • (James 2:1-8) My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
    8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

• (Is. 1:17) 17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. 
• (Is. 58:6-7) 6 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
  7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 
• (Is 58:10) 10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. 
• (Ez 16:49) 49 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.
• (Lk 14:13-14)13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” 
• (James 1:27)  27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. 

The Sluggard & Work (selected proverbs)

WHAT IS THE SLUGGARD? (5 CHARACTERSTICS)

1. The sluggard has trouble starting work.
   • (Pr. 6:6-11)
     6 Go to the ant, O sluggard;
     consider her ways, and be wise.
     7 Without having any chief,
     officer, or ruler,
     8 she prepares her bread in summer
     and gathers her food in harvest.
     9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
     When will you arise from your sleep?
     10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
     a little folding of the hands to rest,
     11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
     and want like an armed man.
   • (Pr. 14:23) 23 In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty. 
2. The sluggard has trouble finishing work.  
   • (Pr 12:27) 27 Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth.
   • (Pr. 26:15) 15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.
3. The sluggard is undisciplined in their sleep. 
   •  (Pr. 26:14) 14 As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed. 
   • (Pr. 20:13) 13 Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread. 
   • (Ps. 127:2) 2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
4. The sluggard is full of excuses. 
   • (Pr. 26:13) 13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!” 
   • (22:13) 13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!”
   • (Mt. 16:26) 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?  
5. The sluggard is wise in their own eyes.
   • (Pr. 26:16) 16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.  

WHY DOES IT MATTER? (2 CONSEQUENCES OF BEING A SLUGGARD)

1. The sluggard brings harm to others.
   •  (Pr. 10:26) 26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.
   • (Pr. 18:9) 9 Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.
2. The sluggard brings harm on themself.
   • (Pr. 24:30-34)
     30 I passed by the field of a sluggard,
     by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
     31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
     the ground was covered with nettles,
     and its stone wall was broken down.
     32 Then I saw and considered it;
     I looked and received instruction.
     33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
     a little folding of the hands to rest,
     34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
     and want like an armed man. 
   • (Pr. 15:19) 19 The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.
     • (Eugene Peterson) 19 The path of lazy people is overgrown with briers; the diligent walk down a smooth road.
   • (Pr. 13:4) 4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.

HOW DO WE FIGHT VICTORIOUSLY? (A CORRECT VIEW OF WORK & JESUS)

2 Big Picture Principles About Work

1. Work has dignity bc we’r made n the image of a God who works.
2. For the Christian, work is to be worship.  
   • Work as unto Jesus. 
     • (Col 3:23 | NIV) 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
   • Work to love & serve your neighbors.
   • Work to make money. 
     • (Eph. 4:28) 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 
   • Work to “adorn the gospel”.
     • (Titus 1:12-13a) 12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true.
     • (Tt 2:10) … so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

Jesus, the embodiment of Proverbs 

Gluttony & Drunkenness (selected proverbs)

WHAT IS GLUTTONY?

(Merriam-Webster)

• Gluttony: Excess in eating or drinking
• Glutton: One given habitually to greedy & voracious (uncontrolled) eating & drinking

(Pr. 4:23 | NIV) 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

(1 Tim. 6:6) “godliness w contentment is great gain”
(1 Tim. 6;10) 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

(Phil 4:11-13) “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

(Pr. 23:19-21)  
19 Hear, my son, and be wise,
and direct your heart in the way.
20 Be not among drunkards
or among gluttonous eaters of meat,
21 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and slumber will clothe them with rags.

(Pr. 25:16) 
16 If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,
 lest you have your fill of it and vomit it. 

(The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis) “At last the Turkish Delight was all finished and Edmund was looking very hard at the empty box and wishing that she would ask him whether he would like some more. Probably the Queen knew quite well what he was thinking; for she knew, though Edmund did not, that this was enchanted Turkish Delight and that anyone who had once tasted it would want more and more of it, and would even, if they were allowed, go on eating it till they killed themselves.”

(Pr. 28:7)
7 The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding,
but a companion of gluttons shames his father.

(Ps. 104:14-15) 
14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
 and plants for man to cultivate,
 that he may bring forth food from the earth
 15 and wine to gladden the heart of man,
 oil to make his face shine
 and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

(Pr. 20:1)
Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

(Pr. 23:29-35) 
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
 Who has strife? Who has complaining?
 Who has wounds without cause?
 Who has redness of eyes?
 30 Those who tarry long over wine;
 those who go to try mixed wine.
 31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
 when it sparkles in the cup
 and goes down smoothly.
 32 In the end it bites like a serpent
 and stings like an adder.
 33 Your eyes will see strange things,
 and your heart utter perverse things.
 34 You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
 like one who lies on the top of a mast.
 35 “They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt;
 they beat me, but I did not feel it.
 When shall I awake?
 I must have another drink.” 

THE GOOD NEWS

(Pr. 23:20) 20 Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat,

(Pr. 28:7) … a companion of gluttons shames his father.

(Lk 7:34) 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

(Luke 5:29-32) 29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

HOW DO WE FIGHT VICTORIOUSLY

1. Make fasting and self-denial a normal part of your spiritual disciplines.

(Mt. 6:16) 16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others.

(2 Cor. 6:12) 12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.

(1 Cor. 9:24-27) 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

2. Feast on Christ!

(Ps 34:8) 8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!

(Jn 6:35) 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.

(1 Pt 2:2-3) 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 

Pride & Humility (selected proverbs)

THE DIAGNOSIS OF PRIDE  - WHAT IS IT?

1. Pride insists on being your own supreme being.

(Pr. 26:12) Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.  

(Pr 8:13) 13 The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

(Ps. 10:4) 4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

(Lewis Smedes | Love Within Limits) “Pride in the religious sense is the arrogant refusal to let God be God. It is to grab God’s status for one’s self. … Pride is turning down God’s invitation to join the dance of life as a creature in his garden and wishing instead to be the Creator, Independent, reliant on one’s own resources. Never does pride want to pray for strength, ask for grace, plead for mercy, or give thanks to God. Pride is the grand illusion, the fantasy of fantasies, the cosmic put-on.

(William Ernest Henley, Invictus) "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”

2. Pride needs to feel better than others in some way

(Pr 6:16–17a) 16 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, …

(Rom 12:16b) Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.

(C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity) “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man... It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.”

3. Pride is morbidly self-conscious and self-aware

(NIV Pr. 13:10) 10 Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.

(C.S. Lewis | Mere Christianity) “Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call 'humble' nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody.
Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him.
If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.”

“Humility is not (necessarily) thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.”

THE DESTRUCTIVENESS OF PRIDE - WHY TAKE IT SERIOUSLY?

(Pr. 11:2) 2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

(Pr. 16:18-19) 18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. 19 It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.

(Pr. 18:12) 12 Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.

(Pr. 29:23) 23 One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.

(Mt 23:12) 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Practical Reasons

• (Pr 12:15) 15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. 
• (Pr. 15:22) 22 Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. 
• (Pr 19:20) 20 Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. 

Cosmic Reasons

• (Pr. 3:34) 34 Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor. 
• (Pr. 15:25) 25 The Lord tears down the house of the proud but maintains the widow’s boundaries. 
• (Pr. 16:5) 5 Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished. 
• (1 Pt. 5:5b) Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 
• (James 4:6)  “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
• (James 4:10) 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

(D. L. Moody) "God sends no one away empty, except those who are full of themselves.”

(Luke 18:9-14  | NIV) (J) 9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:  10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

THE CURE FOR PRIDE - HOW DO WE FIGHT VICTORIOUSLY

1. Fear the Lord.

(Pr 8:13) 13 The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

(Pr. 15:33) 33 The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

(Pr. 22:4) 4 The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.

2. Cultivate thanksgiving.

(Dt. 8:17-18) 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

3. Consider Jesus (especially his cross)

(Php 2:3-11) 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Envy (selected proverbs)

WHAT IS ENVY?

(Merriam-Webster) painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage

(Ps. 73:3) 3 For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

(Gen 26:12-14) 12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him.

(Oscar Wilde’s biography by Hesketh Pearson)
The devil was once crossing the Libyan desert, and he came upon a spot where a number of small fiends (demons) were tormenting a holy hermit (holy prsn). The sainted man easily shook off their evil suggestions. The devil watched their failure, and then he stepped forward to give them a lesson. “What you do is too crude,” he said. “Permit me for one moment.” With that he whispered to [this most] holy man. “Your brother has just been made [the] Bishop of Alexandria.” A scowl of malignant jealousy at once clouded the serene face of the hermit. “That,” said the devil to his imps, “is the sort of thing … I [would] recommend.”

(Gen 37:3-4) 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

(Acts 7:9) 9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him…

(Acts 13:44-45) 44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him.

WHY DEAL WITH ENVY?

(Pr. 14:30) 30 A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.

(Pr. 27:3-4) 3 A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both. 4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? 

Envy goes against the call to love.
(1 Cor. 13:4-5a) 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude.

Envy is the soil in which other sins grow.
(Jas 3:13–16) 13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. (woah) 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

HOW CAN WE BATTLE ENVY VICTORIOUSLY?

1. Confess it.

(Pr 28:13) 13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

(Jms 3:14 | NIV) 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.
 
2. Believe that God knows what he is doing in apportioning gifts & blessings.

(1 Cor. 4:7) 7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

3. Worship God.

(Pr. 23:17-18) 17 Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day. 18 Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.  

