The good news of Christ
Isaiah 41
Clear away the fog that we,
O Lord of lights, might glory in you.
May we rejoice in the Holy One
who sweeps away the enemy’s hate.
We have your promise, God and Father,
that you will not abandon your people.
Let water spring from desert sand,
and luscious fruit from barren earth.
Uproot all idols from our hearts,
Created things we made our gods.
Empty our souls of vain ambition,
That you, and you alone, remain.
O God,
no harsher word
and none more fearful
than being lost,
where hope vanishes
and love dribbles away,
where rainbows die
and laughter is unknown.
Lead us into this valley,
O Lord, to feel
perdition’s cold fingers.
Abandon us not
in that dark place,
but bring us out
to where the sun
shines without
a shadow of cloud.
Lord, grant to me the keen desire
to live in love and seek your face;
May I recall my good Supplier,
And share abroad your saving grace.
Make every leaf and creature sing
Of goodness from your sovereign throne;
And if your thanks we fail to bring,
Let praise arise from rock and stone.
Romans 12.1-2
Soul and body, the heart of me,
Belong to you, O Lord — an offering,
A sacrifice of praise — Be pleased
To receive it, bought by Jesus’ suffering.
Mind and will and deepest thought,
Are yours, my God — I hold back nothing —
All is given — your will I’ve sought —
For bread and drink in hope I’m trusting.
Head and feet, in stillest hour,
Our Father, and in busiest moment;
Be with me — worries let faith devour,
And I, on earth, your best proponent.
O God of truth — speak in our ears —
let us hear with sharpest hearing,
hanging on your every word.
O God of words — speak and create
in us a new creation — Being —
transformation of heart and soul.
O God of life — speak softly of love —
bring healing touch and caring hand,
that we might never leave your presence.
A parent leaves a kid at home with a note that reads “Clean your room!” The kid respects the parent’s authority and so obeys the command, but if he interprets the note how he wants by stuffing toys out-of-sight in the closet or clean clothing under the bed, is he truly pleasing to his parent? No, of course not! Yet, even if we all can agree that God’s Word is authoritative over our lives but interpret it however we would would like, can we be pleasing to God?
I. 2 Peter 1:19-21. Authority came from the Father to the Son to men inspired to write God’s Word for us to obey. Just as a cop cannot interpret the law however he wants, we cannot make God’s Word mean whatever we would like it to or best suits our lifestyle. Rather, we must discover what God intended for us to understand and obey.
II. 1 Corinthians 11:17-29. Good Bible study techniques must be applied. Who’s speaking? To whom is the passage being spoken? What is the type of literature and language being used? What testament and book does it appear in? What’s the general, specific, and historical context? Is there a clear command? For an example, take the issue of when to take the Lord’s Supper. Is there an approved example (Acts 20:7)? Is there an inference about how often Christians met (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)?
III. Ephesians 5:19. We must treat biblical silence as prohibitive rather than permissive. We can get into much trouble when we say, “God didn’t say we couldn’t ….” Once we open a door, where does it end? If I order coffee at a restaurant, I expect the waitress to bring me a mug of black coffee. If she puts in several packs of sugar and whitens it with cream, I would not be pleased. Those things are innovations (something new introduced) rather than an expedient (a means to get to the command). Thus, the mug is an expedient for me to have coffee in the same way that a songbook or pitchpipe would aid us in singing. An addition of a guitar or choir in worship, however, would be an innovation.
So, to please the parent, the kid should ask himself, “How would mom want me to clean my room? What would she want me to do with these toys and clean clothes?” God’s inspired Word, just as the parent’s note, can never mean what it never meant.
We’ve little idea, O Lord, of limitless power —
humans who’re bound by sight and flesh —
we who fall and fail — the sour
taste of defeat in our mouth still fresh.
Rock by rock, and clod by flying clod,
the mountain moves to fall in the sea —
and brick by towered brick, we’re awed,
in growing faith, by the mustard tree.
Omnipotent God — I believe —
forgive my unbelief —
in Christ all things we can achieve —
a hundredfold of harvest sheaf.
As a teacher, I am amazed at how Jesus was a master teacher. Without any training or degree from a university to know how to do so, He employed so many techniques to bring about the greatest retention of essential Kingdom concepts, such as prayer:
Luke 11:1-13 (NIV)
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'”
5 Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’
7 “Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’
8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
I. Prayer, Jesus had previously taught, was a private thing between the person praying and God. It was not to be done as a show, but this is not what Jesus was doing. A master teacher will model his teaching through his life. His disciples either saw Him praying or just knew that He had been, but Jesus, though without sin and despite being God in the flesh, allowed them to see His example of constant interaction with our Father. If He needed to pray in this way, how much more do we?
II. Knowing that Jesus prayed prompted the request from a disciple that Jesus teach them to pray. Next, Jesus laid down the principles of good prayer, a mixture of ACTS: Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Notice that Luke’s version is different than Matthew’s as it is not a rote recitation of specific words that tend to become meaningless babble after a while. But, we and the disciples need to understand the types of concepts that should be included in prayer.
III. Finally, Jesus as the master teacher illustrates the concepts of prayer and the relationship between us and our Father. There is no need to be timid when approaching God’s throne in prayer. Because God is a good Father, we can be bold in our asking, seeking and knocking. So pray!
My grandfather used to say, “You don’t wait until a tree is full grown until you prune it.” When kids are bad, we blame the world, coaches, teachers, “failing schools” … or even the kids themselves. But, rarely do we blame bad parenting. Far too often parenting is negligent, permissive, or authoritarian, but biblical parenting is the way that our heavenly Father parents us–authoritatively, a process that, out of love, outlines the consequences for our choices but allows us to make our own choices.
I. Genesis 2:20-24. God created parenting. In the verses, we often use to show how marriage is between a man and a woman, the concepts of “father” and “mother” are mentioned. How strange they must have sounded to Adam and Eve who had neither! But, here God institutes not only marriage but the concept of family and parental roles.
II. Ephesians 6:1-4. Children are to obey their parents in the Lord, but fathers are to instruct their children in the Lord. Parents must actively train their children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6). The Israelites were told to do this (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) but forgot while they conquered the Promised Land with disasterous consequences (Judges 2:10-13).
III. 1 Timothy 3:4-5. Even an elder must have parented in the style of our heavenly Father over us, so that he can shepherd Christ’s church in that same parenting style. A kid that doesn’t accept correction brings grief to his mother (Proverbs 29:15) and breaks his mother’s heart (Proverbs 15:20). Rather, when a child does not turn from the way he was trained (Proverbs 23:25), he brings joy!
This is a difficult topic as no matter our kids’ ages, we realize we all have made mistakes in parenting that we regret. Where it is not too late, we can change. Where it is, we can apologize. But, there are still kids in our lives (in the church especially) over which God has given us influence. How’s your example? How are you training the children in your life?
Heavenly Father, praise must roll from tongues
And tallest hills, from every rock and tree,
From creatures large and small, from depths and height,
From sea and space, from earth and seventh heaven.
For you, O Lord, the God who made it all,
Are sovereign over matter and murkiest mind,
You know the deepest secrets of sinful man,
Your word creates, your breath dissolves at will.
To you all glory and honor and power belong:
Besides your strength, what moves you is selfless love;
No evil’s in you, and none before you resists,
The good of light is you, and ever will be.