(Ps. 73:17) until I went into the sanctuary of God;

(Ps. 73:23-25) 23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

(Titus 3:3-7) 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

PRAYER OF APPLICATION

• (Confess) Father, I confess that I am envious. Specifically, I am envious that _____ is/has more _____ than me. 
• (Believe) Help me to trust you. I believe that you are good, and you know what you are doing in the blessings you give. Help my unbelief. 
• (Worship) (Titus 3:4-7) 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
• (Worship) (Ps. 73:23-25) 23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 

Anger (selected proverbs)

THE GOODNESS OF ANGER

(Eph 4:26-27) 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.

(14:29) 29 Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

(16:32) 32 Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

(19:11) 11 Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. 

(John Chrysostom)“He that is angry without cause, sins. But he who is not angry when there is cause, sins. For unreasonable patience is the hotbed of many vices, it fosters negligence, and incites not only the wicked but the good to do wrong.”

(Rebecca Pippert | Hope Has Its Reasons) “We tend to be taken aback by the thought that God could be angry. How can a deity who is perfect and loving ever be angry?... So what is God's problem?... But love detests what destroys the beloved. Real love stands against the deception, the lie, the sin that destroys. Nearly a century ago the theologian E.H. Glifford wrote: 'Human love here offers a true analogy: the more a father loves his son, the more he hates in him the drunkard, the liar, the traitor.'... Anger isn't the opposite of love. Hate is, and the final form of hate is indifference... How can a good God forgive bad people without compromising himself? Does he just play fast and loose with the facts? 'Oh, never mind...boys will be boys'. Try telling that to a survivor of the Cambodian 'killing fields' or to someone who lost an entire family in the Holocaust. No. To be truly good one has to be outraged by evil and implacably hostile to injustice.”

(John 2:16-17) 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

(Mk 3:3-5) 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” / 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.  

THE DANGER OF ANGER

(Eph 4:26) 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.

Decision-making
(14:29) 29 Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

(14:17) 17 A man of quick temper acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated.

Physical health
(14:30)30 A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy (passion) makes the bones rot.

Community
(15:18) 18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.

(22:24-25) 24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, 25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. 

APPLICATIONS
Analyze your anger.

(Ps.4:4-5)
4 Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.

Questions:

• Does anger has a destructive presence in ur life?
  • (Ecc. 7:9) 9 Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.
• Do you get angry too quickly?
• Do you get too angry abt the wrong things? Or is your anger out of proportion?
  • (29:11) 11 A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.
• Does your anger lead you to sin in other ways?  

 Gospel your anger.

(Eph 4:31-32) 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

(19:11) 11 Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

Integrity (Selected proverbs) 

What is integrity? 

Integrity: 1. the quality of being honest. 2. the state of being whole and undivided.

(Pr. 14:5)
5 A faithful witness does not lie,
but a false witness breathes out lies. 

(Pr. 14:25)
25 A truthful witness saves lives,
but one who breathes out lies is deceitful.

(Pr. 12:22)  
22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,
but those who act faithfully are his delight.

(Pr. 24:28) 
28 Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause,
 and do not deceive with your lips. 

(Eph. 4:25) 25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

(Pr. 11:1)
A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
but a just weight is his delight.

(Pr. 16:11)
11 A just balance and scales are the Lord’s;
all the weights in the bag are his work.

(Mt. 5:33-37) 
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil. 

Words (Selected proverbs)

Proverbs teaches us to speak… 4:16

1. Not harming words, but healing words 
   • (12:18) 18 There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. 
   • (12:25) 25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. 
   • (18:21) 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. 
2. Not deceptive words, but truthful words
   • (12:22) 22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight. 
   • (26:18–19)18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death 19 is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!” 
   • (10:32) 32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.
     
   • (30:20) 20 This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I have done no wrong.”
3. Not quarrelsome words
   • (18:6) 6 A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating.
   • (26:21) 21 As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
4. Not gossiping and slandering words  
   • (20:19) 19 Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler. 
   • (16:28b) … a whisperer separates close friends.
   • (26:20) 20 For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.
5. Not flattering words 
   • (Pr. 26:28) 28 A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin. 
   • (29:5) 5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
6. Reproving and correcting words
   •  (27:5-6) 5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
     6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. 
   • (25:12) 12 Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear.
7. Not bragging words
   •  (27:2) 2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips. 
8. Not harsh words, but gentle words
   • (15:1) A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
   • (25:15) 15 With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.
9. Wisdom-giving words
   •  (31:26) 26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. 
   • (10:20-21) 20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
     21 The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.
   • (20:15) 15 There is gold and abundance of costly stones, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
10. Apt words
    • (15:23) 23 To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!
    • (25:11) 11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.
11. Protecting and advocating words
    • (Pr 31:8–9) 8 Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.
      9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.
12. Not many words, but few words
    •  (10:19) 19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. 
    • (17:27-28) 27 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
      28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
    • (18:2) 2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

Summary: Foolish and harmful words damage relationships and reveal that your heart is out of tune with Jesus. Wise & healing words bless others and reveal your heart transformed by the gospel.

(16:23) 23 The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips.

(4:23) 23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

(Mt. 12:34) 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 

Our Hope: Forgiveness & Transformation

(1 Pt. 2:22) 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

(Jn 1:1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

(1 Pt. 1:22-2:1) 22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

Friendship (Selected Proverbs)


The Value of Friendship

(Pr. 18:24) 24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

(Pr. 27:17) 17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

(Pr. 13:20) 20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. 

(Pr. 27:9) 9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. 

(C.S. Lewis | The Four Loves) Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art, like the universe itself (for God did not need to create). It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.

The Characteristics of a Good Friend

1. Constant

(Pr. 18:24) 24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. 

(Pr. 17:17) 17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. 

(Pr. 27:10) 10 Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.
Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.

(Pr. 20:6) 6 Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?

2. Candid  

(Pr. 27:6) 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. 

(Pr 28:23)23 Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue.

(Pr. 29:5) 5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.

Hebrew  [reh-ah] -  רֵעַ

(Pr. 27:9) 9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

3. Careful

(Pr. 17:9) 9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

(Pr 16:28) 28 A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends. 

(Pr. 22:11) 11 He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend. 

(Eph 4:29) 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

(Pr 25:20) 20 Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda. 

(Pr. 27:14) 14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing. 

(Pr. 26:18-19) 18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death 19 is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!” 

(Pr. 25:17) 17 Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you. 

Summary

Friendship provides deep connection, wise direction, and needed protection.

Friends let you in, but don’t let you down (Keller)

The Embodiment of The Perfect Friend

(Jn 15:12-15) 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
 

The Drama of Adultery (Proverbs 7:1-27)

Review: 5 Truths From Father To Son From Chapters 5 & 6

1. "You will be tempted." 
2. "The price is too high." 
3. "So flee from sexual immorality." 
4. "Sex is a good gift of God to be enjoyed in marriage." 
5. "Remember that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

(James 1:13-15) 13 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. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

3 Hopes for Today:

1.  We will resolve to honor God in our sexuality.
2. We will grow in our understanding of temptation.
3. We will grow in our love for & dependence on Jesus & his grace (forgiveness and empowering presence).

1 My son, keep my words
and treasure up my commandments with you;
2 keep my commandments and live;
keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;
3 bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart. 

(Ps. 119:11) 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call insight your intimate friend,
5 to keep you from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words. 

6 For at the window of my house
I have looked out through my lattice,
7 and I have seen among the simple,
I have perceived among the youths,
a young man lacking sense,

8 passing along the street near her corner,
taking the road to her house
9 in the twilight, in the evening,
at the time of night and darkness.

(Job 24:13-17) 13 “There are those who rebel against the light, who are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths. 14 The murderer rises before it is light, that he may kill the poor and needy, and in the night he is like a thief. 15 The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye will see me’; and he veils his face. 16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves up; they do not know the light. 17 For deep darkness is morning to all of them; for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.

10 And behold, the woman meets him,
dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.
11 She is loud and wayward;
her feet do not stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the market,
and at every corner she lies in wait.

13 She seizes him and kisses him,
 and with bold face she says to him,
 14 “I had to offer sacrifices,
 and today I have paid my vows; 

15 so now I have come out to meet you,
 to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
 16 I have spread my couch with coverings,
 colored linens from Egyptian linen;
 17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
 aloes, and cinnamon.
 18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
 let us delight ourselves with love. 

19 For my husband is not at home;
 he has gone on a long journey;
 20 he took a bag of money with him;
 at full moon he will come home.” 

21 With much seductive speech she persuades him;
 with her smooth talk she compels him.
 22 All at once he follows her,
 as an ox goes to the slaughter,
 or as a stag is caught fast
 23 till an arrow pierces its liver;
 as a bird rushes into a snare;
 he does not know that it will cost him his life. 

24 And now, O sons, listen to me,
 and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
 25 Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
 do not stray into her paths, 

(4:23) Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

26 for many a victim has she laid low,
and all her slain are a mighty throng.
27 Her house is the way to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of death. 

3 Goals/Hopes/Prayers: 

1. We will resolve to honor God in our sexuality. 
   • (1 Cor. 6:15-20) 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 
2. We will grow in our understanding of temptation. 
3. We will grow in our love for and dependence on Jesus & His grace (forgiveness & empowering presence). 
   • Gospel: Jesus in my place
   • (Is. 53:5) 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
   • (Gal. 2:20-21 | NIV) 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

Lady Wisdom & Lady Folly (Proverbs 9:1-18)

The Preparation

1Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her seven pillars.
2 She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her young women to call
from the highest places in the town,

13 The woman Folly is loud;
 she is seductive and knows nothing.
 14 She sits at the door of her house;
 she takes a seat on the highest places of the town,
 15 calling to those who pass by,
 who are going straight on their way, 

The Audience

4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
 To him who lacks sense she says, 

16 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
 And to him who lacks sense she says, 

The Invitations

5 “Come, eat of my bread
 and drink of the wine I have mixed.
 6 Leave your simple ways, and live,
 and walk in the way of insight.”

17 “Stolen water is sweet,
 and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” 

Their Meals

5 “Come, eat of my bread
 and drink of the wine I have mixed.

(Jn 6:51, 55, 58) 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” … (55) 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. (58) 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

17 “Stolen water is sweet,
 and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”

The Outcomes

 6 Leave your simple ways, and live,
 and walk in the way of insight.”

18 But he does not know that the dead are there,
 that her guests are in the depths of Sheol. 

- - - - - - - - -

7 Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.


10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
 and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
 11 For by me your days will be multiplied,
 and years will be added to your life.
 12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
 if you scoff, you alone will bear it. 

Sex Is Like Fire (Proverbs 5:1-23)

1 My son, be attentive to my wisdom;
incline your ear to my understanding,
2 that you may keep discretion,
and your lips may guard knowledge.
3 For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil,
4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps follow the path to Sheol;
6 she does not ponder the path of life;
her ways wander, and she does not know it.
7 And now, O sons, listen to me,
and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Keep your way far from her,
and do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you give your honor to others
and your years to the merciless,
10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,
11 and at the end of your life you groan,
when your flesh and body are consumed,
12 and you say, “How I hated discipline,
and my heart despised reproof!
13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
or incline my ear to my instructors.
14 I am at the brink of utter ruin
in the assembled congregation.” 

1. “You will be tempted.”

(3) For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, …

(Pr. 6:25) 25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;

(1 Cor. 10:12) let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.  

(1 Cor. 10:13) 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

2. “The price is too high.”

(9) 9 lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, ...

(14) “I’m at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation”

(Pr. 6:32-33) 32 He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. 33 He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.

3. “So flee from sexual immorality.”

(8) 8 Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, (8)

(1 Cor. 6:18) Flee from sexual immorality.

(Pr. 6:27-28) 27 Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?

Resource: How To Help Your Spouse Heal From Your Affair by Linda MacDonald

15 Drink water from your own cistern,
flowing water from your own well.
16 Should your springs be scattered abroad,
streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be for yourself alone,
and not for strangers with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated always in her love. 

4. “Sex is a good gift of God to be enjoyed in marriage.”
 
20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman
and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?
21 For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord,
and he ponders all his paths.
22 The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him,
and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
23 He dies for lack of discipline,
and because of his great folly he is led astray. 

5. “Remember that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

(21) For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord,
and he ponders all his paths.


Resources for Parents I've read or used:

• Good Pictures Bad Pictures: Porn Proofing Today's Young Kids by Kristen A. Jenson (Book for parents to read with 6-11 year old kids. Not advertised as a Christian book, but super helpful)
• "Kids, Let’s Talk About Sex" by Jim Davis, Angela Davis, Lindsey Holcomb, & Justin Holcomb (Article)
• "Help Your Kids Say 'No' to Porn" by Jen Wilkin with additional resources at the bottom (Article)

Resources I haven't personally used, but are recommended by people I generally trust:

• God's Design For Sex Series (4 books for different ages) 
  • The Story of Me: Babies, Bodies, and a Very Good God) by Brenna Jones & Stan Jones (book for 3-5 year olds in God's Design for Sex series)
  • Before I Was Born: God Knew My Name by Carolyn Nystrom (Book for 5-8 year olds in God's Design for Sex series)
  • What's the Big Deal?: Why God Cares about Sex by Stan Jones and Brenna Jones (book for 8-12 year olds in God's Design for Sex series)
  • Facing the Facts: The Truth about Sex and You by Stan Jones and Brenna Jones (book for 12-16 year olds in God's Design for Sex series)
• Good Pictures Bad Pictures Jr; A Simple Plan to Protect Young Minds by Kristen Jenson (a book to help 4-7 year olds understand porn. Not advertised as a Christian book)
• God Made Babies: Helping Parents Answer the Baby Question (God Made Me) by Justin S. Holcomb , Lindsey A. Holcomb , et al. (Book for ages 4-8)
• God Made All of Me: A Book to Help Children Protect Their Bodies by Justin Holcomb & Lindsey Holcomb (a book to read with 2-8 year old kids) 
• "The Porn-Free Family Plan" by Tim Challies (Article explaining a comprehensive plan for a family) 
• Mom, sex is NO big deal!: Becoming your daughter's ally in developing a healthy sexual identity by Sharon Hersh (Book for parents of teenage girls; From 2010, so may be a bit dated)

Guard Your Heart (Proverbs 4:20-27)

(Pr 4:23 | ESV) 23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
(Pr 4:23 | NIV84) 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

How does Proverbs speak of the "heart"?

• (Pr. 15:13) The heart controls facial expressions
• (Pr. 15:28; 12:23) The heart ponders; The heart controls the tongue
• (Pr. 6:14, 18; 16:9) The heart plans & makes decisions
• (Pr. 23:7) The heart is the seat of a person’s disposition; Someone’s heart can be w/ you or not with you.
• (Pr. 17:3) The Lord knows & tests the heart
• (Pr. 12:25) The heart is where anxiety can be
• Pr. 14:10) The heart knows bitterness & joy
• (Pr. 14:30; 23:17) The heart can envy or be tranquil
• (Pr. 10:13) If you lack insight/judgment, you “lack heart” 
• (Pr. 3:5) The heart can trust (God) 
• (Pr. 6:25) The heart can covet 
• (Pr. 5:12) The heart can despise reproof
• ((Pr. 28:14) The heart can fear the Lord or be hardened
• (Pr. 14:33; 20:9; 17:20; 26:23-25) The heart can be wise & pure or perverse
• (Pr. 4:23) Everything we do starts in the heart

Why is guarding your heart so important?
(Pr. 4:23 | ESV) 23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
(Pr. 4:23 | NIV) 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

(Mt 12:33-37) 33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

(Mk 7:20–23) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”  

Old Testament promises of a new heart:

• (Dt 30:6) 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
• (Jer. 31:33-34) 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” 
• (Ez 36:25-27) 25 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. 26 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. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
• (Pr. 3:3) 3 Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. 
• (Pr. 7:2-3) 2 keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; 3 bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. 

How do you guard your heart biblically?

(Pr. 4:20-22) 
20 My son, be attentive to my words;
 incline your ear to my sayings.
 21 Let them not escape from your sight;
 keep them within your heart.
 22 For they are life to those who find them,
 and healing to all their flesh.

1. Guard your heart by guarding your eyes & ears.

(Ro 13:13–14) 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

(Pr. 4:24-27)
24 Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
26 Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.
27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil. 

2. Guard your heart by living a life of repentance.


3. Guard your heart by guarding your group.
 

• (Pr. 4:16) They can’t sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. 
• (Pr. 5) Warning abt the forbidden woman… 
• (Pr. 1:10-11a) “10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. 11 If they say, “Come with us, …” 

(Pr. 23:15-21)
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
my heart too will be glad.
16 My inmost being will exult
when your lips speak what is right.
17 Let not your heart envy sinners,
but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.
18 Surely there is a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
19 Hear, my son, and be wise,
and direct your heart in the way.
20 Be not among drunkards
or among gluttonous eaters of meat,
21 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and slumber will clothe them with rags.

(Pr. 13:20) 20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.  

(Pr. 28:13) 13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

God's Hesed (Proverbs 3:1-12) 

RSVP for EQUIP by today: https://forms.gle/VnD56WvHqCpDzrGG6
Serve in in Americus: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F45A5AC2BA1FBC61-volunteer#/

(Heb. 11:6) 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

(Mt. 6:4,6,18) And ur Father who sees in secret will reward u.

God is not a killjoy. His glory & our good go together.

1 My son, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments,
2 for length of days and years of life
and peace they will add to you.

3 Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
 bind them around your neck;
 write them on the tablet of your heart.
 4 So you will find favor and good success
 in the sight of God and man.

(Ex. 34:6-7) 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, ...

Steadfast love - [חֶסֶד; Hesed]

(Ps. 13:5) But I have trusted in your [hesed];  

(Lam 3:21-23) 
21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

(Michael Card | Inexpressible: Hesed and the Mystery of God's Lovingkindness) Hesed: When a person from whom I have a right to expect nothing gives me everything.

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

Worldly wisdom may say ____, but God's wisdom says...

•  (Pr. 11:24) 24 One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
• (Pr. 11:28) 28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
• (Pr. 27:2) 2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.  
• (Pr. 13:24) 24 Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
• (Eph 6:4) 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.  
• (Pr. 27:5-6) 5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love. / 6Faithful are the wounds of a friend; …

(Pr 14:12) 12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.

9 Honor the Lord with your wealth
 and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty,
 and your vats will be bursting with wine. 

 11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
 or be weary of his reproof,
 12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
 as a father the son in whom he delights. 

2 Questions:

• Are these promises of God that are 100%? 
  • Proverbs are not promises, but general truths stated in absolute terms.
  • (Jonathan Akin) The proverbs are generally true now, but they are always ultimately true.
• Where do we see the gospel in this text? 
  • (Pr. 3:4) 4 So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. 
  • (Luke 2:52) 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. 

The "If" & "Then" of Wisdom (Proverbs 2:1-22)

(Pr. 4:7) The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,
 and whatever you get, get insight.

(Pr. 2:1-4) 
2 My son, if you receive my words
 and treasure up my commandments with you,
 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
 and inclining your heart to understanding;
 3 yes, if you call out for insight
 and raise your voice for understanding,
 4 if you seek it like silver
 and search for it as for hidden treasures, 

(Pr. 2:5) 
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
 and find the knowledge of God. 

(Jer. 29:13) You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

(Pr. 2:6) 
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
 from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

(Pr. 2:7-9) 
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
 he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
 8 guarding the paths of justice
 and watching over the way of his saints.
 9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
 and equity, every good path; 

(Pr. 2:10-11) 
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
 and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
 11 discretion will watch over you,
 understanding will guard you,

(Pr. 2:12-15)
12 delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15 men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.

(Ga 5:19–21) 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.

(Pr. 2:16-19)
16 So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words,
17 who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
18 for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;
19 none who go to her come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.

(2 Tim 2:22) So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

(1 Cor. 6:18a, 19-20) 18 Flee from sexual immorality. … 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.  

Is there hope of repentance and forgiveness after adultery?

(Pr. 26:4-5)
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly,
lest you be like him yourself.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be wise in his own eyes.

(1 Cor. 6:11) And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

(Pr. 2:20-22)
20 So you will walk in the way of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will inhabit the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it,
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be rooted out of it. 

Jesus, The Guards, & The Disciples (Matthew 27:62-28:20) 

62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation,

the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’

(Mt. 12:38-40) (scribes & pharisees) “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
(Jesus) “…the sign of the prophet Jonah. … as Jonah was 3 days & 3 nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be 3 days & 3 nights in the heart of the earth.”

64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.”

65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. 

1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 

5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”

8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 

9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” 

11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

Jesus

• See Jesus’ loving-kindness
  • (v5) “I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.”
  • (Jn 15:13) 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
  • (v10) “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”  
  • (Lk 24:38-39) “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see.”
• See Jesus' authority
  • (Keller) “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.”
  •  (18)  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. …” 

The Jewish leaders & The Guards
Sometimes it's not about the evidence...

The Disciples

• See their devotion to the great commission
• See their worship
  • (9b) And they (Mary & Mary) came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.
  • (17) 17 And when they (disciples) saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.
  • (Mt 4:9) (Satan) “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 
  • (10) (Jesus) “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” 

Jesus, The Sunrise (Malachi 4:1-6)

Summary: The Day of the Lord will bring both judgment and healing, and our present obedience is fueled by remembering what God has already said and anticipating our coming restoration.

(Mal 3:18) 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

(Mt. 3:11-12) 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

(Tim Keller) If your god never disagrees with you, you might just be worshiping an idealized version of yourself.

2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

2 But for you who fear my name, …

…, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.

(2 Sam. 23:3-4) 3 The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, 4 he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.

(Is. 60:2-3) 2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.
3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

(Luke 1:76-79) 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

• What should this rising sun call to mind?
  • Maybe warmth where there was cold  
  • Maybe growth where there was stagnation
  • Maybe safety where there was danger
  • Certainly healing where there was brokenness
    • (Luke 8:44) 44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased.
  • Certainly light where there was darkness

You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. 

(C. S. Lewis) “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done."

4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb (Mt. Sinai)  for all Israel.

(James 1:22-25) 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

(Mt 11:13–15) 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

(Mt 17:9-13) 9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things (future). 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

(Rev 11:6) 6 They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, …  

6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

(Eze 5:10) 10 Therefore fathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers. And I will execute judgments on you, and any of you who survive I will scatter to all the winds.

Summary: The Day of the Lord will bring both judgment and healing, and our present obedience is fueled by remembering what God has already said and anticipating our coming restoration.

Is It Worth It? (Malachi 3:13-18)

(16) Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, … 

(Ps. 139:7-12 (NIV)) 
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? 
Where can I flee from your presence? 
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; 
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, 
if I settle on the far side of the sea, 
10 even there your hand will guide me, 
your right hand will hold me fast. 
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me 
and the light become night around me,” 
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; 
the night will shine like the day, 
for darkness is as light to you.

(Mal. 3:13-15) 13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’ ”

(Ps. 73:1-14) 
1 Truly God is good to Israel,
 to those who are pure in heart.
 2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
 my steps had nearly slipped.
 3 For I was envious of the arrogant
 when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
 4 For they have no pangs until death;
 their bodies are fat and sleek.
 5 They are not in trouble as others are;
 they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
 6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
 violence covers them as a garment.
 7 Their eyes swell out through fatness;
 their hearts overflow with follies.
 8 They scoff and speak with malice;
 loftily they threaten oppression.
 9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
 and their tongue struts through the earth.
 10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
 and find no fault in them.
 11 And they say, “How can God know?
 Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
 12 Behold, these are the wicked;
 always at ease, they increase in riches.
 13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean
 and washed my hands in innocence.
 14 For all the day long I have been stricken
 and rebuked every morning.

2 issues w/ those of verses 13-15

• Overestimated their own piety
  • (Mal. 2:13b) You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.
  • (Mal. 2:14b) Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
• Adopted a mindset of reciprocity
  • Carrot & horse story from Prodigal God by Tim Keller

3 things to consider in light of last week's sermon:

• It’s about relationship, not formula.
  • (Mal. 3:7b) Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. 
• God doesn’t box himself in on when or what proportion.
• It never says non-tithers will not prosper or will do worse than you financially. 

(Mal. 3:16-18) 16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

3 Encouragements God Says to Those Who Fear Him

• “I’ve heard you & will remember you”
  • (16b) and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name.
• “I will spare you"
  • (17) “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.
• “I’ll make the distinction obvious between the righteous & the wicked” 
  • (18) Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. 

(Ps. 73:16-28)
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.

Will Man Rob God? (Malachi 3:6-12)

6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.

But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 

8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.

(Num 18:21-24) 21 “To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, 22 so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. 23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance.

10b And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

(Pr. 3:9–10) 9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

Overview of NT Teaching on Money & Possessions:

•  Avoid the love of money (1 Tim. 6:6-10)
• Your life does not consist in the abundance of your possessions (Luke 12:15)
• You cannot serve God and money (Luke 16:13)
• Don’t set your hope on riches, but on God (1 Tim. 6:17)
• Don’t set your hope on riches, but on God (1 Tim. 6:17)
• Lay up for yourself treasure in heaven (Mt. 6:19-21; 1 Tim. 6:18-19)
• Your heart follows your treasure (Mt. 6:21)
• Provide for the needs of your family & household (1 Tim. 5:8)
• Financially support ministry workers (Luke 10:7; 1 Cor. 9:7-12; Php. 4:14-20; 1 Tim. 5:17)10. Care for the needy through the local church (Rom. 15:23-291 Cor. 16:1-4; 1 Tim. 5:3, 9-10)
• Live generously, and trust God to provide (2 Cor. 9:8, Mt. 6:33, Php. 4:19)

How do Jesus and the apostles motivate generous giving?

• *Never “Pay your tithe”
• Sowing and reaping (2 Cor. 9:6)
• God provides for you not just to provide for you (2 Cor. 9:11)
• Your giving will cause others to worship God (2 Cor. 9:11-13)
  • (2 Cor. 9:6-15) 6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written,
    “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”
    10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. 15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
• Faith-filled generosity is worship that pleases God (2 Cor. 9:7; Php. 4:18; Heb. 13:16)
  • God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7)
  • … a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. (Php. 4:18) 
• Examples of radical generosity (Mk. 12:41-44; 2 Cor. 8:1-5; Acts 4:34-37)
  • (Mk. 12:41–44) 41 And he (J) sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
• By considering what Jesus did for us (2 Cor. 8:9) 
  • (2 Cor. 8:9) 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Application Questions:

• If you are a Christian, are you honoring God with your money?
• Are you willing to drive a lesser car, go on less vacations, eat out less, etc. than your co-workers, because you give generously to your local church?
• Do you trust God to provide?
• Where is your hope?
  • (1 Tim. 6:17-19) 17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
• Do you believe God is worthy of your worship? 
• Do you need help with financial stewardship?  
  • "Finances. That’s always a fun personal subject to talk about. Oh, and add the heavy weight of horrible budgeting, bank overdrafts, living paycheck to paycheck, and the desire to be free of this unhealthy lifestyle. The shame I felt especially with the prospect of getting married soon weighed so heavy on my heart like shackles. I needed help, but the thought of someone getting in my very personal, shameful, financial business wasn’t appetizing to me. Well, I just had to remember that I’m approved by God. Because of the gospel I have nothing to prove, no one to impress, and no identity in my finances, but identity in Christ. …
    I needed help, and I knew someone I could reach out to. Taking the initiative was difficult. Swallowing my pride. I was initially uncomfortable opening up. But I was soon relieved with a nonjudgemental, welcoming, ambitious attitude to tackle this beast called budgeting. And that’s exactly what we did. We TACKLED my finances. I soon felt comfortable handling finances. The worry of wondering "what’s in my bank account," "what bills are still left to pay," and "do I have enough to cover those said bills" died. It died! I felt invigorated! I KNEW what was in my bank. Every dollar had a name. It had its place.
    My coach and I  were meeting weekly at different restaurants and breakfast spots. ... The coaching was practical and the environments added a level of ease and comfort. Eventually, as I got on top of my finances, we met twice a month. There was less of a need to be coached as I gained knowledge, wisdom, and the skills needed to to handle finances healthily. I learned to have an emergency fund, to put money aside for things that pop up every once in a while (like car maintenance or birthday gifts), and how to tackle debt properly. This lasted for maybe three months. It was one of the wisest decisions I’ve made in my life.
    The BIGGEST benefit became tangible in my relationship with my wife (girlfriend at the time). I had a serious and transparent conversation with her about my finances... We had a budget for our dates and it was a big relief not only to me, but to her (who is more frugal than I). Fast forward about a year, and who would have guessed that I’d be handling the finances in our marriage? She saw how I handled finances while dating, and she knows that I am handling them well now. That’s God's grace. The gospel reminded me that I can come to the throne with my failings, sin, and yes, even my financial struggles. Not only that, but God created the body, the church, for community. To carry one another’s burdens. And by His grace, the burden and weight of financial anxiety has been lifted off of me in doing this."

Faithfulness: Honoring Marriage (Malachi 2:10-16)
Statistics about divorce - https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/divorce/divorce-statistics/ 
"If Love Was a Plane" by Brad Paisley
They're in love, look at 'em go
Now what in the world could go wrong
Don't tell them the odds
It's best they don't know
If love was a plane, nobody'd get on

Imagine now the pilots voice, on the intercom
Right before we leave the ground
Saying folks thanks, for flying with us
But there's a six in ten chance we're goin' down

(1 Cor. 6:9-11) 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

(2 Co 5:21) 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

13 And this second thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.  

Truth: Religious activity in itself cannot please God… if used as substitute for love/faithfulness/obedience.

(1 Pt 3:7) 7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

14 But you say, “Why does he not?”

Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 

1. The Lord was witness…  
(14) Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, …

2. Marriage is a covenant. 
(14b) … though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

Truth: It’s not the feeling of love that sustains the promise, but the promise that sustains the feeling of love.

(Tim Keller | The Meaning of Marriage) When over the years someone has seen you at your worst, and knows you with all your strengths and flaws, yet commits him- or herself to you wholly, it is a consummate experience. To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.

15 Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring.

3. Marriage is a one-flesh union. 
(15) Did he not make them one, …

(Mark 10:2-9) 2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

4. Marriage between a godly husband & godly wife is good for children.
(15) And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring.

(Richard Taylor & E. Clendenen | New American Commentary) “Don’t you know that God made you one with your wives? And in spite of your treachery in divorcing your wives, there is still a remnant of that spiritual bond. And what is the purpose of that oneness? It is to produce godly offspring with God’s help.”

So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. 16 “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”  

5. Divorce (for selfish & greedy reasons) is violence.

(Ps. 73:6) 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.

(Heb. 13:4) Let marriage be held in honor among all, …  

Faithfulness: Who To Marry (Malachi 2:10-16)

Q: “I’ve heard it said a few times that Sojourn doesn’t strive for behavior modification, but for gospel transformation. I think I understand the point, namely that we aren’t wanting to act in a way that is heartless and motivated by selfishness, pride,  or other types of sin. But it seems to me Biblically that behavior change (obedience to God and repenting from sin) is something that God takes very seriously (as seen in Malachi).
So my question is this: Isn’t “behavior modification” a necessary part of “gospel transformation” given that the behaviors are according to God’s word and motivated by genuine trust and faith?”

Key phrase of the question - "...motivated by genuine trust & faith?”

(Mal 2:8) 8 But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction.

10 Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

3 Reasons not to "break faith"

1. We have one Father.
   • (1 Jn 5:1) Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
2. We have one Creator.
3. It profanes the covenant of our fathers.

Applications:

• Are you willing to make commitments? Does the way of self-indulgence more describe you? 
• Does your commitment mean something? 

11 Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant of the man who does this, who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!

(NIV) 11 Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god. 12 As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove him from the tents of Jacob f—even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty. 

3 things it's NOT saying…

1. It’s impossible for an unbelieving spouse to be converted.
2. If you're married to an unbeliever, you should get a divorce.
   •  (1 Cor. 7:12-13) 12 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him.
3. You shouldn’t marry someone of a different race/ethnicity/nationality. 
   • (Dt 7:3–4) 3 You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, 4 for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.

Applications:

1. If you were a Christian and married a non-Christian, confess it if you haven't already. Now, resolve to love them and show them the love of God. 
2. If the choice of a marriage partner is still in front of you, resolve right now to marry only someone who loves the Lord with all their heart, soul, and mind. 
3. Have conviction in your advice to unmarried people. Do not be wishy washy in your advice concerning a potential spouse. 

3 other biblical arguments for Christians marrying only Christians

1. Paul’s instructions to widows
   • (1 Cor. 7:39) 39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.
2. Paul’s teaching about being unequally yoked
   • (2 Co 6:14–16) 14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols?
3. Paul’s picture of what marriage is to be in Eph. 5
   • (Eph 5:24) Now as the church submits to X, so also wives submit in everything to their husbands. 
   • (Eph 5:25) Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, … 

(2 Tim 2:13) 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

Title: "Dung On Your Faces" (Malachi 2:1-9)

(Mal. 2:1)  “And now, O priests, this command is for you. 

(Hebr. 7:23-25) 23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.  

“holy priesthood” (1 Pt. 2:5); “royal priesthood” (1 Pt. 2:9); "kingdom, priests to his God & Father" (Rev. 1:6)

3 WARNINGS:
2 If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. 3 Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it. … 9 and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.”

1. God will curse them
2. God will rebuke their offspring
3. God will spread dung on their faces & they shall be taken away with it
   • Ex. 29:14; Lev. 8:17

3 FAILURES OF CURRENT PRIESTS & SUCCESSES OF PREVIOUS PRIESTS:

1. Failure to have a burden for God’s glory
   • (v2) 2 If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, ...
   • (v4-5) 4 So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. 5 My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name.
2. Failure to walk in the ways of God
   • (v8) 8 But you have turned aside from the way.
   • (v9) 9 and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways… 
   • (v6b) no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, … 
   • (Lk 12:2-3) 2 Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.
3. Failure to teach the truth of God 
   • (8b) You have caused many to stumble by your instruction.
   • (9) 9 and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.”
   • (6a) 6 True instruction was in his mouth, … 
   • (v7) 7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 
   • (Titus 1:9) 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. 

JESUS IS OUR PERFECT GREAT HIGH PRIEST

• Was He about God's glory? 
  •  (Jn 17:4–5) 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
• Did He walk in God’s ways? 
  • (1 Pt. 2:22-23) 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
• Did He proclaim the truth of God’s word? 
  • (Luke 4:32) (His listeners were) astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS: 

1. Do you fear God? Do you care more about his glory than the praise of man? Than wealth? Than popularity? Pleasure?
2. Where are you convicted that you are not walking in the ways of God? 
3. Are you a speaker of God’s truth? Do you refuse to tell the truth if it may step on toes? 
4. What do you look for in spiritual leadership?
5. Have the failures of Christian leaders caused you to put a question mark over all of Christianity? 

Title: Worthless Worship (Malachi 1:6-14)

From sermon series Made to Worship:
(Hebr. 13:15-16) 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

(Mt. 15:8) 8 “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; …

Inner essence of worship is to know God truly w/ our minds & respond to that by loving/treasuring God above all else.This overflows into outward acts of praise from our lips and generous acts of love
Worship is our response to God for who he is & what he’s done. We seek to honor Him by what we say & the way we live.

6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name.

(Ps. 147:11) ... the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

6bBut you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’

7 By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the Lord’s table may be despised. 8 When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. 9 And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts.

What type of sacrifices were they to offer:

• (Lev 22:17-25) male w/out blemish; not even a scab
• (Dt. 17:1) No blemish or defect; anything else is abomination to the Lord

What type of sacrifices are we to offer since Jesus was the once and for all sacrifice?

• 1. Your body as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1-2) 
• 2. Your finances as a spiritual sacrifice (Phil 4:14-18; Hebr. 13:16)
• 3. Words of praise (Hebr. 13:15) 
• 4. Good works (Hebr. 13:16) 
• 5. Those who have believed the gospel as a result of you sharing it (Rom 15:16)

10 Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. 11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. 12 But you profane it when you say that the Lord’s table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. 13 But you say, ‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord. 14 Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.

(Christ-Centered Exposition) If there’s no sacrifice in your sacrifice, it’s not a sacrifice.

The Principle: When your actions are careless and “just going through the motions”, they’re an overflow of small thoughts of God and an apathetic attitude.

The good news:
But God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life

(John Baptist) Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

(Heb. 10:11-14) 11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when CHRIST HAD OFFERED FOR ALL TIME A SINGLE SACRIFICE FOR SINS, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 FOR BY A SINGLE OFFERING he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

 

Title: "I Have Loved You" (Malachi 1:1-5)

1 The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. 

2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord.

God (always) starts with the indicative, not the imperative

(1 Jn. 4:18-19)  18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.

But you say, “How have you loved us?”

“Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob 3 but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” 4 If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’ ” 5 Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!” 

God points to a historical event to show his love for them.

(Dt. 7:6-8) 6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

(Rom. 5:6) 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

(Rom. 5:8-10) 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.  

Title: Temple & Flock (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; Acts 20:28-31)

1. The church is the temple.

(2 Cor. 6:14-7:1)
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”
7 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

(Eph 2:18–22)18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (last wk), 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
 
(1 Cor. 3:16-17) 16 Do you not know that you  are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

 (1 Pt 2:4-5) 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

2. The church is a flock with shepherds.

Bible talks about sheep/shepherds in 2 ways…
 A. Jesus is our great Shepherd and we believers are his flock.

(John 10:7-18) 7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

B. A church is a flock and pastors are the shepherds

(Acts 20:28-31) 28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.

(1 Pt. 5:1-4) So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Title: The Church Is A Body & Household (1 Cor. 12:12-31; 1 Tim. 3:14-15)

Universal Church
(Ephesians 5:25) 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, …

Local Church
(1 Corinthians 16:19) 19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.

2 Arguments for Membership

1. The teachings on the relationship between believers and their spiritual leaders
   • (Heb. 13:17) 17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.  
2. The teachings on church discipline
   • (1 Cor. 5) 

The Metaphor of the Body
(1 Cor. 12:12-31)
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. 

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

4 Principles...

1. The language of membership is biblical. 
   • Can be applied to local church... 
     • (1 Cor. 10:17) 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
2. An individual Christian is to be neither isolated nor independent.
3. Every member matters.
4. We are to care about our corporate health as we care about our individual health.

The Metaphor of the Household

(1 Tim. 3:14-15)
14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

(1 Tim. 5:1–2) Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity. 

Title: Better Than Gold & Sweeter Than Honey (Ps. 19)

1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;

Benefit 1: Life

(Mt. 4:4) “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

(Ps. 119:92-93) 
If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.

the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;  

Benefit #2 - Wisdom

(2 Tim 3:14-17) 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

(Ps 19:8b) 
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;  

(Ps. 119:105) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;

Benefit #3 - Joy

(John 5:39-40) 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

(John 15:11) "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Application:
What is your current heart posture towards the scriptures?
What may be your next step in growth in the scriptures?

(Ps. 119:11, 15-16) 
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. …
15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.


 

Title: The Exodus & Christian Baptism (Exodus 14:10-31; 1 Corinthians 10:1-4) 

Common Baptism Verses:

• (Acts 22:16) Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’ 
• (Rom. 6:4) We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 

Disclaimer:
(Gal. 2:16) 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

OT Pattern: God brings his people safely through water so that they are in a better condition afterwards than before.

• Moses’ birth (Ex. 4)
• Crossing the Jordan River (Joshua 3) 
• Jonah hurled overboard (Jonah) 
• Noah & the Ark (Gen. 5-10)
  • (1 Pe. 3:20–21) … God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, …
• The parting of the Red Sea (Ex. 14)
  • (Ex. 14:13–14) “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
  • (1 Co. 10:1–4) For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

(Micah 7:19) 
19 He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.

Sermon Title: To Be Continued... (Acts 28:17-31)

• 6 themes of Acts...
  • 1. Acts will clarify the good news of the gospel for us.  
  • 2. Acts will strengthen our confidence in God’s sovereignty. 
  • 3. Acts will deepen our understanding of what the church is intended to be and do. 
  • 4. Acts will prepare us for persecution. 
  • 5. Acts will expand our thinking about the Holy Spirit. 
  • 6. Acts will inspire and challenge us to live on mission.

16 And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.

17 After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

18 When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. 19 But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against my nation. 20 For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.”

21 And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. 22 But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”

23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.

(2 Cor. 5:20) 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

24 And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. 

(1 Cor 1:18) For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

(Luke 2:34) “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, …”
 
25 And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
26 “ ‘Go to this people, and say,
“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
27 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed;
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.’

28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”

30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.  

(Acts 1:1-2) In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

1 Main Application: Make the most of every opportunity (to lead people to Christ).

(Col 4:2-6) 2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

(Philemon 8-10) 8 Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, 9 yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10 I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment.
(Philemon 15-17) 15 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.

(Phil 1:12-14) 12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Questions:
Where are you?
Who is around you?
What would it mean for you to live out Col. 4:5? (Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.)

“Tomorrow” by Edgar Guess
He was going to be all that a mortal should be
      Tomorrow.
No one should be kinder or braver than he
      Tomorrow.
A friend who was troubled and weary he knew,
Who'd be glad of a lift and who needed it, too;
On him he would call and see what he could do
      Tomorrow.
Each morning he stacked up the letters he'd write
      Tomorrow.
And thought of the folks he would fill with delight
      Tomorrow.
It was too bad, indeed, he was busy today,
And hadn't a minute to stop on his way;
More time he would have to give others, he'd say
      Tomorrow.
The greatest of workers this man would have been
      Tomorrow.
The world would have known him, had he ever seen
      Tomorrow.
But the fact is he died and he faded from view,
And all that he left here when living was through
Was a mountain of things he intended to do
      Tomorrow.

Sermon Title: Paul Finally Gets to Rome (Acts 28:1-16)

(Ro 1:8–13) 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 

1 After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta. 2 The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. 3 When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. 4 When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. 

7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8 It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him. 9 And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. 10 They also honored us greatly, and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.
11 After three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods as a figurehead. 12 Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13 And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome.

15 And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. 16 And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.

THE KINDNESS OF THE UNBELIEVERS

(27:3) And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for.
(28:2) 2 The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold.
(28:7) 7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days.

THEIR BELIEF IN KARMA (THE GODDESS OF JUSTICE)

THE FICKLENESS OF THE CROWD

(Lecrae) “If you live for people's acceptance, you'll die from their rejection.”

(Pr 22:1) A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.  

THE LAYING ON OF HANDS & PRAYER

(6:6) 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
(13:3) 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
(James 5:14) 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

PAUL'S ARRIVAL TO ROME

(14b) And so we came to Rome.

God kept his promise.
(Acts 23:11) “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”  

God gave Paul the desire of his heart.
(Ps 37:4) 4Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

PARADOX

Paradox: a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true. 

God is absolutely in control. Our decisions & attitudes absolutely matter. We are absolutely responsible.

(Acts 2:23) this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

PROMISE

We have a promise making and promise keeping God.

PRESENCE

The presence of suffering does not mean the absence of God.

"Begone, Unbelief" lyrics by John Newton
Begone, unbelief,
My Savior is near,
And for my relief
Will surely appear;
By prayer let me wrestle,
And He will perform;
With Christ in the vessel,
I smile at the storm.

Though dark be my way,  
Since He is my Guide,
’Tis mine to obey,
’Tis His to provide;
Though cisterns be broken,
And creatures all fail,
The word He hath spoken
Shall surely prevail.

His love, in time past,
Forbids me to think
He’ll leave me at last
In trouble to sink:
Each sweet Ebenezer
I have in review
Confirms His good pleasure
To help me quite through.

Sermon Title: God's Love & Our Trials (Acts 22:30-23:35) 

30 But on the next day,

desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.

1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?”  

(Jn 18:22) When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?”

4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”

 (Ex. 22:28) You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.  

11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” 

(2 Co 4:8–9) 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ... 

(Ro 5:8) 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

(Ro 8:37-39) 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

12 When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”

23 Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. 24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.”

2 main truths...  

1. Suffering does not mean God doesn't see you, doesn't care, or is not present. 
2. God is sovereign over and works through the miraculous and the ordinary events that seem to "just so happen".

Sermon Title: Paul's Testimony & Yours (Acts 22:1-29) 

His former zeal for Judaism (1-5)
1“Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.” 2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said:
3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

(Gal 1:13-14) 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.  

Encounter with The Risen Christ (6-11)
6 “As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.

Visit of Ananias (12-16)
12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’  And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

(Rom 10:13) “... For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

(1 Pt. 3:21) 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this (Noah & Arc), now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, …

To express interest in baptism, text BAPTISM to 478-777-8283

The Lord’s Commission (17-21)
17 “When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”

22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 

25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” 29 So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.

What gospel truths do we learn from Paul's testimony?
Jesus is the light.
(Is. 9:2-3) (2-3) The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

(Jn 8:12) “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

(1 Jn 1:5) 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

(C.S. Lewis) “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

Jesus is the Righteous One.
(14) And he (Ananias) said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; ...

(Is 53:11) the righteous one, my servant, (will) make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Conversion involves a life-transforming experience with Jesus.
(C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity) “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”  

Lessons on sharing a testimony... 

Sermon Title: Examples of Humility (Acts 21:17-40) 

17 When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it, they glorified God.

(19) … he related one by one THE THINGS THAT GOD HAD DONE among the Gentiles THROUGH HIS MINISTRY.

(1 Cor. 4:7) What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

(1 Cor. 15:10) (least of the apostles) 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

(Charles Hodge) Christian humility does not consist in denying what there is of good in us; but in an abiding sense of ill-desert, and in the consciousness that what we have of good is due to the grace of God.

(20) And when they heard it, they glorified God.

And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, 21 and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.

22 What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 24 take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.

25 But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.” 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.  

27 When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

30 Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. 31 And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

32 He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. 35 And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, 36 for the mob of the people followed, crying out, “Away with him!”  

37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Are you not the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?”

39 Paul replied, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” 40 And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:  

(Php 2:3–11) 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

15 After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 16 And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.

THE GIFT OF CHRISTIAN FRIENDSHIP

(Acts 20:1) And when we had parted from them and set sail…

(Ac 20:36–38) 36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.

4 Ingredients of Christian Friendship in this Text...
Showing & receiving hospitality
Expressing affection
Having important conversations
Praying together for each other

(John 15:15) 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

(Romans 12:9-13) 9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

THE COST OF CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP

Seek counsel, and be resolved to follow God’s will.

Death is not the worst thing. Not living for Christ is worse.

(Mark 8:34-37) If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul?

(Lk 18:31-33) 31 And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”

Sermon Title: A Pastor's Job Description (Acts 20:17-38)

Elders/Pastors/Overseers = same office

1. Don’t make comfort your chief pursuit, but obedience to Jesus’ call.

22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.  

2. Teach the word courageously.

20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

COURAGEOUSLY
(20) I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable
(27) I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God

(2 Tim 4:2) Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Applications for non-pastors:
- Desire a courageous teacher of God’s word.
- Be a courageous speaker of truth (in love).

3. Pay attention to yourselves and to the flock.

28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.

(1 Tim 4:16) Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching.

See the whole Trinity...
(28) Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

(John Stott) They are the flock of God the Father, purchased by the precious blood of God the Son, and supervised by overseers appointed by God the Holy Spirit.

(Heb 13:17) Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

4. Serve the Lord with humility and tears, expecting trials.

18 “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; ... 

31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.  

5. Shepherd eagerly, not for shameful gain.

33 I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. 35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

(1 Pt 5:2-3) ... shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

6. Pastor as part of a team.

36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.

Also...

• (17) he sent to Ephesus & called the elders of the church… 
• (28) Pay careful attention to yourselves & to all the flock… 

(36-38) … prayed w/ them all; much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul; …

See the goodness and grace of God in this text... 

Sermon Title: The Ministry of Encouragement (Acts 20:1-16)

(Heb. 3:12-14) 12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

1 After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. 3 There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. 5 These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas, 6 but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.  

Ways to encourage from this text...
1. Giving
2. Visiting

(Romans 1:9-12) 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

3. Serving together

(1 Thess 5:11)  11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. 9 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” 11 And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. 12 And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.

4. Gather weekly to celebrate the gospel.

(Heb 10:23–25) 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

5. Value the teaching of the word of God.  

13 But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 15 And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after that we went to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

Sermon Title: Idols - Part 2 (Acts 19:21-41)

Video about Artemis

21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.  

23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way.

24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”  

35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

Gospel proclamation normally rocks the boat. 

Idols are prevalent.

(1 Cor. 10:6-8) 6 Now these things took place as examples for us (OT stories), that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.

(Col. 3:5) 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

(Keller) “If anything becomes more fundamental than God to your happiness, your meaning of life, or your identity – then that thing is an idol.
(Keller)  “An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.” (Or vice versa)
(Keller) “An idol is something that we look to for things that only God can give.”

(Ac 17:16) his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.

Idols are powerful.

Idols are powerless.

(1 Sam. 12:21) 21 And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty.

(Jonah 2:8) 8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.

(Jer 2:11-13) 11 Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. 12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, 13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.  

(Acts 17:24-25) 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

(Ro 5:8) 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Commands to turn away from idols or flee from idols...
1 Sam 12:20-21
Acts 14:15
1 Cor. 10:14
1 John 5:20-21

Sermon Title: Burn the Books! (Acts 19:11-20)

11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. 

13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”

14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.  

17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. 18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

 

Don't toy around with sin. Be violent with it. Burn the books!

(Rom 13:12-14) 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

(Col 3:5) 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Their repentance was costly. 50,000 pieces of silver is estimated to be approximately $6,000,000 in today's currency.

(Acts 19:20) 20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

Confession and repentance do not hinder our evangelism, but can be used to make it more impactful.

Where is gospel grace in this message?

(Acts 19:18) 18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.

Romans 6

There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all.

(John B. Polhill | New American Commentary) As throughout Acts, there is no set pattern. The Spirit came at various times and in various ways. What is consistent is that the Spirit is always a vital part of one’s initial commitment to Christ and a mark of every believer.

(John R. W. Stott) The norm of Christian experience, then, is a cluster of four things: repentance, faith in Jesus, water baptism and the gift of the Spirit. Though the perceived order may vary a little, the four belong together and are universal in Christian initiation.

(Ro 8:9) 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

(Eph 1:13–14) 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, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

(2 Co 13:5) 5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

(1 Jn. 5:13) 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

According to 1 Jn, every believer will pass 3 tests…

• Doctrinal test (1 John 1:1-4; 2:2,22-23; 4:2-3,10,15; 5:1,5) 
  • (1 Jn. 2:23) 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
  • (1 Jn 5:1) Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God
• Ethical test (1 John 1:6; 2:6,9-11,29; 3:6-10,14; 4:8)
  • (1 Jn 2:3–6) 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
  • (1 Jn 2:11) 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 
  • Not talking perfection
    • (1 Jn 1:8, 10)   8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. … 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 
• Experiential test (1 John 3:24; 4:13)
  • (1 Jn. 3:24) And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
  • (1 Jn 4:13) 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 
  • (Ro 8:16) 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ...
    
    

8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. 10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. 

(John Wesley journal entry from Exalting Jesus in Acts by Tony Merida) In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me, that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death. 

SERMON TITLE: Beautiful Examples of Humility (Acts 18:18-28)

(A.W. Tozer | The Pursuit of God) The victorious Christian neither exalts nor downgrades himself. His interests have shifted from self to Christ.

(Timothy Keller | The Reason for God) The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.

(Php 2:3-4) 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

18 After this,  

Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow.

19 And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. 21 But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.

(James 4:14-16) 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch.

23 After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. 

(Gal 4:19) … my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!

24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.

1. Be like Apollos. Be a humble learner.
2. Be like Priscilla & Aquila. Pour into others.
3. Be like Priscilla, Aquila, and Paul. Refuse to be competitive in ministry.

(1 Cor. 3:6-7) 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

(Acts 18:27b) When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed,

(Acts 18:28) 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.  

SERMON NOTES
Sermon Title: Ministry Exhaustion & God's Grace (Acts 18:1-17)

(2 Cor. 1:8-9) 8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 

1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 

2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. 

Paul talks directly about ministers receiving financial compensation in 1 Cor. 9:6-15

(Rom. 12:11) 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

(Rom. 16:3–4) 3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well.

5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. 6 And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.

9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 

9 Do not be afraid
but go on speaking and do not be silent
10 for I am with you, …
and no one will attack you to harm you,
for I have many in this city who are my people.”

12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, 13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. 15 But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” 16 And he drove them from the tribunal. 17 And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.  

Lesson 1: The most unlikely people and places can be impacted by the gospel.

(V8) Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.

Lesson 2: Paul was intentional in his missionary activity, and we can follow his example.

Lesson 3: The promises of God give us courage and keep us going.

SERMON NOTES
Sermon Title: Idols (Acts:17:16-34)

16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.

What did Paul see?

Idolatry: Giving worship or excessive devotion to a person or thing

(Ps. 115:3-9) 3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.
9 O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.  

Tim Keller on Idolatry:
“If anything becomes more fundamental than God to your happiness, your meaning of life, or your identity – then that thing is an idol.”
“An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.."
“An idol is something that we look to for things that only God can give.”

(1 Cor. 10:6-8) 6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.

(Col. 3:5) 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

What did Paul feel?

(16) His spirit was provoked within him…

(Ps. 67:1-5) 1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!

17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.  

What did Paul do? Where did Paul go?

Witnessed in the synagogue, the marketplace, and the Areopagus

22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.  

What did Paul Say?

24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for

“ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have said,
“ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

What did Paul say? (cont’d) 

(24) God is the Creator
(25) God is the Sustainer
(26) God is Sovereign Over the Nations
(27) God is knowable
(28-29) God is the Father of Humanity
(30-31) God is Judge and Rescuer

32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. 

Search; Repent; Praise

SERMON NOTES
Sermon Title: The Scriptures Are A Backboard (Acts 17:1-15) 

(Jn 5:37–40) 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

Big Idea: Let’s receive the word like the Bereans and spread the word like Paul & his missionary crew.

(Acts 17:1) Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”

How did Paul (& his team) proclaim the word?

Boldly

(1 Thess. 2:1-2) For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

Intelligently

With integrity

(1 Thess 2:9-12) 9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

(Acts 17:4-9) 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.  

Expect various responses.

(Acts 17:10-11) 10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

How did the Bereans receive the word?

Eagerly

(1 Pe 2:2–3) 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

(2 Ti 3:15–17) 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

With Examination

(Acts 17:12-15)12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.

Remember... 
(Jn 5:38–40) 38 … you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

SERMON NOTES
Sermon Title: "How Are You, Really?" (Acts 16:11-40)

(Acts 16:11-12) So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days.

Remember last week's call to Macedonia

(Acts 16:13-15)  13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Reflections on Lydia

(Acts 16:16-18) As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

Examples of demon oppressed people speaking the truth...
(Acts 16:17) “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”
(Mk 1:24) “I know who you are - the Holy One of God.”
(Mk 3:11) And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”

An example of demon oppressed person being restored to right mind and becoming a Christ-follower...
(Mk 5:18-20) 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

(Acts 16:19-24) 19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

One's relationship to material goods tells a lot about their spiritual condition throughout Acts.

(Acts 16:25) About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,

Imagine it.

(Acts 16:26-30) ... and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Great question!

(Acts 16:31-34) And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

What type of belief is this?
(James 2:19) 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

(Acts 16:35-39) 35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city.

Why did Paul react that way?

(Acts 16:40) 40 So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

The gospel transforms all sorts of people from all sorts of backgrounds through all sorts of events!Baptism is assumed as an immediate step after believing.

(14-15) The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her household as well, …
(31-33) 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.

Want to explore taking a next step of being baptized? Text “BAPTISM” to 478-777-8283

Paul would later write the letter of Philippians to this church...
(Php 1:3-11) 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

(Php 4:15–20) 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. 18 I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

SERMON NOTES
Sermon Title: Conflict Among Christians (Acts 15:36-16:10)

Q: I agree with not making it difficult for Gentiles to come to faith in Christ. However, what are we to do with Jesus’ tough words to those who wanted to follow Him, such as the rich young ruler? Jesus made it clear that for someone to follow Him, it would be costly. They would have to give up their sins and will experience persecution. How do we reconcile this with Acts 15?

(Acts 15:36-41) 36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

(Acts 13:13-14) 13 Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, 14 but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia.

Lesson 1: We should expect conflict in our churches and ministry teams.

Lesson 2: Conflict and separation don’t have to have the last word.

(Col 4:10) 10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), ... 
(Philemon 24) 23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24 and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
(2 Tim 4:11) 11 Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.

Lesson 3: God is sovereign and worked through the conflict to achieve his purposes.

(Acts 16:1-5) Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

(Tony Merida | Exalting Jesus in Acts) Paul was willing to “become all things to all people” in order to reach them with the gospel (1 Cor 9:22). He wanted to adapt to different audiences without changing the gospel. We should be willing to do the same. As long as adapting doesn’t mean adopting a sinful action, we should be willing to follow certain cultural customs in order that hearers may receive the gospel. … If you need to wear a yarmulke when speaking to Jews, then do it. If you need to sit on the floor with Muslims in order to converse, sit on the floor. If you need to wear a particular type of robe in a village in order to address the unreached, then put on the robe. If you need to abstain from certain foods, do it. Put no stumbling block in the way of the gospel.

Lesson 4: Missional intentionality leads Paul to “become all things to all people” (1 Cor. 9:22).

(Acts 16:6-10) 6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Lesson 5: God’s guidance often comes gradually & unpredictably, but He does guide his people (especially as we live on mission).

Big Picture: God is a missionary God.

SERMON NOTES
Sermon Title: Lessons from the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:1-35)

(Acts 15:1-5) But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

(John Stott | The Message of Acts) The issue can be clarified by a series of questions. Is the sinner saved by the sheer grace of God in and through Christ crucified, when he or she simply believes, that is, flees to Jesus for refuge? Has Jesus Christ by his death and resurrection done everything necessary for salvation? Or are we saved partly through the grace of Christ and partly through our own good works and religious performance? Is justification sola fide, ‘by faith alone’, or through a mixture of faith and works, grace and law, Jesus and Moses? Are Gentile believers a sect of Judaism, or authentic members of a multi-national family? It was not some Jewish cultural practices which were at stake, but the truth of the gospel and the future of the church. 

Peter's Argument:
(Acts 16:6-11) 6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” 

Paul's & Barnabas' Argument:
(Acts 15:12)12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

James' Argument
(Acts 15:13-21) 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,
 16 “ ‘After this I will return,
 and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
 I will rebuild its ruins,
 and I will restore it,
 17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord,
 and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
 says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.’
 19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.” 

This text helps us understand that Christians do not pick and choose what commands in the Bible we will take seriously. The Bible teaches us what commands apply to us today. 

2 drifts we must be aware of and intentionally resist: 
1. The drift from a passion for outsiders to pacifying insiders 
2. The drift from grace to law 

SERMON NOTES
Sermon Title:  A Model of Perseverance (Acts 14:1-28)

(2 Tim. 3:10-12) 10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra (today)—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
(2 Tim. 3:14-15) 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

(Acts 14:1-7) Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. 4 But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. 5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, 6 they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel.

Grace tends to produce relief and joy in some people and hostility and anger in others.

The gospel unites and divides.

(Acts 14:8-10) 8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking.

2 errors we can make when thinking about miracles of healing...
1. Faith has nothing to do with it.
2. If you believe enough, God always heals.

(Acts 14:11-18) 11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” 18 Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

We don’t edit the gospel, but we do need to know our audience and create a point of contact.

Possible points of contact...

• Hunger for love and community
• Need to be rid of guilt and shame
• Longing for no more pain/suffering; for satisfaction/joy
• A search for meaning in life
• A love for beauty, especially in creation

Repentance - Turning from vain things to the living God.

 (Acts 14:19)19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.

(Lecrae Moore, Unashamed) If you live for people's acceptance, you'll die from their rejection.

(Acts 14:20-23) 20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.  

(2 Cor. 5:14-15) 14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Follow-up and nurture are necessary after evangelistic efforts

(Acts 14:24-28) 24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, 26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. 27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they remained no little time with the disciples.

(2 Tim. 3:10-12) 10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
(2 Tim. 3:14-15) 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

SERMON NOTES
Sermon Title:  Guilt & Grace (Acts 13:13-52)

(Brennan Manning; Abba’s Child) I flailed away with such reckless abandon that I raised blood blisters on my back. The following day in the showers, a cleric took one look at my bludgeoned body and reported my condition to the novice master, who reprimanded me for my intemperate zeal. Truth to tell, I was trying desperately to make myself pleasing to God.

(Acts 13:13-14a) 13 Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, 14 but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia.

(Acts 13:14b-15) And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.”

(Acts 13:16-25)16 So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: “Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. 17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. 18 And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. 19 And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ 23 Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. 24 Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’  

(Acts 13:26-29) 26 “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. 28 And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.

(Acts 13:30-37) 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, 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.’
34 And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, qno more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,
“ ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’
35 Therefore he says also in another psalm,
“ ‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’
36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, 37 but he whom God raised up did not see corruption.

The idea: Jesus’ identity has been confirmed by his resurrection!

(Keller) If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said. If he didn’t, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether you like his teaching, but whether he rose from the dead.”
 
(Acts 13:38-39) 38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

Forgiveness & justification through faith in Christ!

(V39 NIV) Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.

(Phil 3:8-9) 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith…

(Acts 13:40-43) 40 Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:
41 “ ‘Look, you scoffers,
be astounded and perish;
for I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’ ”
42 As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. 43 And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.

(Brennan Manning) Jesus comes not for the super-spiritual but for the wobbly and the weak-kneed who know they don’t have it all together, and who are not too proud to accept the handout of amazing grace.  

(Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace) “We are brought into God’s kingdom by grace; we are sanctified by grace; we receive both temporal and spiritual blessings by grace; we are motivated to obedience by grace; we are called to serve and enabled to serve by grace; we receive strength to endure trials by grace; and finally, we are glorified by grace. The entire Christian life is lived under the reign of God’s grace.”

(Acts 13:44-52) 44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
“ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

SERMON NOTES
Sermon Title: Our Missionary God & Spiritual Warfare (Acts 13:4-12)

Summary: A church that’s passionate about spreading the gospel will face intense spiritual warfare. But don’t fear, greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.

(Acts 13:4-5) 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them.

(Acts13:6-8) 6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

(Deuteronomy 18:9-14) 9 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, 14 for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this.

(Acts 13:9-11) 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand.

(John 8:44) 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

(Acts 13:12) 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Truths we learn from...

• Paul, Barnabas, John
  • We must recognize the necessity of living by the Spirit when living out Jesus’ mission
• Sergius Paulus
  • Some (surprising) people will be open to God’s word. 

(1 Corinthians 1:26-29) 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

• Bar-Jesus
  • Those who are lost in darkness often feel threatened when light begins to invade their territory

SERMON NOTES
Sermon Title: Lessons on Fasting (Acts 14:1-4)

(Acts 13:1-2) Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

4 Observations About Fasting in This Text:
1. They fasted after Jesus’ coming.
2. They fasted together.

(Matthew 6:16–18) 16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

3.  There’s an “and” in verses 2 & 3.
4. God gave them specific guidance during their fast.

(2 Chron 20:3–4) 3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

(Acts 13:3-4) 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

(1 Corinthians 7:5) 5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

3 application questions:
1. What’s this got to do with you if you're not a believer?
2. What’s your next step in global missions?
3. What’s your next step in fasting?

SERMON NOTES
Sermon Title: Herod Vs. God (Acts 12:1-25)

(Acts 12:1-3) About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword, 3 and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

Lesson #1: Opposition should be expected.

(Acts 12:3-11) This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

Lesson #2: God’s sovereignty is mysterious.
Lesson #3: God’s peace is beyond understanding.

(Philippians 4:5b-7) The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

(Acts 12:12-17) 12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.

Lesson #4: Corporate prayer is normal in normal Christianity.

(Tony Merida) Prayer isn’t retreat. It’s an act of holy defiance. It’s an act of placing dependent confidence in the sovereign God who hears the prayers of his people and rules over all. … prayer is a “wartime walkie-talkie”. The church is at war, so they call up the Commander, who shuts lions’ mouths, humiliates pharaohs, breaks chains, and opens prison doors, knowing he will act in whatever way he knows is best.

(Acts 12:18-23) 18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.
20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.  

Lesson #5: Greatness is lowliness and service.

(Matthew 20:25-28) “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

(Acts 12:24) 24 But the word of God increased and multiplied.

The Point: If we trust & follow Jesus, we win. If we live for self-exaltation, we lose.
Warning: Don’t live for self-exaltation.
Encouragement: Our mission is unstoppable.